Communion and Baptism Service - Observing Christ's Cross

Worship of God singing in Psalm 145, Psalm 145, the second version on page 444.

We're singing verses 1 to 6.

The tune is Warrington.

O Lord, thou art my God and King, thee will I magnify and praise.

I will thee bless and gladly sing unto thy holy name always.

Each day I rise, I will thee bless and praise thy name time without end.

Much to be praised and great God is.

His greatness none can comprehend.

We're singing verses 1 to 6 to God's praise.

We stand to sing.

Until my heart will fly and praise.

I will thee bless and gladly sing unto thy holy name always.

Each day I rise, I will thee bless and praise thy name time without end.

But surely grace and great God is.

His greatness none can comprehend.

His will ever miss and goodbye.

The mighty act.

I will sing of the glorious grace

The mighty act so done by thee

I will sing all the glorious grace

And honour all thy majesty

To thy wondrous works I will report

By them the might shall be extolled

Of all thy dreadful hearts, O Lord

And I thy goodness will unfold

Please be seated.

Well, we now come to what's a very pleasant baptism, an adult baptism.

We don't very often see that in our own context, but we still believe, of course, in the baptism of adults as well.

And Ian Don Campbell has come forward asking to take communion for the first time, and that's a wonderful privilege for us to have him come forward in that way with that desire.

But not having been baptized previously, it's necessary that baptism precedes taking communion in the order of things spiritually.

And so we've come to this point, and you yourselves today are witnesses, and also not just witnesses, but participants in the sense that you will be pledging silently your support for Ian Don as he comes now to be baptized.

So first of all, I'm going to ask you all to stand, and please remain standing until the baptism is over.

Ian Don, if you come forward, please.

I'll ask you some questions, and then I'll ask you to kneel there after the questions.

Right.

Do you believe in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, revealed in Scripture as the only true God and your God?

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and men?

Do you now pledge to live a holy life as God will enable you by His grace to His glory?

Thank you.

Just be a thank you.

First of all, we're going to engage in a word of prayer, asking the Lord to bless the ordinance.

Lord our God, we thank you for the sacraments you have given your church.

We know it's our privilege, Lord, always to participate and to be observers of baptism and of the Lord's Supper.

And we thank you today for the privilege that we are here to witness both and to participate in that appropriate way in the support we give to Ian Don,

and also in the way we participate in the Lord's Supper.

Bless these two as we pray, and bless now this water to its own sacred use as we use it in baptism.

We pray, O Lord, that Ian Don will know your blessing as he comes to offer himself to be baptized.

We thank you for the way that you have led him and the way you have brought him to know yourself.

And we thank you for the way that that encourages us as a congregation, that your Holy Spirit is active and at work in our midst.

We pray for him in the days to come, as he now comes to be baptized and as he will take communion with the rest of your people here today.

Lord, bless it to his own soul and bless it to ours also, that we may reflect upon it in days to come

and give our thanks to the God of all grace and comfort.

Receive our thanks now, we pray, and cleanse us from all our sin, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

I am Don Campbell, I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God.

May God bless you and keep you. May God make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May God lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Another word of prayer just to finish off.

Lord, bless what we have done now in your name,

and grant that you would continue to bless us through the remainder of this service.

We ask that you would forgive our sins as we confess them.

And in relation to what we see in baptism, Lord, we confess our need of being cleansed and washed

in the blood of Christ by the power of your Holy Spirit.

And so, receive our thanks now, and all we ask is in Jesus' name. Amen.

Bevan Calum Orlis-Smith will now read the word of God from Matthew 27, beginning at verse 27.

Well, we turn to God's word as we have it in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, taking up our reading there at verse 27.

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

You find it around page 1005, Matthew 27 at verse 27.

And then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.

And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.

They compelled this man to carry his cross.

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall.

But when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying,

You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself.

If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.

So also the chief priests, so the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,

He saved others, he cannot save himself.

He is the King of Israel.

Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him.

He trusts in God.

Let God deliver him now if he desires him.

For he said, I am the Son of God.

And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying,

Eli, Eli, Lema, Sapatani.

And some of the bystanders hearing it said, This man is calling Elijah.

And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine,

and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

But the other said, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom,

and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

The tombs also were opened,

and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection,

they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus,

saw the earthquake and what took place,

they were filled with awe and said,

Truly, this was the Son of God.

Amen.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

Let's engage now in prayer.

We'll call upon the Lord in prayer.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Almighty God, we thank you for this day and for all that takes place in it,

here in our witness,

both in the sacraments and in the word being preached.

Help us in our worship, we pray,

to know that we draw near to God

with the promise that he will draw near to us.

We thank you again for this day that you have set apart from the beginning of the creation,

a day that is set apart to be holy to the Lord,

and a day in which we find so many ordinances and privileges given to us.

We thank you for the gospel that draws us to you.

And we thank you for the way that you use it in bringing people to know yourself.

And we ask, O Lord, that today we will know your blessing

as we come once more around your word and under your word.

Help us to know that the things that we confess about you are truly sealed to our souls.

And bless us each one as we appear before you.

You know our thoughts, you know our hearts,

you know everything about us already,

and yet you would have us to come and pray to you and confess our sin and seek your cleansing.

Lord, bless us, we pray, as a congregation of your people.

And may this time of celebrating the Lord's Supper be used to our strengthening

and to our confirmation as a congregation,

that you take us as your people and that we take you as our God.

We ask, Lord, that your blessing will follow us

in all that we seek to do in your name in this community.

And we do ask, O Lord, that you would accompany your word especially

and the witness of your people with the power of your Holy Spirit.

We thank you, Lord, for that Spirit that you take,

where you take the things of Christ and show them to us.

We thank you that you have your Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of your people,

that they are united together in the bonds of fellowship through him.

And we thank you today that we can come and expect that the Lord will take those things of his word and sacrament

and make them precious to us and make them effective in our experience

to bless us and to sanctify us further in the things of God.

We pray your blessing for all gatherings of your people today,

wherever they gather throughout the world.

Lord, we pray for them again and ask that you would make us conscious

that we belong to such a great number that no one can number but the Lord himself.

We thank you that we are members of that church that extends even to the heaven itself,

to those who have gone to be home with the Lord,

and yet who are bound in spirit by that same Spirit of God,

with those of us here who remain in this world.

We ask now your blessing to follow all that is being done in your name

and to guide us and to keep us in mind and body through these things.

Uphold us, we pray, with your Spirit and enable us to rejoice in your presence,

enable us to know more of that joy that you give to your people,

that joy that is truly, even in this life, filled with an anticipation of glory.

We ask your blessing, Lord, to be with those who can't be here today with us.

We know that there are some who used to be here

and who used to partake of the Lord's Supper

and now no longer can do so through ill health or other reasons.

We pray for them, and we pray, Lord, that you would bless to them

all that they have already partaken of in the course of their life.

And we ask that you would be pleased to draw near to them,

to assure them at this time that they are your people indeed, that you remember them.

We ask your blessing now to continue with us here,

and as we turn again to your word, to hear its teaching and to sing your praises,

Lord, help us to do so with the joy of the Lord in our hearts,

and seeking his glory and his praise in all that we do.

Hear us, we pray now, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Well, our next singing is going to be in Gaelic.

It's customary for us to have a Gaelic singing when we come together for the Lord's Communion.

And the singing is from Psalm 146.

You'll find it on the back page of the bulletin.

Verses 5 and 6, and the English equivalent there as well.

These two verses, we remain seated for the Gaelic singing.

The Gaelic singing is from Psalm 146.

The Gaelic singing is from Psalm 146.

The Gaelic singing is from Psalm 146.

They pleasured to have a great creative Werk of Peace.

For this verse, we sing famous music beginning to make slow rap,

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What is the

of that parish of that

care?

record that? What did it mean to them? What would you have thought? Here you are, one of those

sitting down and watching him there. What would this have felt like? What would your mind have

actually thought of what was happening? You'd be asking, what's happening? This is midday and

it's getting dark. And it lasted for three hours. Why? What's it about? What's remarkable

about the event that this has to take place? Well, it's symbolic, isn't it? It's symbolic of

the spiritual darkness that Jesus is experiencing in his heart, in his soul, as he carries the sin

of his people, as he bears the punishment, as he bears what is due to them for their sins, as he

enters into the darkness of soul. We'll see it in a minute when we come to the expression of

Jesus on the cross.

Ila, Ila, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But that is what

this is symbolic of, as the creation itself actually comes to darkness. Remember what

Jesus, how he described himself in John's gospel, I am the light of the world.

And whoever walks after me shall not abide in darkness. And here he is, the light of the world,

experiencing darkness, as it were being turned into darkness. The darkness of his soul,

as it's symbolized by the darkness of the creation. It's as somebody put it,

the creation itself cannot bear to look upon its creator in the state that he is in, in the

sufferings that he's enduring. He's the creator. He's the one who created light. He's the one who

said, let there be light as it was in the beginning. And yet here is that creator himself

entering into the darkness of his soul, about to expire on the cross. And the creation hides its face.

Jesus cannot bear to look upon such a terrible thing, such a mysterious thing, such an awful thing,

as the darkness being experienced by Jesus.

You cast your mind back to the time when Israel were slaves in Egypt. And when the plagues, as they

recorded for us there in Exodus, when the plagues came upon the land one after another, one of these

plagues was the plague of darkness. And we read in Genesis there that there was darkness over the

whole of the land of Egypt. But Israel had light in their dwellings. They lived in that part of the

land called Goshen, which itself is the Hebrew word for light. And while there was darkness over all of

the land of Egypt, the people of Israel had light in their dwellings. They were set apart from the

Egyptians. The Lord was looking after them when it was dark elsewhere. They had the fullness of light

in God's own miraculous way of providing that for them. There is no such thing at Calvary.

You don't read here, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour, but there was light

where Jesus was. There was light at Calvary. There was light around the cross. There wasn't.

light at Calvary. It was enveloped in darkness just like the rest of the land.

What a Savior. What a love. What an event. What an experience for you sitting there with the rest of

those who kept watch. And all of a sudden it gets dark and the gloom sets in. And you think to yourself,

why is this happening? There must be something remarkable here for this to happen at the height

of noonday, for this to become dark. And so it is remarkable. It's nothing less than the Son of God

having taken our human nature, expiring on the cross, coming towards that time of his death on the cross.

Now that's what you remember in the Lord's Supper today. That's what you remember as you remember Christ

in his death. You remember how the pain of his soul and the pain in his body was pain to the maximum,

the pain due to you for your sins. And you also experience the creation in darkness

when you expect it to be light. And you know that that is symbolic of his agony and darkness of soul.

That's what you would see. Other things as well, but we'll confine it to those two for the moment.

And then secondly, what would you hear? What things would you actually hear spoken up or in conversation

during those times, during that time that you sat here watching Jesus? Well, the first thing you would

hear would be mocking words, words of mockery and derision. Verses 39 to 44. You can see there how

those who were passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, you who would destroy the temple

and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. If you are the son of God, come down from the cross.

So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him saying, he saved others. He cannot

save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him.

He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now if he desires him. For he said, I am the son of God.

This is what you would hear. Derision and mocking thrown in the face of Jesus by those here who

actually made mockery of him at that time. But you see, as we said last night, sometimes the gospel

writers present the truth to us by way of even the mocking of Christ's enemies. Everything they're

saying there is actually true of him. He is the king. He is the king of the universe. He is the one

who holds all things in the power of his own hands. And just like it is in Luke chapter 15,

Luke 15 · chapter mention

the scribes and Pharisees then mocked him saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them.

What a great testimony to the truth of who Jesus is. That's exactly who he is. He receives sinners and

eats with them. He enters into fellowship with them. That's what you're experiencing here today

at the Lord's Supper. This man, this Jesus, he's derided here. He's mocked here. But the words of

mocking that mock him as the king, as the son of God, actually convey the truth about him. And as you read

these, as we said last night, you realize that everything being said here is actually true of

him, though they're used as terms of mocking on the occasion in which they were spoken.

And of course, in verse 42, he saved others. He cannot save himself. What remarkable words these are.

He saved others. Yes, he saved others. They're using that by way of mocking, but it's the truth about him.

He is the Savior. He cannot save himself. Now think about that. Could he have saved himself?

Well, there's a sense in which you might say yes if he came down from the cross, but what would that

mean? Even if it had been possible, it would have meant that you and I would not have been saved.

So from that point of view, he could not save himself. He would not save himself. He would not

actually bypass the sufferings involved in the cross because that's what he came to do. That's what he

came to finish. That's what he came to accomplish. This was the devil, as we saw last night. This was the

devil's attempt to deflect Jesus and divert him from the path of obedience to the Father that he was on.

He said,

"'If you are the Son of God, all of these kingdoms of the world and their glory I will give you.

All you have to do is fall down and worship me.'" And Jesus says, "'Get hence Satan.'"

and the same when Peter tried to take him aside

and say this shall not happen to you

Jesus responded get behind me Satan

an attempt to deflect Jesus to divert him

from the path that he was on

yes he is the king of Israel

but for our sake he cannot come down from the cross

for our sake he will not come down from the cross

for our sake he will not save himself

so that we can be saved

and he remained true to his obedient self

all the way through his agonies on the cross

until it was accomplished

until it was done

you can see Matthew 26

chapter 26 and verse 53 there

26 and verse 53

where Peter had drawn his sword

and tried to defend Jesus from those who had come

with Judas Iscariot to apprehend him

and take him into custody

put your sword back into its place

for all who take the sword will perish by the sword

do you think that I cannot appeal now to my father

and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels

but how then would the scriptures be fulfilled

that it must be so

you see there is Jesus saying

I could call on multitudes of angels

to come to my rescue

to come to help me

but how then would the scripture be fulfilled

the scripture that prophesied

that he would come and die for his people

that's what he was committed to

and if you go to John's gospel

you'll find that in the garden of Gethsemane

as he was coming out of the garden

and this incident took place

Jesus said

the cup which my father has given me to drink

shall I not drink it

what was that cup?

that was the cup of his agony

the cup of damnation

the cup of what is due to you and I for our sins

and what he's saying now is

I will drink it

I'll take it to the very last drop

whatever suffering it means for me

shall I not drink it

that's what he did

you would have heard mocking words

but words that conveyed

the truth about Jesus

and the commitment of Jesus to die

the death he came to die

you would have heard mocking words

you would have heard also pleading words

for that you need to go to

Luke's account of the crucifixion

chapter 23 verses 40 to 43

and of course that means

the cry of the thief from the cross

both of these robbers, malefactors

we read here in Matthew

Matthew actually were involved

first of all in deriding him

but as you listened on to what was happening

as you sit there with those who are observing the cross

you'd have heard something happening

you'd have heard some words

that really filled you with amazement

here is one of those two thieves

and he has stopped deriding

has stopped mocking

he has stopped casting things against Jesus

and he's come to ask him now

something specific

Lord remember me

when you come into your kingdom

and then you'd have heard

the response of Jesus to that

truly I say to you

today

you will be with me in paradise

what is happening

here you are

with these people

listening to what's going on

hearing these words

and all of a sudden

you hear this conversation

this thief breaking out

with a request to Jesus

to remember him

and Jesus not only hearing

but replying and saying

today you're going to be with me in paradise

this man's going to be in paradise

what do you mean this man's going to be in paradise

what's he being crucified for

he's being crucified for his crimes

he's being crucified as a malefactor

as a robber

as somebody who deserves

actually to be dead

and to be put to death

for his crimes

and instead you find Jesus saying

you're going to be with me today

in paradise

I hear you are today

at the Lord's table

and

you're imagining yourself

sitting there with the rest of them

what would you have thought

what would you have thought

of Jesus himself

hearing these words

in response

to the thief's pleading

pleading words

responded to by Jesus

with comforting words

today

you'll be with me in paradise

you'll be in heaven with me

you see that's why

you find these things

that are spoken to be

so meaningful to yourself

because

you have asked the Lord

to remember you

haven't you

at some point

in your spiritual journey

you've come to the Lord

and

sought that he would remember you

that he would bless you

that he would receive you

that he would forgive your sins

that he would have you

as one of his own disciples

that he would save you

and that change

that took place

in the thief

is the change

that has taken place

in you

as you remember the Lord

in his death today

Psalm 139

Psalms 139:17–18

verses 17 to 18

remember the psalmist

and that psalmist

just taken up in awe

at the knowledge

that God has of him

that he sees through

into the very depth

of his soul

the words that he speaks

even before he's spoken

them

God knows them

God is found everywhere

God's looking in

upon him

and measuring

and sifting

his thoughts even

then he comes

to say

how precious

are your thoughts

to me

oh God

how precious

are your thoughts

to me

what did he mean

Lord thank you

that you are mindful

of me

that you are mindful

of me always

that you are mindful

of me when I forget you

that you are mindful

of you even when I

sometimes have questions

and even doubtings

you never

you never cease

to be mindful

of me

isn't that a precious

thing to you today

as you come to remember

the Lord and his death

at the Lord's supper

to know that God

is mindful of you

that he has you

in his mind

that he never lets you

out of his mind

that you are so

precious to him

that he never

forgets you

that not for a moment

does he stop

being mindful

of you

that's what you

heard

that's what you

would have heard

here this

interaction of the

thief

and Jesus

and that's

essentially

what's inside it

but thirdly

finally

not only

would you have

heard mocking

words

and you

would have

heard pleading

words answered

by Jesus

you would also

have heard

the Lord's

own words

all the statements

that he made

while he was

on the cross

but there's one

really that

stands out

above the rest

and it's there

in verse 46

about the ninth

hour

Jesus cried out

with a loud

voice

that is my

God

my God

why have you

forsaken me

I think we can

safely say

these are the

most amazing

words

ever uttered

they are what

Martin Luther

calls

behold

behold

God

forsaken

by God

why

hast

thou

forsaken

me

and if you

imagine

an exclamation

mark there

at the end

rather than a

question

you'll have

a better idea

then of just

the depth

of these words

but we cannot

measure them

we cannot

properly enter

into the depths

of them

he alone

knows

the depth

of meaning

in these words

my God

my God

why have you

forsaken me

forsakenness

by God

is the essence

of death

we think of death

perhaps more

in physical terms

when people die

when we leave

this world

separation of our

soul from body

and that is an

aspect of death

undoubtedly

but the essence

of death

as was shown

even by the

exclusion of

Adam and Eve

from the garden

as they were

driven out

by God

as the gates

were closed

behind them

the essence

of death

is nothing

less than

separation

from God

and that's why

eternal death

the death

that is in hell

is separation

from God

forever

without

ever ending

and that's

not a neutral

thing

to experience

separation

from God

in the wrath

of God

being inflicted

upon any

person

is the most

painful thing

imaginable

to be cut off

from life

to experience

everlasting

death

with no

prospect of

hope

or mitigation

salvation

now Jesus

didn't die

for his own

sins

but the

people whose

sins were

laid upon

him

deserved

this death

and he

took that

death

in their

place

and you

remember him

today as

one who

took that

death

instead of

you

who willingly

went to

the cross

and died

this death

that involved

separation

from God

nothing less

than

actual

damnation

experienced

by him

in his

own soul

now we

can't

really go

beyond saying

this is just

a mystery

how can we

possibly try

to begin

explaining

what was

actually involved

in the son

of God

in our

nature

experiencing

the hell

that we

deserved

in his own

experience

in his

own soul

let's

just

leave it

there

but think

about it

and the

reality

of it

think about

it as you

watch him

there as you

hear these

words

why have

you forsaken

my God

my God

why have

you forsaken

me

well of course

they didn't

understand

they thought

this man

was calling

for Elijah

some said

well let's

wait and see

whether Elijah

will come

and save

him

then Jesus

cried out

again with

a loud

voice

and yielded

up his

spirit

that itself

is something

amazing to

hear

not only the

cry my God

my God

why have

you forsaken

me

but then it

comes to

this

he yields

up his

spirit

he breathes

his last

as it puts

elsewhere

he hands

over his

spirit

his soul

to his

father

for keeping

for safe

custody

how does he

do it

he does it

in a loud

voice

what is that

saying to you

it's saying

that here

is the

champion

of death

here is

somebody

who has

power over

death

here is

somebody

who comes

to die

not in

the weakness

that we

usually associate

with death

but with a

loud voice

showing that

he is still

the powerful

one

the son

of God

he comes

to yield

up his

spirit

remarkable

things

that you

have seen

as you

sit there

at the

cross

you've

seen

Jesus

refusing

this

drink

you've

seen

the day

turned

to

darkness

and you've

heard

remarkable

things

you've

heard

words

of

mocking

that

actually

convey

the truth

about

Jesus

you've

heard

pleading

words

from one

of the

thieves

and the

words of

Jesus

in reply

and you've

heard

this cry

of Jesus

himself

and all

of that

is precious

to you

today

because it's

part of what

you remember

as you

remember

the Lord's

death

until he

comes

amen

let's

pray

gracious

father

we

thank you

today

that your

word

conveys to

us the

truth

that is so

much greater

than

ourselves

truth

that our

puny minds

cannot fully

take in

but we

thank you

that it is

the truth

nevertheless

that you

came into

this world

to give

yourself a

ransom for

your people

we thank you

for the

truth of

your death

and for

the way

that it

brought about

the salvation

of your

people

we thank

you Lord

for all

that is

entailed

in your

death on

the cross

and make

it more

and more

precious to

us as

time goes

by

Lord

enable us

today as

we remember

you in

the Lord's

supper

to do so

with

gratefulness

thankfulness

dependence

all that we

should be

in ourselves

as we

relate to

that death

of our

Lord

receive our

thanks we

pray now

and pardon

our sin

for Jesus

sake

Amen

now we're

going to sing

some verses

during the

singing

the young

ones will

come in

they'll take

their place

up on the

gallery

so we're

singing

from Psalm

22

and page

25

the tune is

Saldo

page 25

verses 1

to 8

my God

my God

oh why

have you

forsaken

and abandoned

me

why are you

far from

giving help

from listening

to my

anguished

plea

so on

through

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:1–8

verses 1

to 8

so on

Rod

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now, at this point in our service, we come to give directions to those who come to

the Lord's table, those who have the privilege and the responsibility and the right indeed

to come to take communion at this time.

I'm going to read some verses, just a verses of a poem.

I think it might actually be a hymn, although I couldn't find any writer for it, so I'm

not sure if you know who it is.

You can please let me know.

But the poem, the verses are as follows.

I sought thee, weeping high and low.

I found thee not.

I did not know.

I was a sinner.

Even so, I missed thee for my Savior.

Until upon the cross I saw my Lord, who died to meet the law.

That man had broken.

Then I saw my sin, and then my Savior.

Be thou to me, my Lord, my guide, my friend, yea, everything beside.

But first, last, best, whate'er betide, be thou to me, my Savior.

And I think these verses, each of them, encapsulate something of our experience as we come to know

the Lord, because more often than not, we're like those in the first verse, they're seeking

answers to life's questions.

I did not know I was a sinner.

I sought thee, weeping high and low, distressed about his own life, but not necessarily knowing

where the answer lay.

And I'm sure for some of us, at least, that's how it was.

And so you come to the Lord's table today knowing that you did seek answers to life's big

questions, but maybe for some time you didn't find an answer until you came to know the answer

in Jesus himself.

And as he says there, I do not know, did not know I was a sinner, even so I miss thee for

my Savior.

There's something deep within the heart of each one of us that knows we lack something

that we can't provide ourselves.

And that makes us ask questions.

Where do I get this?

Where can I get satisfaction?

And you have come.

The Lord's table is for those who have come to know satisfaction in Christ.

Not an answer to every question, but certainly an answer to the most important ones.

What must I do to be saved?

The second verse there, until upon the cross I saw my Lord who died to meet the law that

man had broken.

Then I saw my sin and then my Savior.

They come to the Lord's table today because you've come to know the Lord.

You've moved on from the questions.

You've come to know the Lord himself as the great answer to all of life's questions.

And it's when you came to know the Lord and the kind of death that he died as you came

to know the scriptures, that he died to meet the law, the demands of the law, the death

as we saw that he died.

Then I saw my sin and then my Savior.

The people who come to the Lord's table don't think they're very good in themselves.

They're very opposite.

And as they look at Jesus, and as you look at Jesus today portrayed in the Lord's Supper,

as you see him portrayed in the death that he died as these elements of bread and wine

set out for us, so you came to see your sin in the light of Christ's sufferings.

And I'm sure it's the case for most of us that the place where we most clearly see our

sin and know our sin for what it is, is as you look to the cross.

And as you see, that's what my sin did.

That's what my sin deserved.

As you see your Savior, so you see your sin.

As you see your sin, so you see your Savior.

And you come today to express your trust in him by taking communion and being with his people

at the Lord's Supper.

They sought answers.

They came to know Jesus.

Thirdly, they value Jesus above all else.

Be thou to me, my Lord, my guide, my friend, yea, everything beside.

But first, last, best, whatever betide, be thou to me, my Savior.

They are the people who come and have the right to come to the Lord's table.

They can say about their lives they're far from perfect.

They can say there's many things about them they still actually wish were not true about them.

But the one thing they will not deny is that Jesus is special.

And that he's special above everyone else.

Whate'er betide, my first, last, best, be thou to me, my Savior.

And that's what you're saying of him today.

That's why you're here.

Because he is the best.

He's the very best.

He's one you know you can't improve on.

Nor would you want to.

Because there's no need for it.

And that's what's leaving you here today.

You've found your answer to life's big questions in Jesus.

And now you love him.

With all your heart.

And you want to love him even more.

As time goes on.

So now we come to sing once more from Psalm 118.

And then we'll come to administer the Lord's Supper.

Psalm 118, page 398.

And at verse 15.

Singing to a tune, Coleshill, verses 15 to 19.

In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health.

The Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly.

The right hand of the mighty Lord exalted is on high.

The right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly.

And so on to the end of verse 19 to God's praise.

In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and death.

The right hand of the mighty Lord exalted is on high.

The right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly.

I shall not die but live and shall the words or not discover.

The Lord of the just I said so, but not to death give no word.

O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness,

then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless.

We now read from 1 Corinthians chapter 11, what we refer to as the warrant for our celebration of the Lord's Supper.

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

1 Corinthians 11 at verse 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.

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.

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.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes, and so on.

And we follow that example, the Lord himself set us,

by giving thanks to the Lord.

So let's pray.

Lord, our gracious God,

we know it is our privilege once again to be here at the Lord's Supper.

We know it is our privilege once again to remember the Lord and his death.

We know it is our privilege to call upon you and give you thanks, which we do,

for all that is set out before us here,

representing your death,

and being a sign and seal to your people of your love for them.

We bless you today, Lord, for this opportunity.

Help us to maximize it for ourselves.

Help us to come believing, trusting,

being sure, O Lord, that you will do as you have promised,

and that your word will not return to you void,

that you will bless the ordinances that you yourself have set forth

and have sanctified for your people.

We pray, O Lord, as we take this bread and this cup today,

that you would sanctify these elements,

so that they be means by which we ourselves

can feed upon Christ crucified and the benefits of his death.

We give thanks, Lord, that they represent to us

what we cannot put into words.

And we pray that as we partake of them once again,

that we would be conscious, O Lord,

of how undeserving we are

of anything that is represented here,

how deserving we are of the very opposite.

And we pray that our love for you might be increased,

that our faith may be deepened,

that our hope of eternal life in heaven

might itself be enlarged.

Bless us, Lord, we pray now,

and grant that your blessing will be with us throughout this day

and in all of these things receive our thanks,

cleanse us from our sin.

For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Just before we take the Lord's Supper,

just a few words very briefly,

because I want to focus upon you taking the supper

and us taking it together.

It's called the Lord's Supper.

It is a supper spiritually.

The things that are here physically

are representations of what is true spiritually.

So as you take the bread and take the wine,

spiritually, you're actually feeding upon Christ.

And it's significant that the things Jesus chose

to represent Him in the Lord's Supper

are very simple things,

bread and wine,

common, ordinary things in everyday use.

But that's the Lord's choice

so that we would focus

not on the things themselves,

but on what they represent.

That they represent to us

Christ in His death.

Indeed, the confession of faith reminds us

in the passage that sets out

how these elements are not changed

in essence from what they are.

They don't become the body of Christ

or the blood of Christ.

They represent that.

They sign their signs and seals

of that to His people,

but they remain bread and wine.

Ordinary things

to convey a deep spiritual reality.

And what the confession says

is that by faith,

God's people feed upon Christ crucified

and all the benefits of His death.

That is what you feed upon.

That is what by faith,

today you're drawing into your soul.

And as the confession says,

as surely as you see outwardly

these elements of bread and wine,

so spiritually,

you see and feed upon Christ crucified

and all the benefits of His death.

What a marvelous point that is in itself,

that God would take something

that's of ordinary use

and make it extraordinary

for His people.

And it helps us in the simplicity

of the supper

to remember that its simplicity itself

conveys wonderful,

deep,

deep,

abiding,

spiritual truth.

And of course,

this passage also says

that we take it together.

The apostle was concerned

to teach the Corinthians

and to deliver them

from the abuses

of the Lord's Supper

that they had engaged in

in the city of Corinth,

in the church in Corinth.

So he says,

So then,

my brothers,

when you come together to eat,

wait for one another.

In other words,

the Lord's Supper

is a supper

we take together.

And our togetherness

is important.

It expresses the unity

we have in Christ.

It expresses

the wonderful bonds

that unite us together

as we are united to Christ.

You don't take the Lord's Supper

on your own,

though it's significant

for you individually.

We take it together.

We wait

for one another.

And that unity

is expressed

at the Lord's Supper

just as it is.

In reality,

a spiritual unity,

so it's outwardly expressed

by being together.

Wait, he says,

for one another.

We come

as believers

united together.

And it's our privilege

to be so.

This will be the last time

that I administer

the Lord's Supper

to you as your minister.

For me,

that's precious.

It's always been precious.

And as I today

am part of that unity

on the same level

as yourselves

spiritually

feeding on Christ crucified

and the benefits

of His death,

may the Lord bless

this moment to us.

And maybe a taste

of heaven.

And maybe it's something

that reminds us

of what we were thinking

of earlier,

of the commitment

of the Lord

and His love

to die

for His people.

Well, we read

that night

in which the Lord

was betrayed

that He took bread.

when He had given thanks,

He broke it

and said,

This is my body

which is for you.

This do

in remembrance

of me.

Like manner

after the supper,

He took the cup

saying,

This cup

is the new covenant

in my blood.

This do

in remembrance

of me.

For as often

as you eat

this bread

and drink

this cup,

you do show

the Lord's death.

For as often

as you eat

this bread

and drink

this cup,

you do show

the Lord's death

until He comes.

Until He comes.

This will only go on

as long

as the world exists

and it will end

with the Lord's

own return.

And today

at this table,

at this Lord's Supper,

you are joined

to the marriage supper

that will follow

throughout eternity.

The marriage supper

of the Lamb.

Somebody once

asked an Anglican bishop,

Bishop,

are you saved?

And his reply was,

I was saved,

I am being saved,

I shall be saved.

In other words,

salvation has all

of these dimensions.

He was saying,

I was saved,

the day came

when God saved me.

I am being saved.

The work of salvation

in our hearts

and our souls

goes on

through our sanctification,

that aspect of it.

And that will

be the case

until

the Lord

takes us home.

I was saved,

you can all see that.

I am being saved,

you're conscious of that.

I shall be saved.

Lord,

this world is not

our home.

Thank the Lord

for that.

Home

is in the better country,

the heavenly country,

the marriage supper

of the Lamb,

where we shall enjoy

not only fellowship

with one another,

but with Him

in a perfect world.

And that's what

our hope

is set upon today.

And that's why

the Lord's Supper

is such an important

feature of life

as it is now,

because it feeds

that hope.

God uses it

to draw our mind,

as Paul said

to the Corinthians,

to the Colossians,

seek those things

which are above

where Christ is,

if you be risen

with Christ.

seek those things

which are above.

Live your lives

in a way that shows

that you are being saved,

that you value

the process

of guidance

by the Holy Spirit,

and that your hope

is that you shall

be saved,

that there is

a future

waiting you in heaven,

brighter than

we can imagine.

And it's all

due to this.

The Lord loved us

and gave

Himself

for us.

May God bless to us

these thoughts

on His Word.

We're going to conclude

by singing

from Psalm 72,

the usual verses

that we sing,

Psalm 72,

from page 314,

and from verse 17,

His name forever

shall endure,

last like the sun

it shall.

Men shall be blessed

in Him,

and blessed

all nations

shall Him call.

Singing to the tune,

Ephingham,

these verses 17 to 19,

His name forever

shall endure.

forever shall endure,

cross by the sun

it shall,

men shall be blessed,

in Him our birth,

Lord shall everyone

love.

all nations

shall

trump

Him

call.

No,

blessed

be the Lord

God,

the Lord

of Israel.

On thee, thou Lord, the wondrous world, in glory of his Son.

And blessed be his glorious name to all eternity.

The whole and the wondrous world, in glory of his Son.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

After the benediction, I'll go to the door to my right, and the calendar will go to the door to my left.

Lord, bless to us, we pray.

All that we have partaken of today.

Help them to store, help us to store in our minds those things that we have experienced.

May we feed upon them in days to come.

And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you now and evermore.

Amen.

Thank you.

Good to be very much.

Don't give it a greatиру rode.

Thank you.

— Why?