Confessions
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Church, I would like to share a story about a young man that ran with the wrong crowd.
A young man that was part of a gang called “The Destructors.”
They basically did whatever they wanted; whenever they wanted.
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One night, after playing some sports in the streets, this gang, turned their attention on something more mischievous...
They turned their attention to a pear tree that was heavy with ripe fruit.
Mind you, the tree did not belong to any of their families.
But it did grew on a plot adjacent to that of this young man’s family.
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That’s not all.
The boys did not find the pears tempting in their color or flavor in any way.
Nevertheless, they wanted to steal them.
Just because they could.
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They went to the base of the tree and shook down the ripe pears.
The young man (years later) recalled this event and said:
“We carried off a huge load of pears...
Not to eat ourselves...
But to dump out to the hogs, after barely tasting some of them ourselves.
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Doing this pleased us all the more because it was forbidden.
Such was my heart, O God, such was my heart–which thou didst pity even in that bottomless pit.
Behold, now let my heart confess to thee what it was seeking there, when I was being gratuitously wanton, having no inducement to evil but the evil itself.”
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This confession...
Of sinning for the sack of sinning...
Was confessed by none other than what many consider the greatest Western theologian of church history...
Augustine of Hippo
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This tale is recorded in Augustine’s classic work, “Confessions.”
In this work he shares his testimony and his wicked past.
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Every born-again believer has a past too.
We have confessions we can make of our past.
We have times where we sinned for the thrill of it or just because we could.
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So, today church, you will hear my confession.
Today, you will hear my testimony.
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Now, Augustine didn’t just confess of his past.
He also confesses about the one that saved him.
He confessed about who truly is the One True God.
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Today we will do that too.
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Sermon Introduction
Sermon Introduction
So, please turn your copy of God’s Word to Proverbs.
We will be conducting our study in Chapter 6 and focus on verse 1 through 6.
Our message this morning called “Confessions”
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
Proverbs 16:1–6 (ESV)
1 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.
3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.
5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.
6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
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1) I Was Never In Control
1) I Was Never In Control
Verse 1: The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
So, what does this verse mean?
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Verse one is saying that men may make plans all day...
They can strategize and study the situation.
They can plan for the best and plan for the worst.
They can plan, plan, plan...
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And plan some more.
But God has the final word.
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As it says in Proverbs 16:9:
9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
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It doesn’t matter if your plans are for good...
Or if your plans are for bad...
God’s plans always supersede yours whether you like it or not...
This is true no matter the significance of the event as it says in Proverbs 16:33:
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
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This is also true no matter who you are as it says in Proverbs 21:1:
1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
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Kings don’t get exceptions...
Celebrities don’t get exceptions...
Even Pastors don;t get exceptions...
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For example, last Sunday after a wonderful luncheon with my new church family I planned to take my family to a park and enjoy the remainder of the day.
But God’s plan was different.
As most of you know. that trip to the park turned into a trip to the ER.
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But God had a reason and His plans are better than mine.
After walking with Him for as long as I have I can see that now.
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But that was not always the case.
My plans in the past included being successful in the eyes of the world.
I planned to be a successful artist or business man.
I planned to earn tons of money.
I planned to have a wife that agreed with all my awesome ideas.
I planned to have healthy kids.
I planned to have a name people would remember.
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But God had other plans...
And I thank Him everyday that He know what’s best for me.
By His grace and for His purpose alone He transformed my heart.
He made me shameful in the world’s eyes by successful in His eyes.
He made me see the real treasures to build are in heaven, not on earth.
He gave me a wife that challenged me and made me a better person.
He gave me a child with special needs that made me realize that our ability to walk or be able to chewy food was a daily miracle.
He showed me that it is His name that should be remembered and that mine should be forgotten.
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But before I saw all this.
I needed to learn things the hard way.
He allowed me to do things my way.
He allowed me to fall on my face so I could see that what I needed to do was t bow down to Him and surrender.
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And this takes us to our next point.
2) I Did Things My Way
2) I Did Things My Way
Verse 2: All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Another rendering of “the Lord weighs the spirit” is “the Lord weighs one’s motive”
So, we as humans believe our ways are right but God can see our real motivation.
We can be easily self-deceived.
But God can’t.
He determines His true motives.
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How many of us make amazing lawyers for ourselves?
When confronted by a shortcoming, how many of us have an excuse for why we don’t do what we are supposed to do?
In the past I thought what I did was right.
It didn’t matter what God’s Word said.
I could twist it to say what I wanted it to say.
Because, I was not motivated be the right things.
As Proverbs 14:12 says:
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
I was on the highway to Hell.
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But, I believe I was a Christian.
In fact for the first 32 years of my life I claimed this...
But I was a liar.
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I believed that I was born into the true “church.”
That true church was the Eastern Orthodox Church.
This church by my understanding had the keys to get you to heaven.
You just needed to follow all the rules.
Even if you broke some of the rules it was fine if you confess to a Priest.
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So, Because my parents baptised me as an infant...
And because I attended church...
And I venerated the saints...
And served in the church...
And I went to confession...
And I obeyed whatever way the Priest interpreted the Bible...
I thought I was a Christian.
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Mind you, I never read the Bible all the way through.
I sinned habitually when it was convenient for me and made excuses for it.
I cursed like a sailor but I didn’t think God would mind.
I filled my head with lust but I figures God understood since He made me this way.
I had a terrible anger problem and wished harm on others but I labeled is as righteous anger.
I spent all my free time reading nonsense and watching trashy shows and movie but I justified that I was old enough to entertain myself the way I pleased.
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I called myself a Christian but I was a liar.
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And God showed me the hypocrite I was.
My marriage to Mercy was falling apart.
Both of us where not saved so we fought all the time and none of us gave up an inch in the fight...
Realize there was no adultery or unfaithfulness but we both couldn’t be peaceful with each other.
Maddie as a very young girl, started using the Lord’s name in vain and she got that from us, her parents.
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When I grew up I wanted to be an awesome dad and husband.
Instead I was greatly failing in both areas.
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So, God woke me up.
He got a Christian book in our hands about marriage from a biblical perspective.
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Mercy and I started to see changes all because we where listening to the truth found in Scripture.
We started to see the power found in the Word of God.
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By God’s providence He brought us to a church that taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Within three months I surrendered my life to the Lord.
I realized after He took the blinders of my eyes and softened my heart, that I was worshipping a god of my own image.
I understood by His mercy and grace that I needed to surrender my life to Him.
Calling Him Lord is not enough.
Realizing He is Lord is not enough.
For even the demons do that as it says in James 2:19:
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
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In addition to calling Him Lord and realizing He is Lord, I had to surrender and trust Him as Lord of my life.
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Then I realized what it ment for God to give you the desires of your heart and to have your plans established.
So, this takes us to our next point.
3) He Saved A Wretch Like Me
3) He Saved A Wretch Like Me
Verse 3: Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Look at the word “Commit” in this verse.
The literal meaning of this word in ancient Hebrew is to “roll upon”
So the sense of this word is of total trust and complete submission to the will of God.
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God promises that if you trust Him and surrender to Him...
Your righteous plans will be fulfilled.
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I can attest to this truth.
After I surrendered my life to the Lord everything changed.
My desires changed.
My plans changed.
My marriage changed.
My kids changed.
My whole life changed.
As Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
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So, now I desired to be used by Him.
I desired to follow His will despite the cost or sacrifice.
That meant being shunned by some of my family and friends for leaving the “one true church.”
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My plans of pursuing an MBA so I could easily have a six digit salary was out the window.
In its place was a calling to be an under-shepherd and passion to pursue seminary education so I could learn how to correctly handle God’s Word.
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My marriage changed when Mercy and I realized that our relationship was to model the relationship of Christ and the Church.
My Children changed when we started modeling for them Christ like love and behavior instead of filling there heads with the material worldview.
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I changed when my mind was renewed as it says in Romans 12:2:
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
And I was filled with the promised Holy Spirit to guide be when before I was a walking dead man blindly tripping in the darkness.
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So know I can confidently say when you commit yourself to the Lord your plans will be established because your plans and your desires will be transformed to match His plans and His desires.
As it says in Psalm 37:4:
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
If you delight yourself in the Lord first, then you will not find yourself desiring worldly things.
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Many times when a believer has a new transformed life they feel shame for their past.
But even one’s unfaithful past had a purpose.
And this takes us to our next point.
4) My Past Has a Purpose
4) My Past Has a Purpose
Verse 4: The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.
Church, we have a God who is sovereign and who is in complete control.
Everything that transpires has a purpose.
That is both “good” events and “bad” events.
What we call “good” or “bad” is viewed from our limited perspective.
Take for example the story of Joseph.
Pay attention to what the Word of God says in Genesis 50:20:
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Some people misquote this and say that that what you meant for evil God “turned it around” for good.
But that is not what the passage says.
It says what you “meant” for evil, God “meant” for good.
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In the original language, ancient Hebrew, it is the same word being used.
What you “Heshab” for evil, God “Heshab” for good.
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So, for the life of the believer, the events you experience in your life.
Good or bad.
Joyful or traumatic.
It is all meaningful and has a purpose...
And that purpose is for good.
Remember the promise of Romans 8:28:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
If you love God...
Everything is working for your ultimate good.
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We are not talking about lip service here church.
We are talking about those who have been genuinely born again.
For those who really love God obey His commandments.
John 14:21 says it all:
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
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So, your past has a purpose.
God used it to mold you to be who you are and to be able to serve Him in the way He demands.
When we look at our past it may make us cringe but it all had a purpose.
And this takes us to our next point.
5) I Must Now Warn Others
5) I Must Now Warn Others
Verse 5: Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.
Remember this when you witness your faith to others.
The arrogant and prideful will not go unpunished unless they repent and turn to God.
Remember that you where once like them too.
Some people may seem hopelessly lost but I’m sure some thought the same about you and me.
And it is not by our means that we are saved but by grace and grace alone we are saved.
Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
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Remember there is only one way to salvation
This takes us to our final point regarding this passage.
6) Jesus is the Only Way
6) Jesus is the Only Way
Verse 6: By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
One must fear the Lord if they are to repent and turn away from evil.
Remember what it says in Proverbs 8:13:
13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Fear of the Lord is the only way to eternal life.
Or put another way...
Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Consider the words of Jesus Himself when He spoke is John 14:6:
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
So, as I confessed my testimony like Augustine...
I now confess and proclaim the one who saved me.
Jesus Christ.
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If you do not know Him today is the day to surrender your life to Him.
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Why Jesus?
Because we all have a debt we cannot pay.
Romans 3:23 says that:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
And Romans 3:10-18 describes what we all are like before we encounter Jesus:
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
There is a great cost for our wickedness.
Romans 6:23 says:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We all deserve death. From Adam and Eve all the way to us all hear in this room.
We sinned against a Holy God and what we deserve is Hell fire.
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But the second half of Romans 6:23 is so reassuring.
God gives His sheep the free gift of eternal life in Christ.
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Christ came down to earth...
Lived a sinless life...
Lived a life in perfect obedience...
And voluntary gave His life for those that don't deserve it.
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And three days passed and Christ was the resurrected and first born among the brethren.
The resurrection proved the Father accepted His sacrifice and that death was defeated.
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Christ saved me when I was a wretch and deserving of death.
He can do the same for you if you don’t know Him.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this:
It is a story of a man who had no religious convictions.
He lived a life of carnality and darkness.
How dark you may be wondering.
This man made his living kidnapping people and selling them for profit.
He was a slave trader…
He would go to the coast of Africa and capture men, women and children for personal gain.
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However, a violent storm changed his life forever.
As a storm raged against him and his crew he witnessed many of his men get swallowed up by the sea.
With both hands fastened onto the wheel of the boat, Newton cried out to God saying,
“Lord, have mercy on us.”
After eleven hours of steering the boat, the storm finally calmed down.
The remainder of the crew that was thought to have perished was found safety.
This even caused this man with no religious convictions before to want to know all about the God that saved him and his crew.
Once home he learned Hebrew and Greek and study the Bible.
He began to be asked to speak in front of churches and became a clergyman.
God transformed this former slave trader to become a great advocate to abolish slavery.
He was both a great teacher of God’s Word and great hymn writer.
That man was John Newton.
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If you don’t know who John Newton is then you may know the most famous hymn he wrote, “Amazing Grace.”
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He also said these statements that I believe perfectly sums up the heart of this message:
“The same power which humbled me can undoubtedly bring down the most haughty infidel on earth.”
and
“That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
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And it is now about the remembrance of that great sacrifice of our great Savior that we bring our attention to.
Communion
Communion
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As we begin our communion service I want to invite every genuinely born-again believe in the room to partake in this act together.
If you do not yet know the Lord and have a relationship with Him or if you are under church discipline from this church or another church they I will ask that you wait until you have resolved your issue before participating.
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As you came in you should have picked up a communion packet if you are joining us.
This has both the bread and juice in a convenient package.
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If you have not recieved one of these please raise your hand and one of our deacons will get you one.
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Before we join together in communion I want to remind everyone that we are to take communion in a worthy matter.
If you have some unresolved issue you need to take care of now is the time.
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Do you need to forgive someone?
Now is the time to do it.
Do you need to confess a sin and seek God’s forgiveness?
Now is the time to do it.
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While some of you are praying.
While we are all preparing ourselves to join in communion together we must take the time to remember what this is all about.
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Christ was the sinless lamb that gave His like for His sheep.
He experienced both physical and spiritual trauma.
We as a people mocked Him.
We beat Him.
We despised Him.
We are so two faced.
One moment we sing “Hosanna!”
And the next we cry out “Crucify Him!”
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But He knew we would do that.
And He died for us anyway.
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For His followers we remember what He did because it was His sacrifice that paid our debts.
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Let us take a look at Luke 22:14-18:
14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
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Tom will you pray before we partake in the bread:
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The Word of God says in Luke 22:19:
19 And he took bread, and when he had 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.”
(TAKE THE BREAD)
Adrian will you pray before we partake in the juice:
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The Word of the God says in Luke 22:20:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(TAKE THE JUICE)
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With that we conclude the communion portion of our service.
Please join us for one more song from the band.