210829 Communion: Group Repentence

Before we enter into our time of communion, please take a moment and peel back the foil and cellophane on the communion cup so that it doesn’t cause a distraction later.

1 2 3

We often think of confession prior to communion as a PAUSE personal time to confess personal sins. Sins that we ourselves have participated in. 1 2 3 We know what we have done and we know what to expect. Today we are ready to repent because we want to enjoy communion, a meal, with other believers and with our Lord.

Communion is such an intimate act. During communion we bare our souls to the Lord and ask Him to bring to the surface any unconfessed sins. When He does help us to see where we have failed, where we have rebelled, we repent and agree that He is right and that only the blood of the Son can make us clean again. We gladly cling to the cross and Christ’s righteousness, knowing that we have none of our own.

But this is often done silently, in our own mind. Again, repentance typically is seen as a personal act, intimate and quiet. This dialogue, this confession between us and God is silent, done in our heart. But that is not the only confession that the Bible speaks of.

Today we will be in the book of Nehemiah and I would ask that we each turn in our Bibles to Nehemiah 9:1-3. The third and final contingent of exiles has returned from Babylon and they come together to read Scripture and publicly confess the sins of the nation.

Please stand 1 2 3 and we will read together verses 1-3.

Nehemiah 9 | 1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them. 2 The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.

The Israelites came together 1 2 they assembled, 1 2 they fasted and clothed themselves appropriately in clothes indicating that they were repentant. They separated themselves and stood and confessed their sins and the sins of their forefathers. All the idolatry, all the rebellion, all the wickedness of the nation they confessed. They stood for 3 hours reading the Scriptures, allowing it to convict them and for another 3 hours they confessed their sins. This agreeing with God is how they worshiped Him.

Today, in a small way, we are going to emulate this example. We are going to confess, not only our own sins, but also the sins that our nation has engaged in. America is not Israel but I think we will find that our nation’s sins are just as prevalent and repulsive to God in our day as they were in Nehemiah’s day. I am going to lead out in prayer and then if you are led to participate in this public confession of the sins of our culture, community or nation please do.

Let’s go to prayer.

God, You are holy and righteous and true. You do no evil. You do not smile at sin. But our nation does... it gawks and laughs at it. Our nation has enjoyed Your blessings for hundreds of years but it has defiantly turned against You. The sins of our culture are many. We have rejected You, we have refused Your good laws and have said that evil is good and good is evil. We do not have true justice in this country Lord. Criminals and law breakers are not punished but released while others are penalized for worshiping You as You have commanded.

Time will fail us if we speak of the pandemic of abortions in this country or the rampant idolatry of political parties and celebrities. We have so many sins to confess, our failures are staggering. I pray that You would bring about conviction and confession. You can change hearts and minds and bring about repentance but only You can bring revival to this land; we pray that You would for Your Name’s sake.

CLOSE IN PRAYER

Thank you all, you may be seated

Dan Organ_________ will you ask the blessing on the bread?

...the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23–24

Dan Brown_________ will you ask the blessing on the cup?

In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:25

PAUSE 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

LETS PRAY