WEBVTT 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:13.359 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:18.399 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:22.079 Let's pray together. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:28.320 Lord, we've come to bask in who you are, to remind ourselves and reorient ourselves around things that matter. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.560 So it's so easy to forget and to begin to value things that don't matter. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:34.960 And so, Holy Spirit, lead us into the truth today. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:38.640 Brood over us and love on us as your people, we pray in Jesus' name. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:40.560 And everyone said, Amen. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:41.439 You can have a seat. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.399 If you've got a Bible, I invite you to open it up to Matthew chapter 6. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.200 If you don't have a Bible, I'm going to read four verses out of the Bible, and they're all going to come up on the screen right here. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:51.920 And let me just kind of speak to the obvious if you're our guest today. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.840 Or if you've never been here on a communion day, we are observing communion today. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:57.840 Which is what does that mean? 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:05.840 There was a ritual that got instituted way back in the Old Testament in the book of Exodus, chapter 12, when he delivered his people from Pharaoh. 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:09.519 Exodus means to leave, to get out, and so they got out in a hurry. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.280 And to commemorate that, they were that night they were making bread, the ladies were making bread. 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:20.319 And before it had time to rise, before the yeast got time to rise, they said, Hey, you can't wait, you gotta go, because God's gonna send consequence on this people. 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:22.640 And so he delivers his people in haste. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:24.000 So they left in haste. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:35.760 And so it was called Passover because the death angel passed over their houses and had mercy on them because they sacrificed a lamb and applied the blood of that lamb to the doorpost of their houses. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:39.840 And so when this death angel that God sent saw that, he passed over their houses. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:42.480 And so all through the Old Testament, it's called Passover. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:48.879 So the New Testament dawns, and Jesus kind of outs himself publicly, and a man named John the Baptist sees him. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:54.959 Now, by the way, the Bible doesn't tell 842 disconnected stories that have like a moral ending. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:56.560 It tells one story. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:57.760 This is what I mean. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:03.840 The New Testament, John the Baptist, who's trying to get people ready, he's telling people, I think you think you're ready, but you're not. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:05.120 He's gonna rock your world. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:06.400 I baptize you with water. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.680 This cat baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.719 But then he sees Jesus coming, looks up, and he says, This. 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:15.439 Here's the one story that God's been telling all along. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:20.319 John picks it up and says, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:25.039 And he was telling people something that they didn't have a frame of reference for until after the fact. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:29.439 He was basically saying, God's made provision for our sin by sending a son. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:32.159 And so Jesus comes and he celebrates Passover. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:33.280 It's called the Last Supper. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:36.080 You've kind of seen the pictures, especially at your grandma's church. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.879 It's got Jesus and all the disciples on one side of the table. 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:40.159 That's the Last Supper. 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:41.439 You know the last thing he said at that, right? 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:44.080 Everybody wants to get in the picture, come on this side of the table. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:44.800 No? 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:45.599 Okay. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:47.680 And so they're all on that side of the table. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:48.960 That's called the Last Supper. 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:51.439 Really, that's where Jesus kind of takes Passover. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:52.159 Look at me now. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:52.879 Listen to me. 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:57.599 Jesus takes Passover and he fills this ritual full of relationship. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:03.759 He holds up this piece of bread, this loaf of bread, and he said, This bread is my body that is given for you. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:05.840 And he takes it and he breaks it, he hands it to him. 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:12.000 He says, as often as you do this, as often as you observe this ritual, remember this relationship. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.879 Jesus didn't come just to give us religious rituals. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.599 He says, as often as you do this, do this in remembrance of me. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.039 This this bread is my body, which is offered up and broken for you. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:22.560 Then he takes a cup of wine. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:26.719 Now, now relax, because every once in a while, we got really freed up people in our church. 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:27.360 I love that. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.840 Because some of you email me and say, our church is so authentic. 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:32.000 Why don't we ever have real wine at communion? 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:36.319 Because I also have friends here who struggle with addiction, and that would cause them to relapse. 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:46.479 And so before you email me today, and while I'm trying to watch the Patriots lose to the Texans, before you uh because I'm DVR and it don't ruin it for me, before you email me and go, why don't we do that? 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:51.199 We're so authentic or so real, because I love my friends and I don't want to make them stumble. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:59.120 I have friends that are so addicted, have struggled with substance abuse to such a degree, one sip can see them careening in the wrong direction. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:02.080 And some of them are sitting around you right now. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:05.520 See what beautiful sinners you go to church with? 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.199 Aren't you glad? 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:08.400 I'm being serious. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:13.840 You should be so glad right now that, oh my gosh, I don't have to be phony and religious and act like I've got it all together. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:15.039 You don't. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:21.120 So, Jesus holds up a cup of wine and he says, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:24.480 As often as you drink this, drink this in remembrance of me. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:25.759 And now, why does he say that? 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:32.720 Because if you went to church as a little kid, usually they had a table right in front of the pulpit and it sat on the front edge, somebody routed in there, this doing remembrance of me. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:34.160 That's what they're talking about. 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:35.920 Because we're hardwired to forget. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:38.000 We're hardwired to get caught up in the schedules. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.879 We're hardwired to, I come, sometimes my schedule's crazy. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:49.199 I do a lot of counseling and I hurried home one nice past week, and my wife's kind of like, uh, you look like you're getting undressed, like putting on your soft clothes, as we call it. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.000 I have a pair of shorts I've worn since I was in third grade. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.959 Uh and my wife's like, I'm gonna burn those. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:56.000 I'm like, no, you're not. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.120 Uh, and a t-shirt that you could read the you could read the Bible through. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:00.160 It's just threadbare. 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:02.639 And she's like, we're having dinner with these people tonight. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:06.000 And I'm like, oh, God, forget. 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:10.959 If it's so easy to forget that, think of how easy it is to forget this. 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.000 And so we calibrate ourselves and we remember. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:17.839 The Bible places such a priority on communion that it gives us instructions how to do it. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:24.639 It says things like this in the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul says, on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and after he'd given thanks. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.120 He kind of walks them through that. 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:32.399 And here's why I just reference that because I want you to understand, we skip past this as preachers all the time. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:35.439 The Bible says, on the night Jesus was betrayed. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:42.879 Communion matters because we have been betrayed, some of us, and we have also betrayed. 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:45.279 We've said one thing and we've done another. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:46.879 And so there's hope for you today. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:49.040 You're not coming today to get a religious whipping. 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:52.240 You're coming to be reminded, oh, I'm forgiven. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:53.759 This has been paid for. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:58.480 I don't have to kind of look bad, uh, because the wages of sin is not looking and feeling bad. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.160 The wages of sin is death. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:01.920 Therefore, Jesus dies. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:05.360 He doesn't join your small group and baptize your emotions. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:11.120 He dies on the cross, in your place, and for your sins. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:14.160 And in that passage in 1 Corinthians, Paul's given instructions. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:15.759 He said, On the night, Jesus was betrayed. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:17.759 He took bread and he explains that. 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:33.040 And then he says to these people and to us, uh, by the authority of the Bible, he says, Hey, therefore, because this is such a holy, holy moment, let a man examine himself, let a woman examine herself so they don't drink of the cup and eat of the bread in an unworthy manner. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:37.519 In other words, you don't fall so asleep to this, it just becomes an empty religious ritual. 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:43.439 Jesus Christ did not leave the sanctity of heaven and come to earth just to give you another religious hoop to jump through. 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:44.800 You realize that, right? 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:46.160 It's very sobering. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:47.600 And so here's the thing. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:56.000 Uh we like to, we practice what's called open communion here at Grand Parkway, which means that if you're if you're a Christian, you have a relationship with Christ, uh, you don't have to be a member of our church yet. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:57.920 If you're here, you're like, hey, we're just checking you out. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:06:58.560 That's great. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.000 We're gonna be ourselves. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:06.959 Uh what we do is in just a minute, I'll read a passage because the Bible kind of says, hey, get your head and your heart right. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:12.319 Don't just come running up to this so you can get home and get and get your stuff ready before kickoff. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:12.959 No, no, no. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.040 Come to this properly. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:18.959 And so we always meditate on a section of scripture, and we'll meditate on one in just a minute. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:24.160 Uh, but what we do is that we'll just start worshiping again, and people will just, as you, when you're ready, you just get up. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.160 There's three stations in the front, there's two in the back. 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:31.360 We have regular as well as gluten-free elements, uh, uh, and we'll serve you communion. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:37.600 But in order to kind of get our head and our heart calibrated, I want us to meditate on this passage from Matthew chapter six. 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:39.199 Four sentences from the Bible. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.639 The disciples had asked Jesus, hey, we're not good at praying. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:44.240 Show us how we should pray. 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:45.360 And Jesus says this. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.040 He says, When you pray, pray like this. 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:49.360 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.120 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:55.920 Give us this day, our daily bread. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:04.000 And forgive us our debts as we as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:06.319 That's the Lord's prayer. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:07.759 Uh, we hear it a lot. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.360 Matter of fact, we hear it so much, it almost becomes like the flight attendant on the plane. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:15.120 White lights lead to red lights, it would indicate an exit, blah, blah, blah. 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:21.680 So I just want to point to a few things in it to kind of just focus our head and our heart as we prepare to receive communion today. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:23.279 It's the first word, our. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:24.399 Our. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.600 Not mine, not yours, but our. 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:28.800 Our Father. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.519 The first thing you see is that this is a communal experience. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.360 This is not something for me. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.399 Uh, and by something, when I say this, I don't mean communion. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:37.840 I mean Christianity. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.960 It's not an individual quest where you take a little bit from the Bible, a little bit from pop psychology, and a whole lot from your self-determination. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.799 That's not what Christianity is. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.080 It is a corporate and communal experience. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.720 It's not about me, for me, or by me. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:56.720 I'm not in this alone, and my life choices do not only affect me. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.600 Second phrase I want to point you to is just that hallowed be your name. 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:03.200 Hallowed be your name. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.879 Hallowed is not a word we we use very often in our culture. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:09.200 Nobody, when they ask you this morning, how was your weekend? 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.120 None of you said hallowed. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:12.879 It would just be awkward. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:16.000 They'd be like, uh, okay, rock that back at you. 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.080 I got no idea what that meant, but okay. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:23.279 Hallowed means this: it means greatly respected, honored as holy, set apart. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:28.720 In other words, when he says, hallowed be your name, God is kind of saying, hey, Jesus, when they said, remember, it teaches how to pray. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:29.519 Here's the thing. 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:32.080 When you go to pray, you need to get it right about Jesus. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:33.200 You need to get it right about God. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:39.200 You don't need to be like, hey, I know you're kind of a one of the options on the smorgasboard of world religions. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:39.919 Uh-uh. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:44.080 He says, think rightly about me and my name. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:47.600 You should think about God in ways that you don't think about anybody else. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:53.519 Because there's an exclusivity to his name and to the faith that you don't find anywhere else. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:59.679 Psalm 138, verse 2, God says, I've exalted above all things my name and my word. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:05.919 Acts chapter 4, it says there's no name given under heaven whereby which men should be saved except the name of Jesus. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:08.799 And so you can't get there through any other name. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:13.919 You can kind of say, Well, the teachings of Christianity offend me, therefore I'm gonna go be a Buddhist. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:16.639 Well, you can do that, but you won't get to heaven through that. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:19.519 Now, I'm not hating, I'm just loving you enough to tell the truth. 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:22.320 One of the things I want you to notice, I love little kids. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:29.120 When little kids come to our station, one little kid touched the thing and he said, Why is why are you doing this on a table? 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:30.399 I mean, I mean a door. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.440 This is the door, right? 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.360 And I said, actually, it is a door. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:43.039 And the reason we serve communion off of doors is because one of the seven I am statements in the book of John, Jesus says, I'm the door that leads to life. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:51.279 We're just celebrating and reminding ourselves because sometimes when you get put out, you might want to be tempted to kind of back up and look elsewhere. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:52.000 Look at me. 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:53.840 There is no elsewhere. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.320 Hallowed be your name. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.559 Thirdly, your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:04.720 There's both correlation and connection between these two because the way the kingdom comes is that we do the will of God as we know it. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:06.000 Let me say that again. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.240 There's connection and correlation between this. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:10.879 So you can't just say, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.399 You are the medium through which the will of God finds expression. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.799 That doesn't mean that God's dependent upon you. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:23.679 It means that God bestows upon humanity dignity by saying, Come be a part of what I'm doing to change the world. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:28.159 So thy kingdom come, your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:34.320 Today has rich significance because we all, none of us, has always done God's will. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.360 We've fallen short of the standard, we've missed the mark. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:39.679 Put simply, we've sinned. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:52.879 And so what you will confess today, here in just a few moments, if you leave your seat and come to any of these stations to receive these elements and remember the body and blood of Jesus, what you are saying is I cannot get there on my own. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:53.919 I need Jesus. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:12:00.720 Not just, I needed Jesus when I was 17, I need Jesus even more so now that I'm 54. 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:05.039 My confession as your pastor is that I need Jesus. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:07.679 I never want to outgrow needing Jesus. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.480 I have Jesus, he is the Lord of my life. 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:11.759 I need Jesus. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:13.120 Do you hear that? 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:18.480 Never outgrow, never get this so sordid that he's no longer necessary. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:23.360 First thing I want to draw your attention to, he says, give us this day our daily bread. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:29.519 This teaches us to trust in, rely on, and enjoy God, not just use him for guidance towards our preferable future. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:33.360 Later in this same chapter, Jesus will say, Hey, don't worry about tomorrow. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.600 Each day has enough worry of its own. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:37.039 Don't worry about tomorrow. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:42.000 Why does Jesus say, give it when you pray, pray this way, give us this day our daily bread? 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:49.679 Because if left to ourselves, we would say, Hey, God, give me today everything I'm gonna need for the next five years, and I'll see you again in five years. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:56.240 Daily bread means I want to see you and hear from you on a consistent basis. 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:58.080 How about this phrase? 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.799 And forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:04.879 And forgive us of our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.759 You find the courage to ask this because you've already practiced that. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:18.720 Now, when I played football in the seventh grade, eighth grade on into high school, we would meet in the end zone before the game, and the coach would say, All right, pray. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.799 And the captains would all start chanting, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:25.519 We all learned a prayer that we did not understand. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:30.000 And when we prayed it, we said, Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:36.879 As we forgive those who sin against us, like, hey, there's this tight correlation of forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:41.279 And as I was preparing for today, I was reading, and this jumped off the page at me. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:46.559 And forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:59.200 In other words, hey, we're not gonna we're not gonna practice the hypocrisy of coming to you and asking for forgiveness, not having already forgiven the people that have sinned against us. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:04.240 So there's this beautiful responsibility. 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:08.799 There's power and possibility inherent in this today. 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:09.440 What do you mean? 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:14.799 There is the possibility of you being you you you being forgiven, regardless of what you've done. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:17.440 There's the possibility of you being forgiven. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:23.679 And then there's this there's the power in you to forgive anybody that sins against you. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:32.240 I had to say to someone recently who came to me to ask my forgiveness, and the guy said, I just blatantly sinned against you, and I am so sorry. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:34.399 Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:36.000 And I said, You know what? 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:40.159 I I I could possibly say no, but when you said, Can you find it in your heart? 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:42.720 It just reminded me what all's in my heart. 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:45.200 And so, yes. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.519 And he goes, What do you mean, what's in your heart? 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.879 Oh man, there's all kinds of not good stuff in there. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:53.919 And he said, Don't you pastor a church? 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:54.960 And I said, Shh. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:58.480 Yes. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:00.639 Now that doesn't mean I give expression to it. 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.759 Like just this week, someone cut me off in traffic. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:08.720 And then he showed me the heavens that way. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.240 And this went through my mind. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:16.799 I will drag you out of that thing and beat you half to death right here at this intersection. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:18.159 And I'm not kidding. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:19.919 In a nanosecond, I went there. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:26.320 I mean, my chest was hot, and I was just like, I miss the physicality of hitting people and getting hit. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:29.360 I mean, if you've ever been hit before, it wakes you up. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.840 Oh, now we're gonna really fight. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:40.799 And just in a split second, that leapt up out of my heart, and I was just like, I felt all thicked up and everything. 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:42.399 I got ready to go. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:47.039 And I was just reminded, hey, that you're not that kid anymore. 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:51.200 So, yeah, I can forgive you. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:57.440 You forgive people when they sin against you because you see their sin through the lens of your own. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.159 And lastly, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:03.279 What do you mean? 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.919 It sobers how we think about temptation when you acknowledge that the end game is evil. 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:13.200 Temptation is never neutral, it always wants to deliver us to evil. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:17.919 So let this shape how you think about, respond to, and act towards temptation. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:28.000 That means men, when a woman kind of looks at you kind of like, hey, don't lie to yourself and be like, oh, the potbellied stallion still got it. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.000 Here's how you think about that. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:32.720 Look at me. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:34.000 Yeah, I'm talking to you. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:35.840 If you're visiting today, you're like, this. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.159 Is he talk like this all the time? 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:39.919 Look at me. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.080 Don't, don't, don't, don't consume. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:51.679 See, you will consume what you can, your depravity is so depraved that you can consume someone's lust, someone's curious lust upon your lust. 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:53.519 Like, oh, I must still have it. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:55.440 I gotta, I gotta get back on that whole 30. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:56.799 I'm awesome. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:58.240 I'm looking good today. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:08.240 In reality, if you understand what this says and lead us out into temptation, but deliver us from evil, what you really should think is look how committed the devil is to destroying me. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.319 And then you're at the fork of the road and you say, Am I gonna be compliant in my own destruction? 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.000 Or are you gonna be able to laugh at yourself and kind of go, you know what? 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:19.279 I have a wife. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:22.400 I don't need to prove my manhood with other women. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.759 I have a wife. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.000 She's enough for me. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:30.880 Because temptation is never neutral. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:32.240 Ever. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.480 So we're just gonna leave that passage up on the screen. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:44.559 And I'm gonna voice a prayer, and then we're just gonna spend about a minute or so just kind of get in our head and our heart, kind of get a chiropractic adjustment. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:47.440 Because you're gonna come to this table. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:54.480 I don't know if you've ever been to the chiropractor, but when they do that little thing on you, you're like, whoo, my body made some noises I don't think it's supposed to make. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:58.319 And then you walk off and you're like, and I feel better. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:02.799 This aligns your soul in ways that few things will. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.599 So let's just pick out a word up there, a phrase that stands out to you and think about it. 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:08.400 Let me pray. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:10.559 Lord Jesus, we want to do what the Bible says. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.319 We just want to uh we want to remember because we're prone to forget. 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:15.920 We're hardwired to forget. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:18.319 Sometimes we we want to forget, God. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.519 So we want to act like there is no God so we can be God. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.559 So we can determine what's right and wrong in our own life. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:26.720 We can be the masters of our own fate. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:36.960 Because some of us got wounded as little kids and we took matters into our own hands, and we are never gonna depend on anybody else because they may hurt us the way those people hurt us. 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:43.839 And to that you come and say in the 27th Psalm, though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take me up. 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:50.000 You come along and say in the 68th Psalm, the Lord has set lonely the lonely in families. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:57.599 You have made provision for us in ways that we can stop being so driven. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:59.359 And we can just receive. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:10.319 And today, Lord, we've come to remember and to receive, to remember the body and the blood of Jesus and to receive the elements, mindful of you. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:16.799 Now, Lord, we're gonna just take a moment to kind of calibrate our head and our heart and get ready for this. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:18.240 So brood over us. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:23.039 Say anything to us that has our name on it today because we're listening. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:35.839 Father, we're thankful this morning that self-reflection is not an invitation to self-hatred, it's also not an invitation to self-determination or self-definition. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.400 It's just what the Bible says. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:39.920 Examine yourself. 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:46.640 Take note of the trends and tendencies in your life so you'll stop repeating the same sins. 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:56.000 Because the body and the blood of Jesus was offered up not only to forgive us of our sins, but to break the power of sin in our lives. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:02.240 And so, Lord, with all of this, we come to remember this morning. 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:04.079 And we do so in Jesus' name. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.400 And everyone said, Amen. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:09.839 If you're prepared to help us serve communion, would you move to your stations at this point? 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:12.240 And again, uh, some of you may have arrived late. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:17.680 Let me just remind you, we practice open communion, which means if you have a relationship with God, you're free to come and receive communion. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:20.079 What we'll do is we'll just continue in worship. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:23.680 And when people get ready, they'll stand up and come to one of these stations. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.680 There's three in the front, there's two in the back. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.160 Uh and you come, we'll serve you the elements. 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.799 And if we can pray for you, just say, hey, pray for us. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:34.240 Because we got this going on, and we'd any of us would love to pray for you. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.400 And after you receive the elements, go back to your seat. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:42.559 You can sit and think, you can worship, you can just enjoy, and then we'll be dismissed when we're done, okay? 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:44.480 Whatever you do, look at me. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.400 Don't stack the cups. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:55.519 Because some of you neat Nicks, you always come to my station, there's cups, empty cups, and you like to stack them all up. 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:57.759 Christianity is not that neat. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.480 In the first service, I grabbed a stack of cups and I just unstacked them and dropped them. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:07.839 Five teenagers were like, uh, and I said, These cups are stories. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:16.880 There was a man here earlier who struggles with such crippling addiction that it's not week to week, it's hour to hour, his sobriety. 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:24.079 And he said with trembling hands, that you understand Jesus Christ died for you. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.519 Yes, yes, absolutely. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:36.799 So every cup is a story, and what I hope is that by the if you if you if you come later and you see every one of these doors is covered with cups, you're not alone. 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:43.200 And what makes that possible is that Jesus said to his father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:47.519 What I gotta do, if there's another way, there's not another way. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:51.359 That's why we say there's an exclusivity to Christianity. 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:55.200 We're not being mean, we're just finding the courage to tell the truth. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.839 Because no one else has died on the cross in your place and for your sins. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.000 And look at me. 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:05.200 His cup is bigger than your cup. 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:07.200 So you don't have to hide today. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:09.119 Ali Ali and free. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:11.599 Come out, come out wherever you are. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:14.240 Let's remember together. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:16.720 Let me voice a prayer. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:17.680 God, thanks. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.400 We want to understand you more and trust you more. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:25.920 For many of us, people that we trusted a long time ago, they burned us. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:30.720 And so we took matters into our own hands and we said to ourselves, depend on no one. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:31.839 You got this. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:34.960 And we will burn ourselves to the ground with that. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:39.599 And so we want to understand you and know you and trust you and obey you. 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:42.480 So increase our understanding of you today. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:44.960 So our obedience gets bigger. 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:46.880 We ask for this in Jesus' name. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:53.119 And everyone said, There's a couple things we want to make you aware of that are taking place here at our church. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:57.119 And so let's hear uh this week's announcements together. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:05.359 Here's a look at what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church. 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:09.440 Men's breakfast is this Tuesday, September 11th, at 6 a.m. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:10.400 in the warehouse. 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:15.279 We'll eat breakfast tacos, listen to biblical teaching, and discuss it with other men. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.279 You'll be out the door by 7 a.m. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:18.960 so you can get to work. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:27.200 Our midweek studies kick off this week with women's studies on Tuesday morning and adults, youth, and children on Wednesday night. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:31.759 Next Sunday, September 16th, our community groups begin. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.960 This is where we engage in spiritual dialogue and reflect on biblical truth with others. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.799 Childcare is provided. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.680 Just ask your community group leader for more details. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:48.880 At the conclusion of today's service, head back to the Fellowship Hall for Group Connect, where you can meet all of our community group leaders. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:52.079 Starting point is next Sunday at 11.30 a.m. 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:57.759 This is where you can hear the history and mission of our church and learn why church membership matters. 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:03.200 As always, for more information, check out our website at grandparkway.org. 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:15.759 It's about community groups. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.240 People have the red shirts on that say find your people. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:22.079 We have small groups that meet all over our city, different ages, different groups. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:26.880 And so if you're curious about, hey, we'd like to maybe visit one of those, it's a great opportunity. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:27.920 There's no obligation. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.240 You can just kind of explore and look for the people that you think. 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:32.000 Hey, I think we could click with these folks. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:33.680 Uh, there's some snacks back there. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:37.039 So if anything, you can start your noshing early before the game kicks off. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:37.680 Amen? 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.759 Uh buzz the tower back there before you head out of here, Maverick, okay? 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:44.319 Uh next week we'll be back in John chapter 8. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.839 I'll be preaching, unfortunately. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.400 Uh, so we'll see if I remember how to do this, okay? 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:52.960 Uh, one last bit of business I want to do is uh today is Don Mitten's last Sunday with us. 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:54.240 Don is retiring. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.079 He came here at the age of 62. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:03.279 He was very comfortable, and he was in a place that loved him that he loved, but he felt God stir in his heart to move from Florida and come here. 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:05.279 And he said, I want to work till I'm 66. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:07.279