Lost Sheep.
Notes
Transcript
Opening:
Good morning again Connection Church! I am so glad that you decided to come and worship with us today! One of the great privileges and honors we have is to come together and worship God on the Lord’s Day. This is a blessing. We come together and worship God in several ways. We worship Him through fellowship, through singing, through giving, through the learning of truths, through the reading and preaching of His Word, and finally through gathering around the Lord’s Table to commune with Him. These are acts of worship. I tell you often that this means that today is not about you, but it is about worshipping God. This is true, but it does benefit us. We greatly benefit from worshipping God. It strengthens us and equips us. It prepares us for going out into the world to reach it with the gospel. It also strengthens us for the trials of life.
Life is hard. It is filled with challenges and trials. There are many pains we face in this life. The Lord’s Day is a sabbath unto the Lord. What does that mean? It means that today is a day of rest where we come and pour out our hearts in worship. We can express our pains and weaknesses in prayer. We are encouraged and strengthened by each other. We are reminded of the truth of who God is and what He has done. We are drawn close to God and each other through the means of grace. The Lord’s Day is vital. If we are brutally honest, we need this. This is for God, but we need it. Here we can cry together and laugh together, before the Lord. Here we come before the throne room of Heaven and bow before the Lord. Today is a constant reminder of the Gospel. If you are low and broken, I pray that this morning is an encouragement to you. Come before God and be in awe of Him.
Introduction of the Text:
I am so thankful for this text. We will be in Matthew 18:10-14 today. We have covered much of the book of Matthew. We have seen vital truths about who Jesus is. We have seen hard truths. We have seen controversial passages. We have heard Christ issue hard rebukes and use harsh language. We have seen the danger and seriousness of sin. But here, here we see the tender love of God. Here Christ speaks truths that like a healing salve pour over our hearts. Here there are calming words of love for us.
Christ has often lead us with a firm hand in this gospel. He will continue to do this. The following passages are unpopular truths that Christ expects us to follow. But here, our Lord is soft and gentle. He expresses His love for His sheep. He promises pursuit and protection. If you are here and struggling with sin or even just the pain of life, I pray that this passage will wash over you with the love of the Lord. Let is aid you in bringing peace to your heart and soul. All Christians can hear this text and weep for joy that our Lord loves us with an unbreakable love. Nothing can separate us from God. We are held fast to Him by His strong and unshakable hand. Beloved, hear this passage and rejoice.
Reading of the Text:
Stand with me for the reading of the text. Matthew 18:10-14.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
The Word of God, let’s pray.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you for who you are. I am amazed by your faithfulness. Lord, when we are faithless, you are faithful. We can rest in you. When life is crashing over us like the waves of a storm, you are faithful. When we are joyful, you are faithful. When we are sad, you are faithful. You do not change. You hold us fast to yourself. Our salvation is not in our own strength but in you. You brought us to life and you will hold us fast. When we wander from you, we have the promise that you will bring us back. We love you Lord.
Thank you for this passage. Lord, the surrounding texts are hard. They are truths that challenge us and push us. Thank you for this reminder of your great love. May be reminded of the grace that you have given us and continue to give us. You are good. May we find peace in your word.
Give us the grace to hear and obey. Lord, if there are any here who do not know you, may you call them today. May they find the peace that all your sheep have in you alone. May they be saved today. May my heart find peace in this text. May I communicate the truth of your Word clearly and accurately. Help me to speak nothing against you or your Word today. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Transition:
John Calvin famously said, “The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.” I believe this is a fitting summary of this and passages like this. Jesus opens this passage by saying do not despise one of the little ones.
Do Not Despise One of The Little Ones.
Do Not Despise One of The Little Ones.
Explanation:
Remember, Jesus is using the illustration of a young child or a little one to represent Christians. He is speaking to the disciples and telling them not to despise one of these little ones. There is to be no hatred or desire for harm against other Christians. No ill desires are to be labored against them. We are to love and long for the best for our fellow sheep. Christians are to love one another. Scripture again and again labors this point.
Christ opens this passage with a statement of care. He teaches the disciples to care for the Christians they will be put in charge of. The Apostles will lead the church, and they are to lead it with love and care. They are not to despise the young ones who will come in. They will be bull headed and filled with mistakes. Yet, the apostles are told not to look down on or wish them harm.
Argumentation:
Sadly in all ages, including our own, there is much ill will within the church. There is bickering and anger. There is desire for harm. This is wrong and evil. Do not despise one of these little ones. There is no place for a desire of harm within the church. We are to strengthen and equip. Sadly, it is all too common for there to be a desire for destruction within the church. We are filled with unrighteous anger and animosity. Shepherds too often can lead with hatred.
Here is where I must explain what I do not mean, this does not mean that there is always soft fluffy words. Anyone who has ever loved anyone knows there is a mean side to love. You are mean about what you are protecting. There is a harsh side to protection. One will go to great measures to guard what one loves. There are also many moments of tough love. We will see this in our passage next week. But what this passage does mean is in those moments of tough love, there must never be any form of maliciousness.
We must never desire the harm or destruction of fellow Christians. However, this fits well with the idea of love. When someone disciplines a child, they are not to desire the harm of the child. They love them. They are always to seek the best for them. There is to be a deep and passionate love for fellow Christians. Even in fights, there is to be a desire for the betterment. There is no room for despising a fellow Christian.
Transition:
Jesus then gives reasoning for this. We are not to despise the little ones because of their angels. This is a passage that is speaking of guardian angels.
Guardian Angels.
Guardian Angels.
Explanation:
Right off the bat, I must clarify. This passage does not justify the belief that each Christian has their own specific guardian angel. We see that idea no where in Scripture. But this passage is teaching that there are angels who are assigned to Christians. Many commentators have attempted to narrow down how this works. Most seem to think that this means there are angels who generically watch over Christians. The angels are not distributed one to one with Christians but are assigned as needed. This seems to be the consistent view of Scripture. Calvin goes to the Psalms and paints a beautiful picture of how multiple angels may watch over single Christians at the Father’s bidding.
No matter the specifics, one this is sure. The angels are directed by the will of the Father. The angels tasked with watching over Christians are said by Jesus to “always see the face of His Father in heaven.” This is a beautiful image that speaks to being directly commanded by the will of God the Father. R.C. Sproul calls back the picture of Isaiah in the Temple, witnessing the glory of God. The angels are flying around declaring “holy, holy, holy.” These angels see the face of God and are directed by Him according to His will.
Argumentation:
This is a comforting picture. While there is not backing for the idea of personal guardian angel for every Christian, there is something better. We know there are angels assigned to Christians who are directly instructed by the Father to do His will. This brings great peace. God, who knows all and is supremely in control of all, commands His angels regarding His little ones. The Christian can rest easy knowing that the Father has myriads of angels at His command. He can send armies to the aid of His children.
Truly nothing can happen outside of His will. He is our sure guard and protector. We are under His sovereign care. Should the need arise, He can send armies to aid. We are under the direct protection of our great God. I believe Christians would not fear if they knew this. One is reminded of Elisha and his servant. The king of Syria had sent to capture Elisha. The servant looked and saw they were surrounded by the Syrian army. However, God had sent armies of flaming horses and chariots to protect Elisha and his servant.
This does not mean that we will never face pain or even death. What it means is that we can rest in the will of God who commands all things. He commands angels over His children. We can have comfort in God’s great power and supernatural armies.
An Explanation:
But where is verse 11? Some versions don’t include it, while others have it in brackets. In short, verse 11 is a quote from Luke 19:10. It is true that “The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.” However, this was not in the oldest manuscripts. This is another occasion of a scribe likely making a note. Likely he wrote Luke 19:10 in the margins because that verse is a great summary of this passage. A later scribe then did not notice that it was a station and simply included it.
Some wonder if this destroys the inerrancy of the Bible. It does not. Things like this are known as “textual variants.” There are slight differences in the manuscripts we have. These differences do not alter doctrine. The including of Luke 19:10 in no way changes the meaning of this passage. In fact, it is helpful to keep Luke 19:10 in mind with this passage. It is saying the same thing this passage is.
Beyond this, translators know what variations we have in our different manuscripts. Most are simply punctuation differences. The translators are very open and honest about the variants. This is the reason that there are marking or brackets showing the differences in manuscripts.
Finally, this does not alter our view of the inerrancy of Scripture because we do not believe the translations are inerrant. The Bible we are reading from is a translation. It is specifically the English Standard Version. It is a good translation. It is very accurate to the original Greek and Hebrew while maintaining it’s readability. But this is not the inspired, inerrant text. The doctrine of inerrancy is that the originals that were written by the Apostles and Prophets are inerrant. This is why the translators attempt to get as close to the original as possible. That is why the ESV does not include verse 11. Verse 11 is not in our oldest manuscripts so it is not included.
Transition:
We could spend all day talking about textual variants and the translation process, but let’s move on. Jesus next paints another comforting picture. He paints a picture of a Shepherd seeking his sheep.
Shepherd Seeking His Sheep.
Shepherd Seeking His Sheep.
Explanation:
Look again at verses 12-13. “12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” This is common imagery within Jesus’ teaching. He often uses a picture of sheep and a shepherd to paint pictures of salvation and sanctification. Many have attempted to discredit the gospel accounts by saying that they record Jesus’ example of the Shepherd and sheep differently. The answer is simple. Jesus used this example often. He would use the example of sheep and shepherd to show God’s election of the saved. Not one of the elect would be lost. All that God set out to save would come to Him. We see that in Luke and John’s gospel accounts. Jesus would use imagery of the sheep to show why some did not come to Him. He uses this in John’s gospel, explaining that the mob of Jews are not of His Father’s sheep. This is why they did not repent. All of the true sheep hear His voice and come to Him. There is no mistake in the gospel accounts. Jesus would simply use this illustration often.
Here in Matthew, Jesus uses this illustration to speak of the saved. He paints the picture of a full flock, minus one. One sheep has strayed and is in grave danger. In the safety of the guarded flock, sheep are not in danger. In the wilderness sheep are in grave danger. They could be drown or eaten. They could starve. Sheep are not smart animals. It seems that sheep are best at dying. They have no natural defences. They are rather helpless creatures. Therefore, it is a big deal when one is lost.
But Jesus appeals to the well known practice of all good shepherds. A good shepherd would leave the flock and go in search of his lost sheep. Many shepherds were not so fortunate to find their sheep alive. However, if they were to find the sheep alive, they would rejoice greatly. They would rejoice more over the one restored sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. The shepherd would be elated at the recovery of his lost sheep.
Illustration:
The picture given is of a sheep that wanders from the flock. They stray from where they were. While at other times Jesus used this example to speak of the lost who would be saved according to God’s will, here He is speaking of the saved who wander. He has been speaking of the little ones, Christians. He then spoke how it is wrong to despise Christians. Now He is explaining and showing a picture of a Christian who has lost their way. There is to be no ill will toward those who wonder.
Perhaps this is a picture of a Christian who has strayed into sin. They were there with the flock, but something has distracted them. They wandered away to pursue what caught their eye. They leave only to find that they are now lost. They are lone, chasing their sin. To me, this seems to be like a sheep caught in brambles. They are caught in their sins. They feel trapped and helpless. But the hope is found not in the sheep, but in the Shepherd. Christ is the good Shepherd. He leaves the ninety-nine. He goes to the sheep and pulls it from the danger. He lifts it onto His shoulders and carries it back to the flock. He mends it’s wounds. There is great rejoicing over the finding of that sheep.
Perhaps the sheep wandered because it’s eyes were downcast. Many Christians have strayed due to their internal pain. They are lowly and hurting. They pull away from the flock and find themselves on the cliffs of depression. They are trapped feeling no way of escape. Here too the hope is not in the sheep but in the good Shepherd. He comes to the sheep and lifts it from the cliff. He carries the sheep on His shoulders back to the flock. There is great rejoicing over the restoring of the sheep.
Perhaps still this sheep simply did not see the value of being in the flock. They felt they could do better on their own. The pride welled up within the sheep and it despised the other sheep. Hypocrites, it would call them. It left them and began to wander alone. However, on it’s own the sheep was in danger of being devoured by the wolf of pride and anger. It had no protection. It had no one to help it grow. The sheep was fully content within itself to continue alone, but here comes the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd knows that the sheep must be in a flock. So up He picks the sheep onto His shoulders and carries it back to the flock. There is great rejoicing over the restoring of the sheep.
Argumentation:
Perhaps there are many reasons sheep stray from the flock. But Christ will always come to find His lost sheep. He restores them. He lifts them on His shoulders and carries them home. There is no sheep that He will not go to find. There is no danger or snare He will not seek them from. He will not abandon one of them. They are His sheep, and He will carry them home. Though they stray a thousand times, He will retrieve them. He will lift them up every time and carry then home. Christ is the good Shepherd.
He has also entrusted under shepherds to care for His sheep. This is the role of the pastor. The pastor is a shepherd to the good Shepherd’s flock. Each is entrusted with sheep. The pastor must never despise the sheep. Though the sheep be dumb as sheep, he must never despise them. He is to love them as the good Shepherd loves them. This is why pastors must have patients with the sheep.
The pastor is to be as the good Shepherd is. They are to feed the flock and care for them. When a sheep wanders away, the pastor must call out to it. He must go to retrieve it. When the sheep wander into sin, the pastor must call the sheep out of the sin. When the sheep are lowly and wounded, the pastor must bring the bandages and help bind up the sheep. When sheep are filled with pride and leave the flock, the pastor must do his best to call the sheep back to the flock.
The pastor however has a hard task. Not all who are in the pen are sheep. Some are goats. The goats do not hear the voice of the good Shepherd. However, the pastor does not know who is a sheep and who is a goat. Only the good Shepherd knows this. Therefore the pastor must trust that the good Shepherd will call all of His sheep to Him. The pastor must simply be faithful in his task. The pastor must also guard the sheep. He must teach them to avoid the dangers and also drive away the wolves named heresy and false teacher. The pastor must be bold and brave, but he must never hate the sheep. The sheep are precious to the good Shepherd. The pastor is to love the sheep.
It is true that the pastor has a hard task laid before him. However, it is a beautiful task. It is hard because the sheep never see the weight on their shoulders. The sheep care not for the burden of their under shepherd. If the pastor leads them into hard land, they care not if it is to get to lush pastures. They see only the rocks they are currently treading. They do not see the beautiful mountain in the distance. They see the struggles now and begin to bellow and bleat angrily. Still the pastor must be patient. He must not despise the sheep even now. Even when the sheep seem to all try to go their own way, he must take his staff and try to pull them back. He must rest on the promise of His master, the good Shepherd. All the sheep will come to the good Shepherd. Even the bull headed ones.
The pastor is to be patient and kind, dangerous to wolves, passionate, bold in the truth. Calvin was right, “The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.” Feed the sheep the sound word of God. This is my goal here. I pray that from this pulpit you are fed good food. I pray that I rest in the arms of the good Shepherd and am a good under shepherd. And I hope that we all are good sheep to our very good Shepherd. I hope that we are all obedient and loving sheep to Christ. I pray that when He calls, we do not resist but head the call immediately. When He guides us, we follow. However, I pray we rest in the security of knowing that should we stray, our good Shepherd will come for us. He will bring us back to the flock.
Transition:
Jesus finishes this passage with one of the most encouraging statements in Scripture. Jesus speaks of the will of the Father.
The Will of the Father.
The Will of the Father.
Explanation:
Jesus says in verse 14, “So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” It is easy to identify that Jesus is still speaking of Christians. It is not the will of the Father than any Christian should perish. One of the questions is what does that word perish mean? It means to destroy, to lose, to die. So is this applied to physical death? Well, if we apply the three most important rules of determining the meaning of a text we will see. Those rules are context, context, and context. Because of the rest of Scripture, we know that it cannot mean physical death or destruction. All Christians face physical death. Therefore we see that this is continuing Jesus’ metaphor.
Christians are not physically sheep, but in a spiritual sense we are Christ’s sheep. We may face physical death, but we will never face spiritual death. It is the will of God that none of His sheep face Spiritual death. This fits with the rest of Scripture. But now comes the next question. What does this passage mean by the will of God?
The Preceptive Will of God.
The Preceptive Will of God.
In his commentary and various other places, R.C. Sproul gives three different ways the “will of God” is used in Scripture. The first is the Preceptive will of God. These are God’s commands or precepts. The ten commandments are an example of the preceptive will of God. “Thou shalt not,” or thou shalt.”
The Decretive Will of God.
The Decretive Will of God.
The second usage of the will of God in Scripture is the decretive will of God. The decretive will of God is what God decrees. Creation is an example of this. All that God decrees will come to pass. He decreed the universe into being and it came into being.
The Dispositional Will of God.
The Dispositional Will of God.
The third usage of the will of God in Scripture is the dispositional will of God. The dispositional will of God speaks to God’s disposition or desires. God does not desire for us to sin and break His preceptive will, but we do.
So the question is what form of will is this passage speaking of? I do not believe it can be the preceptive will of God. That does not fit the flow and context of this passage. God commands that not one of His little ones perish. If they do perish they are sinning? This is not in line with the context of the passage or the usage of the will of God. The picture is that of the Good Shepherd going and rescuing the one wandering sheep. Christ retrieves the one lost sheep and restores the flock to it’s full number.
Perhaps the dispositional will is slightly more natural in the reading of the text, but not by much. A reading of the text that says “God does not want any of His sheep to perish” paints a picture of a helpless God wringing His hands hoping none of His sheep die. This is not what we see in this passage. We see an active Shepherd going and rescuing His sheep. The will of the sheep is irrelevant. The Shepherd will rescue His sheep.
This is why the most natural reading of this text shows that it is the decretive will of God that none of Sheep perish. God has decreed that not one Christian will perish. This also is the testimony of the entirety of Scripture. In John 10:27-30 Jesus uses the example of sheep again. He says “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” It is clear in this text that Jesus is saying that not one Christian will ever face eternal death.
Again in John 6:37-40 says this, “37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” This is clearly the teaching of Scripture. Not one Christian will face hell. Christ will not lose one of the sheep the Father has given Him.
Argumentation:
The decretive will of God is that none of the sheep should perish. God has decreed that all true Christians will be saved. Not one of them shall perish. This is the comfort of the Christian. We know that God will raise us up on the last day. We may wander briefly from the flock but Christ will bring us back. We will be save, we will live with Christ forever.
This is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. All who are saved will be secure forever. This is the consistent narrative of Scripture. Our salvation does not rest on our own strength or will. Our salvation is the gift of God. Even our faith is the gift of God. This means that we are not saved by our actions and we do not stay saved by our actions. God brought us to Himself and He will hold us to Himself.
Now again I must tell you what I do not mean. For years there has been a trend in the church known as “once saved always saved.” On the surface these sound familiar, but they are used very differently. This passage is not teaching that anyone who walks an isle and prays a prayer will be saved and promised heaven. There are many false converts. The picture in the Bible is that of true sheep. A truly converted heart is a drastic change. The pictures given are being born, being brought to life, complete transformation. Salvation is a drastic change. Those who simply pray a prayer and then have no change are not saved. They have not been converted.
The promise of this passage and those like it is that those who are brought to life by the Spirit will never die. Those whom God calls, He carries. They may wander, but they cannot live in sin forever because God will not let them. He will come to them and carry them back to Himself. Not one will perish. This is not an easy believism. This is true faith. Those who come to Christ in faith will never fall away.
Transition:
And this is the message of this text. This is the beauty of this text. This is the application of this text.
Application:
Application:
Be comforted beloved.
Be Comforted.
Be Comforted.
Jesus is giving kind and comforting words. He is speaking loving words to all true Christians. If you are here and you are saved, then you should be comforted by these words. But perhaps you are here and you are not saved. Perhaps you are here and you fear that you should not be comforted. You don’t know if you are saved. If you are under the burden of your sins and wonder if you are a sheep, let me give you words of hope.
Salvation is found in Jesus. We are all sinners. We all deserve God’s wrath. There is no hope in your works. You cannot work hard enough or long enough or strong enough to save yourself. On your own there is no hope. But the Bible gives us hope. If you call out to Christ, you will be saved. Salvation is found in no other name. Trust in Jesus. Give up trying to be righteous on your own. You cannot. Turn away from your sin. Turn away from your pride and your self sufficiency. Turn to Jesus. Cry out to Him and be saved. Repent and trust in Christ and you will be saved. That is all it takes. Cry out, “Jesus save me.” You cannot do it on your own. You are dead and need to be brought to life. Only Christ can save you. If you will cry out to Him, you will be saved. Your sins will be forgiven, you will be washed white as snow. You will be held in the arms of the Good Shepherd. He will not drop you. He will hold you fast until the end. You will live forever with Him.
To all who are saved, there is great comfort in this passage. Perhaps you are here and you are weighed down. Perhaps the pains of this life are great. Perhaps you have strayed from the flock. Perhaps you have been trying to live in sin. Let go and give in to the arms of the Shepherd. Jesus has words of comfort for you. Angels watch over you.
Angels Watch Over You.
Angels Watch Over You.
You have angels in heaven who are charged with the care of Christians. They see the face of the Father and are always at His bidding. At one word from the Father, they will bear you up. They will protect you. Nothing can happen to you outside of the will of God. He is not lacking power or control. No army can stand against Him. No power can rival Him. Nothing will happen to you outside of His will. He has angels to watch over His children. Take comfort in this.
We also know that God will not let you perish.
God Will Not Let You Perish.
God Will Not Let You Perish.
He who has saved you will carry you home. You may face trials of all kinds in this life. You may face difficulty in marriage or family. You may face financial crisis. You may face workplace hardships. You may be beaten and surrounded on all sides, but you have a sure promise from God. He will not let you perish. You will never feel the fires of hell. You are promised heaven if you trust in Christ. Nothing will ever take you from salvation. You may be marched to the gallows for your faith. You may be run through with spears or swords. You may be crucified. You may be burned at the stake. However, you will feel the eternal bliss of heaven. You may face hardships and pains, but you will see the face of Christ as you enter into eternity.
This has been the hope of all true Christians for all time. This is the hope of the church! As the nails were driven into the hands and feet of Peter, he knew he would see his savior when the blood ran out. When Matthew felt the swords begin to pierce his body, he knew that within moments he would be reunited with Jesus. As Paul laid his head down on the block to be beheaded, he knew that soon he would hear the same voice that called to him on the road saying “well done!” This is the testimony of the church! All throughout church history the faithful have stood tall no matter the price for they knew they would never truly perish.
When Jan Huss marched up the pile of wood to his burning he knew that the savior would welcome him home. He knew that flames would burn him, but hellfire would never touch his soul. When Luther stood at the diet of worms, he knew he might be burned at the stake, but he know he would be taken home to be with Jesus. This is how he said, “Here I stand, I can do no other.” Even today in places like Egypt or Iran or China, this is what motivated the church. They know they are secure in the arms of Christ. They will stand for they know they are safe in the arms of the shepherd.
Communion:
This is what comforts us. Christ’s body was broken for us. Christ’s blood was shed for us. All who place their faith in Him are saved to the uttermost. This is what we remember in communion. We come to the Lord’s Table and commune with Jesus in remembrance of His sacrifice for us. Through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, we are forgiven. Communion is a physical remembrance of this. We physically remember why and how we are saved. This is why communion is only for Christians. Communion is a comfort to the saved but a condemnation to the unsaved. To the saved, it reminds us of the comfort we have in Christ.
If you are saved, come and receive the body and blood.
Paul says in his letter to the Corinthian church,
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Take the break in remembrance of Christ.
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Take the cup in remembrance of Christ.
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Lets pray.
Prayer:
Closing Hymn:
Closing Benediction:
Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.