Authentic Humility

Good morning, everyone. My name is James. It's nice to be with you this morning.

Have you ever been deceived by something? Something that seemed authentic, but it turned

out to be fake? It may have seemed flashy and exciting, but it wasn't the real deal.

I remember when Alyssa and I first visited China. We went to Beijing about 10 years ago,

and we were struck by the food. It was so different to what we had grown up eating.

What we thought authentic Chinese food was, was wonderful dishes like Mongolian lamb,

satay chicken, beef and black bean. These are kind of classic Chinese dishes, authentic Chinese

dishes, or so I thought. These meals usually had four parts, a meat, sauce, rice, and onion.

That was the important fourth part. That's what I thought authentic Chinese food was for years.

And then, we visited Beijing, and it was totally different. We saw what authentic

Chinese food was. First of all, the meat was often on the bone, and you would eat the meat off the bone

and spit the bone out. And that was totally new to me at the time. And at the time, I remember

thinking, I know I'm in China, but this somehow doesn't seem authentic. I'm spitting bones out,

you know. It's not like what I've had at home. And where's the onion? I couldn't find it anywhere.

But then I realized, this was the real stuff. That's where the authentic, awesome flavors come

from. And now, Alyssa and myself and our kids, we love trying all kinds of different foods. I'm not

just restricted to that, you know, very Western, satay chicken style dish, even though I still do

love it. If you think also that you've got the most authentic dish, I'm happy to try it. You can

bring that in for me next week. No, no hands going out? No, fine. I was deceived into thinking that I

knew what real food was. We can be deceived into thinking we know what authenticity looks like.

It is often far more humble than we imagine. This is the same following Jesus. There is the real and

authentic good news about Jesus, that He died for us, that our sins are forgiven, that we are brought

into God into God's family. And this has nothing to do with us. It is all a gift of God's grace.

But we can also be deceived. We can be distracted by flashier versions. A gospel that might seem more

exciting, but is actually just fake. We've been going through the book of 2 Corinthians over the last

10 weeks or so. As we're coming to the end, Paul, he is really worried about this new little church in

Corinth. We could summarize this whole letter of 2 Corinthians as, don't be deceived. This church

has been deceived by preachers who have come in, people that Paul calls super-apostles. And the church

in Corinth was in danger of following a different fake version of Jesus, one that was not authentic.

And Paul calls them back, and he's going to show that he was not a fake apostle, but he's the real deal.

He's the real apostle to the real Jesus. And he'll show that the real deal often doesn't look flashy.

It doesn't look powerful. Paul is humble because it is God that has the power. And so today for us,

we're going to consider whether we've been deceived and whether we're following the real Jesus.

And we're going to make sure that we're following the real Jesus and make sure that we're not deceived

by other things going on around us in our culture. So please have your Bibles open to 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. It'll also be on the screen, but it's always good to have your Bible open in front of you.

Paul is going to hold up his ministry, and he's going to compare it with the super-apostles.

And he's not just defending himself, but he's also teaching this little church

to be able to discern what an authentic teacher looks like. I've got the button somewhere. Here we go.

So first of all, we're going to see what the authentic teacher looks like. From chapter 10,

verse 1,

Paul doesn't come out fighting against the super-apostles as they would. He doesn't wage a war

of words. He comes as the clay jar, weak and breakable. He comes like Jesus. He comes with

the humility and gentleness of Christ. That's how he will rebuke and restore. He speaks with

gentleness, giving this church an opportunity to repent. He's not bringing condemnation.

He comes with humility, not weakness, but patience, because he knows that God has had

patience with him. And this is a bit strange, but Paul also comes begging. This is the leader,

the apostle who planted this church, and he comes begging, because there are more important things

than his own feelings. There are more important things than his own shame and the desire to save face.

He comes begging. Chapter 10, verse 1 again,

I appeal to you, I, Paul, who am timid when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I'm away,

I beg that when I come, I may not have to be as bold. Paul wants them to repent. Repent,

come back to the authentic Jesus, so I don't have to be bold with you. I beg you, come back to Jesus,

because if they don't, Paul will come with all of God's power. Not just in the flashiness and a powerful

speech of the super-apostles, but he'll come with God's divine power, which, verse 4 says,

can demolish strongholds. These super-apostles had come in, and they'd looked powerful and flashy,

and so the church in Corinth had judged by appearances. They saw that on the outside,

these super-apostles had flashy speech. They were really persuasive, and the church judged them

like judging a book by its cover. They don't see them for who they are, and so Paul, instead of just

judging the book by its cover, he's going to open this book. Okay, well, let's consider who these super-apostles

are, and let's compare them with a real, authentic, humble apostle. Verse 12,

we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure

themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. These super-apostles

have come in, and they're comparing themselves with each other. Hey, you look great. Hey, you look great,

too. Oh, you know, look, do you know what? Let's pat each other on the back. Do you know what? How about

I write you a letter of recommendation, and I'll write you a letter of recommendation, and then we

can give them to each other, and we will look great ourselves. Aren't we great here? They're boasting

in themselves. This is not wisdom. This is just foolishness. Instead, what does an authentic

apostle do? Verse 13, we, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting

to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us. Paul boasts in what God has given him.

This is the church of Corinth. It's these people themselves, but these super-apostles are just

boasting beyond limits. Boasting of what God has done through Paul and through others. But Paul's boast

isn't about what he has done. It's about what God has done in them. And Paul closes this off. If you want

to know who an authentic teacher is, an authentic teacher and apostle of God is, you should ask God

himself. Verse 18, it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord

commends. Who is God commending? The church might not think it was Paul because they've been judging by

appearances. Paul has suffered and he has looked weak. As we've seen, as we've gone through this book of

2 Corinthians, Paul looks weak to the eyes of the world. But that's just outward appearance.

And Paul here is identifying closely with Jesus. Christ, Jesus, is the one who was commended by God

even though he died. God raised him from the dead. And Paul, his work in ministry is very much like what

Jesus did. In chapter 10, verse 1, he appealed with humility like Christ. And in the second half of

chapter 11, which we didn't read, Paul leans into how foolish people think he looks. And I can't help

but when I read this, it just reminds me of Christ's sufferings. Paul is saying, if you think I'm a fool

compared to these super apostles, guys, let me be up front. I am a much bigger fool than you realize.

You guys have got no idea how ridiculous I look. Let me be completely humble. Let me be completely

up front. I will tell you how I look. Because Paul says, I know my worth because Jesus himself loves me

and has given me a message to preach. And it's not because of how the world views me. And so Paul

makes this big list of how foolish he is in the eyes of the world. It's not going to be on the

screen. I'm going to go through it fairly quickly, but it's from the second half of chapter 11,

from verse 21. Have a look in your Bibles or on your phone.

Whatever anyone else dares to boast about, I'm speaking as a fool, I also dare to boast about.

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.

Are they servants of Christ? I'm out of my mind to talk like this. I am more. I have worked harder.

I've been in prison more frequently. I have been flogged more severely. I've been exposed to death.

Five times I received 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was pelted with

stones. Three times I've been shipwrecked. I spent a day and a night in the open sea. I've been

constantly on the move. Danger in rivers. Danger from bandits. Danger from fellow Jews. Danger from

Gentiles. Danger at sea. Danger on the land. Danger from false believers. I've labored and toiled and

gone without sleep. I've known hunger and thirst and have gone without food. I've been cold and naked.

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Who is weak and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin and I do not burn inwardly?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

This is radical, authentic humility here from Paul. These are things that you would hide away.

But Paul has endured much so he could spread the gospel. And he was able to do this because his

identity is fully in God. He is not worried about how the world is perceiving him.

He knew he was commended by God. And he's gone to great lengths to give this church a framework,

how to judge who an authentic teacher is. What is a teacher boasting about? Are they boasting about

themselves? Or the power of God to use even a weak clay jar? Are these teachers more concerned with

style over substance? Are these teachers more worried about outward appearance compared to how they

appear to God? Are they more worried about looking weak because they're trusting in themselves instead of

trusting God? I think this is a helpful framework for us as well. Who are the people that we are following?

And what is driving us to be like them? Do you know the people that you are following?

Is there someone in your life that you are seeking to follow in your Christian walk?

And who are we becoming ourselves? Are we ourselves becoming authentic followers of Jesus with humility?

Or are we becoming people who are just a bit fake and flashy? If we've got kids, our kids copy the way

we behave. They copy the bits that we want them to copy. And they also have this wonderful knack of

picking up all our bad habits too. You can tell me about all those stories later. If you have younger

siblings, they often look up to older siblings and they want to emulate older siblings.

You might love the way, you know, our dear brother Nick Freestone plays the guitar. And so,

you know, you see him on stage and you go, I want to play guitar like Nick. And so you start dressing

like him. You know, you wear a lot of scarves like Nick does. Notice he's not wearing a scarf today. It's

getting warmer. And so we emulate those that we want to be like. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11,

to follow me as I follow Christ. And so this is a good thing that God has given us older brothers

and sisters in the faith to follow as they are following Christ. And it's good for us to be aware

of who we are as people are following us too. I'm the next gen pastor here at St. Paul's,

and that means I'm the leader of our kids in our youth ministries. They follow me even if they

don't realize it. The things that I talk about and value, they start to talk about and value.

One of my favorite things to do, and one of my favorite parts of ministry, is working with our

young preachers. Those at our Friday afternoon Kids Club Boom, those at Kids Church on a Sunday

morning and Fridays. I love working with our young preachers. But it's always daunting when I give

advice. You know, I'll say something like, you know, when you're preaching, you could say something

like this. Let me just spitball, here's some ideas of what you could say. And then when I'm listening to

them, I hear my words come out of their mouth. And it's always scary for me. Because I have this area

of influence in my ministry. And so, for me, it's important that with this influence, that I have

humility like Paul, and don't become overconfident like the super apostles. Imagine if I started to

think like them, that it was all about me, and boasting the influence I would have in a damaging way.

I know that people are following me. I've got three kids, and they're following me, and I've got

this area of influence in ministry. And so, I need to make sure that I'm walking following Jesus,

so that I am commended by God. And for me, I also need to be walking following someone else.

And so, one of the things I've been doing recently is, I'm seeking a new mentor,

so that they can keep me accountable. Someone that is following Christ.

So, two questions for us here at this point. Who are you following? And who is following you?

Who is making an appeal to you to follow Jesus, just like Paul does to this church?

Who have you given permission to, to speak words into your life that says, actually,

you've been deceived here, you need to come back to Jesus?

To call us out when we're running away, when we've been deceived.

And are you becoming someone like Paul,

who is humble, and who is aware of how God has gifted him,

and someone that is worth following?

Wouldn't it be terrible if we

became fake, or found out that

that we love those who are preaching and presenting a fake gospel,

and we'd gone off

treasuring the wrong type of Jesus,

and people had followed us?

The church in Corinth had been

deceived,

and they'd begun to follow the wrong people.

Paul says, judge what God commends,

not the world.

Look at the ministry I've been involved in.

It's about you,

not about me.

And the church needed to step back and reassess

who they were following,

just like we need to.

Now,

this is also really helpful,

I think, for all of us,

to see how Paul reacts to these super apostles.

He could have defended his position

out of fear.

You know,

he is the apostle,

and all of a sudden,

his apostleship is being brought into question.

He could have gotten really aggressive.

He could have used his power

to reinforce that he was the apostle,

and these guys were just fake.

But he's not worried about himself,

because authentic humility

focuses on the gospel.

Authentic humility focuses

on the good news of the gospel.

From chapter 11, verse 2,

Paul is so concerned for this church

and where they're heading,

that he doesn't want them to be deceived

from what they had believed.

They had this pure devotion to Christ,

but it's all changed

because of these false teachers

that have come in.

And they've been so deceived

that in verse 4,

Paul can say

that the Jesus they're following,

well, it's a totally different Jesus.

It's not the real Jesus.

They are following a different version of Jesus.

Paul says,

you've been promised to God,

and Paul describes it like a marriage,

and he's the maid of honor.

You think about the maid of honor,

you know, maybe a girlfriend,

and she's got this friend,

and she's introduced it to this guy,

and she's so excited to see them get married.

Paul is saying,

he's that friend,

he's the maid of honor.

He has introduced this church in Corinth

to God,

and he really wants them

to get to the end,

to see the marriage of the church to Jesus.

He doesn't want them to be deceived

and to run away.

And what Paul is saying is,

he wants them to be ready

and to wait for Jesus,

but instead,

they've run off

with a poor,

rip-off version of Jesus.

It's like every kind of romantic comedy

where somebody gets left at the altar.

Paul is so worried

that the church of Corinth

is going to leave Jesus at the altar

and run off with the bad guy.

A poor, rip-off version of Jesus.

Just as the serpent deceived Eve

away from following God,

these teachers are inciting the church away.

Paul calls them Satan's servants

in verse 14 and 15.

That is incredibly strong language.

In Genesis 3,

the serpent deceived Eve

with cunning and deceptive speech.

And these false teachers

are doing the same thing.

They're deceiving this church

with cunning, deceptive,

but very attractive preaching.

But it's a fake gospel.

Now, it's not exactly clear

what their different version of Jesus was,

but it's likely that they have added

to the requirement of faith in Jesus.

Faith in Jesus is a really wonderful thing.

I think we can make the word faith

a little bit too mystical sometimes.

Faith is trusting in someone's promises.

So, for Alyssa and I,

when we got married 12 years ago,

whatever it was,

we made promises to each other.

And so, I am faithful

when I keep those promises.

And Alyssa can have faith

that I will trust in those promises.

That's what faith is.

God has made promises to us

that Jesus has died for us

and that our sins are cleansed.

And so, we trust in God's promise.

So, we can have faith.

Jesus has promised

that our faith will lead

to being in heaven with Him.

And so, faith looks like trusting

in God's promise.

But here, it seems like

these super apostles have come in

and added to trusting in God's promises.

Whether it was circumcision,

whether it was following the law

or something else.

In one sense,

it seems to make Christianity

seem easier.

Do these things,

follow these laws,

cut off this skin,

and it's all taken care of.

But Paul is so angry

because it destroys

what is good about the gospel.

That God's love for us

is a gift.

One that cannot be earned.

Knowing Jesus Himself

is so important to Paul

for this church,

he doesn't even want to be

a financial burden on them.

From verse 12,

I will keep on doing

what I am doing

in order to cut the ground out

from under those

who want an opportunity

to be considered equal with us.

Paul's saying,

these super apostles

are going to come in,

they're going to take your money,

and they're going to give you

a rip-off,

poor man's version of Jesus.

But I'm going to come in,

I'm not going to,

I don't want to take your money.

I've got a church in Macedonia

that's supporting me.

All because he wants

to give them Jesus.

There were false teachers then

that this church

needed to be aware of,

but the reality is,

even for us today,

there are

different versions of Jesus

out there.

You'll encounter people

knocking on your door,

wanting to tell you

about a different version

of Jesus.

Jesus.

You'll hear other versions

of the Son of God.

And so,

I've got four questions

for us

to help us

identify whether

someone is presenting

an authentic Jesus,

or whether

they've got a totally

different view of Jesus.

So,

four quick questions

for us.

The first question

to help us identify

whether someone is

presenting a fake Jesus,

is,

what is their source?

is,

anything other

than the Bible

is not reliable.

2 Peter 1 says

that we don't follow

cleverly invented

stories about Jesus,

but we follow

eyewitness truth.

Someone might come

and say,

I've had a dream

about Jesus,

and so you need

to follow this

instead.

But if it's not

consistent with

the Bible,

the Jesus who is

presented to us

in the Bible,

we don't follow

that Jesus.

The second question,

what is the message?

For the authentic

teacher,

Jesus is at the

very centre

of the good news,

of the whole Bible.

For the fake

teacher,

Jesus will be there,

but He'll often

be over to one

side.

The message

will be about

something else,

and they'll just

plug Jesus in.

The message

might be about

making you really

great.

Do you know what?

If you follow

Jesus,

you can be the

best version of

you,

and it's all

about you,

and let's make

you great,

and let's get

you as much

money as you

can,

and let's make

you successful.

And we hear

that,

we can think,

yes,

I want to,

do you know

what?

I would like

money,

and I would

like to be

successful,

and Jesus is

going to help

me do that.

But the problem

with that gospel

is,

that is not good

news about Jesus,

that is good

news about

to make us

great,

but Jesus

himself is

great,

and we get

to follow

him.

The third

question to

help us to

understand whether

it's a real

Jesus or a

fake Jesus,

is what is the

character that

is produced?

True humility

will,

true teachers

will seek

humility,

holiness,

and gentleness,

whereas these

super apostles have

been boasting

outside,

themselves.

And so,

what is the

character that

is produced

for us?

Lastly,

what is the

reason for

the message?

The authentic

teacher asks,

what does God

have to say in

his word to

me today?

The fake

teacher asks,

well,

what do people

want to hear?

What is flashy?

What's going to

get in a big

crowd today?

What's going to

make this church

in Corinth grow?

And then I'll

add a Bible

verse onto that

or I'll stick

Jesus in there

somewhere.

No,

no,

no,

what does

God have to

say to us

today?

We should not

be naive to

think that

everyone who

says that they

follow Jesus

is following

the same

Jesus.

But we can be

prepared to

understand who

Jesus is from

the Bible and

to question other

people's view of

Jesus.

It's not just

teachers that can

deceive us away

from following

Jesus.

This church in

Corinth had

confused outward

appearance with

God's blessing.

Paul has

corrected their

view and shown

what a humble

and authentic

apostle looks

like.

But we can be

deceived too from

our culture around

us.

We can think a

certain picture of

success is God's

blessing.

So, you know,

this is what it

looks like to be a

Christian.

Or this is what

it looks like to

be a successful

church based on

how our culture

defines success.

We can think,

you know, I

should be this

good by now.

If I'm a

Christian, well, I

shouldn't really

sin in all of

these ways.

I should be this

mature.

I've been a

Christian for 15

years, so I

should look like

this.

And, you know,

when I share my

feelings and my

problems and my

issues with my

non-Christians,

they're always

like, why aren't

you a Christian?

Shouldn't you be

better than this?

I shouldn't have

to deal with this

sin.

And the church,

well, our

society and our

culture defines

success by size

and numbers.

And so, shouldn't

my ministry that

I'm involved in be

bigger?

Shouldn't my

church be bigger?

Shouldn't my

ministry be the

best?

Because that's

what success looks

like in our

culture.

But we can

judge by

appearances and

not how God

judges.

We need to be

aware of how

our culture defines

success and make

sure that we don't

bring that into the

church.

Remember, this

church had

super apostles that

wanted to look

powerful, but Paul

looked weak.

I think a common

way we can be

deceived is thinking

that success looks

like a size of

a church.

We judge so

often based on

size and

turnover in

companies and

in business that

we can judge by

outward appearance

as if this was

the best way to

test whether

something was a

faithful, authentic

church that's

faithful to God's

call to make

disciples.

disciples.

We have this

temptation to jump

on a treadmill of

competition and

comparison over the

size of a ministry or

over the size of a

church, thinking that

bigger must always

equal better, or

that a church of this

size, maybe a

smaller church is

better, and so we

shouldn't change.

But a small church

can be healthy

following an

authentic Jesus, but

a small church can

also be deceived.

A big church can

be healthy following

God, but a big

church can be

deceived too.

I've loved seeing

some of the markers

of a healthy church

here recently.

Seeing all the

stories of people's

lives, how they've

been changed by

Jesus.

In our social

media, on

Facebook, and in

the weekly

communication.

I've loved seeing

what God has been

doing.

I've loved seeing

that here, we are

not pursuing a

Jesus to make

ourselves look

great, but because

Jesus is wonderful.

He is truly great

and generous.

And there is

truly nothing better

to do than to

treasure Him.

And that is what

success looks like as

a church.

When we joyfully get

to treasure God

together.

What we have been

doing this morning,

that is what a

successful church

looks like.

When we are doing

that more and more

each week, instead

of treasuring

ourselves more.

I've been reading

about the history of

the church in China

recently.

And I've been reading

about the Taiping

Rebellion in the

1850s.

Has anybody heard of

the Taiping Rebellion

that happened in

China in the 1850s?

There's one hand up

in the corner.

Thank you.

Oh, there's a couple.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

It was led by a man

named Hong

Xiuquan.

And he received

a pamphlet with

information about

Christianity from

the Bible that had

been spread around

by Christian

missionaries in

China.

And while it

seemed like he

became a Christian

and wanted to see

China become a

Christian country,

he was following

a different version

of Jesus and a

different version of

the gospel.

He believed that

God wanted him to

found a heavenly

kingdom on earth.

He argued that

Jesus wasn't equal

with God.

You had God and

then you had Jesus

and then he was

next.

This man,

Hong Xiuquan.

And he had dreams

and visions that he

was to slay demons

and lead God's

kingdom.

He had been

deceived and had a

twisted version of

the good news of

the gospel.

And he'd made it

all about himself.

He believed dreams

which contradicted

the Bible, which

set himself at the

top.

Now, we might not

think that we will

be deceived into

thinking that we

need to lead a

rebellion here in

Chatswood.

Is anybody wanting

to lead a rebellion

in Chatswood?

Maybe not.

But we can

be deceived into

thinking that

Christianity is all

about me.

Maybe we won't

make ourselves

just a rung

lower than Jesus,

but we will make

ourselves think that

God's purpose is

for me to look

good.

We place ourselves

over God's word

and we ignore the

parts that we don't

like.

Instead of humility

and accountability,

we'll fool

ourselves into

thinking that we

are okay on our

own.

We focus on our

own little kingdom

in Sydney instead

of on God's

kingdom.

Let's be a church

that is humble,

knowing that God

has chosen to love

us, not because we

are attractive, but

because He is

wonderfully generous.

Let's be people who

are willing to

encourage and

correct others and

be people who are

corrected ourselves.

Let's be people who

long to follow Jesus

and not be deceived

into following a

fake Jesus that

makes it all about

us, but the very

Son of God who

reveals His Father

to us.

Let me pray.

Dear Heavenly

Father, Lord, I

thank You that You

are indeed a good

and generous God,

that You sent Your

Son who lived

with utmost

humility, who went

to the cross with

humility, who

suffered even

though He is

God, who is

immensely powerful.

God, we thank You

that Your Son

suffered for us

and that You have

raised Him from the

dead so that we

can be brought into

Your family.

Heavenly Father, we

ask that You would

help us to be

people who are

not deceived into

following a

different version

of Jesus.

Give us people

who are speaking

to our lives

to keep us

accountable and

Father, help us

be aware that we

are all,

regardless of age,

people who have

others following

us.

Help us to be

like Paul, to

follow You as

other people follow

us, so that You

would have all of

the glory.

God, we pray

this in Your

Son's name.

Amen.

One way that we

show our need

and our humility

for Jesus,

towards Jesus,

is with the

physical sign of

the Lord's Supper

or Communion.

This is a regular

time in church

where we eat

bread and drink

juice to remember

that Jesus'

body and blood

has been given

and poured out

for us.

And so we're

going to celebrate

communion today.

If you've got

children with

you, please,

this is our

family meal

together.

If you would

like them to

partake in the

wafer and the

juice, please

do that.

And please,

children, I

want to encourage

you to reflect

on your hearts,

kids.

The gospel isn't

just for adults,

it is for all

of us.

And we all need

to come before

God in humility,

dependent on God.

So we're going

to say the

words of a

confession on

the screen

together.

Kids, you can

say this too.

Let's say this

loudly, knowing

that we need

God's help.

Let's pray.

Our Father in

heaven, you

have loved us

with a love

that lasts

forever.

But we have

often gone our

own way and

rejected your

will for our

lives.

We are sorry

for our sins,

and turn

away from

them.

For the

sake of

your Son

who died

for us,

forgive us,

cleanse us,

and change

us.

By your

Holy Spirit,

enable us

to live for

you and to

please you

in every

way.

For the

glory of

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Amen.

In

1 John,

it says that

if we claim

to be without

sin, we

deceive

ourselves,

but that

if we

confess our

sins, he

is faithful

and just

and will

forgive us

our sins

and purify

us from

all unrighteousness.

As a way

of showing

our allegiance

to Jesus

and our

dependence on

him, we

come to

the Lord's

Supper,

where we

will eat

and drink

bread and

juice together,

remembering

his life,

death,

and resurrection.

Jesus, who

on the night

he was

betrayed, he

took bread,

and when

he had

given thanks,

he broke

it, and

he gave

it to his

disciples,

saying,

take and

eat.

This is

my body

which is

given for

you.

Do this

in remembrance

of me.

After

supper, he

took the

cup, and

again giving

thanks, he

gave it to

his disciples,

saying,

drink this,

all of

you.

This is

the blood

of the

new covenant,

which is

shed for

you and

for many

for the

forgiveness

of sins.

do this

as often

as you

drink it

in remembrance

of me.

And so

we're going

to celebrate

this now.

I'd like

to invite

our helpers

to come

and hand

out the

juice and

the bread.

Take this

and hold

on to

this.

We're going

to all

eat and

drink together.

Kids,

don't eat

it just

yet.

Hold

on to

it.

Don't

crack

the cups.

They're

fragile.

And as

you take

this moment,

just spend

a moment

meditating on

how God

has been

good to

you.

Amen.