Our Core Values & Beliefs: Baptism & Communion Romans 6:1-4, Luke 22:19-20 Pastor Daniel Reese

Well, good morning.

If you have your Bibles, we're going to be in two passages, so go find Romans 6.

Put your finger there and then flip over to Luke 22. We're going to read both of those here

in just a second. Again, I forgot the page number.

So, ask a neighbor. But I'd highly

encourage you to just read, find the

passage and read along as we do that here in just a second.

When I was a kid

growing up, going to church, I lived in a

city that had a heavy Catholic presence.

I went to a Baptist church and a few of my friends

that went to church with me went to school with me, but most of my friends that I had

in school were Catholic.

And there were some other denominations in El Paso, we drive

by them, but I didn't really know anything about them. And I didn't really know anybody

that went to those churches. And as a young kid, I remember driving by

these churches, the Catholic churches and the Lutheran churches.

And I remember beginning to wonder what made us,

my family, choose the church that we went to? Were we

right and everyone else wrong? Like those were the questions

I had. And I remember struggling with this idea, and nobody

told me this, but I remember struggling and remember

feeling that if you weren't a Baptist, then

somehow you were in the wrong. And as I got older,

I learned that that was wrong. And most

denominations are unified because of our belief

in Jesus. And as I have matured in my faith

and I have learned that even though

there's many distinctions between denominations,

there are two primary ones that distinguish

Baptists from other Protestant denominations. And those

two differences are Baptism and Communion.

And so as we dive into our beliefs this morning

on these two topics, I'm going to invite Ali,

where's she at? Ali's going to come read our passages

this morning. The first one's going to be from Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

I'd encourage you to stand as we honor the Lord's word together.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue

in sin that grace may abound? By no means.

How can we who have died in sin still live in it?

Do you not know that all who have been baptized into

Christ Jesus were baptized into death? We were buried

therefore with him by Baptism into death in order

that just Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father

we too might walk in the newness of life. Amen. And Luke 22, we're going to

read verses 19, the start of verse 19. And he took the

bread and when he had gave thanks he broke it and gave it to them

saying, this is my body which has been given to you. Do this in

remembrance of me. And likewise the cup after

they had eaten saying, this is the cup poured out for you

in the new of covenant in my blood. Amen. Thank you

Allie. Let's pray Father. We pray that as we dive

into your word and as we look at these important topics

that you will just be in our midst. We pray Father that you will

help us see your word for what it is. And I pray Father for Allie and I thank you

for her willingness to read and I pray that you continue to give her a deep desire

to study your word. We ask all these things in your name. Amen. Thank you Allie.

Now depending on your background

meaning where you grew, how you grew up in church

the words that are used to describe

these elements are sometimes referred to as sacraments,

sometimes referred to as ordinances, sometimes referred to as symbols.

Now I'm not going to be dogmatic in as to which

you choose to use but I think it's important to understand the difference

between these three words. If you grew up in a Catholic church,

a Presbyterian church, a Lutheran church, or even potentially some

Methodist churches, they will use the word to describe baptism

and communion as a sacrament. Now what that means

is that there's this belief that you, when you

participate in baptism or you participate in communion, those are

means of receiving grace. The Catholic Catechism states

that baptism is a sacrament which cleanses us from original

sin and makes us children of God. The Lutheran denomination

says, Holy baptism is the washing of regeneration by

which the new birth is wrought. Since baptism is a means of grace

for salvation, we must not delay the baptism of

babies. Essentially what those denominations are saying

is that in order to receive grace, you

have to participate in these sacraments. And different denominations

will have a various amount of sacraments

that you must participate in to either become a member of

that church or some denominations will go as far as

saying that you need to participate in these

sacraments in order to receive salvation.

That's the definition of sacrament. An ordinance is

describing the same thing, but the meaning is different. An ordinance is

essentially a religious ceremony. The ceremony

is a celebration of work that has already been done.

For instance, a graduation ceremony is

not done at the beginning of high school, but after

the four years of work that have been completed. We don't

hold a celebration for you as a freshman because

we're not real sure you're going to make it through, right?

We celebrate after the work has been done. And once the

work has been accomplished, then we have a ceremony.

That's an ordinance. A symbol represents something else.

For instance, if you wear a wedding ring, you are

symbolizing that you were married. Or if you're a single gallon, you're wearing a wedding

ring, you're telling guys I don't want to talk to you, right? Like we're symbolizing something.

If we go out to the parking lot here in just a little while and I see

a bike rack on your car, you're symbolizing that you have a bike and

that you know how to ride it. If I were to drive around town

and see some sort of political sign in front of your house,

they are potentially symbolizing

that you're not that bright, right? A symbol is

simply a representation of something else.

So with that in mind, I want to be careful.

I want to be careful because my goal is not to offend.

I am well aware that there are many of you here

that have a different background than me, that have a different heritage than

this church. And there is potential, I just want to call it out of the gate.

There is potential here that you will take a fence

and you will begin to think that I am questioning your

faith or that I'm even questioning your sincerity

with how you've

practiced these elements in the past. I want you to know

that's not the case. My hope is that as we go

through these things, the spirit of God will lead you through this message.

So let's start by looking at baptism. Based

on the definitions I gave earlier, baptism is a symbol not a sacrament.

The practice of baptism is an ordinance

and not a sacrament. I'm going to read you some passages of scripture

and then we'll look to see how they are all connected. In Acts chapter 8 verse 36,

Acts 8:36

the Ethiopian eunuch, he comes up to Philip and he says, and he asks

Philip, see, here is the water. What prevents me from being baptized?

And Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may.

In Acts 2.41, so those who received

his word were baptized. In

Acts 16.30, the Philippian jailer, it was with Paul as Silas. He runs

up to Paul and Silas and he says, sir, what must I do to

be saved? And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus and

you will be saved. A couple verses later in Acts 16,

you see that he was baptized. Those verses describe

why baptism is not a sacrament. Because first

it's the receiving and then it's the baptism. You

don't put on a uniform, on a soldier to make

him a soldier. You put a uniform on a soldier

because he is a soldier. You don't put on a wedding

ring to become married. You put on a wedding ring because

you are married. We don't baptize someone to

save them. We baptize because they have been saved

by the grace of God. Baptism is for believers.

Here's why we don't baptize infants.

Because they can't believe.

They don't understand that they are sinners. They don't understand

their need for a savior. They can't ask the question, what must I

do to be saved? They can't ask it. It is not until

they are older that they can receive that revelation from the

Lord. Now if you were baptized as an infant, I'm not

questioning your salvation. And I'm not minimizing what your parents

that your parents were doing something good. But infant

baptism is a tradition. It's not based on scripture. Here

at Cornerstone, we will not baptize your baby, but we will encourage you

to dedicate them to the Lord. Hannah dedicated Samuel

before the Lord. When we dedicate our

children, we're standing before the congregation

and we're understanding and we're acknowledging

to the Lord that we believe salvation is in his hands, not in

ours. We are committing to raising our children in a

way that honors the Lord. We are declaring that unless the

Lord builds the house, those who labor in it will be in

vain. Baptism is an act of obedience and surrender to

the individual who comes to a saving faith in

Jesus. It should be one of the first acts of obedience.

And I've seen so many people who have

surrendered to the Lord in this area of their life.

Be blessed as he calls them to greater things

because they walked in obedience. If you are not

willing to obey the Lord in baptism,

what else are you not obeying the Lord in?

Next we need to understand that biblical baptism is by

immersion, not sprinkling.

The Greek word for baptize literally means to

immerse. Acts 839 reads, they came up out

of the water. They had to be in the water to come

out of the water. When Jesus was baptized, he was immersed by

John. It is somewhat easy to track down

the history of where sprinkling came from because

biblically, baptism was always by immersion. But traditionally

today, there are many who pour over the head

or sprinkle. So we have to track down how this practice

started. In 325 AD, the

Constantine, who is the ruler of Rome, becomes

a Christian. And that was a great thing, but it was also

a horrible thing for the church. The whole nation,

because Constantine became a believer,

the whole nation was then considered to be a Christian nation.

As a matter of convenience, as people came in and out of

the city, they would sprinkle them with water and call

that good. Because it is hard to get thousands of people

into the baptism tank or down by the river.

And so they would sprinkle as you came in and out of the city.

And that is how the Roman Catholic tradition of baptism began.

It then spread to other churches. It spread to other orthodoxies as time

went on. When the Bible was translated into

English by King James, the scholars who worked on

that literally made up a word as to not

offend those who had sprinkling as a form

of baptism. The word baptize

did not exist in the English language

until the scriptures were translated into English.

They just transliterated it from the Greek word

chiso, which means to plunge or submerse.

So, some might ask, why make a big deal about this?

Why make a big issue of this?

It is just a symbol. Why does it matter what method is used?

The fact is that it is a symbol.

But it is a symbol involving Christ. And if the Old Testament

teaches us anything, it teaches us that the Lord takes his

symbols seriously. Moses wasn't able to enter

the promised land because he abused the symbol of Christ

by striking the rock twice. People would die

instantly if they touched the Ark of the Covenant.

The High Priest could fall down dead in the Holy of Holies if he didn't

handle the mercy seat correctly. God takes his symbols

seriously. And that is why we try to honor

the biblical method of baptism by immersion.

It is a symbol that we celebrate as an

ordinance. Finally, baptism is an act of

submission. The verse

that is usually used for baptism as a means of salvation

the verse that is usually used as a defense

onto why we baptize infants is Mark 1616.

It reads, whoever believes and is baptized

will be saved. Whoever believes and

is baptized will be saved. But the issue is they forget the second half of that verse.

It reads, whoever believes

and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe

will be condemned. They only quote the first half of that verse

out of context. But where is the emphasis of that verse

on the baptism or on the believing? It's on the

believing. So how does one come to be damned to hell

by not believing? Or if you want to

apply it to water baptism then, well, the verse assumes

that a person who has seriously been saved,

who has had their life changed by Jesus, naturally

will follow the Lord's leading in believers' baptism.

Now we need to keep an open mind

to other people's opinions. We need to walk in grace

but we also need to be careful not to take phrases out of context.

Because that verse does not say that if you are not

baptized you are condemned. It says if you don't believe

you are not, you are condemned.

Baptism is a symbol that we celebrate here as an ordinance, a religious

ceremony. We don't believe that it's necessary for you

to receive salvation from God. Because the truth

is there's nothing that we can do. There's nothing that we can do to earn our

salvation from God. Coming to church, being baptized,

serving, and giving money is nothing but filthy

rags before a holy God. If the motivation behind any of those

things is to earn favor from Him.

Baptism is an act of obedience. Stepping forward in baptism

is an act of surrender where we are saying we want

to identify with Christ in His death and resurrection.

That's what it is symbolizing. We are now a new

creation and our life before

God is in the grave. It's under the water.

And we come up out of the water made new.

So as we wrap up our discussion on baptism

will you ask the Lord

will you ask Him, will you pray with, you know, pray in your

heart, is this something that He wants you to submit to?

If you've never been baptized

as a believer, my challenge to you is to consider it.

It's not going to save you. But you

were saying that I'm willing to surrender this area of my life.

I'm willing to surrender as He leads

me.

I do not get a commission check based on

how many people we baptize here.

This is an issue between

you and the Lord. If you don't want to get

baptized here, we're not going to shun you. We're not going to kick you

out of here. We're going to continue to love

you in grace. But as we're going through

our beliefs, I think it's important for you to understand this is where we stand.

So that is one distinction between the nominations.

The second is communion. Some traditions

will say that it is necessary for you to

receive salvation. You have to take communion.

What they will teach you is that when you take

communion, when you eat the bread and when you drink the

juice, you are literally taking in the body and blood of

Christ. So when you hear things on the news,

when you hear things on the news about some political

leader being rejected from taking communion, what

church is actually saying is not, hey, you can't celebrate communion.

What they're actually saying is that we are withholding Christ from you.

We are withholding Christ from you. Now

that is not true because no man has the authority, no man has

the power to decide who Christ saves and who the Holy Spirit

indwells. But that belief is based on tradition. It's not based on biblical

truth. We take communion very seriously here.

But if you think through this logically and

biblically, what exactly is Christ saying in Luke 22 when it says

He took the bread and He broke it and gave things, He then

passed it out to His disciples. They're all around

a table and He passes this out. And after He passes it out, He says,

this is my body which is given for you. It was a symbol

because obviously Jesus didn't pluck some bread off of himself.

It wasn't a part of His body. Instead, it was

a symbol. Then a few short hours later, He was

symbolizing that His body would be broken

and it would be taken on the punishment of our sin. His body would never be

whole again. He's the only one in the eternity

in heaven that is going to continue to bear His scars.

And just like you can't break bread and put

it back together again, that is what His body is symbolizing.

When He said the cup was a new covenant in His blood, He wasn't saying that

this is His literal blood. It's not like

He cut Himself and filled a cup full of His blood and made them

drink it. He was saying that His blood is

red. This drink is red. It was a symbol. Like the cup

could be spilled over. His blood would be spilled for

our sins. And I think so many Christians forget that Christ

has victory over death.

That's why I struggle to look at crucifixes.

Because Christ is no longer on the cross.

It's why I struggle with certain denominations

and how they do communion because they will hold up a piece of bread.

And they'll say this is Christ and they will put

Him on the altar and say He's on the altar, you have to receive Him.

So every time they take communion,

what they are doing is putting Christ back on the altar for us to receive Him.

That is not at all what I believe. I believe Jesus

when He said on the cross that it was finished. I believe

Him. There's no more need to place things on the

altar in order to receive salvation.

All you need for salvation is to believe. We celebrate communion

as a way to remember. This is why Jesus says on Luke 22,

do this in remembrance of me. He doesn't say do this to receive me.

You do this to remember me. But instead

remember that I laid down my life for you.

Communion is a time where we focus on

our relationship with God. We reflect on His great love for us

that caused Him to give us His only Son as a sacrifice for

our sins. He's had victory over death.

We receive Him by the Holy Spirit.

We don't have to continue to put Him on the altar. It is an

internal communion.

In 1 Corinthians 11, 28 Paul writes, let a person examine

himself then. And so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats

and drinks judgment on himself. So when we

enter into a time to remember Jesus

as sacrifice for us, we need to evaluate our

hearts. I'm sure we've all had this conversation

in our minds. Maybe just me. Where we wish we could go back

in time and handle a situation differently.

We look at some mistakes we made and wish

for a do-over because we've seen the effects of our actions.

And if we knew then what we know now, we would have done things

differently. Anybody else have that conversation in their mind?

That's essentially what Paul is saying here. If you think back

to your walk with the Lord over the last month,

what are some things you wish you would have done differently?

Maybe not slept in?

Maybe been obedient when he gave you the

opportunity. He placed it right in front of you to share your faith and you

didn't do it over this last month.

Could you have had more patience with your spouse or your kids?

When you think about what

Christ endured on the cross on your behalf, because

of your sin that was placed on him,

what brings conviction to you?

Because when we take communion,

we are remembering what Jesus did for us.

And if we take communion without

considering what that means,

it says we eat and drink judgment

on ourselves. I love Psalm 19 because

it says who can discern his errors, declare me

innocent from my hidden faults.

Meaning God, I respect you enough and I honor you enough

to understand that you are holy.

And as I sit and remember the love that you have

for me, as I remember the love

you have for me, the sacrifice that Jesus made for me,

the hope that his resurrection brings me,

if there is anything in my life that has

grieved you that I'm not even aware of, please forgive me.

Here's the things I

I mean we say here's the things I wish I could do over.

I could have handled that situation better. I could have walked in love in here.

I could have given more grace. Here are the things I know

that I messed up and are sinful.

But if there's anything else in my life that has dishonored you

that I'm not even aware of, please forgive me.

I don't want to remember this in an unworthy way.

I don't want to eat this bread and drink this cup in an unworthy way.

Communion is internal.

But scripture also says that communion is also external.

1 Corinthians 17 says

for we, though many, are one bread and one body

for we all partake of that one bread.

Communion is a time where we are

to be mindful that we are not on an island by ourselves.

As children of God we are living

we are a living part of the body of Christ.

Our lives touch others as the lives of others touch us.

We're all interconnected. Communion should remind us

that remind us that are Christians that we all share

the same fallen condition.

Every single one of us shares the same fallen condition.

We've all been redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This is where we come together. This is what the church is.

We come together and we meet on level ground because all of us are fallen.

Not one of us is better than the other.

And we meet here in Ephesians 2.16 Paul writes that Jesus might reconcile us both to God

and one body through the cross.

Thereby killing the hostility.

That Jesus might reconcile us both to God

and one body through the cross. Therefore killing any hostility.

In the context of that verse

Paul is discussing the relationship between Jew and Gentile.

That relationship was loaded with hostility.

If not hatred

towards each other. The Jews didn't think that Gentiles

should have access to God because they weren't God's chosen people.

The Gentiles didn't like the Jews because they were viewed as outsiders of this

promise.

I mean that's real hostility.

There were wars over this stuff. That's hostility

that Paul says is dead because Jesus unites

both parties. He reconciled all to God

through his blood and through his sacrifice. It's amazing to me

how often people in churches, believers

forget that part.

And they view others in the church as their enemies.

And we hold on to bitterness

because of how someone treated us.

Or we hold on to bitterness because we heard a rumor about somebody else

in the church that may or may not be true.

When we look at the cross, and y'all are looking at it, when we look at that cross

it's empty.

And we should be reminded that all the hostility that exists

between believers is dead because of what was

accomplished on it. If you feel hostility

if you feel tension with another brother

or sister in Christ and have not tried to make

amends, you have not called out their sin, you have not sought

forgiveness, you are allowing the enemy to win.

Jesus came to kill the hostility. He tells us in

Matthew 5, if you are offering your gift at the altar,

and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there

before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother

and then come and offer your gift.

The beauty of the church

is that we can come together as imperfect people

and worship together a perfect God.

So many times we think that we are the perfect ones.

We are the perfect ones and others, they're the ones

that have messed up. As we think about communion being

external, let us remember James 4, 6

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the

humble. My hope is that we will humble

ourselves this morning and kill

the evil. Through the power of God's spirit, any

hostility that exists between us.

Finally, communion is eternal.

Everything about communion has

eternal significance. The bread symbolizes the sinless

body of Christ, the blood symbolizes that our sin has been forgiven

and that he has made a way for us to be reconciled

and to be reconciled for eternity.

Eternity has two options. Relationship with God

and heaven or separated from him and hell forever.

All the arguments of theology, all the

intricacies and complexities of Bible doctrine can be

boiled down to this reality. You either spend eternity

with him forever by believing in your heart that Jesus

was the only one who was righteous and

was worthy enough to take your sin and he's the only

one who can help make peace between you and God.

Or you reject that reality and you spend

eternity and hell separated from him. You don't need a lot of Bible

knowledge to understand that. We are dealing

with eternal things when we take communion.

We are remembering that we are

sinners. We are remembering

that Jesus willingly gave himself for us.

We are remembering that on the third day he rose

from the grave and we are remembering that right now

he is reigning and ruling at the right hand of the Father.

But it also gives us hope and we are looking forward.

We are looking forward to when he rips open the sky

and returns to make all things new.

That's why we celebrate communion.

So I'm going to invite our elders and deacons to come

forward and we're going to do this together.

We are now switching into ordinance

mode.

We are symbolizing

the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Through the

resurrection of Jesus. We are

symbolizing the death, burial, and

resurrection of Jesus. Through a piece of bread

and a cup of juice.

It's not going to save you.

So here's how I would like to do it this morning.

These fine gentlemen are going to pass these out to you.

You'll have the option to take

one, there's two cups stacked on top of each other and

we're going to ask you to hold those things.

And as you look at that bread and as you look at that juice

and as you look at that empty cross

I want you to remember what that means.

We don't have a crucifix here

because he's already accomplished it.

We don't have a crucifix here

because he's already accomplished it.

We're not putting him back on the altar.

And I want you to think internally, God, what do I need to confess to you?

Some things we know, we need to confess those things, we know it, but

then there's others.

God, maybe there's some hidden things in my life that I'm not even aware of.

I want you to forgive those things as well.

We need to internally

examine where we are this morning.

But we also need to think externally.

Is there hostility between

brothers and sisters in this room that I need to make right?

Is there some tension that I need to cut?

I'm going to hope and pray

that we will humble ourselves before the Lord.

But so many times, at least for me, I'll speak for me,

there's so many times that somebody has wronged me.

And in my pride I will say, well, they need to come to me.

That's not what that verse means, is it?

Let's humble ourselves before the Lord.

And he will give us grace. And finally, let's think about the eternal implications of this.

If you've not professed Jesus as your Savior,

if you've not called upon His name,

if you don't believe

with all your heart that He saved you

and He's the only one that could,

will you call upon His name today?

If you've not called upon His name,

call upon His name today.

There's somebody in this room that needs to do that.

He brings hope.

And He brings peace. And I think so many times we think,

I've got to get my life together before He'll accept me. And I'm telling you, that's not the case.

If I waited until I got my life together

until He accepted me, I'd still be waiting.

So if you hear Him calling you, if you feel Him

calling you, will you accept that today?

I love nothing more than talk to you about that.

But I have no doubt in my mind that there's somebody in this room right now

who can call upon His name.

And so as these things get passed out, I'm going to just ask that we, we're going to sing a song together.

Maybe we'll just give it a few minutes.

Just to examine ourselves internally, examine ourselves externally,

and also think about the eternal implications of that.

And I'm just going to ask the Spirit of the Lord to fall on this room

like He already has, and speak to each and every one of our hearts.

And you respond in obedience to whatever He's letting you to do.

Can we do that?

If you are not a member of this church,

we still invite you to the table. If you have professed faith in Jesus.

If you need gluten-free, just raise your hand and they will bring you some gluten-free.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And what He did for me, a comrade is more than enough.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

This is my song. I praise Him, my risen King and Savior of the dead.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.

That's why I trust Him.

I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.

That's why I trust Him.

I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.

That's why I trust Him.

I sought the Lord, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

I trust in God, my Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

He will never fail.

I sought the Lord, and He answered.

I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.

That's why I trust Him.

I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.

My Savior, the One who will never fail.

He will never fail.

I believe that to be true. When we seek Him, He will find Him.

He'll answer us.

Are you ready for the bread?

Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you for coming and living among us and showing us a glimpse of who you are.

And then Lord, for your obedience of going to the cross.

And you did that for me, and you did that for all who you are going to call to yourself, Lord.

And you just continue to remind us on a daily basis what you have done for us by having your body put to a cross and broken for us.

Thank you for that Lord in Christ's name. Amen.

Scripture says, then, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus was with His disciples, He took bread, and He broke it, symbolizing His future broken body.

He says, every time you do this, do this, and remember incident.

Fred, are we ready for the juice?

Father God, thank you for the blood that you shed for us on the cross.

We are so thankful that you're no longer there, and we get to live in the freedom that we are forgiven.

Nothing we can do could ever earn what you did for us. Thank you for this blood.

After that, He took the cup, and He said, this is a new covenant. My blood, every time you drink this, do this, and remember it to me.

Amen.

One of our responses to God's generosity towards us is to care for His church.

And so every month we take an offering, and we're going to do that right now.

And all of the money that's collected goes to help meet needs of our church members that are faithfully worshiping here.

So as needs come up for medical expenses, or rent, or things of that nature, we are able to pay for those things with this offering.

And so there's no obligation at all to give to this offering, but if you have a few extra dollars that you want to contribute,

we're going to take that offering now, and these guys are going to pass this out as we sing one more song together.

Let me pray for it. Father, I pray right now that as we collect this money for needs that you already know about,

I pray that you will impress upon our hearts how to give.

And I pray, Father, that you will bless every giver, no matter the amount.

I pray, Father, that you will bless the heart of every giver.

And I pray, Father, that you will continuously help us be good stewards of the money that is about to be collected.

Help us honor you with everything that we do.

We give this time to you. Let me pray.

I pray that you will be able to give.

I pray that you will be able to give.

Oh, blood is healed. How can you heal? There's a God who heals. There's a God who believes.

Oh, praise Him. Who would reach for me? Hallelujah to the Son of Suffering.

To imagine Him, our debts still live on board. But you chase the Son and most of all, we're sinning.

Sinning you, the grace, the broken you, the grace. In the end, the proof is in yours.

Oh, blood is healed. How can you heal? There's a God who heals. There's a God who believes.

Oh, praise Him. Who would reach for me? Hallelujah to the Son of Suffering.

Your cross is my freedom. Your stripes my healing. Oh, praise King Jesus.

Who would reach to God in heaven? Your blood still spills. Your will of still reaching. Oh, praise King Jesus. Who would reach to God in heaven?

Who would reach to God in heaven? Who would reach to God in heaven? Who would reach to God in heaven? Who would reach to God in heaven?

Your grace my freedom, Your stripes my King,

Your grace, King Jesus,

Your grace, God, and Your love still speak,

Your love still reach, Your grace,

King Jesus, Your grace, God, and Your love still speak,

Your grace, King Jesus, Your grace, King Jesus,

Your grace, King Jesus, Your grace, King Jesus,

Your grace, King Jesus, Your grace,

Your grace, God, and Your love still speak,

Your grace, King Jesus, Your grace, King Jesus,

There's a God who weeps, There's a God who weeps,

O praise the Lord, who will reach for me,

Hallelujah to this earth's suffering,

Amen.

I encourage you to be seated for one second as we just,

as we wrap up our time together.

He's so good to us because there's nothing that we can do to earn it.

He bleeds for us. He loves us. He's gracious to us.

And I hope that you experienced that in this place today.

I want to leave you with a couple announcements.

The first one being next Sunday, we've advertised for four,

but we're going to move it to five, so it's not so hot.

But next Sunday at five, we're going to meet down at the Wopsie,

and we're going to celebrate what God has done in so many of our lives.

And so if you want to be baptized, if you want to take that step of obedience,

will you let me know today so we can celebrate with you?

The next announcement being in a couple weeks on September 8th,

we're going to have somewhat of an outreach event in Jason Gray,

and Jordan St. Cyr, and Bay Turner are going to be in the sanctuary.

And tickets aren't on sale yet.

We'll send out a link this week where you can register.

You'll have to get a ticket.

But we'd encourage you not only to come but bring somebody with you

because they will hear the gospel message in this place on September 8th.

I'd love for you to be here for that.

Finally, a couple days later on September 6th is the concert.

September 8th, for those of you who don't know,

we just recently did a church health survey.

And on September 8th, Sunday night here, we're going to shoot for five o'clock.

We're going to show and share the results of that survey.

We're going to show and share the plan moving forward.

And then we're going to have some coffee and desserts afterwards.

So it's going to be a time of information and then a time of fellowship.

I highly encourage you to be a part of that.

This is such a great church.

If you're new, this is your first time.

I hope you experience that today.

The spirit of God is in this place.

There's nowhere else I'd rather be on a Sunday morning than right here with you.

So as we end our communion service like we always do,

I invite you to stand as we declare this truth over our lives.

Will you join me?

I am totally accepted, fully pleasing, deeply loved, completely forgiven.

I want you to live a new life in Christ because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

Amen.

Man, I hope you'll have a good week.

See you next Sunday.

God bless you.