Daniel 12 - Bringing Eternty into Today

Thank you all so much.

Beautiful to have a chance to look forward to what lies ahead.

We are coming this morning to the end of our study in the book of Daniel.

Well, we're looking at the last chapter, chapter 12, and we'll also look back a little bit through the rest of the book.

One request before we jump in today.

I really value your prayers for me.

I mean that. I always mean that. I need them.

I'd especially appreciate your prayers this week as I'm taking some time away to study and pray,

primarily in preparation for our fall sermon series and looking ahead towards that.

Pray that God would teach me, would direct me and guide me as I spend that time with him,

would help me understand and explain his word and his heart for his people here at Southwood.

I'd really appreciate that if you'd be praying for me this week.

But one more time in the book of Daniel.

I'm going to miss Daniel.

I've loved this study.

Some of you will miss the piercing gaze of the lion.

You've told me that.

You want this slide to stay up there.

A lot fewer of you will miss the cutest sermon series title I've ever written,

Lions and Fires and Prayers.

Oh my.

Should have gotten rid of that one a long time ago.

But Daniel has taught us not just about those things, but about God, the true king,

and what it looks like for us to follow him in this crazy, difficult, messed up world that we live in.

That's the context of the chapter we're about to read.

Chapter 12 begins with the end of a vision that's been going on for a while now.

An apocalyptic vision about wars and suffering for God's people and devastatingly difficult days to live in.

And then after that, there's one final vision to close the book.

Listen as I read beginning at verse 1.

This is God's holy word.

The heavenly messenger says to Daniel,

At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.

And there shall be a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.

But at that time your people shall be delivered.

Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.

Some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above.

And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end.

Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase.

That's the end of that first vision.

Daniel, put it away.

There's a time coming that we need to save it for and protect this vision for God's people to have then.

And that's the end of this vision that's been running for several pages now.

And then Daniel sees this last vision at the end of the book.

Verse 5,

I, Daniel, looked and behold two others stood.

One on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream.

And someone said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the stream,

How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?

And I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the stream.

He raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever

that it would be for a time, times, and half a time.

And that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end,

all these things would be finished.

I heard, but I did not understand.

And then I said, Oh my Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?

He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.

Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined,

but the wicked shall act wickedly.

And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away

and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.

Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.

But go your way till the end, and you shall rest

and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.

Will you pray with me?

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you that in times of trouble and times when we don't know what and whom to trust,

that we can trust in you and trust your word to speak to us.

And so we are here this morning to hear from you.

Holy Spirit, would you speak?

Would you use even one who doesn't understand,

like you used Daniel when he didn't always understand?

Would you speak to us?

It is you we desire and need to hear from.

And we ask that you would give us ears to hear.

In Jesus' name, amen.

How much longer are we there yet?

Some of you have heard those classic questions before.

From every vacation you've ever taken where the destination was longer than,

I don't know, 10 minutes away or something like that.

When are we going to get there?

Because your kids are excited about the destination,

this fun vacation they're going to have,

but less excited about the not as fun car trip to get there.

Sometimes my kids ask a different question in a different context.

Dad, who do you think is going to win?

Sometimes the game is still in the first half.

I don't know who's going to win.

It's a big game maybe and they're anxious.

Or it's a scary part of a movie they've never seen before.

And your two-year-old looks up and says,

is he going to be okay?

I'm anxious.

How is this going to turn out?

Maybe you've asked one of those questions this week in your distress or sorrow.

How long, O Lord?

How much longer will we deal with these difficulties?

Will I face these griefs and pains?

Or the second type of question,

what can be done?

How will this ever get any better?

Is there any hope for a good outcome?

Come?

Both of those deeply felt questions are asked here in Daniel chapter 12.

Daniel 12 · chapter mention

But in this case, it's ultimate questions.

Ultimate how much longer kinds of questions.

They're asked by an angel of God and a prophet of God

who have heard that there is unparalleled evil to come

such as they've never seen.

And unparalleled deliverance as well.

And so the angel first says,

how long will this great evil last?

That's the question in verse 6.

And then Daniel, fearful for God's people,

hears the answer to that but doesn't understand.

And so he asks,

okay, well, just how's it all going to turn out?

Maybe I'm not tracking with the timing and how all that,

but just tell me, is it going to be okay?

Okay.

We ask these kinds of questions, don't we?

We ask them because as we've said from week one in the book of Daniel,

we live in a difficult world.

In a world where it's hard to follow Christ in all of life

when many others around us are not.

It's hard to live in a pluralistic society

and maintain a singular devotion to God.

It's hard to face persecution, crisis, tragedy, injustice, godless authorities, and so forth.

And keep your head on straight.

Much less have the wherewithal to know how to follow the true king.

Probably don't have to convince you of that this week.

I thought about this reality this week as I was preparing for this sermon

and realized that we said those things when we started this series maybe three months ago.

And we had lots of examples of that then.

And some of them, many of them even, are off the radar now.

We're not even thinking about those things.

Just the events of this week have given us enough to overwhelm us, haven't they?

Tragedies and difficulties in the news just in one week could overwhelm our hearts again.

And the same is true in many of our lives personally, isn't it?

Things you were concerned about three months ago

and haven't even thought about them this week,

but you've had other things on your plate.

It's been difficult.

You haven't known how things would go.

Now, Daniel can relate to that, can't he?

He's passing his days in exile, away from the promised land.

It's been about 70 years now.

Basically his entire lifetime.

And Daniel's been there facing these same difficulties.

Every week new and different things in Babylon.

Sometimes his life has nearly been snuffed out.

He's been through the whole thing a prophet of Yahweh,

surrounded by people who worship other gods.

They don't want to hear from him.

And now what's he told?

Things are going to get worse for God's people.

As this vision that starts this chapter begins in chapter 11

and runs through that chapter,

we're told of horrible persecutions.

Many under the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes

to come in the second century BC.

Then even more of them in a future time

where the figure we know is the Antichrist

will bring even more awful suffering on God's people.

This is what's being talked about in verse 1 there.

In the middle of verse 1,

there shall be a time of trouble

such as never has been

since there was a nation till that time.

God's people have had trouble

all the way up to here.

And he says it's going to get worse

in ways you've never seen.

The point essentially in this vision is this.

You think things are as bad as they could be.

Well, they get worse for God's people later.

And then there will still be worse things ahead of those

that these things are only glimpses

of the ultimate difficulty.

Now process that, Daniel.

Process that when you think things are as bad

as they could be.

It'll get worse and then again later

there will be more difficulty to come.

When we hear warnings like these

that the worst is yet to come,

we tend to respond one of three ways.

I've read all of these on Facebook just this week.

It's a great place to go for sermon prep.

Sometimes we give up.

Just quit altogether, right?

Become hopeless and despondent

in the face of pain,

face of the brokenness of the world.

Sometimes, I think maybe this is

our most common tendency,

at least it is this week,

sometimes we stress out.

Scrolling through the latest social media feeds,

reading one article after the next,

just becoming fearful and frantic.

Or sometimes, we buckle down.

We strategize how we're going to fix the problem,

how we can prevent the worst from happening,

at least happening to me.

Again, the visions God gives Daniel

throughout the book,

don't hold back the reality of suffering

we will face as we follow the true King.

It's like the psalmist over and over again

speaking of enemies,

of the wicked,

of those who mock and taunt

and pursue Him.

That's the life that God's people

are called into.

That's what they're supposed to sing

and pray about when they come into worship.

Just flip through the psalms

and you'll see it.

Suffering,

pain,

confusion,

cries of,

how long,

oh Lord?

They're all over the place.

But in the midst of that real suffering,

in answer to the ultimate cries

of how much longer

and how will this turn out,

Daniel's told something different

from give up

or stress out

or buckle down.

He's told,

go your way.

Look at verse 9.

Daniel asks his question there in verse 8.

What's gonna happen?

Tell me how it's gonna turn out.

And God says,

go your way, Daniel.

There's gonna be a lot of things that happen.

There's gonna be people who trust me,

the wise,

and they're gonna be refined.

And there's gonna be the wicked

who do wicked things

and don't understand.

And there's gonna be all these days

and lots of time's gonna pass

and then down to verse 13.

But Daniel,

hear me clearly.

What you need to do is

go your way

till the end.

When life seems uncertain,

we don't understand exactly

how many days are gonna play out.

When things seem unfair,

when we're tempted

to begin feeling hopeless,

we must live by faith.

Just do what I've told you.

Just trust me.

Just go back to what I've called you to.

You may hear echoes perhaps of Aslan

saying,

I tell no one any story but his own.

Or the resurrected Jesus

saying to Peter

who wants to know about John,

what is that to you?

You follow me.

Just go your way.

And that can sound almost trite by itself,

can't it?

In the midst of where Daniel finds himself

to say,

hey, just chill out.

Just go your own way.

Just do your thing.

It can sound like it's minimizing

Daniel's pain and anguish.

Like it's disregarding

his well-warranted concern

for God's people.

Have you ever been in pain

and someone said,

just carry on.

Trust me.

No big deal.

And you think,

yeah,

yeah right.

Sure.

I'll just go my own way.

How am I supposed to do that?

How can I know the trouble

that lies ahead?

Can I see this vision

and just go my own way?

Just live by faith,

pastor says.

God says this to Daniel.

He doesn't just say,

go your own way.

He says,

heavenly glories

must transform

our outlook

on earthly difficulties.

I changed the words a little

in the last couple days.

Sorry.

But notice,

heavenly glories

must not minimize

earthly temporal difficulties,

not eliminate

the concern,

but transform

our outlook

on them.

How we respond

to the difficulties

that will indeed

be there.

The devastating

and worsening

news feed

is real.

There's no need

to deny that.

But it's not all

that's real.

So it can't be

the only thing

shaping and controlling

the outlook

of our hearts,

and it does that

so fast,

doesn't it?

When that's all

we're looking at,

when that's the only thing

that seems to be real

and that seems

to matter,

we've got to be looking

somewhere else

as well.

As Daniel has been told,

many of the difficulties

will persist

and some will worsen,

but our perspective

on them

must be

an eternal one.

There's no other way

to live by faith,

to make it through

this crazy life,

to follow the true king

in a world

that often doesn't feel

like he's on the throne.

Theologian Michael Green

tells of the early church

that their practice

was to record

the dates

of the death

of martyrs.

They'd write down

the appropriate date

in their calendar year,

and then they would add

the Latin phrase

Regnante Jesu Christo,

in the reign

of Jesus Christ.

It was a discipline

to remind them

of their only hope

in those times

when it didn't seem

like the true king

was Jesus Christ,

to remind them

that he indeed

was on the throne

and would remain

on the throne

even when everything

around them

didn't look that way.

The loss of a beloved martyr

made no sense

apart from an eternal hope.

Apart from King Jesus

reigning and offering hope

beyond the grave,

the death would have been

the end, right?

That's the hope

of Daniel chapter 12.

Daniel 12 · chapter mention

When facing death

from the persecution

of God's people

or from Daniel's aging body

that would give out

before he experienced

the fulfillment

of all God's promises,

Daniel is told this,

verse 2,

many of those

who sleep

in the dust

of the earth

shall awake,

some to everlasting life

and some to shame

and everlasting contempt.

And those who are wise

shall shine

like the brightness

of the sky above

and those who turn

many to righteousness

like the stars

forever and ever.

That phrase everlasting life

used only here

in the entire Old Testament.

Right after the verse

about trouble

such as has never been,

Daniel,

there will be everlasting life.

How else do you go your way?

When a loved one

has died,

especially tragically

or senselessly,

you've got to be able

to see both the horrific pain

of the temporal loss

plunging you

and your world

into darkness

and at the same time

the unimaginable glory

of life never ending,

shining like stars

forever and ever,

that that's also true.

That's facing death.

What about when facing

insignificance?

From feeling small,

forgotten,

unsuccessful,

unimportant,

like a marginalized prophet

who's seeing little fruit

from his lifetime

of labors.

Daniel is told

in verse one,

there's gonna be

this time of trouble,

but at that same time

your people

shall be delivered.

Everyone whose name

shall be found written

in the book.

Daniel,

you're not forgotten.

Your name

is in his book.

The God of heaven

knew you long ago.

He knows your name today

and one day soon

he is coming

to rescue you

personally

and particularly.

He treasures you

so much

that your name

remains written

on the palm

of his hand.

So the eternal reality

that's true

when we feel insignificant

is my name

from the palms

of his hands

eternity

will not erase.

Impressed on his heart

it remains

in marks

of indelible

grace.

These glorious

heavenly realities,

the truths

that are eternally

true

are really

what chapter 12

highlights

in the midst

of the pain

and the suffering.

That's been the pattern

of the entire book

of Daniel,

hasn't it?

We've said this

over and over

and over

that our vision

of heaven,

our grasp

of eternal realities

has to impact

the way we approach

life today.

It has to transform

our outlook

on all of life

and every difficult

situation.

Heaven

must impact

earth.

It's come up

in almost every

chapter of Daniel.

Just think back

with me for a minute.

When facing loneliness

and the fear

that often accompanies it

from being neglected

and abandoned

by those you love

or being surrounded

and marginalized

by those who hate God,

there's the comfort

not only of the king

of heaven knowing

my name

but also of the son

of man being sent

to me.

Chapter 10.

Fear not

for I am with you.

The mighty

eternal king

who's always

on his throne

is always

with me.

Never

alone.

When facing

the apparent defeat

of God's people

and his kingdom,

remember that's how

the whole book

of Daniel starts,

isn't it?

Babylon has come in.

God's people

are being oppressed.

His promises

seem to have failed

and we must remember

that God is on

the throne of heaven,

that he remains

the true king,

that Yahweh wins

and he loves

to bring ultimate

victory

through apparent

defeat.

Regnante

Jesu

Cristo.

And so because

of that,

when we're facing

weakness,

from being outnumbered

or overwhelmed

by strong,

impressive

enemies,

remember back

to chapter 2

that the four-person

prayer meeting

that overcomes

the captain

of the king's guard

and the army

of Babylon

as Daniel

faces

an execution.

Because

the dream

in chapter 2

tells us

the most apparently

mighty

human kingdoms

will likewise

be crushed

by a small

stone cut

with no

human hand.

The true king

of the true kingdom

that will grow

to become

a great mountain

and fill

the whole earth.

There's your strength

in weakness.

How about

when facing

injustice?

Listen,

no matter

what your

political

opinions

or your

personal

experiences

are,

this has been

a rough week

for justice

in our country,

hasn't it?

It's been hard.

Difficult

things have

happened.

It angers

us.

It breaks

our hearts.

It makes

us wonder

what could

possibly be

done

to bring

justice.

And it's

easy to

give up.

It's easy

to stress

out.

It's easy

to buckle

down and

think we

can fix

it.

We're the

solution.

Daniel

would remind

us when

we face

injustice

to see

the ancient

of days

still on

his throne.

The most

wise and

holy judge

of all the

earth.

Remember

his white

hair flowing,

the fire

coming out

from his

throne as

he sits

on it.

The only

one whose

power can

always be

trusted.

Who takes

sin too

seriously not

to judge

all and

to right

every wrong.

He will

one day

punish evil

completely and

he is on

his throne

today.

Listen,

that must

impact how

we look at

this week's

events.

It must.

2016.

Regnante

Jesu

Cristo.

Sometimes we

face different

things.

There's a lot

of days when we

face personal

failing.

When we know

in the depth

of our being

that we deserve

to face

judgment from

that holy

judge,

when he doesn't

feel like one

who's coming

to protect

us and

right wrongs

done against

us,

we feel like

he would

justifiably

be out to

get us.

We know

we haven't

measured up

when we've

failed again

and we want

to give up

on ourselves

or we think

that our last

chance is to

buckle down

to try harder

to be better

on our own.

We must see

that our

righteousness

is in heaven.

The son of man

standing before

the throne

of the ancient

of days

on our behalf,

reminding us

as we saw

last week

in chapter 9

that we depend

in our sin

on God's

great mercy,

not on our

righteousness.

What about

when facing

persecution?

The only way

that we can

faithfully endure

persecution

is to know

the heavenly

reality that

God is

supremely

valuable,

that we would

choose the

reproach of

God over the

treasures of

this world.

that's an

eternal perspective.

It's not an

easy one to

have.

It doesn't

feel true

when things

are hard.

But in the

face of

temptations

to blend

in,

chapter 1,

to worship

other gods

to avoid

the fiery

furnace,

chapter 3,

to quit

praying just

for a few

days to

avoid the

lion's den,

seems like

no big

compromise,

right?

That's

chapter 6.

We've got

to know how

valuable

God really

is.

Is the

true king

really the

true king

even when he

doesn't seem

to pay off

for you in

the short

term?

I'll just

mention a

couple more

so we can

make it a

true top

ten list.

I've always

wanted to

have one of

those.

When facing

rejection

from those

who hate

you,

from one

who promised

to love

you,

from in

the midst

of that

you begin

to suspect

even God

himself would

reject me.

Remember the

heavenly reality

that he speaks

in chapter 10

to a despondent,

failed prophet.

Oh Daniel,

man greatly

loved.

The glorious

good news of

the king of

heaven,

the one who

is most

entitled to

reject you

more than

anyone else,

and he says

to you,

I don't reject

you,

I love

you.

Finally,

when facing

suffering,

whether it's

the fiery

furnace in

front of

you or

the worst

days ahead

that the

saints of

God are

promised in

chapter 7,

we're told

that we must

see clearly

that the

God who

will meet

us at

the end

is with

us in

the midst

of it.

He meets

his people

in suffering,

doesn't he?

Over and

over.

The fourth

man in

the furnace,

remember?

He shows

up in

it with

them so

that whether

he delivers

in the way

or the time

that we

wish for,

we can

trust he

will indeed

deliver us.

You see,

heaven reminds

us that

suffering,

while always

a part of

our story,

is never

the end

of our

story because

glory is

coming.

That's what

heaven reminds

us, right?

The promise

of Scripture

that eternal

life awaits

those who

feel like

they face

death day

after day

after day.

Darkness

and darkness

and discouragement,

y'all,

glory is

coming.

Amen?

That's the

truth.

It has to

shape the

way we

enter into

these things.

That's the

bottom line,

I think,

at the end

of the book

of Daniel.

We will

suffer.

And that

may involve

many of the

things on

this list,

but whatever

it is in

our lives,

even to

the point

of death

itself,

even when

we cry

out,

how much

longer and

how will

this turn

out?

What we

need to

know is

not all

the controversial

details,

and Daniel

has plenty

of them,

but rather

the last

verse of

the book.

How does

it end?

Verse 13.

Daniel,

go your

way till

the end

and know

this,

you shall

rest.

You shall

stand in

your allotted

place at

the end

of the

days.

A little

bit more

than just

go your

own way.

There's

rest ahead.

Well, we

need to know

that, don't

we?

The true

king you

have entrusted

yourself to

will indeed

cause you

to stand

in the

place he

has prepared

for you

forever

and ever.

It will

happen.

So with

those heavenly

glories in

place, how

do we live

on earth?

Well, we

don't give

up.

There's hope.

There's always

hope.

We don't

stress out,

he's on

the throne.

We don't

buckle down,

he's on

the throne,

not us.

But to

give answers

from Daniel

to what

should we

do, I'd

say just

two things.

First,

pray.

Daniel does

that a lot,

doesn't he?

Pray that

heaven would

come to

earth.

In the

sense of

the prayer

I trust

many of

you prayed

this week,

come quickly,

Lord Jesus.

Long for

that.

Pray for

that like

it's your

only hope

because it

is.

Secondly,

work to

bring heaven

to earth.

Go your

way.

One

relationship

at a time,

one day

at a time,

faithfully

serve the

true king

that his

kingdom might

come more

and more

on earth

as it is

in heaven.

As long

as he

places you

here on

earth in

this difficult

world we

live in,

be an

ambassador of

your true

homeland.

Make earth

more and

more like

heaven,

the place

that you're

to know

so well

and long

to be.

I know

I've asked

how much

longer and

how will

this turn

out a lot

lately.

I don't

know all

of the

reasons you

might have

asked it

recently.

There are

a lot

of them.

Reasons

for you

personally.

For some

of you

it's because

you're fearful

for your

kids and

your grandkids

and what

they're going

to grow up

and face

and deal

with.

For some

of you

you're asking

those questions

because you're

living in

or facing

the potential

of divorce

and relational

brokenness

and you're

feeling the

pain and

the grief

of that

in your

own

life.

For some

of you

it's because

you're struggling

to make

life work

financially.

You're not

sure how

you're going

to make

it through

this week

or professionally

you're not

sure how

you're going

to make

it through

this season.

There are

many other

sufferings

and difficulties

represented

in this

room and

Daniel says

there's more

to come.

But to all

his struggling

people God

says I'm

not surprised

by what

you're facing.

I've not

left you

alone in

your suffering

and I've

written a

glorious

conclusion to

your story.

Everlasting

life.

Rest.

Glory.

Forever.

I'm the

true king.

Follow me.

What a

glorious comfort

to know the

true and

eternal king.

You know

there's been a

lot of talk

in recent

days about

being on

the right

side of

history.

And no

matter what

the issue

of the day

is we're

told of how

important it

is for our

legacies that

we're on the

right side of

history.

Seems really

important and

it can be.

I'm convinced

however that

what's far more

important is being

on the right

side of

eternity.

That there's a

God the book

of Daniel says

who is the

true king.

Who will

defeat all

of those who

align themselves

against him.

And who will

deliver all of

those who

trust him.

And that will

be an eternal

delineation for

those who are

with the true

king and those

who are against

him.

He's cause for

either great

fear or great

comfort.

If you don't

know him,

nothing could be

more important

this morning than

aligning yourself

with the true

king.

king and he

offers himself

to you again

today.

The good news

with this king

is that he

comes to you.

He comes to

you and offers

you himself.

He doesn't

demand that you

clean yourself up

and then come

to him.

He comes to

you.

You see,

this table

reminds us

we're about to

celebrate something

that Jesus,

our true king,

has come

willingly to us.

Has willingly

undergone,

just look down

that top ten

list on your

bulletin.

All of these

earthly difficulties

in some way

Jesus has taken.

Injustice against

repeated false

charges.

Persecution,

mocked and beaten

for following God.

Loneliness and

rejection when

even his father

turned his face

away from him.

And not for his

personal failings

but for ours.

And then apparent

defeat

and death itself

on the cross

where we deserved

to be.

He is the true king

and the one you

can trust in the

midst of all of

these situations.

He's been there.

He's gone there

with you

and for you.

He's the one you

can trust today.

Yet again

or for the very

first time in your

life you can

trust him.

He invites all

to trust him.

To join his team

to know his

mercy

and then to

eat this meal

as a sign

of your connection

to him.

Remember how

Paul tells us

he instituted

this supper

with his disciples.

He writes,

I received from

the Lord

what I also

delivered to you

that the Lord

Jesus on the

night when he

was betrayed

took bread

and when he

had given

thanks he

broke it

and said

this is my

body which

is for you.

Do this

in remembrance

of me.

In the same

way also he

took the cup

after supper

saying this

cup is the

new covenant

in my blood.

Do this

as often as

you drink it

in remembrance

of me.

For as often

as you eat

this bread

and drink

the cup

you proclaim

the Lord's

death

until he

comes.

This is not

the table

of Southwood

or of the

Presbyterian

church.

This is the

Lord's table

the table

of King

Jesus.

All of you

who know him

and trust him

and are a part

of his church

please come

and eat.

If you don't

know him

I'd invite you

this morning

to come

not to this

table

not to the

sign of

who Jesus

is and

what he has

done and

you're being

connected to

him

but actually

to come to

Jesus himself.

We would be

delighted

it would be

our privilege

to talk with

you and tell

you more

about him.

Let's pray.

Father thank

you for this

table that

reminds us

that you

sent your

only son

to suffer

that you

didn't remain

far off

but that

you moved

towards us

so that

you could

welcome

us into

your family.

Would you

set these

common elements

aside for

a sacred

purpose in

our hearts

this morning

that we

might know

and remember

what is

true in

the midst

of many

other things

in our lives

that are real

and true

that you

love us

that you

have secured

our eternity

and that you

watch over

and care

for us

today

might this

remind us

of that

we ask it

in Jesus

name

amen

Lord Jesus

on the night

he was

betrayed

took bread

and he broke

it and gave

it to his

disciples

as I

ministering

in his

name

give this

bread to

you

and he

said

take

eat

this is

my body

broken

for you

do this

in remembrance

of me

in the same

way after

the supper

he took

the cup

and said

this cup

is the

new covenant

in my blood

shed for many

for the

forgiveness

of sins

drink from

it

all of you

our host

team will

usher you

to tables

at the front

and the back

and we will

feast and celebrate

what Jesus

has done

for us

together

for more

information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org

and

your

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in

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meetings

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platforms

and

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