The Road to the Resurrection: Covenant and communion (North OC)

Dallas: My name is Dallas Kawai.

Um, I'm a, uh, the North Orange Sea Campus Minister, um, here at Cal

State Fulton and Fulton College.

And, um, I have the honor and privilege today to be able

to preach the word to you.

Uh, this morning, it's so weird.

We're having a handheld.

I haven't had a handheld to preach in a while, but this is fine.

We're gonna work with it.

Um, for those of you guys that are joining us for the first time.

Um, we are in a series called The Road to the Resurrection, and basically

what it is about is basically we are on the, in the book of, on the Gospel

of Luke and we're kind of trailing Jesus' last few weeks, last few days,

even before he's about to go on the cross and die and, and be crucified,

uh, for the sins of the world, um, and then be resurrected three days later.

Um, what's been amazing about this series is we've been really

able to kind of dive deep, uh.

Last week.

Uh, Mar uh, uh, Eric actually talked about the end times and talked

a lot about the widow's offering as well, which was really great.

'cause I think sometimes in those contexts there's a lot of controversy about to,

about the perspective and what and what is to be expected at the end times.

But I feel like he did a great job in the week before that Marcel was in chapter 20.

So in, in the fashion that we are, we're gonna be going into order.

So we are going to be in the gospel of Luke, obviously, but Luke 22.

So if you have your Bibles, feel free to turn over there.

Uh, tied to my lesson, by the way.

Sorry, before I get it here.

There we go.

We're gonna do covenant and communion.

Covenant and communion.

And today we're gonna be talking a lot about the last Supper, but

we're gonna be leading up to it.

Uh, I'm not gonna go through all of chapter 22, lemme

just preface that real quick.

I'm gonna be going through, uh, verses one through 24.

Um, so I'll be kind of ending it around that time.

So there's a lot of great stuff that happens after.

It's just more of the time to really be diving into the Last Supper more than into

the, just covering the entire chapter.

Just for the chapter's sake.

I'm not trying to rush through this.

Like, there's a lot of great insight and, and, uh, and, um.

Knowledge and wisdom that comes from the last Supper that we really should

really focus on, which is why we're here.

There's a reason why we're here is because of the Last Supper, and we'll talk a

little bit more about that in a minute.

But with that being said, um, I'm gonna pray real quick

and then we'll get started.

So, bow your heads with me.

Uh, father God, thank you so much for today.

Um, it's a time to come before you.

Father, I pray you just please, uh, speak through me, uh, remove me and

all my, uh, my thoughts and my worries and, and anxiousness, God, just to

let your, uh, spirit just be, uh.

Ever presence, um, in bold and in just in, in your word that

speaks more than my words.

Uh, father, we pray that, uh, you continue to just lead us God down this

road to the resurrection, that we can become inspired and encouraged, um, by

your son Jesus, and how much he has done for us, um, beforehand God, so that we

get to inherit just so much love and grace, um, the insurmountable amount

God, that, uh, we could never deserve.

But we are grateful.

Father, we love you so much and pray in Jesus name.

Amen.

We're gonna be in verse one.

So with that being said, let's kind of.

Bounce on over to here.

Great.

Awesome.

So, verse one, um, Judas agrees, Toray Jesus.

So now the festival of unleavened bread called the Passover was approaching

and the chief priest and the teachers of the law were looking for so

well, some way to get rid of Jesus for they were afraid of the people.

Then Satan entered Judas called Scar it, one of the 12, and Judas went to

the chief priest and the officers, uh, of the Temple Guard and discussed

with them how he might betray them.

They were delighted and agreed to give him money.

He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to

them when no crowd was present.

Now, Eric, uh, last week talked about and discussed the difference between,

you know, the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the teachers of the law.

But what they all have in common is that they're trying to get rid of Jesus.

He's a threat to their power.

He's a threat to their popularity.

He's a threat to their credibility even.

And so at this point, they're looking for any way possible to get rid of him.

So.

Obviously they understand though that if they try to seize him in the

middle of the day, in the middle of his teaching and in the crowd and

the masses that are following him, it's gonna cause some commotion.

It's gonna cause some chaos and it's gonna cause a ride.

Maybe even because you have people that are trying to take away the

person that's been healing people, uh, that has been, uh, foreseeing,

uh, giving, forgiving of sins.

Like there's just been so much going on that if they try to take the person

that has been bringing so much joy, so much peace, so much faith to the people.

Being uprising.

So for them, they're, they have no way in to be able to get to him.

Now, obviously as we see here in verse three, it says that then Satan entered

Judas call the scar one to the 12.

Now, obviously when you read that, at first glance, it just kind of

seems like, oh, okay, now Judas is quote unquote possessed now by Satan.

Let me clarify real quick, the idea behind this is, is that

actually, think about it like this.

Are we all not tempted daily to sin?

Can we agree that yes.

Do we sometimes choose to do that?

Yes.

Though.

Do we also sometimes not choose to do that?

Yes.

So therefore, it is a choice that we all have when temptation, when Satan comes

knocking, Hey, with the lies and the deceit is always a choice that we have.

And unfortunately for Judas in this moment, he chooses to accept

the deceit and the, and the, and indulge in the temptation.

To betray Jesus.

Now, I don't know exactly.

Scripture does not give us the exact reason why Judas decides to betray Jesus.

Now there are, there are some speculations.

One of it is greed.

Now, as you can see, um, as, as I highlighted here, um, that he agreed to

give them money is the last highlight.

That's where I wanna focus on here.

In another, in another translation or in another part of the gospel,

another account in Matthew.

It says as though they counted for him 30 pieces of silver.

He had asked specifically, I want 30 pieces of silver.

I'm going to turn over Jesus to you.

Now, that's honestly, uh, as, as, as sad as it is, it is part of God's will.

Why?

Because in Zacharia nine it's Prophe says, I told him, if you think it is

best, give me pay, but if not, keep it.

They paid him 30 pieces of silver, and the Lord said to me, throw it

to the potter, and the handsome price at which they valued me.

So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it to the

potter at the house of the Lord.

Later on, Judas will be, will, uh, go on to regret and be remorseful

about his decision to betray Jesus and, and try to give the money back.

But it is part of the prophecy.

It is part of God's will that even though.

One of his 12, the disciples decides to betray it is part of God's will.

And we'll touch upon that a little bit later on in the, in the sermon.

Um, we'll get back to that a little bit, but I just wanted to preface though it's

more of the fact that he indulges in it.

Think of it like this.

When you're on the freeway and you're, and you're going and you get

a notification that you might have a flat tire, sometimes that flat tire

is not immediately noticeable, right?

Sometimes, maybe there's a nail in the tire and there's air slowly releasing out.

So over time you don't see it, you don't notice it.

But until you go from 32 PSI and you're down to 22 PSI and you're

like, that's a noticeable difference.

There's something wrong with my car.

But I think of it in this way.

I think of when I, when I read about Judas, I don't think it was an overnight

expectation of I'm gonna portray Judas.

I'm just doing it now.

But I think it was over time.

The idea that he, and there are some other speculations that come up, is that he had

this selfish ambition to wanna be almost like Jesus' second in command, or this

idea that Jesus was gonna be the ruler that was gonna overthrow the Roman empire.

And so when he wanted to be there, he wanted to have some status between it.

But I think over time, I think as he saw Jesus teach people, as he saw him

combat with the Pharisees, he kind of got to probably understand that Jesus

is not gonna be the kind of guy that's going to war over all these things.

He's not the kind of guy that's gonna be looking to pick a fight

physically after, after these Pharisees and the Roman Empire.

And I think over time he kind of got unsettled.

I think he kind of got discontent, he got prideful.

And over time to the point where now he has a decision, he has an opportunity

if he needs to portray Jesus or not.

He's already at that 22 PSI.

He's already at that point where he's like, you know what?

I'm just gonna make this.

I'm gonna make a decision because I'm already been there.

But it was over time.

Think about it.

I don't think initially he had that idea when Jesus first elected him to be one

of the 12, but it was over time, three years that eventually to the point where

now he decides I'm going Toray Jesus.

You guys with me so far?

Okay.

You know, one of the things that I, I got to study out as I was doing

this was one thing I found very, very interesting is that Judas, in all four

accounts of the gospel, whenever he's mentioned, or he never, he calls to Jesus.

He only calls him rabbi.

He never calls him Lord.

Isn't that interesting?

One of the 12 never calls Jesus Lord.

Even when Christ, even when Peter, um, reveals and from, from, from heavenly

wisdom, that Jesus is the son of God.

He is Lord.

Afterwards, he still calls him even when Judas turns him over.

As we will read later on in the series here, not this, not, not

today, but later on in the series, even when he comes to egregious, he

says, rabbi never calls him Lord.

Judas is a prime example that you could hear Jesus' words.

You could see the miracles.

You could be around spiritual people, but your heart is never transformed.

You can come to church, listen to the sermons, communicate and commune

with people in the congregation.

Give your tithes.

But if your heart is never transformed,

there's a problem.

You can show up all you want, but it doesn't matter what

you're doing on the outside.

It matters what is transforming you on the inside.

Is your heart being transformed?

And like I said, Juda is a prime example of that.

He's the prime example that just because you're around it all

doesn't mean that you're allowing yourself to be transformed.

You guys with me so far,

so I wanna, I want, I want, first point I wanna make here is, is

Jesus Lord, or is he just rabbi?

You know the point, like I said, is Jesus Lord, are you

calling him Lord of your life?

He reigns.

You are submitting to the reign and rule of Christ, or is he just a good

person, a good example, a good teacher, someone that did good, or does he reign

and rule over every part of your life?

Are you allowing yourself to be transformed?

Let's continue eating.

It then came the day of unleavened bread on which Passover, the, the

Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

Jesus sent Peter and John saying, go and make preparations

for us to eat the Passover.

Where do you want us to prepare it?

Uh, prepare for it.

They asked.

He replied, as you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.

Follow him to the house that he enters and say to the owner of the house, the teacher

asks, where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished, make preparations there.

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them,

so they prepare the Passover.

Now, I would love to get into more about this, about the idea of just how did Jesus

know all that and this, this and that.

One thing we always remember is that said Jesus, Jesus, God,

and he has the foreknowledge.

He's omniscient.

He's all knowing.

So therefore, him to be able to prophesy and proclaim that this is going to

happen, that when you guys go there.

Like I said, that's just, it's just proof of his deity of Christ.

It's just proof that he is God.

And so, as I said, as much as I want to go into it and, and, and dissect it,

like, it's just like there's a lot of, there's lessons about faith and obedience.

I mean, if someone told you to go and like, drive somewhere to a different

place and said that they, there, you're gonna find this person and you're

gonna share with that person, and then that person's get, like, it's just,

there's just a lot that it's hard to believe sometimes when you don't

know the exact details of a plan.

When someone's just telling you to do something, you're like, oh man, I don't,

I, I, I, I sure you could say that, but I don't know if I believe that.

Like I said, there's a lot of lessons that I'm not trying to glaze over it

just to go and or glaze over it just to, just for the sake of the fact

we're trying to get through a chapter, but there's a lot of lessons there,

but I wanna focus more on nothing.

Who knows what the Passover is?

Raise your hand.

Show of hands.

It's okay.

Alright.

And if you do not raise your hand, it's okay.

This is, this is a judgment free zone.

Congratulations.

You've entered Passover 1 0 1.

We're gonna give you a quick history buff on it.

Well, I will.

My name is Eric Ennis.

Just kidding.

My name is not Eric Ennis.

But the idea behind it is, though, I wanna be able to make sure that

we are all on the same page of the significance of Passover.

We hear it a lot with this.

It's a, during this time of the year, especially in this, in this story,

just Passover is mentioned a lot, so I just wanna make sure that we're

all on the same page about what's going on and what's going down.

You guys with me?

Okay, so the history passed over.

So the purpose of it commemorates God's deliverance of Israel

from the, from slavery in Egypt.

'cause the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years as it was

prophesied in Genesis by God when he made the covenant with Abraham saying,

Hey, that you will inherit this land, but your people will be enslaved in

land, not their own for 400 years.

So with that, when God calls Moses an exodus, right, to be able to lead

his people out of Egypt, Pharaoh, the ruler at the time in Egypt

refuses to release Israelites.

So God sends the 10 plagues to try to convince him, but after each

time, Pharaoh hardens his heart.

So then by the 10th plagues, that's crazy.

10th plagues is crazy.

I mean, I don't know how stubborn you gotta be.

I mean, I'm pretty stubborn, but that's, that's it's crazy work.

But.

First, the, the 10th and final plague was the death of firstborn,

which was the final judgment.

Now, within that, the, the destructions were that the angel of death would

pass over Egypt and would kill any, any, um, go into households and

kill the firstborn of every family.

With that being said, though, obviously God is not gonna allow his people

to perish, so he allows them, he talks to Moses and his brother Aaron,

about the idea of, hey, this is why you are be, you're gonna be able

to protect yourself, and that the spirit of the Lord will pass over.

You guys see where I'm you see where the name, where the Passover comes

from, it's gonna pass over your home.

So obviously we have the selection of the lamb.

So on the 10th day of the month, you would select a lamb.

Then you would sacrifice it on the 14th day.

Then you would get the blood from the lamb that you sacrifice and

you would paste it on your door.

Frame that the front door, so that way when the spirit of the Lord comes,

if it sees the blood on the door from it will pass over your home.

You'll be safe.

However, if it doesn't, it will enter and it will kill your firstborn.

Then there was the eating of the lamb, there was eating it in haste

because at this point, after this, they understood that they were gonna

have to leave and, uh, leave Egypt because pH was gonna release them.

Now there was God's protection and there's also the festival of the unleavened

bread where there was the festival duration, where they were in such a hurry.

If you know how, if you know how to make bread, you know, bread takes time.

You've gotta let it rise, right?

So they were in a rush too.

So they were eating unleavened bread, they mean blood, uh, bread without yeast.

So they had to make sure that they were eating that in a sense

of, to commemorate the fact that they were in a rush to get out.

So they remove the lemon, eat the unleavened bread and the consecration

understanding that this is going to be.

Like if you don't, if anyone like said, would eat, leave bread, basically they

would be cut off from the community.

It was very strict.

God.

God in the Old Testament was very, very, very precise, very direct

about what his expectation was and for us to obey his instructions.

Now, the final part here is the lasting ordinance, meaning that afterwards

God would want this Passover meal to be recreated every year, every year,

and every year, so that the Israelites could always look back to a time.

At this time we're God free them.

God brought his deliverance, right?

We talked they were 400 years in captivity and now they're out.

So this is what the, this is what the Passover in the

festival unleavened bread is.

Are you guys with me so far?

Okay, great.

So the point that I wanna make here is that Jesus is the ultimate

sacrificial lamb at this point.

And when Jesus gets to, um, his pa, his the last supper, the

final Passover for him, this has almost been about 1500 years.

If you think of it, the, the king, the, the Israelites have grown

and grown and grown and grown.

So therefore that means there's more households.

And when there means more households means more sacrifices.

So think of the millions or thousands upon thousands, even maybe

the millions of lambs and other animals that have been sacrificed

to atone for sins to be remembered.

Like it's just, there's just so many.

But you know what the significance is, is that none of them.

None of those sacrifices would ever amount.

They were never enough.

Enter Jesus Christ.

Jesus then begins to tell them, and he's about to change the whole story.

He's about to change the significance of what Passover means and is about

to become the ultimate sacrificial lamb that this, that he himself will

be the final sacrifice ever needed.

There's no longer a need to go and kill millions of, of lambs and,

and bulls and cattle and whatever.

But now it's because of through him that we find that there's no need to

sacrifice no more through the Passover.

We're gonna continue reading here.

Uh.

Next one here.

Sorry.

When the hour came, Jesus and his disciples, uh, and his

apostles reclined at the table.

Now, I just wanna also preface here, when we think of recline, it's not how we

recline like on a, like a big sofa mat.

Like that's, that's not, that's not the kind.

Now we're leaning back.

Reclining at the table is actually, the table is about, yay.

High also.

Thank you, Eric.

And it's, Eric's been doing a Seder meal for us the last couple years

in campus, and it's been really cool to be able to participate it.

But when somebody reclines at the table, you're actually leaning on your left arm.

Your right arm is free to be able to eat, to be able to talk, to

be able to, uh, pass things along during the, during a Seder meal.

But so at the table, it's a very intimate setting.

It's not very much just like, like I said, sofa, like sofa, like lazy boy cushions.

Like it's not that it's just on the ground.

Everyone is around on the table, reclining on their left side,

everyone's able to see one another.

So it's a very intimate setting.

So I just wanna make sure you guys preface that.

And he says to him, I have eagerly desire to eat this

Passover with you before I suffer.

For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds

fulfillment in the kingdom of God.

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among you.

For I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine

until the kingdom of God comes and he took the bread, gave thanks and

broke it and gave it to them, saying, this is my body given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way after the supper, he took the cup saying, this cup is a new covenant

in my blood, which is poured out for you.

And this is, this is where, this is where we get communion from.

This is, this is where, this is where we originate the idea of the

bread and uh, and the, and the juice, the wine really back in the day.

And one of the things I just wanna share is I, so I just, for those of you who

don't know me, I grew up in this church.

I grew up, um.

Going to the Kids' Kingdom classes.

And when we finally were able to come into this service, you know, outta the

kids' Kingdom classes, one of the things I I remember immediately realizing is

like, when we were passing the trays, I was like, oh, it's a nice cracker.

Like, yeah, it, this is cool.

And little, little cups there and like, oh, all right.

This is, this is pretty nice.

It was, it was cool.

I mean, I, I wasn't a disciple at this time when I first came into the service

because I, I mean, I was very young and I, I really didn't have a concept

of a lot of like, who Jesus was and, and really what he really stood for.

I mean, I knew he loved me.

I knew he died, but like, it just wasn't really resonate.

As I got older though, as I and I became a disciple, I, I began to understand,

okay, like, you know, this is where, you know, this is where Jesus really

emphasized his remembrance in us.

Now, one of the things I do wanna recognize here is that.

Ultimately when we, when we, when I think of doing this in remembrance of

Jesus, I think sometimes what it's hard for me, I'll be honest, is that it can

just feel like I'm just remembering him, but I'm not engaging in this time.

You know, as you can see here, he, Jesus didn't do this by himself.

He wasn't isolated from his disciples.

He wasn't in a mass even crowd.

It was a very intimate setting.

Communion is an intimate setting.

Communion is a time of unity.

Communion is all about unity.

Also, I just wanna thank, um, Juan and Erica, thank you so much for

sharing your thoughts on communion.

Um, which is.

I said, thank you for sharing your thought for communion.

That's basically all I said.

Thank you.

Sorry.

That's all you're gonna get though.

But anyway, the idea behind communion though is it's an intimate setting.

Jesus did this in his last ti last time with his disciples all together that

he says, do this in remembrance me.

He said, don't just remember me.

Don't just think of it as a, as a fond memory.

Like, no, like when you break the bread together, when you share the,

when you share the wine together.

This is, this is you participating and being unified with me.

And you know what?

I'll be honest.

I'm, I, I, after reading and doing a lot of studies, I'm starting to have a gripe

about these things because they, in my opinion, it makes us more individualized.

He says, break the bread together.

Acts two says they were breaking bread in their homes together.

We break no bread with these.

I'm sorry.

Like, that's just the reality.

We open it, we eat it, we pop whatever left is left in it.

What happens in evaporated, you know, and then we, then we just, we just, we say it.

But no, it's a time to remember.

It's a time to commune together.

I add this little chart there, like, or this little, um, definition first that

communion is, is, is based in the word.

The definition is to share which one has in anything.

It's a participation.

It's not just a passive remembrance, it's an active remembrance.

And this chart here that I have here, I'm gonna go here real quick and I'll come

back to the scripture, but there's us, our priority is to connect with Christ.

It's to remember Christ.

However, though it is also a priority to connect with our brothers and

sisters so that we all look across the aisle and see one another.

Say, this is why we're here.

We're not here because the worship is great.

We're not here because the welcome table is so welcoming and that the

refreshments and the breakfast is amazing.

Those are great things.

But we are here because of Christ.

I, I, I'm being completely honest, I have taken communion for granted for too long.

I have.

Been too busy worrying about the order of service and when I have

to do things and, and where I have to be that I've skipped out on the

most important part of the service.

There's a brother in our congregation.

I will not name his name if he wants to raise his hand though, he totally can.

Um, I asked him, if it were up to you, how would you do church?

And he said, I would only have a communion and a sermon.

I was like, what about the worship bro?

Like, come on.

Like as a worship leader, I take that, I don't take that personally, but.

Kind of do you know?

But you know, I, but I, I, I, I, at first I was like, I mean,

I mean, those are good things.

Yeah.

But after reading and studying out communion, I understand now because

even if a sermon is okay, yeah, you can grab about me all you want.

I don't care.

But communion.

Breaking it, the bread together, sharing the juice, looking across the aisle and

being like, dude, your sins are forgiven.

My sins are forgiven.

We are here because of Christ.

Like, like, why would I even just continue to see it as just a routine

or as a slot in the service when this is the reason why we are here.

You know, and to be honest, a lot of churches don't do communion weekly.

Some of it's just monthly.

Some of it's just on special occasions, but we get to do it weekly.

But you know, what's dangerous about when it's weekly is that

it can get old real quick.

It can just feel like, oh, well someone's gonna come up here and share their

testimony and, you know, and, and say, say a scripture, and then we're gonna

move on to the next part of the service.

Now when someone comes up here to share about communion, they are sharing about

how Jesus has changed their life, how Jesus has brought them out of darkness

into the light, that there is hope, that without it we are not gonna be here.

We would not be here.

Man, Alex said, I, I, I, I, I've grown up in this church for so

long, so just communion, communion, communion, communion, I hear all

the time, but now, almost 10 years as a disciple, I finally get it.

Like I, I fi it just, it finally like, it, it resonates with me to

the point where like, it brings me to tears because I understand now.

I'm like, wow.

What would it be like if we just totally disregarded it?

What would it be like if we just took it as another slot in the service

that we were so dependent on the worship, we were so dependent on the,

on the fellowship that we forgot?

The reason that we are here is to remember him, and it's not just for

the fact of that we're, we're here to remember him because it's church, but

the fact that the church started because of him, I'm so grateful for Jesus

Christ and I hope that you are too.

Because if you're here, like I said, kicking it for friends, for social clubs,

if you're here because you wanna feel like a good person, you're in the wrong place.

I'm sorry.

We worship Jesus.

We're here for him.

And communion is essential for us as a family.

In, in one Corinthians chapter 10, verse 16, verse 17, it says, it

is not the cup of Thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation

in the blood of Jesus Christ.

And is it not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

Because there is one loaf.

We who are many are one body for we all share one loaf.

That is why.

Breaking bread together is so important.

Like I said, when you look across the aisle and you're, like I say,

you're meditating, like I, you have your time to meditate with Christ.

Yes, absolutely.

You have your time to focus in and lock in.

But when you finally get to look across, you're like, man,

I'm so grateful you are here.

I'm so grateful that Jesus was worth everything for you as it was for me.

As we continue to.

Remember communion.

I also want us to remember Jesus himself in this time when he was presenting it.

You guys with me so far still, I wanna focus on this highlighted text 'cause

I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

When Jesus started his his ministry, he had this date in mind.

He knew when this was coming.

When someone is eager to desire something, even in the midst of

suffering, how much love does that person have for these people?

I mean, he could be worrying about himself, which we do see later on.

He goes to pray, but he doesn't go alone.

He goes with his friends.

He takes them with him.

But one thing I, I do, I have to remember, like, like I talked

about earlier, Jesus is omniscient.

He's all knowing.

He's got John on his right.

He's got Judas on his left.

The betrayer is to his left.

I don't know about you, but if someone was going to betray me in the hours,

I would not have them next to me.

They'll be out the room.

They would not be next to me.

But he knows.

He knows.

He's like, I know he's gonna betray me.

I know that Thomas is gonna doubt me when I get back.

I know all these guys are gonna desert me when, when they come to arrest me.

If I was Jesus, I'd be like, man, I gotta put up with these guys one more time.

I gotta have this meal with them.

Like, let's just get this over with.

Come on.

Like, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm ready to go.

Like, but no, you go to John and you see it.

He just pours and pours so much hope and faith in them.

He could have been anywhere else, but he chooses to love them.

'cause guess what?

Love hurts guys.

When people hurt us, especially within the church.

Ooh, yikes.

It struck a nerve there.

It's really quiet,

man.

Love hurts guys.

Jesus put it all on the line for us.

And you know, in the same way it says in um, one Corinthians 11 that we

have to discern the body of Christ when we take the bread in the cup.

That means.

If we are not in the spirit or in the heart of unity with one another or

within Christ, we have to stop what we're doing before we take communion

because like I said, if, if communion is all about unity and you're not willing

to be unified with your brothers and sisters, but I'm, I'm unified to Christ.

No, you're not.

Let's, let's, let's, let's stop with the act here.

Jesus has every reason to dis, unify and disfellowship all 12 of these guys.

'cause they all desert and they all leave, but he pours into them.

He loves them, he gives them hope.

He prays for them.

The love that he has is indispensable.

One Corinthians uh, one Corinthians 13.

Love is patient.

Love is kind.

It does not envy.

It does not boast.

It is not self-seeking.

It keeps no records or wrong.

It always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

And you see this right here with Jesus.

The moment that he's about to experience agonizing pain,

he spends it with the guys.

He spends it with the men that he has entrusted to carry out his legacy,

knowing good and well, that they're gonna be, they're one's gonna betray

him if you're gonna doubt him.

Others are gonna turn and run.

Peter, the rock of the church is gonna disown him,

but he still gives them hope.

He still loves them.

And I just wanna encourage us.

Church, like I said, it's it's unity.

Time that we get to spend with one another.

I, I don't want anyone to take it for granted.

I don't want you to have to take 10 years to figure out what communion is all about.

I don't want you to spend your time a part of this congregation to

figure out, man, I, I, I get Jesus amazing all, but like, but what?

Like what?

But what is it though?

It's love.

The only way we have unity is because of the love of Christ.

The only way that we all look very different in this crowd is

because of the love of Christ.

The reason that this congregation is so diverse is because of the love

of Christ, and it covers us all.

Jesus is all about unity, and only through unity can there be

true love, whether that's a spouse or a friend, or in the church.

It's all about love.

'cause without it, we are nothing.

Whatever we do, if it's without love, it's, it's, it's nothing.

And so, I, I I, I, I know I kind of just went on a tangent there, but I, I, I

just felt the spirit I needed to say it.

Like I said, unity.

So let's, let's stop with the grudges.

Stop with the inconsideration.

Let's be honest.

Let's be real.

It's okay to be there.

That's, that's the only way you can really have true bondage.

We can't just continue to just love at arms distance and just expect

there to be peace within this all.

It's like, it's just, it's, that's just not, it's not Jesus.

I love you guys.

I love this church.

And this is what we all, this is what, this is all we need to work on.

This is what our church has been working on the last year.

It's hard.

Sucks.

I'll be honest.

'cause it, it, these conversations are not easy ones.

People leaving or people coming and going.

It's, it's not easy to watch that happen.

But if we desire to be like Christ, then we have to endure it.

We have to persevere.

It's all about unity.

One practical is some practice I wanna give you guys and you, and this is where

we can, uh, we're gonna land the plane here, but identify one area of your

heart that needs Jesus to rule over.

Like I said, don't be Judas.

Don't let the nail in the tire flatten you out.

Go.

No one go from 32 to 22 PSI.

Practice giving thanks to God for the new covenant prayer.

I think sometimes what you guys, we can get, I can get so bogged down about is

the fact that, man, I've been working so hard and, and doing all these things and,

and I just feel like I'm not good enough.

Well, good thing, good.

Well, guess what?

Wake up.

You're not.

It's only because of the grace and the love of God that you are here.

You're not good enough to get into heaven on your own, but it's

because of the fact that we now desire to live a righteous life.

From the embodiment of Jesus' eye is why we are so grateful for the new covenant.

'cause repentance and grace is so essential.

And finally, pray and prepare weekly to make communion,

both personal and communal.

Let's not just show up next Sunday with our cups.

Like I said, I, I get, it's more efficient.

So I'm, I'm not trying to bash the fact that we do it, I just,

I just want to preface that.

But that when we show up though, we, we, we.

We look each other in the eye and we see our brothers and sisters, we see family.

We see one another as, man, I'm so grateful that you are here

and that you made Jesus Lord of life, and I did as well.

But with that, it allows us to center ourself with Christ,

be unified and go back.

I'm gonna go back to the slide here, but then the identity is that

I belong to Jesus and his people.

That we are one, that we are a family, we're one body.

So I love you guys so much.

Thank you guys for listening.

Um, but I'm gonna pray us out and then uh, I'll have Marcel close us out here.

God, thank you so much for today.

Thank you so much for your son, Jesus.

God, as we, as we walk through this road to the resurrection, God,

it just gets more real and real about how much you truly love us.

God, where would we be without your love?

God.

I know.

Certainly for me, it's, it's been a, it's been a, it's been a journey, uh, to be

able to learn how to truly appre not just appreciate but speak, just deep gratitude.

But God, I know that in Ephesians talks about, you know, that one

day we just, we're just trying to grasp how deep, how wide, how big,

how great your love is for us.

So father, I pray that as we remember the last supper, we, as we

remember communion, we, we pray that we, we don't take it for granted.

We see it as a time to be unified with you, be unified with our brothers and

sisters, and that ultimately God, that you remind us that we belong to you.

God, we're so grateful.

We pray that you can bless our weeks.

God let us, like I said, prepare for next Sunday.

Let us prepare for communion and let us be evermore unified.

As your body and you at the head, we pray in your son Jesus' name.

Amen.