Communion Service

0:00 Good afternoon again everybody. It is a privilege to share with you this afternoon as we meet around the Lord's table together. Now maybe depending on your background or what context you grew up in, maybe you've heard it called communion or Holy Communion or the Eucharist or Mass or the Lord's table. Or maybe you've never heard of any of these before and that's okay too. but this meal has been a central part of Christian worship right from the very beginning. Many things have changed in the church over its 2,000 odd year history but this has remained throughout. It's a central part of our connection with God. It's core and it is key because it reminds us, it refocuses us, it brings us back to the central tenant of our faith.

1:04 The bread and the wine are symbols to cause us to remember Jesus, to remember his sacrifice on the cross, to remember his body beaten and his blood spilled, and as we sang, to remember that the grave couldn't hold him and that death did not defeat him. This morning I want to share around the idea of the Lord's table and I want to extend that metaphor a little bit to look at four tables this afternoon that the Lord invites us to dine at. So I'll share the four with you and then we'll go through each one in turn. The first one is this, a table of grace, a table of grace. Second one is a table of forgiveness, table of forgiveness. The third table is one of peace in the midst. And finally, we have a table of acceptance and belonging. And as we reflect on these and then share communion together, I've sensed in my time of prayer and preparation for today that the Lord wants to lead each of us to a place of encounter and response.

2:38 It's not that the bread and wine are magical or turn into some mystical thing. They just remain bread and wine. But this is also not just a ritual. It's not something that we do as just a matter of routine or just to tick a box and say, yep, I've got that one covered. It's not something that we should be frivolous or casual with. Sharing communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Around the Lord's table. Is a sacred opportunity.

3:26 To have a life changing encounter. With our Lord and Savior. A moment of intimacy. with our Father through the blood of Jesus and in the power and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. And not just a transient moment that's great at the time and then as soon as we walk out the doors or maybe when we pick our kids up it all goes back to normal and it's as if nothing happened but a moment that has the potential to change us a little bit. to bring hope where there wasn't hope before or maybe a moment of healing or direction or a change of perspective or maybe a correction maybe a moment of surrender of renewing of refreshing it's my heartfelt prayer that each of us, me included would walk out of here today a little bit different more in awe of God more in love with God more surrendered to his will and with a greater faith and trust in him allow me just to pray for another little moment just before we dive in to look at the tables Lord we thank you for your word we thank you that it's a lamp to our feet and a light to our path And I pray as we open your word together, Lord,

5:08 I invite your Holy Spirit to come and speak to each of us personally, Lord, in the gentle and loving way that you do. And I pray that you would lead each of us this morning to that place, ultimately that place of surrender and trust. And I just ask that you would have your will and your way in our hearts this morning, Lord, and it would all be for your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So I want to start by looking at the table of grace, the table of grace. And I thought no better scripture to dive into around this than where we have been parked for a number of months in the book of Ephesians.

5:58 So we're going to read a little bit from Ephesians chapter 2. Now, if you have been well behaved, then you may well have read this scripture as part of your study guide, I don't know, maybe six or seven times in the last number of months. I will confess I am not that well behaved. But I'm saying that to say you may have read this quite a lot recently. But don't let the familiarity of it steal just the wonder and the awe of what Paul is saying to us here in these words when he says, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. Following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages, this bit just completely blows my mind, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

7:44 For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. What Paul is so clear about here and what distinguishes Christianity from all of the other religions in the world is that righteousness before God cannot be earned. It is only by the preemptive grace of God and his goodness and in his mercy that we can stand before him as righteous today. In probably the most well-known passage of scripture about communion in 1 Corinthians 11, there's a statement that Paul makes there that can be difficult to understand. When he says, Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. I can't make any claims to be a theological expert.

9:13 but if you permit I'd like to offer a little thought on these words in the context of what we just read in Ephesians. If I examine myself and think I haven't done such and such this week or I've given so much this month to church or I was really nice to that really annoying person at work this week I've earned enough Christian points this week okay my balance is positive I've maybe done a few things made a few mistakes but I've made up for it and more with it if that's the result of my examination I've completely missed the point when we examine ourselves we should find that we are totally unworthy unfit and unqualified take at this table, but for the grace of God. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Before we could do anything or had done anything for him, God extended his grace to us. Unmerited, unearned, undeserved, outrageous grace.

10:52 We cannot earn, perform, or deserve our way to a seat at the Lord's table. It's only by grace. But let me emphasize this too. It would also be an unworthy manner to be casual, to be frivolous, to be complacent with the grace of God. You know, Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? No, by no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it?

11:40 And a couple of chapters later he says these words which sometimes we like to quote a lot. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. But there's a comma not a full stop because it says who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit there is no condemnation but if we are truly in Christ Jesus not walking according to the flesh we will not be casual and complacent with the grace of God of course we'll mess up Of course we'll make mistakes. Hourly if not daily. But there's a big difference. Between struggling. And having a willful disdain.

12:38 And I would almost go as far as to say the word. To abuse the grace. Of God. Anyone who's ever tried to discipline. Children. Will know the difference. between a sorry and sorry. Just saying the sorry to escape the discipline, to escape the consequences

13:08 versus heartfelt repentance. You see, if we ever think that our good behavior qualifies us to take communion, We've misunderstood the gospel. But equally, if we can be frivolous, casual, complacent with the grace of God, we've also misunderstood the gospel. Let me frame it like this. The only way to worthily eat at the Lord's table is to be a grateful, humble, repentant, surrendered recipient of the grace of God. Neither being complacent or casual with it, nor thinking we can earn it by our good behavior. And maybe as we come around his table of grace this morning, we need to reacquaint ourselves with his grace. Am I trying to earn it?

14:29 Am I trying to prove to God? Am I trying to prove to other people? Am I trying to prove to myself that I'm worthy of it? Or am I being complacent with it and taking his grace for granted? It's a table of grace. Second thing this afternoon is it's a table of forgiveness, a table of forgiveness. In 1 John chapter one, we read these words, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin.

15:10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The power of forgiveness is in the blood of Jesus. You know, forgiveness is one of the most transformative forces in the universe. It can bridge divides. It can restore relationships.

15:40 It can mend wounds. It can reunite families. And even it can bring health to our bodies. Let me read you this little portion of an article on the Hopkins Medicine website. It says, studies have found that the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health, lowering the risk of heart attack, improving cholesterol levels and sleep, and reducing pain, blood pressure, and levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. And research points to an increase in the forgiveness health connection as you age. There is an enormous physical burden to being hurt and disappointed, resulting in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and immune response. Those changes increase the risk of depression, heart disease, and diabetes, among other conditions.

16:43 Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health. Maybe this morning or this afternoon as we come to the Lord's table of forgiveness, maybe firstly we need to receive his forgiveness. What do we need to confess before his throne this morning? But not just to take the time to confess, but to wait long enough to receive his forgiveness, to have the burden of shame and of guilt removed as far as the east is from the west. Jesus died on the cross and rose again for our pardon and to defeat sin and the power of it in our lives. Maybe it's been a long time since you've experienced the forgiveness of God and there's a carrying of a guilt and a shame that needs to be lifted this morning. Or maybe you're here and you have never made that first decision to make Jesus Lord and Saviour of your life. Well, you can make that decision this morning by yourself, sitting in that seat.

18:18 Or if you want help, we have a team here with lanyards on. There's a prayer room at the back, but don't miss the opportunity to make that decision. But maybe as we receive his forgiveness this morning, we also need to make a decision To forgive. You know Jesus when he taught his disciples how to pray. He said forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgiving someone who has hurt. Betrayed.

19:04 Or abused us is incredibly difficult. it's far from our nature to want to do it. They probably don't deserve it. They maybe haven't even asked for it. They maybe haven't even acknowledged that they did anything wrong. Maybe we never see them anymore. Maybe we'll never see them again. Maybe they're even dead.

19:37 To forgive them, is not for their benefit. It's for ours. Hard as that may seem. The Bible teaches, and as we read a moment ago, medical science has proven the Bible to be true, that it is for our good and for our benefit to forgive. It's not about excusing or minimizing what they did. It's about us not living under the crushing burden of unforgiveness in our hearts. And maybe this morning as we come to his table of forgiveness and as we receive his forgiveness, we can trust God enough to take that step. And it's not something that's going to be one and done today.

20:34 It's maybe the first decision of a decision that's in day by day after that, of choosing to forgive. And maybe if I can say this with reverence and please understand, and I'll explain what I mean by it in a little second, but maybe that person that we need to forgive this morning is God. And not because he's done anything wrong, of course. I'm not suggesting that. But we can find ourselves in that place where we have a contention with him. Lord, why did you not? Why did you allow that to happen? And we take an offense in our heart.

21:25 and we just have a huff. I can't think of a better word. It's time to let that go this morning and time to allow him in to those places in our hearts. He wants to set us free from that at his table of forgiveness this morning. Our third table is a table of peace in the midst And I was greatly reassured this week to share on this. I had prepared some of this a number of weeks ago and then came to the early morning prayer meeting on Tuesday morning and Keith was leading it and he produced this Tim Keller devotional from the day before. And not only does it have the passage in it that I was going to share, but Tim Keller stole my point. of what I was going to share with you this morning.

22:26 And again, familiar words in Psalm 23. But don't let the familiarity steal the power of what the scripture says to us here. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

23:08 Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me. In the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You know, as we learned last week when Chris was sharing on Ephesians 6, our enemies are not people. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.

23:59 Our enemy right now might be fear and anxiety over a job or the lack thereof. It's maybe about a family member. It's maybe to do with sickness, ourselves, someone we love. Maybe our enemy right now is temptation and giving into it. Maybe it's doubt. Struggling with our faith, struggling to trust God. Maybe as we talked about earlier, doubting his goodness. Each of us know where our own personal enemy is right now.

24:41 Each of us know the battles that we face. Let me just read a little portion of that devotional from Tuesday morning. God has a celebration meal with us. Not after we finally get out of the dark valley, but in the middle of it. In the presence of our enemies. He wants us to rejoice in him in the midst of our troubles. God prepares a table in the presence of our enemies, of our troubles. You would think that the table would be in the green pastures or by the still waters.

25:25 It would be a lovely place for a nice picnic. No. It's in the presence of our enemies. The last thing that we want to do when we're faced with fear, anxiety, sickness, insecurity, stress, whatever it is, the last thing we want to do is attend a dinner party. I want to curl up in bed. And yet, here God lovingly lays the table. He prepares an extravagant dining table in the middle of our troubles where we can meet with him and commune with him. And he can bring peace and comfort to whatever situation we are going through.

26:20 He wants to give you peace in the middle of the storm. No matter what is going on around you. Even when it feels like you're surrounded and you can't go on anymore. God can bring us supernatural peace. The Bible talks about peace that passes understanding. In other words, peace that doesn't make any sense with all that's going on around us. But we have to choose to take a seat at his table in the midst. Fourthly, finally,

27:00 he has a table of acceptance and belonging. And I want to look at a story, one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament, although unfortunately I can never quite manage to say the name of the main character in it. He's Mephibosheth. I got a tooth out a couple of weeks ago as well, and that's making it even harder. But this story takes place not that long after King Saul and his son Jonathan have died on the battlefield. And David has ascended to the throne in Jerusalem. And David said in verse 3, we're in 2 Samuel 9. And David said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him?

27:55 Ziba the king said, There is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. The king said to him, where is he? So they go and find Mephibosheth. They bring him back to Jerusalem and in verse seven David says to him, do not fear for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father and you shall eat at my table always. And David organizes as we would call it these days a package of care for him. He gets and surrounded with him and his family with everybody to look after him. And then in verse 11 it says, So Mephibosheth ate at David's table.

28:41 Like one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah and all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem for he always ate at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. So many things I love about this story. The lessons that we can learn from how David treats Saul's family. You know, culture and tradition back then would have been if a new dynasty came to power, well then the new dynasty would clear out all the relatives of the old dynasty, right to the third and fourth cousins and all sorts of things. He would just massacre them all.

29:30 But David here instead extends kindness and grace and mercy to Saul's family. But the thing I love about this story the most is the metaphor of Mephibosheth for us. Because he was outside the royal family. He had no right to dine at the king's table. but even more than that he couldn't get there himself the only way he could get there was to allow himself to be carried to fully surrender and entrust himself to one greater than he and then when he was carried to that table

30:30 and sat with everybody else with his chair pulled in close no longer did his brokenness matter no longer was he defined by his weaknesses and by his failures when Mephibosheth sat at the king's table his brokenness was covered. His brokenness didn't disqualify him. What brokenness do we need to bring under his table of acceptance and belonging this morning? What guilt and shame are we carrying that we're worried about being exposed? What do we need to stop pretending about?

31:30 Pretending we've got it all together. We really don't. What deep, dark, broken recesses of our hearts do we need to allow the Holy Spirit of God into today? How can we stop trying to fit in, striving to belong and just be guests at the King's table? It's a table of grace.

32:15 it's a table of forgiveness it's a table of peace in the midst and it's a table of acceptance and belonging and I'm just going to invite the band they're going to join us again and in a little moment we're going to share communion together you can stay seated while the band sing and hand out the emblems but just before we do that I want to take a moment and allow the Holy Spirit of God to work in each of our hearts and it doesn't matter what I've said it matters what he's saying to each of us and to respond to him. So if you'll join me let's close our eyes and focus our hearts for a minute and I'm just going to lead us through these tables again and then I'm going to pray and then we'll sing and have communion together. And maybe in the stillness of these moments

33:41 maybe you need to come to his table of grace again this morning maybe you need to stop trying to be good enough and understand that it's only by grace maybe this morning you need to realise hold on a minute I've been being complacent here with the grace of God I'm not wholly surrendered to him maybe this morning as you approach his table of forgiveness you need to just dwell long enough to hear him say I forgive you

34:32 and the healing and the the lifting of shame and guilt that that brings. Maybe at his table of forgiveness, you also need to make a decision today to choose to forgive. Make a determination in your heart that you're going to make that choice every day. Maybe this morning, you need to make a choice to sit at his table and praise him and fellowship him with all hell breaking loose around you and find the peace that doesn't make any sense. Or maybe this morning you need to acknowledge your brokenness but know that it doesn't matter at the king's table. and find acceptance and belonging as we dine with him.

35:38 So Lord, we thank you for your love this morning. Thank you that you first loved us. And Holy Spirit, I just invite you in these moments of stillness and silence to draw each of us to that place of surrender. Let's just take a moment in his presence to respond to him. Lord, I pray for each of us. Wherever we find ourselves today, that you would help us set our hope on Jesus. He is our rock.

36:38 He is the only thing and person that we can trust. But I thank you that you set your heart on us first. And you loved us first. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.