6/18

New Member Announcement

Today I have the glorious privilege of publicly introducing several dear saints as new members who are identifying HCF as their local church. This is for the purpose of giving new members a proper introduction to the HCF church family and the church family to them.

When I call your name, will you please rise for the reading of the membership commitment…

‌Kim Meyer

Dean and Tamara Miera

Dear saints, today I am asking you to affirm the following:

I affirm that I am a member of the Body of Christ by grace through faith in Christ alone and I am publicly identifying with Heritage Christian Fellowship as my local church. I recognize the Bible as God’s only written Word and sole authority for my faith and practice and I will abide by it. I will submit to the leadership of the Elders of Heritage Christian Fellowship.

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Will you acknowledge your commitment to this statement by saying, “Amen”

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Please remain standing for the reading of our commitment to you and for prayer.

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We Elders and members of HCF are committed to the spiritual wellbeing of you new members. We Elders commit ourselves to provide teaching, oversight and be examples to you. And the members of this church commit to lovingly encouraging and admonishing you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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To which we, your church family, say, “Amen!”

Communion

As we prepare for the Lord’s Table I want to meditate on this phrase from Zechariah’s prophecy about his son from our passage this morning.

He said, starting in Luke 1:76-79 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO MAKE READY HIS WAYS, To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To direct our feet into the way of peace.””

John was to give the people the knowledge of the salvation and forgiveness of God that was coming to them in Christ. And that salvation and that forgiveness was coming, and has come, because of the tender mercy of our God

As we partake of the bread together and drink the cup together this morning, we will do so because of the tender mercy of our God.

Think upon this reality, that God has shown you tender mercy in Christ because that is who He is.

When Moses asked to see the glory of God in the book of Exodus, the Lord hid him in a rock, passed by Moses and showed His divine glory by speaking these words

Exodus 34:6 ESV

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

The very first words God uses to describe Himself were merciful and gracious. He doesn’t just display mercy, He doesn’t just possess mercy. He is merciful, it’s His essence, His nature.

Think with me again of this reality dear brothers and sisters in Christ you are siting here on this Lord’s day, about to partake of Communion because of the tender mercy of God that He has toward you.

These are the words of Paul to describe this very reality, Eph 2:1-5 “And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”

God did not one day become rich in mercy. No, God being rich in mercy, made you alive with Christ and saved you by His grace.

You are saved, you are in Christ, you are born again to a living hop why? because of the great mercy of God.

So this morning, we are here at this table celebrating the tender mercy of God who has saved us through His Son.

We once walked according to the rule of the prince of darkness. But because of the tender mercy of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ we have been born again to walk under the rule and the power of the Prince of Peace, The King who’s way John the Baptist Prepared.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, with this thought on your mind and heart let us prepare to receive the Lord’s Supper together.

Before the brothers come forward let me say that here at Heritage we believe that this table is open to all baptized members of the body of Christ. If you are visiting here and you believed in Christ in your heart and confessed Him with your mouth at the day of your baptism please join us in taking communion. If this is not the case, or if you are a believer who is is currently walking in unrepentant sin, please let the emblems pass you by.

Brothers will you come forward...

Luke records in the instution of Communion by our Lord in Luke 22:19-20 “And when He had taken some bread and 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 in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

That bread represents the body of Christ that was beaten, scourged, and pierced for us, given for us by God the Father, so that we might be healed. Why? Because of His tender mercy.

That cup represents His blood, spilt for our sins, and poured out for us so that we might have peace with the Holy Holy Holy God. And why did the Father crush His Son on our behalf, in our place? Because of His tender mercy.

Brother, will you give thanks to our Lord in prayer before we partake of these emblems together?

As the Apostle Peter declared, 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

To which we all say, Amen!

Please stand together that we might conclude our worship service by honoring and blessing our God in song.