The Reality of Following Jesus: What Most People Miss

Hey, good morning.

My name is Caleb.

I'm one of the pastors here.

This is a family worship Sunday meeting.

If you came in a little bit late meeting, uh, if you have a kindergartner up, we invited them to come with you.

I know we didn't know that, you didn't know that, but we did.

We invited them to come with you to watch and observe you worship, and to watch and observe you pay attention to God's word and to worship with us, and to pay attention to God's word with us that we may learn together.

Um, and this is uh this is an important Sunday.

This is the last week of our discipleship series.

We've been walking through this over the last five or so weeks.

If you're new, this word disciple means learner.

This word disciple means learner.

Now, a watered-down version of that word in our language, I would say, would be apprentice.

Now, a discipleship is more than apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship is learning a craft.

Discipleship implies much more than just learning a craft.

A disciple in the ancient times was someone who shadowed the teacher so closely that they began to be like the teacher.

They would follow the teacher, they would be changed by the teacher, and then they would join the teacher in the mission of the life of that teacher.

That they would be so closely associated with the teacher.

They would do what the teacher does, why the teacher does it, how the teacher does it.

It's in the same way that many of your kids can be associated with you.

The same way that I was associated with my father growing up.

That people had this tendency to maybe it was because of my mannerisms or my work ethic or just that spiritual gift of sarcasm where they would be like, You are your father's son.

A student would be tied to the teacher through discipleship.

And in Matthew 28, it's the last thing that Jesus tells the disciples.

It's called the Great Commission.

And the reason it could be he could go and commission people is because he says all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him.

He says, Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.

He says, baptize them, teaching them and commanding them to walk with me.

And he says, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in their identity.

Baptize them in their identity, being made new in Christ, and then teach them how to walk with me.

And go and do that through all the nations.

He says, and I'm going to be with you the whole time while you do that.

It's important to understand though, Jesus didn't say in the Great Commission, go and make people who pray a prayer and never acknowledge the Lord again.

Contrary to the last 30 years of a cultural American discipleship, he doesn't say that.

He also doesn't say, go and teach people all the knowledge of God without any of the practices of God.

He doesn't say go and do that.

No, rather, he says, make disciples.

Teach people how to follow me, to be changed by me, and join me in the kingdom mission in this world.

So the command is to teach people to walk with Jesus so closely and so obediently that Jesus is seen through them.

He says, Man, teach people how to follow me in such a way that my fingerprints are all over them in a world that I am foreign to.

That we should put our lives then in the mirror of that command and ask, how accurately do we reflect that?

How accurately do we reflect a life that's following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and joining Jesus in mission in such a way that regardless of where we go or where life takes us, people would see Jesus through us.

Today I just want to look at, as we close the series out, what does it look like for you and me to follow Jesus down that path of life, wherever God is taking us, whatever that road looks like, whether you're in a place in your life where, man, it is it is light and it is good, or whether it's like it's dark and it is heavy, what does it look like for you and me to follow Jesus into the world?

See, as Jesus invites people to follow him, Luke records three key interactions.

And the thing about these is they they uh reveal a lot about the human heart.

As we look at these three interactions, we're gonna see a lot about what is common to the human heart.

See, when it's time to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to following Jesus, what is really on the throne of your heart is going to rise to the surface.

When it's time to actually do what you're professing on a Sunday morning and do it on a Monday morning, what's really on the throne of your heart is gonna come to the light.

What's really a priority, what's really your security, it's all gonna come to a light.

And you see that in these three interactions.

So in Luke chapter 9, verse 57 is where we're gonna, through 62 is where we're gonna hang out just a little bit.

Luke 9:57

It says in Luke chapter 9, verse 57, as they were traveling down the road, someone said to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go.

Luke 9:57

Now, just a little bit of context, Jesus is on his way with the disciples, heading to Jerusalem.

And he's not, he's not just walking straight there, he's kind of taking his time as he's getting there, but he's heading to Jerusalem.

And what happens in Jerusalem is that Jesus would hang on the cross, be crucified on the cross for the sin of the world.

Jesus knows it, no one else does.

He knows exactly what's coming, he knows exactly why he's heading to Jerusalem, and yet he continues to make his way towards the cross.

He continues to make his way towards the place of sacrifice, towards the place of crucifixion, but also towards the place of resurrection.

And it says, and as he's on this road, he's calling people to continue to follow him in discipleship.

He's inviting people into this journey of being a part of the kingdom things that God is doing in the world.

And so as he's going, this one man, he looks at him and he says, Hey, hey, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.

Now, Luke is one of four gospel accounts, meaning there's four people who wrote about the life of Jesus from their different viewpoints.

One of the other people is Matthew, and in the book of Matthew, chapter 8, he also records this interaction.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

In Matthew chapter 8, Matthew tells us that this man is a scribe, which is important because a scribe in this time was like the social elite.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

They were highly educated, socially prestigious.

This is a white-collar guy.

This is a well-to-do guy.

He's one that has some kind of authority, he has some kind of influence, he has some kind of obviously expectation, and he walks to Jesus and he and here's basically what he says: hey, fellow teacher, hey, my equal, my peer.

I'll follow you.

I love what you're doing, I like what's going on, I like the way it makes me feel, I like the excitement about it.

I will follow you wherever you go.

And then Jesus responds Well, foxes have dens, the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man, that's me, has no place to rest his head.

Here's what he says He says, All right, buddy, that's awesome, follow me.

We're sleeping on the streets tonight.

What you gather is that the man doesn't follow him.

What the man hoped to get out of following Jesus wasn't what Jesus was giving him.

You should hear that.

What this man hoped when he said, Yeah, I'll follow you, Jesus, wasn't actually what Jesus was giving.

See, following Jesus isn't this romantic like Skittles and unicorn.

Do it when you feel good movement.

You should understand that.

We often romanticize it.

And that's what it wasn't, it was it wasn't.

It's not this emotional high.

We don't follow Jesus as a way to gain notoriety.

Jesus says the creator himself has no home in creation.

And what we know about Jesus is rather he humbly served.

As a follower of Jesus, here's what's going to be really important it's being willing to take a life of humility and sacrifice.

Saying, Jesus, I'll follow you and I'll be willing to be open-handed, open-minded to what you God called me to do.

I'll be willing to take a life of humility.

I'll be willing to take a life of sacrifice.

I'll be willing to give up promotions and business ventures.

I'll be willing not to have all the toys my neighbors have or my friends have.

But I'll be willing to follow you wherever you call.

So maybe the question to ask is what this man should have asked.

What do you hope to get out of following Jesus?

If you're in here and you've said yes to Jesus, what do you hope to get out of following Jesus?

Like, it has the voice in the back of your head really been saying, hey Jesus, I will follow you as long as I like what we are doing?

I will follow you, Jesus, as long as I like where we are going.

Which says, if you deny yourself, if you take up your cross, that you will actually find life.

And if you try to save yourself, you'll actually lose your life.

Like, do you believe if you lose your life for him, he will actually give you all you need?

See, the temptation of the human heart is to mask what looks like uh belief and commitment and sacrifice, but it actually has the motive of self-gain.

And what was going on with this man is he had the the the the outcropping, he had the the cover of man, I actually I want to follow you, Jesus.

But at the heart of the issue was actually self-gain.

That we should question and put that in front of ourselves.

Man, what what do I hope to get out of following Jesus?

What do I hope to gain out of following Jesus?

Another man comes and it says, then he said to another, follow me.

Lord, he said, Let me go bury my father.

But Jesus told him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.

So if you just read this on a cursory reading, you're kind of like, Jesus, man, that's a little cold.

Like your father, like the dude's father died.

Like let him let him go bury his father, and then he can follow you.

Like that seems like the nicer thing to do.

But you gotta understand a little bit of the cultural context here that there was likely one of three things happening.

That either when this man was invited to follow Jesus and he says, Well, hold on let me go bury my father first, he was likely either, number one, concerned with the responsibilities of the older son to oversee the burial.

Or two, he he wanted to stay within proximity, and most commentators think this, he wanted to stay in proximity of his father in order to obtain an inheritance when his father died.

Or three, that he was going to participate in this uh traditional norm that required a burying of the reburying of the bones a year later after the father had died.

And so likely one of these three things is happening.

That this man either uh wanted to maintain his responsibilities as the oldest son, he wanted to receive an inheritance or participate in this tradition.

But either way, here's what was happening.

The man was putting tradition and social norms and personal desire above the Lord's invitation.

Like you boil it all down.

What he was doing was saying, okay, that's awesome, Jesus, I'm gonna follow you, but man, this is not on the right timeline.

Let me first go do some things I need to do.

And then I will, and then I will follow you.

Like, let me deal with these things that might be a little more important than what you're asking me to do right now.

And then I will follow you.

And Jesus responds, let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead with all the traditions and all the hang-ups.

See, for this man, there was a priority problem: financial provisions over kingdom expeditions.

He said, No, let me actually go pursue worldly gain over kingdom accomplishments.

Matthew 6, 19 through 20 is a promise that like this man probably wasn't believing or understanding or fully grasping.

And I think maybe it's something that we struggle with sometimes too.

But here's what it says this is Matthew 6, 19 through 20.

He says, Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and still.

He says, But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves don't break in and still.

Matthew 6, 33 says, But instead seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Do you believe that promise?

Man, we hear it.

But yet many of us came to church if we remembered.

We locked our doors at our house.

And behind that locked door is a house full of beautiful things, but above those beautiful things in the attic is a whole plethora of things that are covered in dust for our older generation.

That one day you're gonna go, and your kids are gonna come in there, and they're gonna go in that attic, and they're gonna say, Why?

Why did you keep these things?

Where moth and rust have destroyed them, and they're gonna throw them away.

And then they're gonna grow old, and they're gonna lock their doors, and behind those locked doors is gonna be a house full of beautiful things, and in that attic, there's gonna be a pile of things where moth and rust destroy, and their kids are gonna come in and say, why?

It's in our human flesh to store up treasures on earth, and yet we know that this is a place where moth and rush destroy.

And the promise of the Lord is stop.

Stop stop focusing on these things.

Why would you rather rather would you would you focus on the things that God is calling you to do?

Would your treasure be in heaven?

Would your hope be in heaven?

Would your heart be in heaven?

Would you would you be kingdom-minded versus earthly minded?

He says, but you.

That they have taken priority over where the Lord has called us.

Then he goes to a third man.

He said, Another said, I will follow you, Lord.

But first, let me go and say goodbye to those at my house.

But Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

This reminds me of the late 1900s where my father was teaching me how to mow the yard.

He's teaching me to mow the grass, and kids in here who maybe you're in the same situation.

My dad, he's like, I'm gonna pay you 10 bucks to mow the grass.

And then, like two weeks after I got kind of good at it, he came in.

He's like, We have a family meeting.

I'm no longer paying you to do this.

You're still doing it.

I'm just not paying you anymore.

It's a part of living here.

It was an awesome experience.

Now, here's what you need to know, kids.

Here's what you need to know.

Every father's greatest concern with you mowing the grass is not your safety.

It's not.

It's second, probably.

Every father's greatest concern when you're mowing the grass is that the lines are straight.

And they need the line straight because you know the neighbor next door with the grass is just a slight bit better.

He's gonna be judging you.

And he's gonna look at the lines in your yard, and he's not blaming you, he's blaming your dad.

Like you want to mow the yard twice, mess the lines up.

You're gonna mow it again.

That's by experience.

The picture that Jesus is painting in this uh illustration is similar to that.

It's a picture of straight furrows.

In the ancient world, a man would put a plow to ox, and ox could mow roughly an acre in a day.

And so their fields would be an acre, maybe two acres if they had a couple teams of oxen.

And what they would have to do is as they would line up on the edge of that field and they would get ready to plow the field.

They didn't have some John Deere CAD system that would tell them, here's your pregnancy, you can text while your tractor drives you.

But rather, they would have to look across the field and they would find a fixed object, whether it's a fence post or a tree or something.

And they would hit those ox into gear and they would have to just stare straight ahead at where they were going.

And they would go, and as they would go, they would be able to make straight lines.

However, if they began to look away from that point, what would happen is that their ox would begin to veer in the direction in which they were looking because naturally they would begin to pull.

Because there's a truth that was for them that is the same for us.

And here's the truth, and it's really simple, and I yell it at my kids all the time is where you look is where you go.

Where you look is where you go.

It doesn't matter if it's physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Hear this.

Where you look physically, you will go physically.

Where you look spiritually, you will go spiritually.

Where you look emotionally, you will go emotionally.

It's the reason God's word says, don't even look to temptation, free from temptation, because where you look, you will naturally veer to.

Where you look is where you go.

What was required was for the farmer to fix his eyes on where he wanted to go and not veer from it, not be distracted by it.

Because if the varn if the farmer looked back to see where he had been, to see, is my line straight?

He's gonna veer from the path and the plow would go off course, ruining the field.

For the one who says, I want to follow Jesus, and looks back to the old life, the old temptations, the old sin pleasures, the old habits, will quickly veer from following Jesus.

Because where you look is where you go.

And maybe this is the struggle.

For you.

Maybe this is a struggle in your life.

Are you more concerned about what you could miss in the world than what you could gain in Christ?

Right?

They call it FOMO.

Fear of missing out.

And it's this lie.

That we become more concerned of what we could miss in the world, of what our friends are doing, or what they're enjoying, or what the neighbors are doing.

And we miss what we could gain in Christ.

And if this is you, right, where you find yourself, man, I'm often more concerned with what I could miss in the world than what I could gain in Christ.

And then you wonder why your walk with Christ feels stagnant.

Maybe.

Maybe it's because you're allowing yourself to veer off course that your eyes aren't fixed on the author and perfecter of your faith.

Jesus says, Man, you're not fit for the work if you look away.

Look to me.

You can't walk straight and look behind you.

Maybe you need to be reminded of that promise that I was just telling you about in Matthew 16.

Matthew 16, 24 and 25.

He says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone wants to follow after me, if anyone wants to be my disciple, to be followed to follow me, to be changed by me, to join me in mission, let him deny himself.

Let him deny the worldly pleasures and the flesh desires.

Let him take up his cross.

Let him take up his death instrument.

Dying to who he was, being rose to new life in Christ.

He says, and let him follow me.

And here's the promise for whoever wants to save his life will lose it.

Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Listen, this is one of those promises in God's word.

Just hear this.

One of those promises in God's word that only Jesus can fulfill.

The promises Jesus makes to people are promises that only He can fulfill.

Like I could tell you, I promise I'm going to go out there and I'm going to come back in, I'm going to bring you a water.

And I could go out and I could bring you water.

But also anyone else could go out and bring you a water.

Then anyone else could fulfill the promise that I've made.

Like I promise you're going to get a water.

Anyone else can do that.

Jesus says, I promise in me is where you will find life.

That means there's nothing else that's going to give you life outside of Christ.

Like that is it.

That is the promise.

These are the statements that I think sometimes we read over.

He says, but whoever would lose his life because of me will find it.

He's a God who keeps his promises all the time.

Every time.

This can be trusted.

Stop clinging to the things of this world that you think are going to give you some kind of hope and some kind of peace and some kind of satisfaction.

Stop clinging to the relationships and the habits and the hang ups.

Get rid of it and run to Jesus.

Fix your eyes on Jesus.

For He alone can give you a satisfying eternal life.

You see these three interactions of the human heart.

And then in Luke chapter 9, I mean in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 9 · chapter mention Luke 10 · chapter mention

So that's the end of Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

In Luke chapter 10, verse 1, the very next sentence, it says, after this, the Lord appointed 72 others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Luke 10:1

He says, so these three people, he invites them into the kingdom calling, and then they all have their reasons, they all have their heart issues, they all have their heart attitudes, and they miss the opportunity.

But there were 72 that he would send out.

And listen to what he says to the 72.

He says, the harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.

He said, There are many out there who would take the word of the gospel and they would run with it.

There are many who are searching for salvation.

They're ready to be harvested for the kingdom.

He says, the problem is the workers are few.

Those who would actually go are few.

And so then he tells them to do two things, and this is so important.

He says, therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

I think sometimes we stop here.

He says, So pray.

So ask God.

God, would you send people out into these places that you personally have not sent me or into the same places that you've sent me.

And God, would they be fruitful as a minister, as they're ministers of the gospel?

And then the second thing he says, and we're gonna we're gonna kind of move on right here, he says, now go.

He says, now go.

I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves.

Don't carry a money bag, a traveling bag, or sandals.

Don't greet anyone along the road.

And then he says, and whenever you enter a house and they accept you, tell them the kingdom of God is near.

And when you come to a house and they deny you, tell them the kingdom of God is near.

He says the same message is to whether those who accept it or don't accept it is you should repent and you should turn to Jesus, for Jesus is coming again, and the kingdom of God is near.

He says, But when you go, don't go with all the things you think you need.

Rather, go where I'm sending you, regardless if you think you have what you need, because I will give you everything you need.

You may not think you have the best education, the best financial situation, the best experience, the best opportunity.

He says, Man, I'm gonna call you to these places, and you should know I'll provide for you in the places I call you to.

Will you just go?

Will you pray that God will send them?

And then will you go?

He says, This is the call.

Will you go?

Will you go and be a disciple in the places I've called you to?

Would you recognize the heart's tendency to make excuses and believe things that are not true?

Would you recognize in me alone gives you life?

Seek first the kingdom and I'll give you what you need.

And would you go?

So here's a couple practical steps.

Here's how you follow Jesus well.

First, it starts with every day.

You know, sometimes we get hung up when we don't get a day right.

Like, I don't know if you've ever done this, be like, I'm gonna do this every day.

And then you like mess up day two, and then you like never go back to it.

It's called the New Year's resolution.

I think that's how that happened.

I try to read God's word, I try to read um the Proverb of the day every day.

So, so today is the sixth.

I read Proverbs chapter six this morning, and and there's 31 chapters in Proverbs, and so it works for most months.

However, uh the other day, I think I missed like Proverbs chapter three.

Well, on the fourth, I just read Proverbs chapter four.

Right?

It's when you fall down, you just put your feet back underneath you and you keep moving.

And so to follow Jesus well is to say, Jesus, I'm actually committed to you, and I'm just gonna continue to follow you, and I'm not gonna allow the setbacks to like hold me back, but rather, God, I'm just gonna get up again.

I'm gonna continue to be consistent, I'm gonna continue to be a disciplined person who's gonna follow you where you call me to go.

The second is this is that you teach yourself, you begin to feed yourself.

Like you should not be coming in here starving to death because this is the only spiritual food you get every week.

But rather, we should learn to feed ourselves on the word of God, we should be opening God's uh word consistently and regularly and asking the question, God, what does this tell me about who you are?

And would that change everything about who I am?

When we do that on a regular basis, when we take a step in feeding ourselves, and then when we seek accountability, would we go to the groups that we registered for last week?

Will we actually show up in two weeks?

Now you're like, but I registered for a group and they hadn't got back to me.

Find another one, find some people, reconnect in your 757 group if you participated in that.

You know, what a blessing that was.

Find accountability, people to encourage you to walk with Jesus well.

Stay connected to the church, participate in relationships that lead to discipleship, and then lastly, serve and teach others to serve.

Actually exercise your spiritual gifts.

Actually, work them out.

See, what's interesting about all three of those first interactions is they had one thing in common.

The thing that all three of them had in common was a failure to commit to Christ at the cost of comfort.

They cared about comfort, and it caused them to fail to commit to Christ.

That often our desires for security as mothers are willingness to sacrifice.

Our desire for what's safe and secure, so as mothers are willingness to sacrifice.

And here's the irony.

Here's the irony.

Is it Christ's sacrifice that should actually become our security?

It's Christ's sacrifice that allows us to sacrifice ourselves from a secure place.

Right?

It was Christ's willingness to forsake comfort for sacrifice that actually should be our comfort that allows us to sacrifice.

It was Christ's willingness to look at you, to see your sin, to see your lostness, and to go to the cross on your behalf.

See, if you don't know anything about God, here's what you should know: that God is just, but he's also merciful.

That he's just and he's merciful, and we're actually going to take communion here in a minute.

And actually, this is what we're reminded of when we take communion.

See, here's what I say when I say God is just is that God always gives just punishment and gives just reward for everything that is deserved.

He does it the right way in the right time.

And the wages of your life, of your action, of your sin, what it has earned in a just environment is death.

That our sin has purchased us the death of our life.

That that is the wages for your sin.

That is the compensation for your sin.

That God is just and he says, Okay, I am just, you're standing before the judge.

I'm a just judge.

Your jud your judgment is death.

But he's also merciful.

Mercy means he doesn't give you what you deserve.

So how do you do justice and mercy?

And here's how you do justice and mercy, where I can I can give you what you deserve, but I'm not gonna give you what you deserve.

And it's through a sacrifice, someone to take the payment for you.

And so he says, I'm just, your sin deserves death, but I'm merciful, so I will send my own son to experience the justice that your sin deserves, because I am just and I'm merciful, because I won't pour my wrath out on you, I will pour it out on him because he is the perfect sacrifice.

He is the one that has atoned for your sin.

That anyone who would call on him as the savior for their sin would find life.

Anyone who would accept his payment for their sin and see him as savior and lord would find life.

Because he is just and he is merciful, that God has given us salvation through Christ.

And communion is when we get to uh profess that applies to our own life.

That we say what Jesus did on the cross counts for me.

Communion is is uh where it's the new covenant.

It's for the follower of Jesus.

That we don't make a sacrifice for our sin because Jesus makes the sacrifice for our sin.

That the physical thing that we do here taking communion symbolizes the eternal thing that Jesus did for us.

And taking communion is the act of the follower of Jesus and proclaiming that Jesus' sacrifice was for you.

Which means if you're in this room and you're a guest or you're new and you are not a follower of Jesus, and maybe you're in this room and you've been coming here for a really long time, but yet you know in your heart of hearts you've been trying to earn your way to Christ.

Maybe that's why you're here on a Labor Day Sunday.

Because you're like, you know what?

God will definitely love me now.

That is not the gospel.

And maybe you haven't trusted in Jesus as the full payment for your sin.

And trusted in Jesus as the uh that his righteousness fully pours over you, that it's nothing you do.

And if that's not, if that's you in here and you're like, man, I don't know if I'm a follower of Jesus, communion is not for you.

It's for you to observe and to contemplate what it would look like for you to follow Jesus.

And just before I forget, at the end of this service, we're gonna, when we go out of here, there's gonna be a spiritual response team, and they're gonna stand right down here.

And if you want to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, they would love to talk with you about how to do that.

But communion is for those who are following Jesus.

And the Bible teaches us that as Christians we should take it together and we should take it seriously.

And he says, here's how you should take it in 1 Corinthians 11.

He says, For as often as you eat the bread and you drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

So then whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and the blood of the Lord.

He says, So let a person examine himself.

And in this way, let him eat the bread and drink the cup.

For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

That's big words.

So would we take a moment as we prepare to take it?

We would confess our sins to God.

We would confess the things that have been on our heart and our mind that maybe we know are not pleasing to him, the ways that maybe we've turned from him, and we would profess our commitment to his mission, to his kingdom.

And we can do that by taking a moment to examine our lives, to asking the Holy Spirit to search us to repenting, and then we will take it together.

So this is your moment, just you and the Lord, to come before Him, make your heart right before the Lord before we take communion together.

So we can come before you, recognizing our sins, recognizing our need, recognizing your grace and your love and your mercy.

You are our heavenly Father, and you love us like a good Father.

Thank you, God.

God, I thank you for these children.

I thank you for these families.

Thank you for the opportunity we have to take communion together, testimony of our taking communion, what that is to our children, for what they see and understand and know what it looks like to follow you.

Bless these moments in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

1 Corinthians 11 23.

Paul's teaching on communion.

He says, For I've received from the Lord what I also pass on to you.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread.

And when he had given thanks, he broke it.

And he said, This is my body, which is for you.

Broken for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

After supper and said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

He says, Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me that this is the new cup Christ's blood shed for us.

For as often as you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

God, we thank you and we praise you for the opportunity to take communion as a church body.

We thank you for what it means.

That we didn't have to sacrifice for our sin, even though we committed it.

But you did that for us.

Would that be an encouragement to us?

Would that be a motivator for us?

God, would that be a truth that lays in the foundations of our heart?

As we seek to serve you wherever you would send us, whether that's for our stay-at-home moms who are ministering and teaching and leading our children, or whether that's for our dads who are at work and coming home and loving and leading their families, whether that's business meetings or hobbies or retirement.

Wherever that leads us, God.

Whoever that leads us to.

God, would we be people who disciple, who teach people what it looks like to follow you through our own actions, but then also through our words.

In reflection of what you have done for us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Good morning, everyone.

We are glad you were able to join us, and we pray that it was encouraging for you this morning.

We ask you to subscribe, that way you can see all of the sermons.

But we hope to see you in person next week.

God bless.