We believe Baptism, Lord's Supper

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Thank you very much Keel and the team for uh leading us there it's great to be able to lift our voice in song and sing God's praise he's so worthy of it uh my name is Dave one of the pastors here it's great to welcome you uh to the service to Dylan's welcome uh this morning it's my joy and privilege to bring the word to you uh this morning and we're continuing our We Believe sermon series which is uh looking at the church's statement of faith and uh we've been working our way through uh this uh document some of these key uh doctrines key beliefs that we hold to as a as a family of Faith here as the Kabula Baptist Church and part of the reason why we've wanted to do this series and the thing that we've been saying along the way is that it is important that we know what we believe that what these key doctrines of our faith are that we have an understanding of that because what we believe significantly impacts who we are as well as what we say and what we do and so this morning we come to the end of our series looking at the the final statement that we have which concerns the doctrine of baptism and the Lord's Supper these are two practices that have been marks of the Christian church for centuries now if you've been a part of a Church Fellowship maybe even part of this Church Fellowship for for any length of time you'll no doubt have uh maybe particip I ated in or at least witnessed baptism and the Lord's supper and so we're going to look at that uh this morning uh just as an aside we do have a uh a helpful uh document a little booklet that uh has been put together on the topic of baptism and uh that's available in the foyer there's copies there you can pick that up um so there's some extra information in there for you if you would like to get one of those there's no charge for that it's just a gift for you um and if you do find that there's none on the the table out there in the foyer just see us at the info desk or uh have a chat to me and and we can get one of those sent out to you uh during the week but uh yeah that's there uh for you if you would like it uh so our statement this morning uh we have this one and it's a it's a long one again uh we believe the two ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ namely baptism and the Lord's Supper baptism being the immersion of believers upon profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a symbol of The Fellowship of the regenerate in his death burial and Resurrection the Lord's Supper being a memorial until he comes of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that's a mouthful and uh there's quite a lot wrapped up in that statement so we're going to unpack it as we've done along the way Peace by piece and uh again as always if you want a copy of the slides for those who are taking notes we probably go a little bit faster at the be uh uh slower at the beginning and faster at the end so if you find yourself struggling to to keep up or to catch catch up with the notes don't don't fret you can get a copy of the slides uh just let us know at the info desk or contact us in the office and we can get them to you why don't we uh just pray and ask the Lord to help us as we dig into his word father we do thank you for your word and we pray that we might receive it humbly and gladly live out all that it teaches us about you we pray this in jesus' name amen the uh first part of the statement that we want to unpack this morning just briefly is what do we mean by this term ordinances it's probably not a term most of us use in our our language uh you might think of that term you think of a local government ordinance or a rule or some sort of Regulation from Authority uh our statement begins that we believe in the two ordinances of the Lord Jes Jesus Christ namely baptism and the Lord's Supper what we mean by this opening statement is that there are these these two practices that uh Jesus has given us two lived out pictures that show us what it means to believe in the Son of God who who died and rose again to save us from our sins both of these practices baptism and the Lord's Supper they were commanded by Christ for his people to carry out so we refer to them as ordinances of the church this simply means that Jesus ordained or commanded or charged his followers to continue to practice these things throughout the life of the church if you have your Bible there please open up to Matthew chapter 28 go to the end of the uh the passage we're going to read from verses 18 to 20 it's a a passage that many of us will be familiar with this is where we see Jesus gives that great commission to his disciples after his resurrection before he ascended to the Father in Heaven Jesus final words to his disciples to to us who would follow after him uh on account of their testimony this is the the central mission of the church Jesus says to his followers in Matthew 28: 18 to20 Jesus came and said to them all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me therefore go and make disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the the son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you and behold I Am With You Always to the end of the age Jesus says that we're to go and make disciples of all Nations and to baptize them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to obey everything that he has commanded so baptism is an ordinance or a command of Christ to be carried out when a person first puts his or her trust in Christ for salvation it's at the the beginning of our new life in Christ baptism is the ordinance that marks the beginning of the Christian faith turn over in your Bibles to Luke chap 22 we have a look at a second uh key passage for this morning uh Luke 22 Luke uh gives us an account of the first Lord's Supper that that Jesus shared with his disciples on that night that he was betrayed Luke 22: 14-19 Luke says that when the hour came he that's Jesus reclined at the table and the apostles with him and he said to them I've earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I supper for I tell you I'll not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God he took a cup and when he had given thanks he said take this and divide it among yourselves for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes and he took bread and when he'd given thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me and here again we can see quite clearly that Jesus gave his disciples this commandment to do this in remembrance of him the Lord's Supper was ordained or commanded by Christ to be carried out throughout the believer's life it was something that the church has continued from that point until now something we continue to do as uh Disciples of Jesus today the Lord's Supper is this order orance that marks the continuation of the faith in the life of Jesus disciples and so that's what we mean by ordinance there simply two practices uh baptism and the Lord's Supper that we find in scripture commanded by Jesus for us his disciples to carry out and these two things Mark the entry into and the continuation of our faith in him let's dig a Little Deeper what does the Bible say about these two practices as we unpack the rest of our statement this morning first the statement about baptism We Believe baptism being the immersion of Believers upon profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a symbol of The Fellowship of the regenerate in his death burial and Resurrection we've already established that Jesus commanded us to baptize disciples to to mark their entry into the faith but what we also see in we look at the scriptures concerning baptism that Jesus never asked us to do anything that he didn't first do himself of all the commands of Jesus he he demonstrates and models these things for us and here with baptism he demonstrates the importance of baptism as he himself was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist you can read about uh Jesus's own baptism in three out of the four gospels it's it's recorded there for us um Matthew's account tells it this way in Matthew 3 uh: 13-17 Jesus Came From Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John but John tried to deter him saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me Jesus replied let it be so now it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness then John consented as soon soon as Jesus was baptized he went up out of the water at that moment heaven was opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on him and a voice from Heaven said this is my son whom I love with him I'm well pleased John was rightly puzzled as to why Jesus would come forward for baptism because at this particular time John's baptism was was a baptism of repentance it was a a call for people to turn back from from sin and turn in faith to God John Was preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus and so John says in verse 14 what are you doing Jesus I I'm The Sinner I need to be baptized by you not the other way round but note that Jesus said in verse 15 let it be so now it's proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness Jesus didn't need John's baptism for repentance of sin he he had hadn't sinned but yet Jesus did the right thing in showing us the importance of baptism and giving us an example to follow he never asked us to do something that he didn't do it was Jesus who showed us that baptism was important but we also see that importance carried out in the the belief and practice of the early Christian Church the words baptize or baptized baptism around a hundred times you can find that in the in the New Testament um we know that the early church took this command of Jesus seriously many times in uh the book of Acts which tells the the story of the early church we see that they preached and taught on this need for believers new Believers to be baptized during the first recorded sermon by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 even before Peter had finished speaking those who had heard the gospel message who had heard the the proclamation of the good news in Jesus they they cried out Brothers what shall we do and Peter's response to them in Acts 2: 38-39 Peter says repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of your sins notice the order that happens there those who heard the gospel message and believed were encouraged to repent or or turn from their sins and turn to Faith In Jesus and then be baptized and so what we see in the practice of the early church and their importance of of continuing this command of Jesus is that baptism follows belief and repentance for any who profess their faith in Jesus we read later in Acts 2:41 that some 3,000 people believed and were baptized on that day it's amazing later in Acts 8: 12-13 you can read how Philip when he was preaching in Samaria uh in Acts uh 8 verse2 when they believed Phillip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized both men and women even Simon himself believed and after being baptized he continued with Phillip you see the pattern continued throughout the church baptism followed belief faith in Jesus and repentance it was an important marker a a declaration of being a disciple of Jesus this brings us to our next point which is what baptism is a picture of or a symbol of and that is the gospel the term baptized means to to dip under the water or to submerge or to immerse and that's why our our statement of belief says that we believe baptism is the IM imion of Believers upon profession of their faith in Jesus the immersion into the water that that going down into the water and the coming up out of the water helps to paint this beautiful picture of the Gospel this beautiful symbol of something greater that is already taking place in the life of the believer and this is why we refer to baptism as an outward sign of an inward change the Apostle Paul in Romans 6 help help us to understand something of what being baptized symbolizes as he uh teaches on on baptism to the Believers in Rome if you are turning your Bibles to Romans chapter 6: 3 and 4 Paul gives us the meaning of baptism what is being signified or symbolized here he says don't you know that all of us who've been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death we were buried there therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father we too might walk in newness of Life Paul links this image of baptism the immersion into the water and the coming up out of the water with the death and resurrection of Jesus he's alluding to or or capturing this picture of the Gospel it's the good news that we celebrated Easter we we just talked about that last weekend that that Jesus was willingly went to that cross to die in our place to take upon himself the the sin of the world so that we might have forgiveness freedom and eternal life in his name Romans uh chapter 6: 3: 4 helps us to see that baptism is this beautiful picture of what it means for the believer in Jesus to be United with Christ in his death for sin and his resurrection to newness of life it's a symbol it's a it's a picture it's probably more like a movie than a picture because there's action taking place baptism in a way is kind of like a a living drama it's a a retelling of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus because every time we baptize a new disciple of Jesus we're being reminded of the gospel story of jesus' death and Resurrection for our sins we uh have baptisms here we fill the tank with water and people go into that tank and the one who trusts Christ for for salvation is is is immersed in that water they're dipped completely under and then after only a moment they they're brought back up again but that dipping under the water that immersion is meant to picture that this believer is now so closely connected to Jesus by faith that Jesus death on that cross becomes the believer's own death as symbolically they die to their sin as they put their faith in Jesus the Christian sees their sin being paid for in the death and resurrection of Jesus they're joined with him in some mysterious way in that symbol that beautiful picture of the gospel Paul said in Galatians 2:20 I've been crucified with Christ it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me this is what he was talking about this idea of of dying to sin of the old way of living and being alive in Christ because of what he one for us at the cross 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if anyone is in Christ he's a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come we can see the symbolism in there we put our faith in Jesus for the Forgiveness of our sins the Holy Spirit does this immediate and complete work of regeneration in our hearts the old is gone passed away and behold the new has come we're brought into this newness of Life In Christ and this is um uh uh why we we talk about the the regenerate person putting their faith in Jesus that's what it means the Holy Spirit does that work to make us new in Christ we know that Jesus didn't stay in the grave and so we don't leave the the the person being baptized in the water that that wouldn't be right they they come up out of the water and it symbolizes in that glorious picture of the Gospel Jesus resurrection and newness to life as that person stands with the water streaming down them we can picture the cleansing of sin and the the newness of life that has been granted there's a a wonderful visual picture of the Gospel United with Christ and his death and United with Christ and his resurrection that's the drama of baptism as it's displayed it's important for us to note as we think about that that baptism is not some kind of mystical spiritual bath it's not the water that actually washes away sin but the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Paul says in Ephesians 28:9 that it's by Grace we've been saved through faith it's not our own doing it's a gift of God so that we can't boast it's not a workspace thing sin's not something that we can wash away by just cleaning the outside of our body remember Jesus said it's not what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out of him the problem for us is not the the visible sin on the surface but it's the problem of our hearts and the sin Factory that is the human heart no matter how much we wash rinse or scrub the outside of our body our hearts will still be pumping out more sin if baptism was purely about the washing away of sins we'd have to have the tank filled 247 there'd be a a lineup around the block because we'd constantly be coming back to be washed clean over and over and over again Colossians 2 Paul speaks of this new life that we have in Jesus through faith in his death and resurrection and he describes it in terms of a a circumcision which is kind of a weird way to describe it but it it makes sense in the Jewish context in uh Colossians 2:1 to14 Paul says in him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh God made aive together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of the debt that stood against us with its legal demands this he set aside nailing it to the Cross circumcision in the Jewish Community marked off who was a part of of the people of God it was uh something that the male children were circumcised on the eighth day to identify them as part of God's covenant family Paul says here in his his letter to the people in colosa there that the Believers in Jesus are not identified by an external ritual of circumcision that's nothing that's done to them by a priest or human hands but in actual fact there's a circumcision of somebody's heart this is a a radical surgery that is performed by God himself it's God who cleanses us it's not an external process it's an internal one we don't need to wash the outside of our bodies we need our hearts to be changed we need them to be replaced and set apart as belonging to God and friends this is what the gospel tells us that our hearts were were dead and contributing nothing but poisonous sin and sickness in our lives but through the death and resurrection of Jesus he gives us a new heart and this is what Paul says we're baptized into we're baptized into this new heart so baptism is is not somebody turning over a new Leaf it's it's not making a commitment to be a better person it's not uh having a an emotional experience of feeling clean baptism is someone declaring that they've had their heart replaced that they've undergone this radical heart surgery that they've been made new re generated and this is why we we have that in our statement about baptism it's a symbol of The Fellowship of the regenerate in his death burial and Resurrection baptism radically dramatizes this newness of our salvation by declaring that we have a new heart through our being united by faith in the gospel that's why we talk about it being a an outward sign of an inward change so what there's a big statement about baptism what does that mean for us um we we need to figure that through as uh we've been going through our series I think uh firstly baptism needs to be an important belief and practice for our church and for every disciple of Jesus because it's the core of who we are as disciples it's Central to the mission that we're called to complete for Jesus if we're not baptizing Disciples of of Jesus then we're not fulfilling the Great Commission we're missing something we need to be encouraging each other and encouraging new Believers to be baptized those of us who are believers need to reconcile our own obedience to the commands of Jesus and the teaching of scripture when it comes to baptism we've got to figure this out for ourselves know what we believe if we have faith in Jesus for the Forgiveness of our sins and and have never had the opportunity to publicly declare that through believers baptism by immersion then I'd encourage you to think that through it might seem a bit awkward or redundant to declare to people in your life that you're a follower of Jesus especially if you've been coming to church and following him for for 10 or 20 or 40 years however long that is but the idea of baptism is something that we're called to wrestle with and as a disciple of Jesus who's called to make disciples we to teach them everything Jesus has commanded us to do and that means we need to follow after his example ourselves secondly I think we uh can avoid making too much or too little of baptism remember it's something that we're commanded to do but it's not a Salvation issue uh we we know that thief on the cross Jesus said today you'll be with me in Paradise he didn't have a chance to get baptized he was still with Jesus um it's not a Salvation issue but I reckon that maybe if that Thief was pardoned if he was let down from that cross if he somehow survived his torture I think from the evidence of of scripture we could pretty be pretty sure from what we've read of baptism in the early church that he would have tried to be baptized to mark his inclusion in the uh the the Church of God and belief in Jesus I wonder if sometimes in order to preserve the gracious nature of our Salvation we can be quick to downplay any right or ritual in our Salvation I think it could be possibly true of baptism historically the Evangelical Church we've been quick to disconnect ourselves from any thought that baptism saves us the perhaps the speed at which we disconnect our thoughts from baptism being saving can stop us from un understanding the true weight of what baptism carries baptism isn't the means by which we're saved but our passages this morning show us that it is at least very deeply connected to Salvation somehow we need to find the balance between making too much or too little of baptism and while it's technically possible that someone can be saved without being baptized it does seem in the the record of scripture that this seems to be the exception rather than the rule passages like the ones that we've unpacked this morning help us to understand that the thought of an unbaptized believer is not something that sits real well with the Church of Jesus baptism was meant to Mark the beginning of faith and entry into the community of Believers so if you're here today you believe in Jesus and you haven't yet had a chance to publicly declare that in baptism I'd encourage you to get the booklet have a have a read through figure that out for yourself know what you believe and if you want to talk about that if you've got questions that you need answering talk to one of us pastors we'd love to to help you through that uh thirdly I think baptism can be a valid way to determine if someone is a follower of Jesus when you think about it we don't ever truly know the human heart only God knows we don't ever truly know where someone stands before Jesus but baptism speaks a pretty loud message on behalf of a person people can be part of a church without being baptized the the weight of that biblical meaning of baptism it's placed in the Great Commission seems to suggest it's a valid way that we can discern whether people are truly Believers or Not Jesus said in Matthew 10:32 that everyone who acknowledges me before men I'll also acknowledge before my father who's in heaven it's a sobering thought someone who stood before the people in their life and confess their faith in Jesus Through baptism we can be pretty certain that that person is is likely a follower of Jesus they've gone to the extent of saying publicly and and declaring I have this new identity I I have this new heart my allegiance now rests in Jesus and him alone that's why if you want to formally connect with us as a member of this church to to have a a place in voting on the decisions of the church we want people who are uh have the Holy Spirit we want people who are indwell by by God's spirit Believers in Jesus that's why baptism is a condition of membership here at the Kucha Baptist Church not because we doubt whether people are saved but it's how the Bible tells us that we can d concern that people have confessed Jesus Through baptism if someone borks at the thought of baptism you have to wonder whether they have truly understood the Salvation that they claim to believe the uh Biblical teaching on baptism informs our thinking about other forms of baptism as well too and we can we can see that in uh uh the scriptures that some of the scriptures that we' read this morning certainly there are different traditions and different views on baptism and who should be baptized and uh our Biblical teaching on baptism informs our view and uh we here at the Baptist Church believe in Believers baptism by immersion those who can profess faith in Jesus but uh there are other Traditions that baptize infants as a way of marking them in the Covenant Community of God certainly there's a the welcoming of children into the family of God is a beautiful thing the the desire for a child to be surrounded by love is is a beautiful thing the desire for the church family to partner with a couple as they seek to raise that child in the gospel is all also beautiful thing but if you've been coming to BU Baptist for some time you you may have seen us Mark that in a different way not with infant baptism but with an infant dedication where as a church family we gather together to give thanks to God for the birth of that child and and commit together to uh to supporting and encouraging th those parents as they raised that child in the ways of the Lord we pray for that child that one day they will be able to make that public Declaration of faith in Jesus for themselves and then go through the uh the Waters of baptism so that's uh why we baptize believers who make this confession of faith in their lives uh the fifth thing we see is that baptism unites Us in fellowship with Christ and with each other baptism should really be one of the most beautiful and meaningful times for us as a church it's like a central family time in the same way that a family would celebrate and rejoice when a new baby is born they they gather together and celebrate that new life we do the same thing here as people are baptized as they share their testimony of faith in Jesus it's a a celebration of new life as our brother or sister is united with Jesus it unites us together with them and uh it unites them with Christ we're going to move a a little bit faster now as we look at the the rest of our statement the the Lord's Supper uh we believe that the Lord's Supper being a memorial until he comes of the sacrifice of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Jesus Christ for 2,000 years it's one of the most visible emblems of historical Christianity this uh sharing this extraordinary meal to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus the meal goes by many names you might have heard it as the breaking of bread or communion the Lord's table and Agape Feast Eucharist uh the Eucharist from the a Greek word meaning Thanksgiving or as we have it in our statement of belief the Lord's Supper we list it that way just because it's the uh the Lord's Supper is how we're first introduced it to this practice in the gospels where Jesus shared that last supper with his disciples on the night that he was betrayed and arrested we see again that this is an ordinance a command of Jesus we saw that earlier in Luke 22: 19 Jesus told his disciples to do it in remembrance of him another key passage that uh highlights this fact for us is uh Paul writing to the Believers in Corinth in uh in 1 Corinthians 11 and he says in a couple of times Jesus said in relation to both of these symbols the bread and the cup that we are to do this in remembrance of him Jesus again models and demonstrates uh this practice of sharing a memorial meal to remember his body and blood until he comes the Lord's Supper was to mark this continuation of the faith for Disciples of Jesus until he comes this becomes the pattern in the early church just as baptism became a pattern we see them take it seriously uh the commands of Jesus the Lord's Supper becomes this important belief and practice in the life of the early church you can read about that in Acts chapter 2 uh verses 42: 46 to 47 they devoted themselves to teaching to prayer and to the breaking of bread um day by day they're attending the temple together they're breaking bread in their homes wherever they're meeting they're breaking bread they're sharing the Lord's Supper breaking bread and drinking wine to remember the death of Jesus it wasn't a ritual that was added on to the life of the church at some later date in history but it was something that began at the very beginning the birth of the church it was foundational to the Church of Jesus Christ I think a third thing we see in the scriptures concerning the Lord's Supper is that Jesus instituting it during the Passover meal is actually quite significant Jesus adds a deeper meaning to the Passover meal if you're familiar with the the Jewish uh history the Passover was the most significant Feast that they celebrated together as a nation it reminded them of the most significant event in their history that night when when the angel of God passed over them when they were rescued and redeemed from slavery in Egypt we're told in in Exodus 12 and 13 that it was with a mighty hand that and an outstretch arm great signs and wonders that God brought them out of Egypt he reached down and rescued his people out of slavery and oppression he gathered them together and constituted them as a nation they were to be his people we're told that God covenanted with them he kept his Covenant and this event defined who the Jewish people were this Passover and they celebrated that every year they'd sit down to this Passover feast which was richly symbolic that everything that they ate at that Feast reminded them of that night when they were rescued and redeemed there was a lamb that was slain reminded them of the the the blood that they put on their doorpost so God's angel would pass over them the bitter herbs they ate reminded them of the the bitter time that they had in in slavery as captives in Egypt the the bread that was baked without leaven reminded them of the fact that they didn't have time to to let their bread rise they were ready to go in an instant as God acted and moved to save them so Swift was God's rescue they didn't even have time to bake their bread the normal way there were four cups of wine and each one of these cups was to represent one of the covenants that God kept for them as a nation as he brought them out of Egypt and made them his Covenant people this is all in the background of jesus' disciples as they're in that Upper Room on that night he was to be betrayed no doubt as he's told them to prepare the room to prepare the Passover they've got all of this history in mind they they're excited to gather and share this meal with Jesus but we read earlier that Jesus Took things in a surprising and different direction than the past Redemption of the Passover amidst the backdrop of this Feast Jesus used the elements of the bread and the wine to open up the disciples eyes to a dramatically new Passover land to a dramatically deeper Redemption 1 Corinthians uh 11: 23 to 24 Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed he took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and he said this is my body which is for you the disciples were no longer to envisage a speedy exit from Egypt with that unlevered bread as they ate that bread as it was broken and handed out to them they were now to envisage the the brutal beating and the breaking of jesus' body Jesus was doing something deeper and new with this Passover over meal in the same way verse 25 he 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 this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes no longer were they to recall the old Covenant that God gave Moses at Mount Si but now they were to rejoice in a New Covenant sealed in Jesus blood a covenant that didn't just make them a people but a forgiven people people whose sins had been forgiven and Jesus adds this deeper meaning to the Passover meal as he institutes this Memorial linked to his body and to his blood once again we see that the Lord's Supper like baptism is a beautiful picture or a symbol of the Gospel we just read that verse as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes it's an ongoing reminder this meal of the death and resurrection of Jesus of all that he's won for us at the cross forgiveness of sin freedom from guilt and shame reconciliation and restoration being made right with God not only that but being given the promise of eternal life and the gift of God's holy spirit as we wait for Jesus return it's a wonderful beautiful picture of the gospel and it's a a way to continue to remember our faith in Jes Jesus so there we have it our statement about the Lord's Supper we believe the Lord's Supper is a memorial until he comes of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ again we ask what does that mean for us I think we need to remember regularly the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins and as pastors we wrestle with this and how often do we do this we we want to kind of tow the line between not doing it so often that it just becomes trivial and a and a ritual or a tradition that we do without thinking about the weight of it but we also want to do it enough that that we can regularly remember because we need to be reminded the symbols of the Lord's Supper The Bread and Wine they were Staples of the meal when Jesus was around they were the daily bread that that we sang about earlier in in one of our songs The Daily sustenance and so it's significant that this Bread and Wine were were uh offered in this way if they weren't with a meal it would have been strange and so Jesus Takes these things that are part of the everyday and and he adds a deeper meaning to them a special symbolism as he points us to remember that as we eat bread as we drink wine it's his body and blood that we shed for our sins he's the answer to our greatest need and we need to remember regularly the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin the second thing is we need to remember the significance of this meal and what it represents we don't have time to going into today but I encourage you have a read through uh 1 Corinthians 11 look at the verses before and after the passage we read this morning in actual fact Paul's account of that first last supper with Jesus was a came as a critique to the church in Corin because what they were doing when they shared the the the supper was not what Jesus had instituted at all Paul actually calls them out on it and says this is this is not the Lord's Supper anymore what you're doing now is is making a mockery out of what Jesus has done for us at the cross there was a a a discrimination a division a Prejudice that had crept into their meetings the the rich and the wealthy who could who could gather early who were freed from the the burden of of timekeeping with their employers because they were the boss they could come to church early they could get to the the meal first and they could eat and drink and some of them getting drunk at the expense of those who were less fortunate there was a a a a a a wrongness that had creeped in to their celebration and Paul says to them that they need to examine themselves they need to reset their thinking about the significance of what the Lord's Supper was meant to represent if they continued to make a mockery of Jesus sacrifice then God would judge them for it in fact Paul said God probably already judged them before it you read about that during the week uh thirdly the Lord's Supper unites Us in fellowship with Christ and with each other 1 Corinthians 10:16 says the cup of blessing that we bless is it not a participation in the blood of Christ the bread that we break is it not a participation in the body of Christ the word participation there in the the original language the the word poonia Fellowship there's this sense that like baptism in some mysterious way through the power of the Holy Spirit Christ is present in the ACT he's there at the table he invites us to come all who would believe whether we believe in him for the first time today or whether you believed in him for 50 years the Lord s is an invitation to share in fellowship with our savior and with each other with his people that's the end of our series and hopefully you have a a better idea of some of these core doctrines or key beliefs that we hold to as a church it's probably a final implication for us at the end of a series like this is if you find yourself agreeing with this statement of beliefs as we've looked at them in the scriptures if we dug into it if you find yourself saying yes I can believe that I I agree with that then there's an opportunity for you as Dylan said earlier today to get involved in the life of the church to share in Ministry with us to get on Mission that we've been given as Disciples of Jesus to make disciples to baptize them and teach them all that Jesus had commanded us like Dylan said earlier there's heaps of ways you can serve heaps of ways that you can get involved God promises us that the holy spirit gives us in ways that we can be effective for the Kingdom so pray that through work that through through with the Lord and let us know if you are willing to serve we want to get you plugged in we want to help you Steward those gifts that God has given to you another way you might like to be involved is to consider church membership I kind of mentioned that briefly in passing earlier it's not some extra level of Christianity it's it's not something that's added to Salvation it's just a a practical way of being united together as God's people here in the Kabula morfield region membership is is it's kind of like an outward Declaration of your commitment to the local church to its values and to its Mission and it's the members who formed the main decision-making body of the church who who together seek the Holy Spirit on the important decisions that we face as a congregation it's a practical way of accepting our mutual responsibility our partnership with one another as Believers in our Christian walk because we know that it's not a solo Journey our journey with Jesus but it's one of God gospel Community Dylan's going to come and he's going to lead us in uh a remembrance time where we can celebrate and give thanks for our part in this gospel Community I'm going to pray Dylan's going to come and and he's going to lead us to close our service father we do just want to Marvel at your gifts of Grace to us thank you for your word and what you teach us about what it is that we should believe as your children help us Lord to live obediently to these things that you've commanded us to do thank you for the wonderful and mysterious wonderful picture of the Gospel that we see in in baptism and the Lord's Supper what a joy it is to remember regularly what you have done for us we thank thank you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.