(# 329) Romans 9 - THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION The Cross is a Reminder that We Have Hope

Class Outline:

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Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Welcome to…

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

The Cross is a Reminder that We Have Hope

 

Today, just as we do every month, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, a meal  of remembrance.  We eat, by breaking bread…we drink, by tasting the fruit of the vine…and we look back to the Cross…one of the most significant occurrences in divine history.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

 

At the Lord’s Supper celebration, as a gathering of His believers, we remember the Lord’s death on the Cross which paid the price for Adam’s sin…the sin that is credited to the account of all mankind at physical birth…the sin resulting in spiritual death.  At this celebration, we remember the shedding of the Lord’s blood to cleanse us from this unrighteousness…an unrighteousness caused by a sin of independence…and we remember, with gladness, that the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead three days after His crucifixion to prove that He is indeed Deity and to give us hope.  And now we believers in Christ KNOW, through His infallible Word, that the Lord Jesus Christ is seated victorious at the right hand of His Father’s throne, waiting for the moment when God the Father will make the Lord’s enemies a footstool for His feet.

 

Well on November 11 every year in the United States of America, we celebrate Veteran’s Day, in honor of the men and women who protect us now, and in honor of the men and women who have protected us through the years.  And we love to recall some of their stories.

 

VETERAN’S DAY STORY

 

While Sergeant Chris Duke, a National Guardsman, was serving in Afghanistan, he and his fellow troops made good friends with a few stray dogs, whom the soldiers named Sasha, Target, and Rufus.  When the dogs had a chance to defend the soldiers, like good soldiers, they didn’t back down.

 

VETERAN’S DAY STORY

 

One February night, an insurgent covered in explosives tried to enter the soldiers’ quarters to kill the fifty men inside. But he didn’t count on the dogs.  The three strays began barking and biting the suicide bomber, trying to keep him from harming the people inside. When his explosives detonated, the bomber was killed, but all of the American troops remained safe.

 

VETERAN’S DAY STORY

 

Sadly, one of the dogs, Sasha, was severely injured by the bomb, and had to be put down.  But both Rufus and Target survived the assault, and were celebrated as heroes by the soldiers they had saved.

 

VETERAN’S DAY STORY

 

When Sergeant Duke finished his tour of duty and returned home the following month, he wanted to bring his loyal friend Rufus along—but military regulations wouldn’t allow it. So, after returning to Atlanta, Sergeant Duke wrote to a veterans assistance group, Hope for the Warriors, asking for their help to bring the two dogs overseas.

 

VETERAN’S DAY STORY

 

“This was going to mean a lot to him,” the group’s president, Robin Kelleher, said. “So whatever we needed to do to get this wish done we were going to do that.”  Another grassroots group, launched on Facebook, raised over ,000 to pay for the dogs to be flown to the United States.

 

VETERAN’S DAY STORY

 

Target has been transported to Arizona to live with another soldier, and Rufus has gone to Atlanta, where he’ll live out the rest of his days with Sergeant Duke and his family. Duke is thrilled to make the commitment to care for Rufus for the rest of his life.  In Duke’s eyes, it’s the least he could do for his furry friend.  He said, “I firmly believe I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for him.”

 

VETERAN’S DAY

 

 

We enjoy dedicating time each year to celebrate Veteran’s Day, taking a moment to remember those men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to come powerfully to our assistance.  Today, we remind ourselves of what is so special about this day we call Veteran’s Day.  The military establishment occupies a special spot in my heart.  The men and women who stand on a wall and say, “Nothing’s going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch,” mean the world to me and to you.  They’re special because of what they put themselves through to become soldiers.  They’re special because they choose to defend those they do not know.  They’re special because they put their lives on the line every day for every one of us.  Here’s a musical tribute to the United States Military…a medley of the fight songs of each branch of the military.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

ARMED SERVICES MEDLEY

 

US ARMY

The Caissons Go Rolling Along

 

US MARINES

Halls of Montezuma

 

US NAVY

Anchors Aweigh

 

US COAST GUARD

Semper Paratus

 

US AIR FORCE

The Wild Blue Yonder

 

VETERAN’S DAY

November 11

Thank You Men and Women of the Military

 

Welcome to a place where we can worship God in freedom because of the ones who protect us.   Thanks to all, to those in Barah Ministries especially, who have served this country with honor.

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for providing for our safety by providing people with honor…thank you for

 

Today we pray for those men and women who have, in their military service, sacrificed their time, their strength, their ambition, their health and even their lives on this earth for the benefit all of us they know and all of us they don’t know…

 

Heal the scars our warriors carry in their hearts and on their bodies, as dark memories haunt their dreams and as fears cloud their waking hours…give them peace in you, and provide them with the gospel of Your Son in abundance, that they might live with You for all eternity…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name... Amen.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

The Cross is a Reminder that We Have Hope

 

Let’s begin the Lord’s Supper Celebration by taking a moment to give you a chance to make an offering.  It’s a chance for you to support this ministry in providing the Word of God both to you and to others who are positive to the Word of God all over the world.  When you give of your treasure you are imitating your Savior’s sacrifice…a Savior who gave of Himself for us as well.  We appreciate the faithfulness of your contributions, especially in this time of need.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall to take the offering.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

MARK 11:23

“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.”

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

Thank you for your generosity. 

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

The Cross is a Reminder that We Have Hope

 

The United States is in chaos right now.  At least half of the country is in shock.  Even I am.  Or at least I was.  The exit from the state of confusion happened for me when I was reminded of what I say to my students as a teacher.  Routinely my students will say to me, “I’m confused.”  I mutter under my breath…“I knew that when I saw you walk into the classroom!”  I say that to myself.  To them I say, “Congratulations!  Confusion is the first step in learning!”  So it is in the United States right now.

 

We’re confused, because we have forgotten to recognize God’s hand in a thing…we have forgotten about the whole purpose of the Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I see God’s hand in the shocking outcome of the United States election.  I am not being political here, so please don’t tune out in your minds thinking that I am advancing some personal political agenda…I have a spiritual agenda...to open the eyes of your soul to the truth of how our Lord operates.

 

Sin always leads to death.  Our God created creatures in a state of perfection…perfection is the way the Lord does everything…and He gave His creatures everything.  That’s just the way God works…Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 7…

 

GENESIS 2:7

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

 

Genesis, Chapter 2, Verses 15 to 17…

 

GENESIS 2:15

Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

 

GENESIS 2:16

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely…”

 

GENESIS 2:17

“…but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [n]eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

 

With God, His creation is bigness…“from ANY tree (except one) you may eat.  But creatures do what creatures do…they take the small route…they reduce the bigness of ALL to the smallness of one…they dumb down perfection…they distort it…and they sin…and into each situation where they sin they bring a cross of suffering and despair and hopelessness which leads to death.  Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 6 and 7…

 

GENESIS 3:6

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

 

She was deceived…and she invited her husband into the deception.

GENESIS 3:7

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

 

The opening of our eyes unto evil produces a smallness that the Lord won’t tolerate.  So it has become in the United States…a country that was once great has been reduced by its human leaders into a smallness…a smallness that the Lord won’t tolerate.

 

The Cross is a constant reminder to us that the Lord came, and that He shed His blood at the Cross, that we might have abundance.  John, Chapter 10, Verse 10…

 

JOHN 10:10

The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy (to make things small)…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) came that believers in Christ may have the resurrection life, and have it abundantly.

 

Let’s enjoy the Lord’s Supper elements, and when we come back we’ll see how the Cross gives us the hope of bigness.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION:

Enjoying the Elements

 

Following God’s request, we keep on celebrating CHRIST and His Cross on a regular basis…we eat to remember who He is as a PERSON…we drink to remember His WORK, the voluntary sacrifice He made at the Cross on our behalf as our sin substitute…and we are grateful for what God has done for us.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 23 and 24 say…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:23

For I, Paul received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus Christ on the night in which He was betrayed took bread…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:24

…and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is, and keeps

 on being My body, which is broken for you…keep on doing this celebration

 for the purpose of remembering Me.”

 

When we eat the bread during the Lord’s Supper Celebration, we remember the Lord Jesus Christ AS A PERSON. 

 

When we drink the cup, we remember THE WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ.  First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 25 and 26 say…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:25

In the same way the Lord Jesus Christ took the cup after supper, representing His death on the Cross, saying, “This cup is a new testament forged with My blood; keep on doing this celebration…and as often as you drink it…do so for the purpose of remembering Me.”

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup (as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration), you proclaim (as a reality and you announce the significance of) the Lord Jesus Christ’s death (on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead) until He comes (again in the second coming).

 

As you enjoy the bread and the cup, enjoy the memory of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well. Now and always, let us keep on giving thanks that we are loved unconditionally and accepted fully by THE LORD WHO IS ALWAYS THERE…the One we can depend on…and let’s enjoy His unconditional love Day by Day…and that’s the name of our Lord’s Supper song.

 

LORD’S SUPPER SONG

DAY BY DAY

Godspell

 

Let’s take a music break.

 

MUSIC BREAK

JUST BE HELD

Casting Crowns

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

The Cross is a Reminder that We Have Hope

 

God wants you to abound in the bigness of His hope!  To abound means to have something in great quantity…to have an abundance!  Romans, Chapter 15, Verse 13…
 

ROMANS 15:13

Now may the God and Father of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

God makes promises to give us hope.  Peace is our assurance that God has nothing against us, and that we will see our hopes fulfilled when God keeps His promises.  Joy is what happens when God’s promises are kept.  God is interested in our spiritual welfare.

 

God the Father has given us believers in Christ God the Holy Spirit as a pledge.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verses 21 and 22…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 1:21

Now He who establishes us with you in union with Christ, and who has anointed us, is God the Father…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 1:22

…who also sealed us and gave us God the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

 

Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 13 and 14…

 

EPHESIANS 1:13

In Christ, you believers also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed the gospel, you were sealed in union with Christ by the agency of God the Holy Spirit of promise…

 

EPHESIANS 1:14

…who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God the Father’s own possession (you), to the praise of His glory.

 

Because of the Cross, all things are made new…smallness is eliminated… there is a hope of a big and wonderful future because of what the Lord made possible there.  When Romans, Chapter 15, Verse 13 calls the Lord The God of Hope, the title more than mere words.

 

The Lord went to the Cross to pay for the sin of creatures…because sin always leads to death…it is punishable by death.  Because of sin our life is filled with smallness, tribulation, despair, and death.  God’s answer to the path of smallness His creatures have settled for is to give Himself in sacrifice so that we would have the bigness of hope.

 

The Cross is the very definition of suffering…Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 34…

 

MARK 15:34

At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

 

Paying for the sins of the world required a death.  When we look at what the Lord endured at the Cross, we must cover our eyes.  Yet we have the bigness of hope because we know that what He endured there was endured for us, that we might have hope.

 

There is nothing we see at the Cross that would indicate there is a hope.

 

John, Chapter 19, Verses 16 to 18…

 

JOHN 19:16

So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

 

JOHN 19:17

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.

 

JOHN 19:18

There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.

 

The Cross seems to say suffering…but it is a Cross of hope…it is a Cross of life…the resurrection life…a life that is big…a life that is perfect…a life that restores what is lost through sin…by making us new.  The Cross is the cure to all suffering.  It is the hope of salvation.

In spite of all the noise this world would bring to drown out its power…the Cross remains…it stands tall as a reminder of the hope that is in us.

 

We suffer when we change what God intended for us.  That is sin.  The Cross made it possible for us to return to our original condition…perfection. 

 

The Cross purifies…it eliminates the tainted mixture of things.  That which is impure, God cleanses through the Cross.  The blood of the Cross is a cleanser.  First Peter, Chapter 2, verse 24…

 

FIRST PETER 2:24

…and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

 

God wants what is pure for us, and He delivers it to us, therefore have hope.

We dumb down the things of God…we seek to reduce Him to the human realm…He will not allow small…He only allows greatness…therefore we have hope.

 

Perhaps our confusion is a message from God that He is able to make all things new even when we seek to keep the same old same old.  Let us embrace God’s newness and God’s bigness…not our own smallness…it’s our only hope…the Lord is our only hope…and we thank Him today for all His Cross was able to do on our behalf.  His Cross gave us hope.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

ROMANS 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God the Father…divine omnipotence…to provide salvation to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ…to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentiles).

 

MATTHEW 7:13

“Enter salvation through the narrow gate (the Lord Jesus Christ)…for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction…and there are many who enter through it.”

 

MATTHEW 7:14

“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to the resurrection life, and there are few who find it.”

 

JOHN 10:9

“I (the Lord Jesus Christ) am the door to salvation…if anyone enters through believing in Me…he will be saved…and then he will go in and out and find pasture.”

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22

For all in union with Adam are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…but all those in union with Christ will live the resurrection life.

 

CLOSING SONG

MY REDEEMER LIVES

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION

 

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