Sermon
Exodus - The Blood of the Lamb
Publisher transcript
Transcript
-
You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
-
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
-
Join us.
-
Turn with me this morning to Exodus chapter 12.
Exodus 12 chapter mention
-
We're going to be looking this morning at the story of the Passover, the story of God's
-
people from which that song, that beautiful offertory they just sang, originates.
-
We're talking together as we head towards Easter about images of the cross, getting a
-
picture of what it is that God has done for us through sending His Son to die and to rise
-
on Easter from the dead.
-
We're looking at some Old Testament passages that serve as foreshadows, as images that will
-
help us understand more of what Jesus did and appreciate more fully that climactic event
-
in all of human history.
-
Last week we looked at Leviticus chapter 16 at the Day of Atonement and we saw that Jesus
Leviticus 16 chapter mention
-
is our scapegoat.
-
The one who's sent away from the presence of God so that we can be welcomed in to God's
-
presence.
-
We were focusing on the issue of our being unclean, defiled, not worthy of being near a
-
holy God, unable to be near Him and live.
-
But God in His grace is determined to dwell with us, isn't He?
-
He's so committed to that that He sends His Son away to die so that we can come near Him
-
and live.
-
This morning as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, I want us to look back at the
-
first Passover.
-
To think specifically about not just our uncleanness and being defiled, but our sin.
-
To think about our sin and the problem that it creates for us.
-
How the cross of Christ addresses the problem of our sin.
-
Before we read, remember the context of this fateful night for God's people.
-
They have been slaves in Egypt for years and years.
-
And God has raised up Moses to go to Pharaoh.
-
And what's Moses going to tell Pharaoh?
-
Let my people go.
-
And Pharaoh refuses over and over.
-
Pharaoh refuses to let his slaves go.
-
And he and the Egyptians have suffered through nine terrible plagues already.
-
Where God puts on display His power over creation and over all the other gods of Egypt.
-
But still, Pharaoh refuses to release the slaves to let God's people go.
-
And so God threatens one final plague.
-
The death of the firstborn of every household and every animal in the land of Egypt.
-
And God comes to His people and He says,
-
And here's what I want you to do in light of that.
-
You're going to take a lamb.
-
And what we were just singing about in that song.
-
You're going to put His blood on the door.
-
And let's read about what God says to His people.
-
Exodus 12.
-
We'll start at verse 12.
-
We'll read verses 12 and 13 right now.
-
This is God's word to His people.
-
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night.
-
And I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
-
Both man and beast.
-
And on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.
-
I am the Lord.
-
The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are.
-
And when I see the blood I will pass over you.
-
And no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
-
Pray with me.
-
Father, we have sung about this.
-
We have read about this.
-
Would You help our hearts to understand Your word.
-
Would we know not just about facts and events that took place many, many centuries ago.
-
Would we know what You would have them to mean and to do in our hearts today.
-
Would You show us Jesus again clearly this morning.
-
And would You give us joy in what He has done for us.
-
We ask it in His name.
-
Amen.
-
I am not probably the most skittish person in the world when it comes to blood.
-
But I am enough skittish that I would not be a good surgeon.
-
Okay.
-
The sight of too much blood makes me a little bit queasy.
-
Anybody else?
-
Am I?
-
Yeah.
-
Okay.
-
Many of us.
-
That's just not our thing.
-
I remember going with my wife when she was pregnant with Caitlin to all of those prenatal
-
appointments.
-
It seemed like the thing that a loving husband would do.
-
Right.
-
And they kept drawing blood every time.
-
And I'd have to find a wall to kind of lean against while that happened.
-
Because I was a little lightheaded watching that.
-
So we eventually decided that while it sounded like the loving husband thing to do.
-
That maybe making sure Christy didn't go to the hospital for me when she was the one pregnant
-
was wise.
-
Just keep your distance a little bit during that part of the appointments.
-
I think part of my discomfort with blood comes from the fact that I so rarely have to deal
-
with it.
-
I'm protected in many ways from many of the bloody parts of life that most societies for
-
generations and generations in the history of human society would have had to face just
-
for survival.
-
Just to eat day in and day out.
-
My hamburger is made for me most often.
-
I don't think that I've ever met a cow that I also knew as a hamburger.
-
I don't walk through that whole process.
-
But in an agrarian society this would be very different.
-
Right.
-
Blood would be much more common.
-
In ancient Israel blood would have been even more commonplace because of all the sacrifices
-
that were going on.
-
Right.
-
Constantly they're making these sacrifices.
-
They're seeing them.
-
They're seeing blood very regularly.
-
And what blood meant in that culture was life.
-
It's often very helpful to realize that when you're studying the Old Testament that blood
-
represents life which makes sense doesn't it?
-
Our bodies without blood in them are dead.
-
Lifeless.
-
Blood is a matter of life and death isn't it?
-
And that's actually why blood comes up in the story of the Passover.
-
Because this is a story about life and death.
-
The sin of the idolatrous unjust Egyptians has caught the attention of God.
-
And in a unique way his just judgment has begun to be unleashed on them.
-
And flies and boils and locusts and darkness.
-
And now death itself.
-
Look at verse 12.
-
I will pass through the land of Egypt that night.
-
And I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
-
Both man and beast.
-
And on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.
-
I am the Lord.
-
I am Yahweh.
-
And I will come and the firstborn in every home in Egypt.
-
And in every livestock in Egypt will die.
-
Yahweh is a just God who punishes sin.
-
God's just judgment on sin is certain.
-
This verse is assuring us of that.
-
It will happen.
-
He will come and He will judge and He will bring death.
-
In fact if you flip forward to verse 29 we read what happened that Passover night.
-
At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
-
From the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne.
-
To the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon.
-
And all the firstborn of the livestock.
-
And Pharaoh rose up in the night.
-
He and all his servants and all the Egyptians.
-
And there was a great cry in Egypt.
-
For there was not a house where someone was not dead.
-
Can you imagine that?
-
Across the whole nation of Egypt.
-
Not a house in which someone was not dead.
-
Death has come in this passage.
-
Mankind's rebellion against God has always been a matter of life and death.
-
All the way back to the garden, right?
-
Where Adam and Eve are told you must not eat of the fruit of this tree.
-
Or you will what?
-
Surely die.
-
In the New Testament, Romans 6.23.
-
We find out that the wages of sin is death.
-
It is what our sin earns us with a holy God.
-
We are turning in our sin from the one who gives life.
-
The one who created it and gives life to all.
-
And we are choosing death.
-
God says.
-
That's what we've earned.
-
That's what we deserve.
-
That's what a wage is.
-
Another way to say it would be to say that the blood of sinners is demanded by the just God of the universe.
-
It must be taken.
-
Their life is forfeit.
-
They're facing the punishment due for their sin.
-
That's where we all find ourselves, isn't it?
-
Not just the Egyptians.
-
In a scary place.
-
Facing the punishment of our sins.
-
Jonathan Edwards described it as sinners in the hands of an angry God in a famous sermon of his.
-
That there we are and we've earned God's wrath.
-
A God who promises by his very character to punish sin.
-
To punish those who are convicted and are guilty.
-
And we stand as such.
-
For those of us who are sinners by nature.
-
For every selfish desire.
-
For every careless word.
-
For every neglected duty.
-
We deserve to die.
-
It is our blood that is demanded by the just God of the universe.
-
My campus minister in college used this picture to describe our situation.
-
I don't have a lot of object lessons.
-
I'm just not really good at that as a teacher in general.
-
But this is one of them that had an impact on me.
-
Kids, you can probably help us with this object lesson this morning.
-
What's this?
-
Can you see what this is?
-
This is an egg.
-
It's a white egg.
-
You don't really know what's inside, do you?
-
For sure.
-
But this is an egg.
-
And this egg is a lot like we are.
-
As sinners before God.
-
We may look nice and clean on the outside.
-
It's white, isn't it?
-
Nice and shiny and clean.
-
But we are sinners.
-
We like to do things our own way.
-
We have hateful thoughts in our heads.
-
We say things to others that are unkind.
-
Things that are untrue.
-
We're sinners.
-
Even though we sometimes look good on the outside.
-
We are sinners.
-
And so the hammer of God's wrath.
-
Yes, see, this is also helpful because we used hammers at the work day.
-
But I didn't really know what they were for.
-
The rest of the guys knew what to do with them.
-
I'm going to use them for a sermon illustration.
-
But the hammer of God's wrath is what we deserve for our sin.
-
That He's just and God punishes sinners who say unkind things and who do things their own way.
-
And who have hateful thoughts in their hearts.
-
It is certain that God's wrath will come down on sin, isn't it?
-
He promises that it will.
-
God must punish sin.
-
That's who He is.
-
And so, kids, how do you think it goes when the hammer of God's wrath comes down on us sinners?
-
When it smashes?
-
We'll wait for that.
-
What would have happened?
-
How would the egg have done?
-
How do sinners fare in light of the hammer of God's wrath towards their sin?
-
It would crush us, wouldn't it?
-
It would destroy us and no one would ever sit on the front row of church again.
-
Although that's not a problem already.
-
These aren't the ones y'all fight over, are they?
-
Right up here.
-
You didn't even know I was doing this.
-
But that's what would happen is that God's wrath would crush us.
-
It is coming towards us.
-
It's coming down on our sin.
-
And then it stops.
-
Because there's something else going on in this story of the Passover, isn't there?
-
What happens as God has promised that the angel of death is coming?
-
That He's coming to take blood, to kill for sin.
-
God has a plan for His people.
-
He tells every family to do what?
-
To take a one-year-old lamb without blemish or defect, to get that pure, spotless lamb,
-
to kill it.
-
And to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts of their houses.
-
It looks kind of like that second panel.
-
Sorry, go back for just a second.
-
It looks just like that second panel up there.
-
Some blood on the doorposts of the house, right?
-
That's what they're going to do with the blood of the lamb that each family has killed.
-
And so what did God promise would happen when they did that?
-
Verse 13 again.
-
The blood is going to be a sign for you on the houses where you are.
-
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
-
And no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
-
What does God say to His people?
-
When I see the blood, I will pass over you.
-
Instead of the angel of death coming in to take the life of the firstborn,
-
he will pass over.
-
That's where we get the word Passover, right?
-
The angel of death would see the blood and pass over those homes.
-
The homes of God's people.
-
No firstborn son would die.
-
No person at all would die in that home.
-
But a lamb would die, wouldn't it?
-
In every home where no person would die, a lamb would die.
-
So that his blood could be put on the door frames of the house.
-
It would die in place of the firstborn son.
-
The lamb would be the substitute and would protect the firstborn son from death.
-
Because blood had to be shed.
-
But God graciously accepts the blood of a substitute in place of the one whose blood deserved to be shed.
-
In other words, when we look at the cross and think about what's happening on the cross of Christ,
-
even though God's judgment for sin is certain,
-
Christ's death for sin is sufficient.
-
Just as the blood of the lamb protected all these firstborn sons in Israel,
-
so the blood of the lamb covers us from God's wrath.
-
Back to the egg for just a second.
-
Here we are sinners, right?
-
Facing God's just wrath.
-
He's coming.
-
His wrath has to crush us for our sin.
-
And then something else happens.
-
And then Jesus comes.
-
And instead of the hammer of God's wrath coming down on sinners and crushing them because of their sin,
-
Jesus on the cross receives the wrath of God poured out on Him for sin.
-
What deserved to hit us instead is poured out on Jesus.
-
And the full weight of God's wrath comes crashing down on Jesus on the cross.
-
It was the will of God to crush Him and cause Him to suffer.
-
So that those of us who are protected by the blood of the lamb are safe.
-
Because the hammer didn't stop, but someone else stood in the way.
-
Someone else's blood was shed.
-
We are saved by what?
-
By the blood of the lamb, right?
-
That's what saves us.
-
Not because we were strong.
-
Not because we were better than the next guy.
-
Not because we held up to God's scrutiny.
-
But because the blood of the lamb covers us.
-
Put the blood of the lamb on the doorway.
-
And death will pass right over.
-
That was Israel's hope.
-
That's our hope.
-
That it's the blood of the lamb that protects us.
-
You see, as we look at the cross and as we wonder at what Jesus has done,
-
we've got to realize that the hammer of God's wrath is coming.
-
It's serious because of our sin.
-
Some people have suggested that the death of Jesus on the cross
-
was just a way to set a good example for us.
-
Or that it was a way for God to teach us about sin and about sacrificial love.
-
And we should learn some things from it.
-
But in fact, the story of Passover reminds us that our blood was on the line.
-
Not just us learning some new information.
-
The wrath of God against our sin was great.
-
And He poured it out on Jesus instead of on us.
-
He crushed His Son on the cross instead of crushing us.
-
That's what happens when Jesus goes to the cross.
-
When He sheds His blood.
-
God takes Jesus' blood as full payment for our great debt.
-
It's Hebrews in talking about these things that reminds us that
-
without the shedding of blood,
-
there is no forgiveness of sins.
-
Blood has to be shed, right?
-
There has to be a Lamb if you're going to survive the Passover night.
-
And for us, there's a Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
-
John chapter 1.
John 1 chapter mention
-
You may be familiar with the way 1 Peter writes about it.
-
That Jesus comes and it's not that we were ransomed from the ways we'd inherited from our fathers
-
with perishable things like silver or gold.
-
What ransoms us?
-
What pays our penalty?
-
The precious blood of Christ.
-
Like that of a Lamb without blemish or spot.
-
That's what protects you.
-
It's the blood of the Lamb.
-
What can wash away my sins?
-
What can protect me from the wrath of God?
-
What can rescue me from eternal death and provide for me life?
-
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
-
It is absolutely sufficient for the worst sinner.
-
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
-
So where the blood of the Lamb covers the sinner,
-
there is no condemnation any longer.
-
For anything you've done in the past,
-
for anything you will do in the future,
-
the blood of Jesus has protected you from the wrath of God for your sin.
-
Before we celebrate this at the Lord's table,
-
let me apply this truth to at least three areas of our lives.
-
Three times when seeing this aspect of the cross,
-
the blood of Christ covering us from God's wrath
-
and offering us life instead of death really transforms us.
-
I think the first area it helps us is when we're spiritually dry.
-
Like my throat.
-
When you feel little passion for God,
-
when you get to those places in your life
-
where you just don't get passionate about anything spiritual,
-
the zeal is not there.
-
There's no joy at all toward the things of God.
-
Maybe other things are creeping in
-
and they're starting to seem more valuable to you,
-
more important,
-
to be more worthy of your time.
-
You know you're always worshipping, right?
-
We're always worshipping something.
-
And we go through those seasons
-
where the worship of our hearts is not going towards God,
-
that other things seem more valuable
-
or we treasure them more
-
or we love them more.
-
So maybe your heart is longing
-
for any number of things other than God
-
and being with Him.
-
Maybe you're tired of trusting God
-
like perhaps the Israelites in Egypt may have been.
-
Years upon years without seeing any results
-
and you're tired and you're down because of that.
-
You're just spiritually dry.
-
You know what that feels like.
-
God's deliverance of His people
-
at the Passover
-
becomes the source
-
through the rest of the Old Testament
-
until the cross of Jesus.
-
That deliverance at the Passover
-
becomes the source
-
of their praise and worship of God.
-
They look back to it constantly
-
and it brings them to praise Him.
-
It starts just on the other side of the Red Sea,
-
doesn't it?
-
When they start writing and singing songs
-
celebrating God's deliverance.
-
And then every year at Passover,
-
they stop and they celebrate it again.
-
God has delivered them from captivity.
-
One psalm after another
-
that they sing every Sabbath day
-
references this great redemption
-
and the blood of the Lamb
-
through which they were spared.
-
Are you spiritually dry today?
-
Has your zeal for God waned?
-
Has your passion for His worship
-
seemed to disappear?
-
You just don't feel anything at all.
-
Come see the cross again this morning.
-
Get a fresh glimpse
-
of what Jesus has done for you.
-
How God has delivered you eternally
-
through the blood of the Lamb.
-
One of the things I love about this church
-
is that's the theme of all of our worship
-
when we gather corporately every week.
-
That it's what God has done for us in Christ
-
to deliver us
-
and we gather to praise Him for that
-
and to rejoice and encourage each other
-
because of it.
-
The good news of our deliverance
-
through our substitute
-
ask God this morning to renew your zeal
-
to enliven your heart again
-
at the marvel of your deliverance
-
from the hammer of His wrath
-
by the blood of the Lamb.
-
So we need this glimpse of the cross
-
when we're spiritually dry
-
but also when we're spiritually proud.
-
When do you get spiritually proud?
-
There's almost always something going on
-
when that starts to happen.
-
You're usually comparing yourselves to others.
-
Right?
-
That's where spiritual pride comes from.
-
We compare ourselves to others
-
and we start to feel strong
-
or at least stronger than you
-
or worthy
-
or at least worthier than someone else
-
we happen to have in mind.
-
And perhaps it's what Israel
-
would have been tempted to feel
-
coming out of Egypt
-
and entering the promised land
-
that they were better than these other nations.
-
Right?
-
Perhaps they were spared
-
because even though they weren't perfect
-
they weren't like that politician
-
or they weren't like those other parents
-
who do things that way.
-
Maybe they walked into the promised land
-
and looked around
-
and look at the leaders
-
of these other nations
-
immoral kings
-
leading their people into idolatry
-
and they began to feel
-
a little bit better about themselves.
-
Look at these parents
-
and the nations around us
-
and what they do with their children
-
sacrificing children to idols.
-
Awful.
-
And they felt like pretty good parents.
-
They started to feel strong.
-
And Passover is intended to remind them
-
that Yahweh alone is the strong one.
-
That He is the one
-
who brought them out of Egypt
-
with a strong hand
-
and an outstretched arm.
-
It is the Lord's Passover.
-
Verse 27.
-
Verse 51 says
-
Yahweh brought us out.
-
That's what we celebrate.
-
That's what we tell our children.
-
Yahweh brought us out.
-
You know, sometimes we kind of think
-
our eggshells a little bit stronger
-
and brighter and shinier than others.
-
You know, we've been working on it.
-
We've done some good things.
-
We certainly haven't been to the places
-
that others have.
-
And so maybe we're looking
-
a little bit better than them.
-
How much is that going to help?
-
Does it matter how white the eggshell is?
-
Is it feeling a little bit thicker than some?
-
I mean, what about if I hard-boiled it?
-
Would that make a huge difference?
-
Maybe only for the people on the front row.
-
We weren't saved because our eggshell
-
was a bit brighter
-
or a little stronger than most others.
-
Our gracious God saved us.
-
Why?
-
The blood of the Lamb.
-
And our hearts that love to get prideful
-
need to be reminded of that, don't they?
-
Last one, last area of our lives
-
that I think we need to see this help our hearts.
-
I think it may be the one that would be
-
most pertinent and most helpful for God's people.
-
We need to see the Lamb of God
-
in our place on the cross for our sins
-
when we're spiritually weak.
-
Have you ever struggled with doubts
-
about your salvation?
-
Do you ever wonder if heaven is really secure?
-
Are you ever fearful that you're gonna get
-
what's coming to you one day?
-
Because of what you know about God,
-
you know He's just.
-
That He punishes sin.
-
And you know yourself all too well, don't you?
-
You know the things you've thought
-
and the things you've said
-
and the things you've done.
-
And you start to dwell on that.
-
And what you know about God
-
and what you know about yourself
-
makes you think,
-
He's gonna find a way to get me.
-
It's coming somehow.
-
And you begin to see your sin
-
and it's disgusting
-
and it's discouraging
-
and it makes you doubt
-
maybe your own salvation.
-
Maybe it happens for you
-
in seasons of depression.
-
Maybe it's the day after you've yelled at your kids
-
and you feel like such a failure.
-
Maybe it's after a tragedy has happened in your life
-
and you feel like God's just out to get people
-
and He's really not the kind of God
-
you'd hoped He was
-
and everything seems dark and hopeless.
-
You just begin to doubt.
-
You're fearful.
-
Your faith seems weak.
-
This is when we need to see
-
the blood of the Lamb for us again.
-
A pastor theologian named D.A. Carson
-
suggests thinking about it this way.
-
I think it's so helpful.
-
He says,
-
Go back to the first Passover.
-
Imagine the afternoon
-
before that first Passover night
-
there's two Israelite fathers
-
coming in from the field
-
talking to each other.
-
And the first one says,
-
Hey, how are you feeling about tonight?
-
And the second father says,
-
How am I feeling about tonight?
-
I mean, what do you mean?
-
And the first guy says,
-
Well, I mean this whole angel of death thing.
-
I mean, I'm pretty scared about this.
-
There's a lot that's been going on around here lately.
-
It's been pretty strange.
-
There's been flies and locusts
-
and boils and darkness
-
and now we hear about this angel of death
-
and the killing of firstborn sons.
-
And it just makes me uncomfortable.
-
I'm pretty nervous about that.
-
I love my kids.
-
And the other guy says,
-
Well, didn't you kill a lamb
-
and put the blood on the doorposts
-
like God told us to?
-
And he says,
-
Well, yeah, yeah, of course I did that.
-
Of course I put the blood on the doorposts.
-
I mean, God told us to.
-
But I gotta tell you,
-
God's pretty scary.
-
I mean, He's done some pretty amazing things
-
and I trust Him.
-
I've done what He told us to do.
-
But I gotta tell you,
-
I'm not gonna sleep real well tonight.
-
And the other guy says,
-
Well, man, I don't get that.
-
I'm gonna sleep great tonight.
-
Yahweh told us what to do.
-
I did it and I trust Him.
-
I feel totally comfortable.
-
It's just another night.
-
I'm gonna sleep like a baby.
-
There's nothing to worry about.
-
Fast forward to the next morning
-
after Passover.
-
Which one of those fathers
-
lost His son
-
to the angel of death?
-
Which one had His firstborn son die?
-
Neither, right?
-
Neither.
-
Not the guy who was worried
-
and stayed up fretting all night.
-
Not the guy who slept through the night
-
peacefully,
-
confident in God's promises.
-
Why?
-
Because the angel of death
-
passes over both of those homes
-
on what basis?
-
Because of the blood of the Lamb.
-
Not because He looks inside
-
and the faith of one family
-
is stronger than the other.
-
Not because the family inside
-
never has doubts or fears.
-
No.
-
It's because of the blood
-
of the Lamb.
-
There's where our assurance
-
and confidence rests,
-
Christians.
-
Right?
-
It doesn't change.
-
You can stand firm in that.
-
The blood of the Lamb for you.
-
That's where your hope is
-
on your darkest days.
-
On the days where you doubt the most.
-
Where you feel the weakest.
-
When the angel of death
-
comes by your house,
-
what matters
-
is the blood
-
of the Lamb.
-
When the accuser of the brethren
-
comes to your life,
-
what matters
-
is the blood
-
of the Lamb.
-
When the anxiety
-
of your heart
-
comes to the surface
-
and you doubt and struggle,
-
what matters
-
is the blood
-
of the Lamb
-
for you
-
in your place.
-
When I see
-
the blood,
-
I will pass
-
over you,
-
God says.
-
Remember again,
-
isn't that glorious?
-
When I see the blood,
-
I'm looking for one thing.
-
I'm looking for the blood
-
of my Son
-
covering you.
-
Remember again,
-
your hope is built
-
on nothing less
-
than Jesus' blood
-
and His righteousness.
-
Even as you struggle
-
with doubts,
-
with fears,
-
you can say with me
-
this morning,
-
believe the promises
-
of God's Word.
-
I need
-
no other argument.
-
I need
-
no other plea.
-
It is enough
-
that Jesus died
-
and that He died
-
for me.
-
that's what
-
this table
-
is all about.
-
That's why we
-
love to celebrate it
-
because this table
-
says it's the blood
-
of the Lamb
-
that brings you
-
into relationship
-
with God.
-
It's the blood
-
of the Lamb
-
that allows you
-
to have a lousy week
-
and then walk in here
-
and act like
-
God's okay with you.
-
Like He loves you.
-
Like He wants
-
to eat with you.
-
It's because He looks
-
and sees the blood
-
of the Lamb
-
on your doorpost
-
because the blood
-
of the Lamb
-
speaks better
-
than anything
-
you could have offered.
-
His sins are forgiven.
-
He's covered.
-
The full price
-
has been paid.
-
Listen to the way
-
Paul describes
-
the institution
-
of this sacrament
-
in 1 Corinthians 11.
-
Paul says,
-
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.
-
You proclaim
-
not how well
-
you've done.
-
You proclaim
-
not how well
-
you intend
-
to do next week.
-
You proclaim
-
the Lord's death
-
when yours
-
was the one
-
that should have happened.
-
You proclaim
-
that Jesus died
-
and shed His blood
-
so you wouldn't
-
have to shed yours.
-
Amen?
-
That's what we do
-
at this table.
-
That's why we celebrate
-
the Lord's Supper
-
because Jesus
-
has shed His blood
-
for us.
-
Kids,
-
you may,
-
some of you
-
who have professed
-
faith in Christ
-
who've joined the church
-
get to celebrate
-
this with us.
-
All of you,
-
I want you to think
-
about something.
-
When God's people
-
talk about the Passover
-
it's supposed to teach
-
the kids something.
-
The parents are supposed
-
to be telling their kids
-
this is what happened
-
when God delivered us
-
from Egypt.
-
We do this
-
because we celebrate
-
Jesus died
-
to deliver us
-
from our sins.
-
It doesn't matter
-
how old you are,
-
you can come up
-
with your parents
-
and watch
-
and see what happens
-
and talk with them later
-
about what's going on
-
and what we celebrate here.
-
This table is for
-
all of those
-
who have trusted in Christ
-
not just Presbyterians,
-
for all those
-
who've trusted in Him
-
and who are actively
-
saying,
-
I don't want my sin
-
to be what represents me
-
to God,
-
I want the blood of Jesus
-
to be what represents me
-
to God.
-
All of those
-
who have joined the church
-
and who have publicly said,
-
this is what I want
-
my relationship with God
-
to be based on.
-
Come and feast.
-
Kids,
-
if you aren't yet
-
at that point
-
where you've talked
-
with an elder
-
and where you've become
-
a member of the church
-
and said,
-
this is what I believe too,
-
we'd love to talk
-
with you about that.
-
We get so excited
-
when our kids
-
understand what's going on here
-
and know how much
-
Jesus loves them.
-
That's why we celebrate this.
-
One more thing
-
before I pray.
-
We come to the Lord's table
-
recognizing our sin,
-
right?
-
Why is there blood
-
in the first place?
-
Why does there have to be,
-
why can't you just
-
waltz in here
-
and have dinner with God?
-
Because of sin,
-
right?
-
Because our sin
-
separates us from Him
-
and blood has to be shed
-
to cover that.
-
We're going to take
-
just a moment
-
and privately
-
consider our sin
-
as we come to the table.
-
We're not going to stop
-
at considering our sin
-
but we're going to start there
-
and then let the joy
-
of the blood of Christ
-
covering it be ours.
-
Take a moment,
-
contemplate your sin,
-
confess it to the Father
-
and then I'll pray for us.
-
Father, all of the things
-
that we have just thought about
-
and prayed and confessed to You
-
are true.
-
It's what we've done.
-
It's the ways we've
-
wandered from You.
-
We're sinful.
-
But it is even more true
-
that we don't stand before You
-
with that as our record
-
but that the blood of the Lamb
-
has been shed for our sins.
-
That it fully washes them away
-
so that we stand before You
-
perfect and without blemish
-
in Your sight
-
because we have the record of Christ.
-
Would that so encourage our hearts
-
when we struggle,
-
when we doubt?
-
As we eat and drink,
-
would You encourage our faith
-
and strengthen it
-
that we might trust You more?
-
Set aside these elements
-
that they would do that
-
in our hearts,
-
we ask in Jesus' name.
-
Amen.
-
The Lord Jesus,
-
on the night He was betrayed,
-
took bread and He broke it
-
and gave it to His disciples
-
as I'm ministering in His name.
-
Give this bread to You.
-
And He said,
-
take and eat.
-
This is My body,
-
broken for You.
-
Do this in remembrance of Me.
-
In the same way,
-
He took the cup
-
and said,
-
this cup is the new covenant
-
in My blood.
-
In the old covenant,
-
there was blood
-
from lots of different animals.
-
In the new covenant,
-
it's My blood,
-
the blood of one sacrifice
-
once for all.
-
Drink from it,
-
all of you.
-
Remember that I've paid
-
your penalty in full.
-
The host team will usher you
-
forward and back
-
and we will celebrate together
-
that the blood of the Lamb
-
covers our sins.
-
For more information,
-
visit us online
-
at southwood.org.
-
Take care of it.
-
Take care of it on fiancee.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.
-
Bye.