Nehemiah and the 7 C's: Courageous

A question for you as we start.

Does anybody need a little courage in their life today?

Specifically, where don't don't answer this out loud.

Where do you need courage in this season?

Is it a relationship in crisis?

Is it a conversation that you've been putting off?

Is it you have little kids?

I just need courage.

Is it something God is inviting you to do and you've just been pushing it off?

Is it there's somebody that you know and your heart breaks for them that they don't know Jesus?

But you've been afraid to share your faith with them.

And you need a little bit of courage.

Most of us don't have a problem seeing courage in somebody else.

I mean, maybe it's even the Hollywood version of we sit in a movie, we see a person running into the burning building, we we admire a soldier who puts himself in harm's way, and we say it's courage, and we admire it.

Or we see somebody jumping out of airplanes and we're like, look how courageous they are.

Or are they just a daredevil?

Or kids like they're riding a big roller coaster, like, you're so courageous, or are they a thrill seeker?

Or hey, you're so courageous, you said that hard thing, you revealed blah blah blah, you're true to yourself.

Is that courage?

Or is it self-serving?

See, biblical courage is different.

Biblical courage may be much quieter.

It may be telling the truth when telling the truth costs you.

It may be having the difficult conversation and the person doesn't appreciate that.

It may be loving the person you don't feel like loving.

It may be not compromising when it seems like everybody else is compromising.

Biblical courage is different.

Last week, if you were here, we talked about compassion.

We were in Nehemiah chapter one, and we talked about what compassion in action looks like.

And it looks like our heart sort of being turned towards people who are hurting.

But first, when that happens, we turn to God so that we don't have to like do this in our own strength.

Then we trust God.

We try, we trust his character, and part of his character is God is compassionate, he's gracious, he's slow to anger, abounding in love.

And we want to be those kinds of people, so we trust his character to be formed inside of us so that then when we move towards the hurting people, we're we're moving in the strength God provides and the purposes that God provides.

So today we want to build on that, but we're gonna talk about courage.

But it's sort of a compassionate kind of courage, a courageous kind of compassion.

But I want to be really clear up front.

This is not, it is not a sermon about be brave.

Come on, you can do it.

It's not a sermon about try harder, you can do this.

Um, there's one key phrase that we're gonna see twice in in Old Testament narrative.

When you see something repeated, it's often repeated for emphasis.

And what we'll see repeated in Nehemiah chapter two is Nehemiah refers to the gracious hand of God.

And here's what I'm saying up front the gracious hand of God makes all the difference in the story of Nehemiah and in our lives.

Amen?

So don't miss the gracious hand of God.

And here's the thing it's not about being brave, it's about receiving courage.

So I need you to help me in something.

If you are able, would you just put one hand out in front of you, way far out in front of you?

Be brave.

So courage is not grasping or taking, flip it over.

Courage is about receiving.

That's gonna be such an important distinction.

You can put your hands down.

It's not about you be brave, it's about receive the courage that only God can provide.

Because this kind of courage enables us to see correctly, to see and understand God, to see and understand circumstances and see and understand people.

This courage empowers us to take a step of faith, to step out when God opens a door.

And this kind of courage, this will be where a lot of us are, it emboldens us to stand even when nothing else seems to be changing.

And so it's a different kind of courage.

And so if you've got a Bible, Nehemiah chapter two is where we'll be in just a moment.

And we're going through the book of Nehemiah, but we're also going through what we've called seven C's, seven cultural values.

And like, like we said, last week was compassionate, this week is being courageous.

We're gonna keep building on these seven cultural values.

We think not only is God calling us to individually, but God is calling our church to be these kinds of people.

And so if you're new to the story of Nehemiah, let me just give a quick overview.

Look at this slide, real quick.

Here's what happens in Nehemiah.

It's a spoiler alert.

If you don't know the story, oops, I just ruined the ending.

Uh, Nehemiah, number one, God reveals the situation.

We saw this last week that the city of Jerusalem has been ransacked, the people taken into exile.

The people first are in great trouble and disgrace.

So the people first, but then second, the place, the walls are destroyed, the gates are destroyed.

Uh in response, Nehemiah mourns, he fasts, he prays, he turns to God first.

Third, Nehemiah is commissioned to rebuild the walls.

That's where we'll be today.

And as Nehemiah is commissioned to rebuild the walls, he he goes out and he builds a group of people to do this together, a community of people.

That's next week.

Um, and the people rebuild the walls despite resistance.

So there's obstacles, but they still accomplish this goal.

So the people then rally to finish this project, and there's just a beautiful picture of worshiping and celebrating God in the midst of what he accomplishes through his people.

And then lastly, God's story is still a work in progress.

So you get to the last chapter, chapter 13, and it's not all buttoned up, everybody's great, people are still messy, right?

Life is still hard, but God is still faithful in all of that.

And so that's a context in where we find ourselves in this context when we get to chapter two.

So if you have your Bible, would you grab that and look with me in chapter two?

At the end of chapter one, we realize Nehemiah is mourning, praying.

He's grieving, but he's seeking God.

Chapter 2, verse 1.

In the month of Nasan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and I gave it to the king.

Remember, we said he was the cupbearer to the king.

He's like a somalia to the king.

And it seems like maybe the language, maybe there's some kind of party, and wine is being brought out for this party.

And Nehemiah, he's a taste tester, so nobody can poison the king.

And he's tasting it.

He brings it, gives it to the king.

And he says, I had not been sad in his presence before.

So the king asked me, Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?

This can be nothing but sadness of heart.

So look, there's probably some kind of party going on.

There's a celebration, they're bringing out wine and the music, the DJ, it's pumping.

And Nehemiah sad, and the king's like, wait a minute, this is the party.

Why are you so sad?

You're not ill.

This is a sorrow of heart.

Something's going on.

And Nehemiah says, I was very much afraid.

Well, why is that?

Because kings were finicky people in the ancient world, and they didn't want you to ruin their party.

Why are you so sad?

He's afraid.

But I said to the king, May the king live forever.

He butters them up first.

May the king live forever.

Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?

Here's what we know at the end of chapter one to the beginning of chapter two, about four months have passed.

For four months, Nehemiah is mourning and he is praying.

For four months.

He is grieving, but he's also planning.

For four months since he found out what is going on, he's been praying some kind of prayer.

God, I know you don't like this.

God, I know this isn't your plan.

And God, if you want me to do something about it, I'll be willing.

It's a thousand miles away from where he is to get to Jerusalem.

It's a thousand miles away.

He's in the comfort of the palace of the king with all the wine, with all the the luxuries that you could imagine, but his heart is breaking for his people a thousand miles away, who are in great trouble and disgrace, and the walls have been destroyed.

And so he's so sorrowful it shows, and he can't even hide it.

There's some incongruence going on here between the party scene and the sadness.

And he's very much afraid.

But as you've probably heard, courage is not the absence of fear, it's what we do when we are afraid, right?

And the incongruence is that, yes, there may be a party going on, but his people, his homeland, it's in crisis.

And so something must be done.

So first point is this that we want to talk about today.

Courage enables us to see, it enables us to see.

And this means understanding God, who is God, and understanding reality.

If we're going to have true biblical courage, we've got to be able to see who God is, even when we're seeing the reality of what's going on in life.

Like we can't hide our eyes, we can't avoid the pain, but we can see God in the middle of it.

And and biblical courage specifically demands that we understand God's purposes, not just our plans or preferences.

Anybody know what I mean there?

It's a big difference between God's purposes in a situation and my preferences, or what I think should be done.

So we've got to learn to see.

There have been a number of times in our life, in my life as an adult, where I was almost paralyzed by fear of the choice, the decision before me, and the weight of responsibility behind that.

When we were, we got married, my wife and I got married, we had our two girls, um, and then she was pregnant with our son.

When we had an opportunity to move from North Carolina to Chicagoland to take this job, and so as we're praying about it, like we really sensed God saying, Go.

Absolutely sensed God saying go.

And then they gave the offer of how much it would pay.

And my initial reaction is well, God can't be in that, God doesn't speak like that.

And we saw roughly what the bills would be and what the pay would be, and we're like, God's not in that.

Years later, um, in fact, 15 years ago, about, I started talking to this crazy little church in Rancho Cucamonga, California called Hillside Community Church.

And they were looking for a lead pastor, and I didn't know if I didn't wanted to do that, but we're looking.

And uh we're like taking our daughter for chemotherapy treatment, and then I'm interviewing on the phone, and we're like, God can't be in this.

The timing doesn't work.

How can God be in this kind of complexity?

And for me, it was just this reminder that yeah, yeah, it's it's fine to see circumstance.

We've got to see circumstance, but can we see God's hand at work no matter what?

Do we understand what God is wanting to do?

Do we understand his purposes that that may be beyond our preferences and our plans?

And it was just this reminder to see the gracious hand of God at work.

Sometimes it doesn't make sense, and sometimes God does things beyond our own understanding.

So Nehemiah is cautiously for four months praying and fasting and mourning and planning and strategizing and waiting for a door to open.

And one day when a door opens and a king says, Why are you so sad?

What's going on?

He's like, Is this my opportunity?

I don't know, but I'm willing to risk it.

Look at verse 4.

The king says, said to me, What is it you want?

Well, that's a dangerous question for most people.

What is it you want?

And then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.

So get this.

He's before the king.

The king's like, What is it you want?

And before Nehemiah speaks to the king, he prays to his God.

It's like a simultaneous thing that's going on.

He's like, Before I answer him, I want to make sure this isn't my preference.

And so he's like, God, give me wisdom.

And he says, If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried, so that I can, what's the word?

Rebuild it.

That's a key, key theme for Nehemiah, so that I can rebuild it.

Here's what Nehemiah says.

I'm not going out on my own.

I mean, he's in the palace of the king.

He's willing to risk it all.

If that's what God wants him to do.

And he says, well, if it pleases the king, then this is what I would like to do.

All in response to this like divinely orchestrated question what is it you want?

And I just think, if we don't know the answer to that question, or if we haven't thought through the answer to that question, that the answer to that question could lead us in all kinds of wrong directions, couldn't it?

What is it you want?

See, the whole passage seems to revolve around the answer to this question.

And the question of biblical courage revolves around this question: what do I want, God's will or my way?

Do I want what my hands can accomplish, or do I want what comes from the gracious hand of God?

What do you want?

And Nehemiah just immediately turns to God and prays and says, Here it is.

My people are in trouble.

The city's in great distress.

You see, biblical courage, it sees like God sees, but it but it cares for others like God cares.

It's moved into action by the compassion that we talked about last week.

This is our second idea.

Not only does compassion allow us to see, but compassion empowers us to step up.

To step up.

It's moving when or if God opens a door.

It's when God moves that we're ready and prepared to step with Him.

Compassion steps up.

I love what the Apostle Paul says.

This is very clear, but we've got to remember this, 2 Corinthians 5, for we live by faith, not by sight.

We're not talking about what it means to live by the things that make sense.

We're talking about, hey, we're, I'm talking to followers of Christ.

We're talking about what does it mean to live by faith?

Not just do your own thing, but to do what Scripture calls us to do, to do what it means a follower of Jesus would do in this situation.

We live by faith.

And biblical courage, it empowers just normal humans like you and I beyond their means, beyond our capabilities.

It's what happens when ordinary people recognize the gracious hand of God in their life.

And isn't that the story of scripture throughout?

God repeatedly empowers people for his purposes, people who don't appear to have enough.

David and Moses and Gideon, Rahab, I could go on and on.

God uses them not because they're naturally courageous, but because he strengthened them by his hand, despite their own limitations.

Moses is like, I can't talk.

David is the youngest, he's out watching sheep, not fighting wars.

Rahab's a harlot.

Gideon's like, I'm literally the least of my whole entire family line.

And God says, But I choose you.

Just like he chooses a cupbearer to the king.

It's not about what are your qualifications.

It really, in some degrees, about our willingness.

So verses six through nine, the the king is questioning how long is this going to take?

What do you need?

All these kinds of things.

And um, at the end of verse eight, here's part of our key phrase for understanding the whole passage.

Uh, Nehemiah 2, 8, the last part.

And because of the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.

The gracious hand of my God.

This refers to the good, the pleasant hand.

It all throughout the Old Testament, specifically, when you talk about the hand of God, it's the strength and power of God, it's the guidance of God, it's the presence of God in our life.

Again, would you just do this with me if you're able?

The hand of God, not not grasping, it's not us grasping, it's not us taking.

Flip it over, it's us receiving.

God, what do you have?

And Nehemiah says, Because the gracious hand of God on my life.

Look, look, listen to what happens.

It's crazy.

Nehemiah is granted authority, he's granted protections, he's granted provisions, far more than Nehemiah would have been bold enough to ask the kings, like, I'll give you this, and I'll give you this, and I'll give you this.

It's just a reminder: God provides for us.

We sang this earlier, it's our first song.

God provides for us wherever he leads us.

God provides for us what is needed if we're following him to where he's called us.

And biblical courage is always more about who God is than who we are.

Always more about God's purposes than our preferences.

But also God's work and our responsibility often go hand in hand.

And wise and thoughtful, faith-filled, courageous action are modeled in Nehemiah and are needed in our lives.

Somewhere in the story, I don't exactly know where, Nehemiah makes the 1,000-mile journey from Susa, the citadel capital, all the way to Jerusalem.

A thousand miles.

He leaves luxury, he leaves all the king's resources, and I'm sure all the king's wine that he was in charge of back there, and he goes to this land of the unknown.

And he goes to the place where he doesn't really know what he's going to do.

And for three days it seems he surveys the city.

He walks around the city, sort of in secret, trying to just see, oh wow, is it as bad as I heard it was?

And it is.

And the people are in great trouble and disgrace, and the walls are down, the gates are burned, all those kinds of things.

And like part of me wants to know, how did he even know how to assess?

Like, he was a cupbearer.

What did they teach you in cupbearer school?

In cupbearer school, does any part of it like help equip you to be an architect or a general contractor to say, I know what to do with walls that fall down?

He was a cupbearer.

But again, God didn't call him because he was qualified, but because he was willing and he would trust.

And so then Nehemiah verses 13 through 16, after he's scoping out the city and assessing the situation, uh, he starts to have a conversation, verse 17.

And so he's talking to the people, and he says, I said to them, You see the trouble we are in.

It's almost like, right?

Right?

You see this.

You see how much trouble there is.

Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire.

And he gives them a challenge.

Come, come, let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.

And I also told them about the, here it is again, right?

Gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

So it's like, come on, let's do this, let's start rebuilding.

And that they replied, let us start rebuilding.

So they began this good work.

So on this day they start this work.

All of this is in the context of the gracious hand of God at work around Nehemiah and in Nehemiah.

Nehemiah doesn't say, Look at this plan I came up with.

He doesn't say, The king gave me all these provisions.

He said, God's doing all this.

God's doing all of this.

All I am is a recipient of the grace and the protection and the favor and the provision of God.

All I'm doing is receiving what God is offering.

Now look, Nehemiah is still a good model for leadership at this point.

He's discerning the right time, he's uh counting the cost and evaluating the situation.

He's learning how to motivate people and get the people of God involved in a project.

He's learning communication skills, and you'll see later public relations.

He's a good PR guy.

But it's all in the context of the gracious hand of God and what God is up to and his purposes.

Nehemiah gives credit where credit is due, but then he he uh assembles the people, he he rallies the people, and this is what we'll talk about next week when we talk about community and the people coming together for a for a cause and a united purpose.

Because God always empowers us to step up for the sake of others.

It's because the people are in disgrace and the city lies in ruin.

God empowers us with courage to step up, not for ourselves and our own benefit, but for the sake of others.

My wife uh sent me a podcast, so I was listening to this author on a podcast, and he said, It's like every single one of us, we need our own personal defense attorneys that we call friends.

When we're in trouble, we need our own personal defense attorneys.

And here's how he described those people.

The kind of person that says, I see your pain.

I'm on your side.

I'll walk with you through this.

We're in this together.

And Nehemiah goes all the way a thousand miles away and lets the people know, I see the pain.

I know what's going on.

I've really sacrificed all of those luxuries to be with you.

We're going to get through this because the gracious hand of God is on our lives.

Look at verse 19.

Will you read the first word with me?

But contrast, uh oh, things just always don't go as easy as we plan, right?

But when Sinbalat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and they ridiculed us.

What is this you're doing?

Do you have a permit for that building?

What's your certification?

Are you rebelling against the king?

Whose authority do you think you're doing this on?

And Nehemiah is able to say, the gracious hand of my God's authority.

I answered them by saying, The God of heaven will give us success, and we his servants will start rebuilding.

There's again that word, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.

So Nehemiah has already got the people ready to go, and the people are getting ready to start, and there's conflict, which is always a reminder that anytime we attempt to walk with God, follow God's ways, we can expect conflict.

Surprise.

For some reason, we're still surprised.

Like, I thought I was doing the right thing.

Why did it, why was it not easier?

I thought I was doing what God wanted me to do.

But it was hard.

Yeah, welcome to following God.

Expect opposition.

There's no real courage unless there's actual conflict.

And this is always sort of what scripture has been preparing us for.

Jesus has been preparing us for.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says this in the Sermon on the Mount.

You heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I tell you, Jesus, like I've got another path.

I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

And you're like, yeah, but you don't understand.

It's 2026, almost 2027.

We're in Southern California.

That doesn't work anymore.

Okay.

So you're like, Jesus, no.

But he's saying, no, no, you've got to expect this.

You've got to prepare for this.

The apostle Paul picked up this very same idea in what has become one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible, Romans 12.

And Paul says this bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse.

Bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse.

Paul's like saying, Who said it was going to be easy?

If you start to stand with God and his work and his world in this world, there's going to be plenty of obstacles and opportunities before us and opposition.

But but I love this.

I was early this morning digging into this.

Bless those who persecute you.

Who's the you in that?

A lot of times we read the scripture and we're like, the you're me.

Bless those who persecute me.

I need to bless those who persecute me.

Nope, not so fast.

It's bless those who persecute us.

We're not solo independent people trying to figure this out.

It's when we are on mission.

We the people of God.

Romans 12, the whole context is this idea of be transformed by the renewing of your mind as the people of God, because you're one body, you're together.

And out of that, we're to have a sort of a solidarity with those who are hurting, with those who are in pain.

We weep with those who weep, we rejoice with those who rejoice, and we bless those who persecute you.

Because opposition does not mean that the gracious hand of God has been removed.

It may mean you're in exactly the place where courage is needed the most.

These obstacles and opposition are not necessarily signs that you're doing the wrong thing.

They may in fact be evidence you're doing exactly the right thing.

And sometimes we wrongly assume if I'm going God's way, doing what he wants me to do, isn't it going to be easier?

And Nehemiah and a lot of other stories say actually, it may be the opposite.

Because when you start going with God, there's an enemy.

The devil, the work of the evil one.

And the gracious hand of God doesn't mean that there will not be opposition.

The gracious hand of God means no opposition can ultimately stop his work.

The gracious hand of God means God is faithful to finish his work, even if it takes until eternity for that to be completed.

And so there's a different approach.

We see like God sees, then we step up when a door opens.

But third, and let me just be honest, this may be where a lot of us are today, and we need to hear this.

Sometimes courage simply emboldens us to stand.

This is building resilience in times of trouble.

Sometimes courage emboldens us to stand even if nothing else changes.

But something changes in us.

See, courage is often not about a one-time heroic act.

It's often biblical courage, at least about consistent, faithful choices over a lifetime.

I personally truly believe some of the most courageous people on this earth will not be known by many on this earth.

There are people who have been in the midst of unbearable suffering and still choose to trust God and to stand no matter what.

Often even reaching out to others in their own suffering.

Or they're serving in secret, and hardly anyone knows their name or their sacrifice that it cost, but God knows, and his gracious hand is on them.

It's what the apostle Paul writes about in Ephesians 6, this beautiful chapter of spiritual warfare and armor, putting on the armor of God that we would be equipped and we would be ready.

And then Paul says in verse 13, therefore put on the full armor of God, or what it literally says is put it on you, put the full armor of God on you so that when the day of evil comes, you, did you get the you, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand.

I'm pretty sure you, you, your, you aren't all about you individually, it's us together.

It's a second person plural, y'all.

Hey, y'all, I like that one.

It's after y'all have done everything.

Stand.

Because sometimes things don't change when we want them to change.

But God still strengthens and gives courage.

Nehemiah never says, Come on, everybody, we can do this.

He says, God will grant us success in what he calls us to.

Nehemiah doesn't have to retaliate to their ridicule, he just faithfully stands.

And some of you are like, but I'm really good at retaliation.

Like I'm quick.

Things just roll off my tongue when somebody says something or does something.

When somebody cuts me off on the highway and tells me I'm number one, and I'm like, you cut me off.

Why are you telling me that?

I'm so I've got some good one-liners to give back at them.

And we need to know that ridicule and opposition will come, but we don't have to retaliate.

Courage allows us to stand.

It doesn't mean there'll be a lack of conflict or disappointment in life, but we can still stand.

So maybe some of us today need courage as we raise young kids in this world.

Maybe some of us need courage as we care for aging parents.

And it's hard.

Maybe some of us need courage as we're working through a difficult season in marriage.

Can we be honest?

Two things.

If you're married long enough, there will be difficult seasons.

Surprise! Throwing in the towel doesn't necessarily make anything easier.

Some of us need courage to deal with frustrations at work.

You're like, I came to church so I could get through work this week.

People are driving me crazy.

Some of us need courage to deal with deep disappointment we have in life.

Some of us need courage to face the anxiety that is just all over us so that we can stand.

So when we talk about courage, it's not be true to yourself.

Come on, you can do this.

Your dreams, your courage, you do whatever.

What we're saying is no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

What is God wanting you to receive from his gracious hand?

What is he calling you to?

It's a gift, it's a strength received that enables us to see, to see who God is and understand situations as we're in them.

It's it's a courage that empowers us to step up into what is right and righteous and good, and it's a courage that emboldens us to stand, it's giving us resilience.

Can I just be really, really honest?

I'm really concerned about Christians in 2026 not having the resilience we're going to need to face the world that we're already in, but that is coming.

And it's not going to happen as we try harder.

And I'll just be honest, although I love you're at church, it's not going to just happen because you go to church more.

It's going to take place as we stop grabbing and grasping and striving and we start trusting God, looking to him and allowing him to be who he desires, that we would understand him to be.

So that's the king asked Nehemiah, I want to ask you what is it you want?

What is it you want?

You're like, I love courage because I think it'll help me get my dreams, or I need courage to stay focused on God's purposes.

Maybe it's a conversation you need to have with a friend that you've been putting off.

Maybe for some of us it's a compromise that we need to stop making today at work or at school.

Maybe for some of us, the courage we need is to take a step of obedience that you've been avoiding.

Or maybe it's simply the courage to keep standing and not give up.

And all of these are things that God offers us through his grace.

One last time, would you just do it with me?

Hold out your hand if you're able.

Not by grasping, not by taking, not by grabbing to turn it over, but by receiving.

Do you need the courage that only God can provide?

Would you pray with me?

And maybe if that's you, just leaving your hands open before you would just be a posture to say, God, I need to receive what only you can provide.

Do you need some courage in life?

Some some God-given, like deep-rooted courage.

Before I say another word, just our eyes closed in prayer.

If that's you and you would just say, Aaron, pray for me.

I need some courage.

And you don't have to tell anybody right now what it's for, but I need some courage in life.

Would you just raise your hand?

Erin, pray for me.

I need some courage in this season of life.

Uh leave your hand up for just a moment, and I want to say something.

Um, we were we were noting that in 8:30 there were some people with their hand barely raised.

Like, I just need courage, but I'm not courageous enough to raise my hand.

If you need it, raise your hand.

I need some God-given courage.

God, you know every circumstance of every man, every woman, every young person.

God, you know exactly what is needed.

And I pray that you would provide, and I pray that you would guide, and I pray that you would reveal who you are, the gracious God whose hand does provide, protect, guide us through life.

Give us the courage we so desperately need to live for your purposes, not just our preferences.

Guide us and direct us to be the kind of people who trust, who obey, who surrender, and who sacrifice to your ways.

For those who are just overwhelmed in trouble or anxiety in life right now, would you give them the strength to stand?

For those who are believing it's a it's a new step, it's a it's a stepping out into faith, God.

Even the faith is a gift that comes from you.

Grant them your faith.

And for those who understand it's a perspective shift.

They need to see, they need to have the vision that you have, God.

Enlighten our understanding and help us to see as you see, to have the courage only you can provide.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

I love, I mean, I have said before, this is maybe my favorite verse in scripture of the last 17 years.

But in John chapter 16, Jesus literally is preparing his disciples in a way that I was just trying to prepare us.

John 16 · chapter mention

And Jesus says, This I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world, Jesus says, You will have, what's the word?

Trouble.

Not when, but but you will have it.

But take heart.

You know what take heart can mean?

Be courageous.

Have courage.

I have overcome the world.

The reason we take heart, the reason we have courage is because Jesus has made it possible.

Jesus has fulfilled everything that is needed for you to have courage no matter what you face today.

That's amazing news.

And so we're going to respond in a couple of different ways.

And the first is we're going to pass the engagement bucket.

So if you're on the left-hand side of the aisle, if you've got a prayer request, a new here card, if you've got an offering, as we pass those buckets, would you grab, put that in there, pass those to the end of the aisle, and you can just sit them down or hold them and ushers right on their way to grab those.

But this is a way we respond, but more significantly, here's our response today.

We're going to uh receive and partake in the Lord's Supper.

I think receive is a really good word for the Lord's Supper, right?

I like sometimes if I'm not thinking, maybe I'll say, we're going to take the Lord's Supper.

You know what that implies?

We're going to receive the Lord's Supper.

From the gracious hand of God, our Savior Jesus died on a cross so we could be forgiven of our sins.

Jesus was placed in a tomb and then he rose on the third day in victory that we could be free, we could be forgiven, we could have the courage because Jesus has overcome the world.

So we, as we grab a little cracker that represents the body of Jesus, we remember that on a tree, Jesus paid the price that we could be forgiven of our sin.

A cup that represents the juice in the cup represents the blood of Jesus, that because he shed his blood, again, we can be forgiven, we can be free, we can receive the grace of God.

So a couple things real quick.

This is a moment for Christians.

If you're here, I'm not a Christian, I'm just still trying to follow Jesus and figure him out.

This isn't like a fun religious moment.

This is a moment for Christians.

And so if you're if you're not a Christian, no guilt, shame, judgment, just stay seated.

Nobody's going to think anything about that at all.

This is a moment for Christians.

Secondly, this is a moment for Christians who are repenting of their sin.

Not in church, hiding from their sin.

So we've got to be really careful in a holy moment.

Before we reach out and take communion, we receive, we repent of our sin and receive grace and mercy.

If you're like, I don't want to repent of my sin, well, stay seated.

Today's not a day for you.

This is a moment of receiving mercy.

And then lastly, Paul says in 1 Corinthians that when we do this, we are proclaiming that Jesus is going to return.

When we over and over and over and over and over again, every time we do this, it's a proclamation.

Jesus is coming back.

The story isn't over.

And in eternity, he will bring to a complete fulfillment everything that he promised.

Isn't that good news?

And so we look in a moment like this with courage and light of eternity.

And so I'm going to pray, and then I'm going to invite you to come and receive the elements.

Go back to your seat.

Just hold on to them and listen to the words of the song that Harmony is going to sing, and then she'll lead us in receiving them together.

God, thank you for your grace.

Thank you for your mercy.

Thank you for your gracious hand.

Could we sense you now?

Would you be near?

Would you reveal yourself to us?

And as we hold in our hands these elements that represent Jesus, what you've done.

Nails in your hands and your feet, a crown of thorns, your death on a cross, the payment, the punishment for our sins that we deserve.

We just simply say thank you.

Your blood that was shed.

We would just say we worship you, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And we look forward with anticipation to your coming again.

So fill us with your spirit.

Fill us with courage.

And we look to you.

Jesus, our Savior and our Lord.

It's in your name that we pray.