good morning refuge family. My name is Tina and on behalf of our team, we are so
thankful. You're joining us for refuge church, online, wherever you're joining us from
today, we're honored to get to spend it with you. I also want to give a special welcome
to those of you joining us for the very first time before service begins. We want to
give you a few helpful tips our time together. Make sure you grab your Bible so you can
follow along with the scriptures and the message. If you don't have a Bible, don't
worry. The verses will be available on your screen. Also, please engage in the live
comments. We would love to connect with you, to pray with you and to care for you. If
you're joining us for the very first time, please fill out our digital connect card so
we can get to know you better. We love you and we hope you enjoy today's service. Good
morning, refuge, family, pastor Jason here. I'm so excited to see you this morning
before I do anything else. I want to thank everyone who is able to come out last Sunday
morning for our outdoor worship service and our picnic. Over 400 people came together to
worship Jesus and have some fun. If we haven't seen you, if we weren't able to see you
last Sunday, listen, I cannot wait to see you again soon.
We love you. And we've been praying for you all week long. Hey, in just a few weeks,
I'll be going on my scheduled sabbatical for the month of June. Pastor mark, Brandon
will be with you online and on north Alabama's CW. And I know that he has a powerful
word for you over the next month. If you need anything, do not hesitate to reach out to
our church office. Our team is ready and willing to care for you in any and every way
that they can. Hey, let's pray together. Then let's jump into God's word today. Jesus,
we love you so much. And we thank you for this morning. We thank you, God, that no
matter where we're at, we can meet with you. Lord. We can experience your presence and
your power in our lives. Holy spirit, would you fill our rooms? Would you fill our
hearts today and speak to us God, and only a way that you can. Jesus. We love you. And
it's in your name. We pray. Amen. Hey guys, this morning, I want to spend time in a
passage in Luke chapter eight. I remember the first time I read through this story, it
made an incredible difference in my life. And I remember when I had the opportunity to
go to the holy land and see the place where this story actually walked out, where it
happened.
And I remember just that feeling, that overwhelming feeling of knowing of Jesus, his
love of Jesus has power. And that's my heart. That's my prayer for you today is that
today in this moment, at this time that we would experience the power and the presence
of Jesus Christ. Like never. Before you see Luke chapter eight tells a story of the
leader of a synagogue named gyrus. And one gyrus came to Jesus. Gyrus was distraught
because his 12 year old daughter, she was sick and he knew that she was going to die.
And so he came to Jesus, a father that was a broken heart at a father that was in
despair and desperate and said, Jesus, I need you to come to my house. My daughter is
sick and she's going to die. Now Jesus was at the market. Jesus was in the middle of the
crowd. There were people everywhere. I imagined being at a concert and people being
elbow to elbow, pushing through the crowd. Jesus looked at gyrus and he said, let's go.
And so they began to travel to gyrus his house, pushing through the crowds, pushing
through the people. I can't imagine being gyrus, having that much despair and that much
worry about your daughter. And then to hear Jesus say, yes, I'll come. And so they were
going to the house, but while they were walking while they were going through the crowd,
something else happened.
And I want us to read it in Luke chapter eight, starting in verse 43. It says a woman in
the crowd had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding and she could find no cure
coming up behind Jesus. She touched the fringe of his robe immediately. The bleeding
stopped, who touched me. Jesus asked everyone denied it. And Peter said, master, this
whole crowd is pressing up against you. But Jesus said, someone deliberately touched me
for, I felt healing power go out from me. When the woman realized that she could not
stay hidden. She began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd
heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had immediately been healed
daughter. He said to her, your faith has made you well, go in peace. You see the Bible
identifies five important details about this woman's situation. This woman's story. Now
remember what's going on. Jesus is on this important mission. The ruler of a synagogue
and influential person in the community needed Jesus has help. And in the middle of
going to help him, Jesus stops because a woman in the crowd had touched him. We see five
things about this woman. First, she was physically weak. How do we know that? Because
she had been bleeding for 12 years. She was most likely anemic. She was most likely
fatigued. She was unhealthy, possibly even experiencing chronic pain.
She was sick and we know that she was physically weak because of her condition. Maybe
you're watching or listening today. And you relate to that. You're physically weak.
Maybe it's because of a health situation you're dealing with. Maybe you've been dealing
with chronic pain for years, but maybe you can relate to this woman today. You know what
it is like to be physically weak. Maybe you're just overwhelmed. Maybe you're just worn
out. Maybe you're just exhausted because of the circumstance of your life. You know what
it feels like to be weak. We also know that she was financially drained because some
translations actually say that she spent all the money that she had looking for a cure.
She was poor. She had nothing left. She was done desperate. She wanted it to be well,
she wanted to be healed. And so she went to every doctor. She tried every possible cure
and nothing worked and she had no money left. Maybe, you know what that feels like.
Maybe you can relate to that situation. You're financially drained. Maybe it was because
of the circumstances of 2020 and this past year, maybe it was because of poor decisions.
Maybe it was because of something that happened that you had no control over. It was an
external circumstance. But you know what?
It feels like to be poor, to not have any money, to be paycheck to paycheck, do not even
know how you're going to pay your bills. You could relate to being financially drained.
We also know that she was socially outcast. We know this because of Jewish law regarding
menstruation and women. We know that because she had been bleeding for 12 years, that
she was a social outcast, that she could not be around people that she not be around her
family. She could not be around the crowd. She was considered on clean. And so, because
that she would have been a social outcast. Maybe you can relate to that. Maybe you're
watching right now and you feel alone. Maybe you can be in a crowd full of people and
you feel alone. You feel like nobody cares. You feel like nobody is aware. You feel like
nobody loves you. You feel ignored or you feel like people do know you and they don't
want you around. You know what? It feels like to be a social outcast. We also see that
she was spiritually rejected again because of the Jewish law. She was considered unclean
and she cannot not participate in religious ritual or even in worship. She was
spiritually rejected. Maybe, you know what that feels like. Maybe you have been hurt by
church. Maybe you have been rejected by Christians or by church people. Or maybe you
feel like you're rejected by God.
Even if you're not, maybe you feel that way. And you feel like because of something that
you've said or something that you've thought or something that you've done, that God
doesn't want you, that he has rejected you, or maybe you just have a misunderstanding
about something that you've read and God's word. And because of that, misunderstanding,
you feel unloved and unwanted can relate to feeling spiritually rejected. And lastly, we
know that this woman was emotionally distressed because the Bible, since she was
horrified, when Jesus asked the question who touched me, she was horrified. She came in
fear and trouble. why, because she had done an unconscionable thing. She was unclean.
And she reached out to touch a clean person. She had willfully and knowingly approached
someone while she was unclaimed. And she had been exposed. She had been exposed in
public. Everybody heard what she had done. And the reality is, is in this culture and
because of what she has done, she could have been stoned. She could have been punished.
She would have been killed for it, but she wasn't washy. Why I want you to see what
Jesus did here, what Jesus did in this situation and how Jesus can do that. The same
things in our life today. You said, we have to understand first Jesus has enough time
for you. Remember what it says in verses 44 and 45 coming up behind Jesus. She touched
the fringe of his robe.
The bleeding immediately stopped. Who touched me? You see, he stopped even though Jesus
was on an important mission, even though there was a 12 year old girl that was about to
die. Jesus stopped to minister to this woman. Jesus had enough time for her. And Jesus
has enough time for you. I will never forget a moment in my life where I did not have
enough time for somebody that was working at a local hospital. And my office was across
the street. And I was called to a meeting in the main building, a walk through the
parking lot. I walked by the emergency room and as I walked by the emergency room, there
was a woman sitting there and she was sobbing. She was crying her eyes out. And I asked
the question ma'am are you okay? And she said, no, I'm not okay. And my response, I was
so worried about getting to my meeting. I said, sorry. Ma'am I hope you have a better
day. And I kept on walking and that haunts me because I don't know what was going on in
her life may have just received devastating news. She may have just had a family member
pass away. There may have been an unexpected diagnosis. I don't know, but I did not take
the opportunity to minister when God gave, gave it to me. I didn't make enough Tom, but
here's what I, what about Jesus? Jesus has enough time for you.
Jesus will make time for you because Jesus loves you. Second thing that we see is that
Jesus, he has enough power for you. He has enough power for you. You said in verse 46,
someone deliberately touched me for, I felt healing power go out from me. Here's what I
love. She didn't even really touch Jesus. She touched the fringe of his rope. She
touched the tassels on his prayer, which represented his authority, touching the tassels
of his clothing. She was healed. I don't know about you, but believe in a God who still
does miracles today. He did miracles then and he still does miracles. I've seen God do
miracles in Haiti. I've seen God do miracles and Nicaragua. I've seen God do miracles in
Athens and in Huntsville, God still does miracles. I've seen him be creative. I've seen
him heal. I've seen him cast out the demonic, seen him take situations that seem
hopeless and impossible and change them in an instant. You see, we serve a God that
still does miracles. And Jesus still has enough power for you. If he can raise himself
from the dead, then Jesus can speak a life and hope and healing into your situation.
And number three, Jesus, he has enough compassion for you in this moment where this
woman was exposed in front of the crowd in this moment where she could have been
punished, where she could have been stone, where she could have been ridiculed, where
she could have been humiliated Jesus. He calls her daughter. He speaks to her and love.
And with grace and compassion and says, daughter, your faith has made you well, go in
peace. You see, there is nothing. There is nothing that this woman could have done to
help herself. Nothing worked. She was desperate. She was helpless. All she knew is that
she had to get to Jesus and Jesus had compassion on her. Some of you are watching right
now and you were dealing with health issues. You feel like a social outcast. You were in
a spiritual rut. You are paralyzed by fear or worry or anxiety or depression, or maybe
you're a student and your parents are getting a divorce or maybe your family is
struggling with finances or maybe you're watching. And you weren't even thinking about
harming yourself. You think the world would be better off without you. Listen, you are
stuck. You were stuck because you believe the lie that God will not give you more than
you can handle. That is a lie. God will give you more than you can handle. So you will
turn it back over to him and allow him to handle it.
Jesus has compassion for you and he loves you more than you could ever a magic number
for your pain can become your purpose. Your mission, yes can become your ministry. Your
tests can become your testimony because here's what happens next. As Jesus gets done,
having this conversation after he has healed this woman physically and probably even
emotionally and spiritually, because of the way he treated her, he moves, continue to go
to gyrus house. And as he's going to gyrus his house, one of gyrus, his servants came to
him and said, master, you can leave the teacher alone. Your daughter is dead. So while
all this is happening, okay, well, Jesus is doing a miracle over here. Over here. A
little girl has died. I can't imagine. Imagine being gyrus. I can't imagine just
understanding a daddy's heart. I can't imagine how he felt. He was probably devastated.
He was overwhelmed with grief in that moment. And he was probably mad. He was probably
angry with Jesus. Jesus. If you hadn't have been doing that, then you could have been
over here helping my daughter. And Jesus has no come on. We're going to keep going.
She's not dead. She's just asleep. And people didn't understand what Jesus was talking
about. And when Jesus got to the house, people were already there and there were already
morning and they were crying and they were wailing. And Jesus said, why are you crying?
She's just asleep.
And they laughed at Jesus. They laughed at him. They didn't understand what he was
doing. How many times is Jesus moved into your life? And you just didn't understand what
he was doing. And he went up to the little girl's room and the Bible says that he spoke
in Aramaic to Letha Kuhn, little girl get up. And she did, the little girl was dead. And
he brought her back to life again with just a spoken word, with just a few phrase, that
girl was brought back to life and then place went from warning to celebration and all,
and one day sure. Think about this for a minute. Okay. How old was the woman who was
dealing with the issue of blood? How long had she been dealing with the issue of blood?
12 years? How old was the little girl? When she got sick and died, she was 12 years old.
Have you ever considered that gyrus needed to see a miracle right in front of his eyes
in order to have the faith, to see his daughter raised from the dead that maybe 12 years
ago, this woman started bubbling and this woman acted in desperation to get to Jesus.
It'd be healed publicly so that gyrus would have the faith to know that Jesus could
raise his daughter from the dead. Your pain becomes your purpose and maybe you're
watching and listening and you have lived in pain.
Maybe you have been in a mess and maybe you have experienced tests. I'm telling you, God
can use those. If you will let him to make an incredible impact on this world and in
people's lives, he can. And he will, if he's yeah. Is three 20 says now all glory to God
who is able through his mighty power at work within us to accomplish infinitely more
than we might ask or think God will do it. If you ask him, maybe you're here this
morning, maybe you're watching. And there's something deeper that you need. Maybe you
need a spiritual healing. Maybe you need your relationship with God restored. Maybe
you're watching. And there has never been a moment in your life where you have trusted
Jesus Christ, where you have placed your faith in him. You see Jesus lived a perfect
life. He did these miracles. He loved people, but ultimately he lived a perfect life so
that he could be the center lamb of God, a substitute for you and for me so that he
could take it the wrath of God so that we wouldn't have to, Jesus lived a perfect life
and then gave himself up to doubt on our cross. He spilled his blood so that you and I
could be forgiven of our sin and set free from our past so that we can live a future
full of purpose so that we can have an eternity with God after.
But it's the decision that only you can make a decision to place your faith in Jesus.
And I want to give you the opportunity today, if that's you, and you would say, Jason, I
want to place my faith in Jesus. I want to ask you to stop what you're doing right now
and pray this prayer with me. God, I've been going my own direction with life. I've been
doing my own thing. I am a sinner separated from you. And today I realize I need a
relationship with your son. Jesus Christ. God. I believe that Jesus died on a cross for
me. And I believe that three days later, Jesus rose again from the grave to prove to
everyone that he is your son. God, would you forgive me? Would you change me? Would you
give me a brand new life today? Jesus, you are my Lord. And I'm going to follow you for
the rest of my life in Jesus. It's in your name. I pray amen. Now, if that was you,
congratulations, that is the greatest decision that you can make with your life. And the
Bible says that all of heaven is celebrating your decision and we celebrate with you and
with heaven today. But please don't change this channel. Don't turn this video off
without letting us know, because I want to reach out to you and pray for you by name.
I want to give you resources that will help you grow in your faith and become more like
Jesus and be everything God has called and created you to be. So I want to ask you,
would you please fill out our digital connect card either on our website or if you're
online, you can find it in the post above or in the comments below. Give me a name and
email address. Just some way to reach out. We love you. We are for you. Jesus loves you.
And he is for you. And we truly want you to experience God's best life for you. Now, at
the end of every service, we dedicate Tom to prayer and to worship. And so in just a
moment, we're going to worship together one last time today. And if you have any prayer
requests at all, it doesn't matter how public or how private we invite you to let us
know. If it's a public prayer request, you can post in the comments below online. Or if
it's private, you can fill out that prayer card online. And we have a prayer team ready
to intercede for you to pray for your specific requests to lift you up to Jesus. And it
would be our honor and our privilege to do just that let's worship together. And if you
need prayer, let us know Jesus. We love you so much. We thank you for your power. We
thank you for your compassion.
We thank you that you have Tom for us, God that you have love for us, God and father, I
pray for each and every person watching and listening. I don't know what's going on in
their lives, but God, I know you do. I know that you care. I know that you were aware
and God I ask you, would you move in their lives in a way that only you can God, would
you move in their lives in miraculous ways? God, would you move in such a way that
everybody would know that it was not coincidence, that it was not something that they
did, but Jesus, it was because of you because you worked because you moved in the
situation. Jesus, we acknowledge that because you raised yourself from the dead. You
have the power to speak a life into our circumstances. Jesus, would you speak life
today? Jesus, can people feel your power and your presence in such a real way in Jesus.
We're going to give you the honor and the glory and it's in your name. We pray. Amen.
Thank you again for joining us for this morning service. We truly hope our time together
made an impact in your walk with God. If you made the decision to trust Jesus as your
Lord and savior. Congratulations following Jesus truly is the greatest decision you
could ever make.
Please let us know by filling out the digital connect card, we want to reach out to you
and help you grow in your faith. Remember our pastoral staff is always available for
ministry. If you need pastoral care or have a prayer request, please submit the care and
support form@findrefugehere.com slash care. And a member of our pastoral team will
contact you. If you are a member of our church, family and would like to financially
support the mission and the vision of refuge church. There are three easy ways to give
online by text, or you can mail a check to the church office, refuge church. We love
you. And we hope to see you again soon, but until then have a great week.
good morning refuge family. My name is Tina and on behalf of our team, we are so
thankful. You're joining us for refuge church, online, wherever you're joining us from
today, we're honored to get to spend it with you. I also want to give a special welcome
to those of you joining us for the very first time before service begins. We want to
give you a few helpful tips for our time together. Make sure you grab your Bible so you
can follow along with the scriptures and the message. If you don't have a Bible, don't
worry. The verses will available on your screen. Also, please engage in the live
comments. We would love to connect with you, to pray with you and to care for you. If
you're joining us for the very first time, please fill out our digital connect card so
we can get to know you better. We love you and we hope you enjoy today's service. Yes,
refuge family. Good morning, pastor Jason. Here. It is so great to see you today. We
have been praying for you all week long, believing that God is going to do something
special in our midst today. I want to remind you that I'm going on. My scheduled
sabbatical, starting in June, our staff is on standby.
If you need anything, do not hesitate to reach out, but I'm so grateful to our board, to
our overseers, to our staff and to our church for allowing me the opportunity just to
rest and recharge and get ready for the next season that God has for us as a church, I
believe with all of my heart, God is about to do something incredible in our myths. He's
already moving. He's already working in such a powerful way. I don't know if you realize
it or not, but just in the past few months, we've had almost a hundred people give their
lives to Jesus Christ. We've given away over 500,000 pounds of food to our community. We
just opened a refuge market, our free grocery store for our community. And we believe
that God wants to do even more. So I want you to know I'm praying for you over these
next weeks. And I cannot wait to see you again in July and the month of June, one of my
best friends, pastor mark, Brandon, one of our associate pastors and founding pastors
here at the church is going to be bringing God's word to you. And I know that God is
going to speak to you in a powerful way through pastor mark. And today we're going to
talk about communion, but before we do, let's pray and let's invite the power and
presence of the holy spirit into our hearts and lives.
Jesus, we love you so much. Thank you for today. Thank you for this opportunity, God,
just to read and learn from your word. Thank you for the opportunity to experience your
power and presence to share in communion with you. Oh God, would you teach us not only
information God, but would you transform our lives today? Jesus, we love you. Jesus.
It's in your name. We pray a men. Hey, people like to remember happy times and people
like to remember significant events. That's why companies like things are remembered
years ago were so popular. Or today you can go on websites like Etsy and you can find
personalized items that you can purchase to remember events, memories are precious and
they're powerful. And they keep us connected to people in places and events that have
shaped us and influenced our lives. And you see at the last supper that Jesus shared
with his disciples, he shared a meal that led them into an ancient observance of the
feast of unleavened bread or Passover. And Jesus took this memory. Jesus took this old
symbol and he filled it full of new meaning and the meaning of Jesus. His words and
actions is rooted in a commandment to us that we need to remember that we need to
observe this Lord supper. This meal together, you see communion has been celebrated by
virtually every branch of Christianity over the last 2000 years. Some people call it the
Eucharist.
Some the Lord suffer and some holy communion and it expresses our common faith in Jesus
Christ. Yet at the same time, various aspects of this ceremony have caused enormous
controversy. For example, when it should be celebrated, who should administer it, who
should take part in it? What type of bread or juice should be used? And what happens
when the bread and the juice is blessed and eaten, but in the middle of the
controversies, in the middle of the questions, it can be easy to get sidetracked from
the central message of this celebration. Jesus's sacrifice death. Communion is funded
mentally all about Jesus and focusing on Jesus keeps us from getting distracted by all
of the side issues. You see Jesus instituted communion as a way for his disciples, us to
remember his death and his sacrifice. And I want to read you a passage about this last
supper that Jesus shared with his disciples. If you have your Bibles, we're going to be
in Luke chapter 22, starting in verse seven. If you don't have your Bible, don't worry.
The verses will be on the screen. It says now the festival of unleavened bread had
arrive. When the Passover lamb is sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said
go and prepare the Passover meal so we can eat it together. Where do you want us to
prepare it? They asked him and he repeated.
As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man curing a picture of him. Water will meet you.
Follow him at the house. He enters say to the owner, the teacher he asks, where is the
guestroom where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples. He will take you upstairs
to a large that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal. They went
off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the
Passover meal there. When the time came Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the
table. Jesus says, I've been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my
suffering begins for, I tell you now that I won't eat this meal again, until the meaning
is fulfilled in the kingdom of God, that he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God
for it. He said, take this and share it among yourselves for, I will not drink wine
again until the kingdom of God has come. He took some bread and gave thanks for that
broken into pieces and gave it to the disciples saying, this is my body, which has given
for you do this in remembrance of me after supper, he took another cup of wine and said,
this cup is the new covenant between God and his people and agreement confirmed with my
blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice to you.
You see friends, the Passover meal was celebrated every year and it still is today by
the people of Israel, by the Jewish people to remember their deliverance from slavery of
Egypt. And in this last separate with his disciples, Jesus symbolically reinterprets,
many of the elements of the meal to convey a deeper understanding of the purpose of his
death, just as God has labored that Israel lights from Egypt. So Jesus says sacrificial
death brings us deliverance from the slavery of sin. Jesus took unleavened bread and
broke it, representing his body. In Exodus, the children of Israel were told to only eat
unleavened bread during the time of Passover, all 11 had to be cleaned out of the house
because 11 represented sin and Jesus broke this unleavened bread at Passover signifying
the sacrifice of his sinless slide on our behalf. Bread is a source of life and
sustenance. And Jesus described himself as the bread of life. And so spiritually
speaking, when we believe in Jesus, we partake of his sinless life. And with Christ in
us, you get to spend eternity with him forever. A cup of wine was shared, represented
Jesus blood. Traditionally at the Passover meal, there was a, another cup of wine called
the cup of redemption. It's a reminder of the book, the blood of the unblemished lamb
that was sacrificed by each family on the night, the Israelites escaped from Egypt.
Remember if blood was painted above the doorposts of an Israel at the angel of death,
passed over, passed them by Jesus has sacrificed takes away the sin of the world and
preserves us from death and preserves us from judgment for our sin, which we all
deserve. It's a cup of redemption because the blood of Jesus paid the price for our side
salvation. So I want to answer the question today. What do we do when we celebrate holy
communion? Because it is not just a ceremony. It is not just a ritual. It's special.
What do we do when we celebrate convenient together? If we're taking notes, number one,
we proclaim our faith. See first Corinthians 1126 says for every time you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you were announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. At the
core of communion is a celebration, a remembrance and a proclamation of the death of
Jesus Christ. It reminds us and declares to those partaking. That Christ was with us.
That Christ died for us. And now Christ is alive. He has resurrected and he is working
in us and he is working through us. It is the good news of the gospel of Jesus in one of
his books, Charles swindle, it tells the story of an eight year old Kenyan girl named
Monica who fell into a pit and broke her leg. A local woman in the community named mama
Neri saw what happened.
And she went into the pit after Monica to save her while they were in the pit, a black
Mamba bit, both of them, the black Mamba was the most poisonous snake in Africa. And
both of the ladies were rushed to a local medical center, Monica improved, but mama nary
got sick and she died a missionary who was also a nurse explained to Monica that mama
Mary was bitten first. And so she took all of the poison that the snake had to give. And
so when it bit Monica may have hurt, but there was no poison left. The nurse went on to
explain that Jesus took the poison of our sin so that we might live Monica understood
because of what she had just experienced. And she received Christ. You see friends,
people have many ideas about who Jesus is and why he came to earth. But Jesus himself
said that he came to seek and save what was lost. When we gather around the table, when
we celebrate communion, these elements speak to us. If his sacrifice and his
substitution and our salvation, we celebrate our redemption and remembrance of him.
Number two, when we take communion together, we anticipate Jesus's return.
Now, if you've been with us for the past few months, we talked about this in our series,
the return of the king, that Jesus is coming back in Luke 2218, Jesus says, I will not
drink wine again until the kingdom of God has come. You see, as Christians, we have
something to look forward to. Jesus is coming back and we will get to spend any Turnitin
with him. And when we take communion together, we acknowledge that no matter how bad
things get in our lives, no bad. How Mt. Better, how bad and chaotic the world seems no
matter how difficult our circumstances, we anticipate a day where the kingdom of God is
coming. It will be established on this earth. Jesus is coming back and he is going to
make everything new again. Yeah. Number three, when we celebrate communion, we
fellowship with God. When the time came, Luke says Jesus and the apostles sat down
together at the table. And Jesus said, I've been very eager to eat this Passover meal
with you before my suffering begins, the Bible reminds us again and again and again that
our God is not a distant God. He is a personal God. He is not a far away distant idea,
but he loves you. He cares for you. And he actually enjoys the fellowship of his people.
That's why the Bible says when two or more gathered in his name, he is in their midst
and in life, the cold of unapproachable, gods of some other religions. Our God is
approachable. He wants to be near us. He wants our devotion and our love. We should
remember the Lord's supper's personal significance. Remember Jesus, his word. This is my
body given for you. This is the cup of the new covenant that is poured out for you.
Jesus personalizes his statements. He told his disciples that he was going to suffer for
them, that he would die for the sin of the world. But he, the disciples heard Jesus say,
I'm doing this for you. Now, if you're like me, you received, we've more junk email than
any other of email. It's not personal. And if you get a personal email or better, yet,
if you get mail in your mailbox with your name, handwritten on it, you know that someone
has written to you personally, and people generally open that kind of mail or that kind
of email. First, it's almost a source of pleasure because when people do something
personal, it shows that they have taken time to communicate with you in a personal way.
You see Jesus died and rose from the dead so that you can and have a lie. Christmas. We
celebrate Emmanuel God with us. We celebrate communion. We celebrate God with me, God,
with you.
We also declare unity in the church. When we celebrate communion, we declare unity in
the church. First Corinthians 10 verse 16 and 17. When we bless the cup at the Lord's
table, aren't we sharing in the blood of Christ. And when we break the bread, aren't we
sharing in the body of Christ. And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread
showing that we are one body. The Bible teaches us that it's believers in Jesus Christ.
We are one body. We are brothers and sisters. And when we take the Lord separate
together, we declare unity. The enemy wants us to be divided. The world wants us to be
divided. They want him. But when we take the Lord separate, be clear that we are
unified. We didn't clear that we follow Jesus. We declare that we worship the one. True
God. I love the Apostle's creed. I believe in God. The father almighty creator of heaven
and earth, I believe in Jesus Christ. His only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the
holy spirit and born of the Virgin. Mary, he suffered under Pontius. Pilate was
crucified, died and was buried. He descended to hell. The third day. He rose again from
the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. The father
almighty from there, he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the holy spirit, the true Christian Church, the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the Bible and the life ever asked. Last
thing you see, when we take communion together, we declared to the world that we are
unified. We declared a Jesus. We are unified. We are serving you together. Oh God, maybe
you're watching. Maybe you're listening. And there's never been a time where you've
placed your faith in this Jesus that we talked about today. See everything that Jesus
was talking about with symbolic, but it was symbolic and of event that was going to
happen. Jesus was going to die on the cross. He was going to spill his blood. He was
going to become a substitute when you and I should have been the one hanging on that
cross, Jesus hung in our place. He took the very wrath of God, the punishment that we
deserve, he took it so that we wouldn't have to, Jesus died so that we could live, but
Jesus did not stay dead. And three days later, the Bible says he rose from the grave to
prove to everyone that he was the son of God and the flesh. The only one that can judge
the only one that could redeem the only one that could transform Jesus. And the Bible is
clear.
If we will place our faith in Jesus Christ, if we will trust him with our lives and our
eternity, he will save us. He will wash us as white as snow. He will take our sin from
us. As far as the east is from the west. He will change you and give you a brand new
life today. But it is a decision that only you can do. And I want to give you that
opportunity before we share in communion together. If that's you, I invite you to pray
this prayer with me today. God, I've been going my own direction with my life. I've been
doing my own thing. I'm a sinner, separated from you. And today I realize God, I need a
savior. And that savior is your son. Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus died on a cross
for me. And I believe he rose again from the grave so that I could be forgiven and set
free so that I could have a fresh start a do over Jesus today. I trust you. I declare
that you are my Lord and I love you. And I'm going to follow you for the rest of my
life. Jesus, it's in your name. I pray. Amen. If that was you, congratulations, that is
the greatest decision that you can make with your life. But please don't change the
channel. Don't turn this video off without letting us know.
We want to reach out to you this week. We want to pray for you by name. We want to send
you resources to help you grow in your new faith. We want you to be everything that God
has called and created you to be. Now, as we close our service today, we're going to
close a little bit differently instead of the time of prayer that we normally have. I
would like for us as a church family, to share in communion together, here's the
beautiful thing. It doesn't matter if you're in person at one of our campuses today, if
you're at work, you're at home, you're in a hospital. You can take communion. You can
share in the Lord's supper, right? Where you're at, everything that we talked about
today, you get to be a part of. And so at this time I would encourage you to take out
the elements, the juice and the, or the cracker and let's share in the Lord's supper.
Together. First Corinthians 1124 says for a pass on the way I received from the Lord
himself on the night, he was betrayed the Lord. Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to
God for it. He broke it in pieces and said, this is my body, which is given for you. Do
this in remembrance of me, verse 24 says in the same way, he took the cup of one.
After supper saying this cup is the new covenant between God and his people in agreement
confirmed with my blood, do this in remembrance of me. As often as you drink it, refuge
family. I love you. I'm for you. Jesus loves you. And he is for you. I'm going to miss
you over the next few weeks while I'm on sabbatical, but I'm praying for you. And I
cannot wait to see you in July. I pray your weaknesses become your strengths. I pray
your enemies become your friends. I pray your obstacles become your victories. I pray
that your needs become pathways to blessing. I pray your fears. Give way to faith. I
pray your closed doors. Give way to open ones. I pray threats against you. Become your
testimony. I pray. Your worry gives way to worship. I pray your pain encounters, his
healing touch. I pray every strong hope becomes like dust at your feet. I pray every
good and perfect gift from God be yours. And I pray all of this in the name of Jesus and
all God's people said. Amen. Thank you again for joining us for this morning service. We
truly hope our time together made an impact in your walk with God. If you made the
decision to trust Jesus as your Lord and savior. Congratulations following Jesus truly
is the greatest decision you could ever make.
Please let us know by filling out the digital connect card, we want to reach out to you
and help you grow in your faith. Remember, our pastoral staff is always available for
ministry. If you need pastoral care or have a prayer request, please submit the care and
support form@findrefugehere.com slash care. And a member of our pastoral team will
contact you. If you were a member of our church family and would like to financially
support the mission and the vision of refuge church. There are three easy ways to give
online by text, or you can mail a check to the church office, refuge church. We love
you. And we hope to see you again soon, but until then have a great week.
It is summer time church family! Over the summer we are doing a series of different sermons all leading us to be more like Jesus! We are thankful you are here and are praying for you each and every week!