The Lord Supper Acts 20:7-12

Blow out and open it up to access to the book of Acts. If you're new to Christianity or to the Bible, the book of Acts is in the New Testament minutes right after the Gospel of John. I miss right before the book of the letter Romans I but will be in Acts chapter 20 this morning Acts chapter 20, and as you're turning there was want to share with you. It is December and it is Christmas season and there's a lot of things going on, but I'm already looking forward to what God is going to be doing in our church and next year and I'd love to have to have your help with that and when the best way so you can get plugged in and involved on this by becoming an intercessory prayer partner with our church. And so there's an opportunity. You can read more about that in the bulletin. There's also a place to sign up for that. I'm on the connection card sell for you have already signed up to do that. And so thank you for doing that. Look forward to seeing what God will be doing as we commit ourselves next year to prayer. Never before work as a church. I'm so today would be in Acts chapter 20 will be in verses 7 through 12 Acts chapter 20 verses 7 through 12. The Christmas series will officially launch next week. And so it can be a bit different this year yet. I was thinking through it as I Was preparing for Christmas and looking at what would be happening from the pulpit during mastitis like my eight consecutive Christmas time. And I mean, it's the Christmas story idea is wonderful news. Awesome, but you got to figure out ways to do it each and every time and so this will be a little different to hear your traditional Christmas series per se will be called The Ghost of Christmas Past and where they were to be looking at this idea that for most of her many people while this is a wonderful time of year. It's not that for a lot of people for a lot of reasons on whether brr pass being painful or the insecurities that we had. I'm all those things can kind of over. Shadow the joy of what we should be feeling this time of year. And so we're examining and looking at what is this year could be different what if they're sure could be different. What if this year we allow God to heal on what we're calling the Ghost of Christmas Past. I was going to be a great Series. This is a great time of year to invite people to church. Anyway Christmastime is so there's a really simple way that you can do this how many you are on social media to some capacity like you have a Facebook account. I can't raise my hands. I don't have any of it. That's not all of it. All the accounts are churches on it and all these accounts. We are promoting the series and so we would encourage you just to share the sermon graphic online this week more shares we get the more people are exposed to it. You can really be helping someone out by inviting them is a very non-threatening very easy. You have to click a mouse you're on the computer. Anyway, you might as well promote. What's going on here? I'm at our church the next few weeks to the series. So I just want to encourage you and ask you if you help us out by elektronik, we inviting people and even maybe face-to-face but at the very least invite them by sharing that Graphics so like I'm going on when Acts chapter 20 verses 7 through 12. Let me go ahead and pray for us and then we'll jump right into the text. So don't we we copy this morning? We want to say thank you for the opportunity to come before you got to worship you to praise you to study or work together to learn from your father were asking that you might my father's open iHeart to what it is that you would have for us today God your word is perfect truth and God you meet us right where we're at this morning. And so God just help us to look into your word with eager and eagerness to worship you father and eagerness to learn from you and father of eagerness guy to apply your word to our lives. So got to go before it's today continue to be With us. It's in the name of Jesus. I pray amen. Right? So I'm as a preacher.

We have all all preachers. We invite we've heard jokes about long-winded sermons 4 years. One of my favorites is a guy walks into a church. She's a stranger. He's never been there before he comes in right when the sermons and progress. So I'm thinking probably somewhere in the Northwest cuz that's actually happened here never happened in the South that has happened to her while she takes a seat in the back row. That must have been a Baptist Church. Anyway, Big Brother while he leans forward. He elderly guy on the shoulder and the old never looks back at him and he asked me Whispers how long has this guy been preaching? The member thinks about about 40 years I think is how long he's been preaching now. So the trainer says, okay, I'll stay then cuz surely by now. He has to be almost finished. So there's a passage get that tomorrow Be Alright by thank you for humoring at least. So there's this passage and wax it we're going to look at today hit records and no joking around extremely long sermon, in fact the last in past midnight it lasted all the way till sunrise the next day and so is Lucas recording this year and actors Acts chapter 20 and nut I'm downloading his mind as he's remembering what took place and and she's thinking through this member he writes Paul talked on and on and on. Now since the early church traditionally celebrated the Lord's Supper every time they met is likely that the marathon sermon was also marked by the observance of the Lord's supper. And so we're going to be observing the Lord's Supper. I'll be preaching filled out sunrise tomorrow. So just prepare for that, But as we observe the Lord's Supper today, I want to show you the distance a is when the sacraments of the church, but the Lord's Supper is three things that we're going to look at today. It's a reminder. It's an opportunity and it's an invitation before we jump into the throes of Christmas and all that takes place on with that. I wanted us to take this moment this morning to Simply remember Christ before leaving this Earth on before he was crucified buried before he rose again, he asked us to remember his death as I want to do that today as we move into Christmas, so Really Christ never asked us to remember his birth, but he did ask us to observe his death. And so that's what we're going to be doing today. So first of all, you see here in this story that the Lord's Supper is a reminder. The Lord's Supper is a reminder. It's a reminder that Christ is alive. She can write out in the blank. The Lord's Supper is a reminder he's alive. So let's look at the text together. This will all make sense look up chapter 20 beginning and verse 7 on the first day of the week. We assembled to break bread Paul spoke to them and since he was about to depart the next day he extended his message until midnight so you can pause here for a second. So Paul's on a missionary journey. He makes it to the island of troll as I'm in the Aegean Sea on next to Asia at that time. So he and his traveling companions. They want to encourage this church. I'm not have to remember the reading on the first day of the week. That's an honor of Christ being risen on the first day of the week. Should I be our version of Sunday in a back in this time? I'm in the Roman Empire this day of the week was still a work day by it wasn't like my Chick-fil-A. Was it closed on Sundays back then? All right if it would be opened back in that time. Twisted which it didn't but I was an awesome if it did but anyway, it's so most of the Believers they would work all day and they would, they would they would have a service in the evening. And so that's what they would do. They met in an uproar real of home. Normally. That's what they were doing here on the island of Kos Paul was there he's going to give them all these words before moving on to his next destination. And so he preaches on and on and on every time they met they would break bread. Now that doesn't mean that they had a big lavish meal that means that they was celebratin observe the Lord's Supper. So that being said look here at birth date there were many whips and the room upstairs where they were assembled and a young man man named eutychus was sitting on a windowsill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept speaking when he was overcome by sleepy fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. The car went down fell on him and Brace them and said don't be alarm for his life is in him not to going up stairs breaking the bread and eating Paul Converse a considerable time until dawn then he left they brought the boy home alive, and we're greatly comforted. So this is an object lesson and no one wanted you to get the show Mad. You probably been working all day on either out fishing on the Aegean Sea or as a coppersmith or a blacksmith some kind of a trade a point being heated worked hard all day on the house was packed. So he found a perfect spot for the little bit warm cuz they're the upper room. There's a lot of people so we decided he was perched in the windowsill so they could get some of that sochen breeze. They would come through the city that time of night and so it would cool him. Unfortunately. I'm like many of you do and services and other places he drifted to sleep and he fell asleep and he fell into a deep sleep. Largest recorded here and then it was very unfortunate. He fell out of the window and he died. And so yeah, that was the object lesson 101 one right but it served as a teaching moment. And so in the room you can imagine the emotions are pretty high as probably as scream. I'm certainly there's a thud as he landed people raced outside, even the long-winded preacher. He like rushed out in front of everybody. I'm sure he kind of felt a little bit responsible for it and taken place. They have proclaimed him dead Paul gets to eutychus and in a few moments pause able to cry out he's alive so you can imagine that describe the excited Echoes of the people there. He's alive he's alive Utica is alive. He's going to be okay everyone. He's not dead after all answer. This is a reminder for us as we celebrate them serve the Lord supper. It really isn't about the second chance that you would have received that day really is. Remembrance that we worship a savior who died for us and yet he lives today he lives imagine the joy around Jerusalem, right? I'm just minutes into Resurrection Sunday. He's alive shouted Mary. I he's alive and scream John. He's alive proclaimed Peter. He's alive. What's a rash the Roman government and the officials they couldn't believe it. He's alive as the word spreads out. The entire city is screaming this out on so the Lord's Supper is that reminder that Jesus is a lie. Your history was changed by that cry. Everything changed the moment. Jesus was declared to be alive and everything changed when those cries echoed throughout Jerusalem on that day. Is it every time we take of the bread and we drink of the cup we pick up that cry as followers of Christ. What a powerful powerful. What is that all who have partaken of this bread before all who have a drink from the cup as Believers that we were all Once Dead and then we celebrate and we partake of the Lord's Supper verse reminder that we live with Christ. There were like we're relief that is unless you're bringing inexpressible Joy To Our Lives as we meditate on that Andrew Fleck on that Alyssa life-changing truth that we were once dead and now we are alive and so today and just a little while as we partake of this incredibly symbolic meal. We must remember this truth that he's alive. We don't worship a dead God or a dead Savior, Jesus is Alive, and we need to remember that so the Lord's Supper Is a reminder. Secondly you see hear the Lord's Supper is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to find comfort. You see this at the end of the story. They bring eutychus back into the fold after he fell out the window and they decided he's alive and it says here in the text that after breaking bread the people took the young man home alive and they were greatly comforted. They're greatly comforted this young man. He was probably pretty influential in the church love by those around him. They thought he was dead that must have been devastating and then when they found out he was alive. That was extremely extremely Comfort date almost lost someone they loved but now he was alive and I was watching An incredible football game this past Thursday nights as an incredible team defeated another incredible team. It was just a wonderful wonderful time in my heart. I usually don't get to see these things happen rooting for this particular incredible team. Just don't get to see it much and then a commercial played it and it was a bit emotional. So I made it perfectly illustrates this idea of being comforted and so I want you to wash this and reflect on this and then I'll explain it here in a little bit. So it show that video right now.

You want to come it's just too far.

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The best part about it is I gotta see you soon.

Yeah, I hit you right in the feels every time with the smiles of a man who came home and the comfort of his travels able to find in his arm. What great comfort for that family on out. The disciples and the close-knit circle around Jesus. They thought they had lost Jesus when Jesus was among them. They called him Messiah. They called him Rabbi life. I've been wonderful for them when Jesus was around suddenly. There's a cross and in their mind tells all over.

The grave sealed their hopes their comfort their safety their security was shattered. Midnight Cry came out. He's alive. And Jesus was in their midst again, and he came with open hands and he stood among them and he fixed them breakfast and he walked with them and he encouraged them and he throw them leaving them with smiles and comfort of a man come home, and I don't know where you've been today or where you're all right now spiritually speaking, but the Lord's Supper is always an opportunity to come home. Come home the battle. I don't know where you're in in a fight Shirley like like myself and others in the room that you haven't won every battle. You probably lost more than you want. But here at the table where we observe the Lord's Supper, it's a time to come home and do remember there's forgiveness at the table. There's Grace at the table and the Arms of Jesus are open why to receive you in so you might find comfort in his arms. So the Lord's Supper Is an opportunity to find comfort each and every time we celebrated each and every time we observe it it's a reminder that we can always come home that Jesus always leaves the door open and the light on for us so 3rd, and finally the Lord's Supper is an invitation. The Lord's Supper is an invitation to get started. Lady in the room this morning. They're some of you you're at the very beginning of a spiritual journey. Maybe I'll try to find your way with God. Maybe it seems overwhelming right now. Quite possibly you don't even know where to start today. There's so much to learn as so many steps to take of so many things. You don't know. But the first step that any of us takes that step of Faith it's a huge step but it's one that has to be made you have to believe that God loves you. Just as you are right now that he loves you enough. He wants a relationship with you. He wants us so much that he sent his only son Jesus Christ to be born to live to die to raise again to be in a relationship with you have to believe that Christ spilled his blood and broke his body on the cross for you to save you from sin. You have to believe that Jesus rose from the grave and wolves today. You have to believe that there's only one way to God and that's through his son Jesus Christ. Got to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead all other steps of the journey. They build on that huge step of faith. Maybe in the room today. Maybe you started down the path. And this time of year is a perfect example of what can happen. We can get distracted we can get discouraged we can be disappointed me I had to break it to you. But sometimes this time of year brings out the very worst in all of us.

Maybe you're off the path altogether this morning.

The Lord's Supper it serves as an invitation to get back on the path or to start on the path for the first time. It's an invitation to continue on in the Journey of Faith. Trust me observe the Lord's Supper today. I want you to keep in mind that it serves as a reminder that Jesus Lives as an opportunity to find Comfort if that's what you need this morning and it certainly an invitation to get started someone invites those who are helping with the Lord's Supper to go ahead and come up to help with that.

As they make their way up. I want to just kind of tell you if you're not familiar with the Lord's supper or with what we're doing right now. Just this first and foremost scripture tells us is for those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I'm so if you don't have that relationship yet, we're not going to exclude you. We don't want to be mean we just want to encourage you to Simply pass the elements on cuz you don't have anything to observe or celebrate yet. But the Lord's Supper is an invitation so that can change in just a little while want to remind us that if we have anything against one another in the body of Christ on the that needs to be rectified or you passed the element too long. You don't take out of it. So we're going to start right now. We're going to pass out the elements. So we're going to pass out the bread first which represents the body of Christ and then we're going to hand out the grape juice was represents the blood of Christ and after we've Stop the elements will take them together all at one time today. I'm at as the elements are being passed out music will be playing. It's a time of reflection is a time to remember is the time to be comforted. It's a time to get started. And so just take that moment and spend that time in prayer as everything's being passed out. So I'm going to pray for us and then we're going to launch into this. I'm going to celebrate the Lord's Supper here together shall or we come to you this morning and 5.