6/30/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE

Guard Your Heart

    Imagine you’re out for a hike on a beautiful day and you come to a stream.  You realize there’s something wrong. You notice that someone has dumped trash into the stream.  It is an ugly sight.  The trash has been there for some time.  There is an ugly film on top of the water. You can’t just leave it the way you found it, so you stoop down and begin gathering the trash.
    It takes a long time before you begin to see a difference; it’s amazing how much junk is there. You sit back, rest for a moment, and realize you’ll have to keep returning until the site is truly clean. But when you come back the next day, it’s as if your work has been undone.
    In fact there’s more trash than before. Somehow the garbage bred overnight. You think about the unlikelihood of someone coming to this spot to dump their garbage in the few hours while you were away, and you realize that something smells fishy—so to speak. So you begin to walk upstream.
    Sure enough, you come to a garbage dump that has been there for years. It’s emptying into the passing creek. Your cleaning job only opened up a gap for more stuff to settle. You could go and clean every day …. But, if you want the stream to be clean, that means going directly to the source and dealing with what’s there.
Condensed from Kyle Idleman, Gods at War (Zondervan, 2013)
    Clean the source of junk to prevent it from impacting the rest of the stream.  Think about this picture and apply it to your life.  The Bible says your heart is the source from which your life flows.  Are your putting your efforts to clean up downstream?  Are you working to deal with the source so life, downstream is clean and attractive?  We are going to talk about the heart for a few weeks.
    The heart represents the center of our being—the source of desire and decision.
    It is a common saying, and it sounds so insightful and wise, “follow your heart”.  When you are facing a challenging situation, when you are not exactly sure what to do, “follow your heart”.  This can be very dangerous advice, for it doesn’t take into account what is in a person’s heart.  If there is a pile of garbage built up downstream, following your heart could lead to disaster.
    The Bible points to the heart as the center of our being:
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
NLT
23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
NKJV
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
    New Testament teaching from Jesus.
Luke 6:43-45 NIV
43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
    Guard your heart!  An important command.  What is in our heart is what comes out as life goes on.  Never allow anything to come into your heart that does not please God and is not helpful for our personal spiritual growth.  Don’t let anything into your heart that you don’t want to come out when people can see.
    How do we apply this principle?  Guard what you take in so you won’t be embarrassed by what you put out.  Guard what you watch, listen to, read, ponder or talk about.  We constantly take in images and ideas that take root in our hearts and impact the person we become.
    Christians must work to know and follow God’s purposes for our lives.  Jesus taught us this:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 NIV
    Making God and His ways our first priority puts the rest of life in proper order and perspective.  Keeping our priorities straight will help keep our spiritual hunger and desire for more of God strong.  This is one reason why Proverbs tells us to guard our hearts.  When junk begins to fill our hearts we open the potential to spiritual devastation.  Carefully guarding what you see, hear, say and do will increase strength and stability to our lives.
    Let’s take a moment and honestly think about how easy it is these days to take in information.  If you have the internet, you have immediate access to millions of ideas and images from all around the world.  If you have the internet on your phone, it is always with you.  In a time of discouragement it is simple to “check out” something that you know you shouldn’t, but are curious about.  The deception of sin is that it always starts out small, then grows and implants itself in your heart.  Then it gets very difficult to remove.
    This makes me think of the idea of clutter and filth.  I think of a home I was sent to many years ago that was filled with flies in the winter. Dirt was everywhere.  The longer filth is somewhere, the harder it is to get rid of.  The longer we allow sin the reside, the harder it is to eradicate the impact.
    Failure to guard our hearts can result in losing God’s guidance and blessing.  We risk being trapped in sin and even being destroyed by it.
    Look at the verses that follow v. 23 where we are told to “guard your heart”.
Proverbs 4:24-27 NIV
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
    This is awesome advice to guard your heart.
    In a chapter warning a son about the snare of the adulteress - it starts out  Proverbs 7:1-2 NIV
1 My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
    It ends:  Proverbs 7:24-27 NIV
24 Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. 26 Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. 27 Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
Review verses.
    Keep your heart on track and don’t let the sin resident in the hearts of others cause you to stray.
    Who we are on the inside determines our outward behavior.  Our “inside” must change from what we were in order to comply with God’s standards and intention. With no inward change, we won’t live God’s will or fulfill his plan for our lives.
    Many people believe that people are basically good at heart.  The Bible is clear about a heart that is separated from God.  It is wicked and deceitful.
Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
    Human nature is not foundationally good.  A heart that is not in communion with God is dangerous.  By itself, the heart is desperately evil and corrupt and leads to devastation and death.
    People are basically selfish and follow paths contrary to the ways of God.  Because the heart is corrupt human heart, we can’t make the necessary changes by ourselves.  Salvation purchased by Jesus on the cross, His grace is the only solution.  Transformation comes from the heart change Jesus makes.
    What is in the heart comes out.  Let me share a story.  Jesus used parables to get a point across.  This is a modern parable, a story written by a man named Russell Kelfer.
    Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas.  She was the patient of Doctor Will Phillips.  Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people.  His favorite patient was Edith Burns.
    One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns.  When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her.
    Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way:  “Hello, my name is Edith Burns.  Do you believe in Easter?”  Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved.
    Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly.  Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure.  Edith began by saying, “My name is Edith Burns.  Do you believe in Easter?”
    Beverly said, “Why, yes, I do.”
    Edith said, “Well, what do you believe about Easter?”
    Beverly said, “Well, it’s all about egg hunts, going to church, and dressing up.”
    Edith kept pressing her about the real meaning of Easter, and finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
    Dr. Phillips said, “Beverly, don’t call Edith into the office quite yet.  I believe there is another delivery taking place in the waiting room.”
    After being called back in the doctor’s office, Edith sat down, and when she took a look at the doctor she said, “Dr. Will, why are you so sad?  Are you reading your Bible?  Are you praying?”
     Dr. Phillips said gently, “Edith, I’m the doctor and you’re the patient.”  With a heavy heart he said, “Your lab report came back and it says you have cancer, and Edith, you’re not going to live very long.”
    Edith said, “Why Will Phillips, shame on you.  Why are you so sad?  Do you think God makes mistakes?  You have just told me I’m going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my friends.  You have just told me that I am going to celebrate Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!”
    Dr. Phillips thought to himself, “What a magnificent woman this Edith Burns is!”
    Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips.  Christmas came and the office was closed through January 3rd.  On the day the office opened, Edith did not show up.
    Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, “Will, I’m very near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here next to me in my room who need to know about Easter.”
    Well, they did just that, and women began to come in and share that room with Edith.  Many women were saved.  Everybody on that floor from staff to patients were so excited about Edith that they started calling her Edith Easter; that is, everyone except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse.
    Phyllis made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith because she was a “religious nut”.  She had been a nurse in an army hospital.  She had seen it all and heard it all.  She was the original G.I. Jane.  She was hard, cold, and did everything by the book.
    One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick.  Edith had the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot.
    When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said, “Phyllis, God loves you and I love you, and I have been praying for you.”
    Phyllis Cross said, “Well, you can quit praying for me.  It won’t work and I’m not interested.”
    Edith said, “Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to let me go home until you come into the family.”
    Phyllis Cross said, “Then you will never die because that will never happen,” and briskly walked out of the room.
    Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith would say, “God loves you, Phyllis, and I love you, and I’m praying for you.”
    One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith’s room like a magnet.  Edith said, “I’m so glad you have come, because God told me that today is your special day.”
    Phyllis Cross said, “Edith, you have asked everybody here the question, ‘Do you believe in Easter?’, but you have never asked me.”
    Edith said, “Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to wait until you asked, and now that you have asked .”
    Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter Story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
    Edith said, “Phyllis, do you believe in Easter?  Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?”
    Phyllis Cross said, “Oh, I want to believe that with all of my heart, and I do want Jesus in my life.”  Right there, Phyllis Cross prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart.  For the first time Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room, she was carried out on the wings of angels.
    Two days later, Phyllis Cross came in and Edith said, “Do you know what day it is?”
    Phyllis Cross said, “Why Edith, it’s Good Friday.”
    Edith said, “Oh, no, for you every day is Easter.  Happy Easter, Phyllis!”
    Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into work, did some of her duties, and then went down to the flower shop and got some Easter lilies, because she wanted to go up to see Edith, give her some Easter lilies, and wish her a Happy Easter.
    When she walked into Edith’s room, Edith was in bed.  The Bible was on her lap.  Her hands were in that Bible.  There was a sweet smile on her face.  When Phyllis Cross went to pick up Edith’s hand, she realized Edith was dead.  Her left hand was on John 14:2
    “In my Father’s house are many mansions.  I go to prepare a place for you.  I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
    Her right hand was on Revelation 21:4:
    “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
    Phyllis Cross took one look at Edith, and then lifted her face toward heaven, and with tears streaming down her cheeks said, “Happy Easter, Edith --- Happy Easter!”
    Phyllis Cross left Edith, walked out of the room and over to a table where two student nurses were sitting.
    She said, “My name is Phyllis Cross.  Do you believe in Easter?”
Russell Kelfer
LIFE APPLICATION: The Next Step
DESIGN FOR LIFE
What are the key points of this message?
How can we apply this message?
Discussion Questions
What should we learn from the parable about Edith Burns?
What do you think the general public doesn’t understand about Bible teaching about the heart?
What questions do you have about the heart? (Some questions we might need to write down and research.)

6/16/13  DESIGN FOR LIFE

God’s Design for the family and society - And He Gave Fathers

    Let’s start out with some statements/thoughts/expressions about fathers.
**Honor your father and mother that your days will be long upon the earth.
**Father Knows Best - a TV program from 1954-1963
    A very successful program based on character interaction and development. Jim Anderson was a “Dad”, and TV audiences loved him.  He was a responsible father who loved his wife and kids. He did a paper route in the rain for his sick son. He choose to see Kathy in a school program instead of attending a Chamber of Commerce dinner. His family was a priority.
**Leave It To Beaver - Same time frame.
    Ward Cleaver:  caring, hard working, honest, faithful and respectful to his wife.  He cared for and did all he could to help out his children.  He talked about principles of right and wrong.
As we turn the corner on programs:
**Married With Children
    Al Bundy was married to Peggy. He got drunk and mistakenly asked her to marry him. There are two children: Kelly, a promiscuous dumb blonde, and Bud, a perpetually lustful and unpopular schemer named after a brand of beer.
    I could go through an unbelievable list of modern programs and movies that show dads/all men as completely incompetent and worthless fools.  Their concept of being a father has nothing to do with God’s design.  Our world is very confused as to what a father is.
    God’s plan from the beginning was that men would be married and then have a family. They would be involved, responsible, and committed fathers.  They would have a positive impact on their families and society in general.  They would live a godly life and pass eternal principles on to the next generation.
Genesis 2:15 NIV
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
    After God made the universe and the world, He made people.  He made a man, Adam, and put him to work in the garden of Eden. Note that Adam had a job.  Work is God’s idea.  Work is a good idea.
    God created the first man holy.  He was not a lazy, worthless, skirt-chasing lech.  He was not demanding, but hard working.   He was pure and used for God’s purposes. He was not controlled by sin and had a unblemished relationship with God. Adam was the pinnacle of God’s creation and was given the duty of working under God’s guidance. His responsibility was to tend God’s creation.  Sin broke this perfect relationship.
    God’s plan also included creation of the perfect companion for the man.
Genesis 2:18 NIV
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
    Life, social structure, fulfillment - all come from God’s plan.  We do not exist because of some random happenstance of evolution.  Life is so much better when people recognize God’s planning and live according to His standards.  There is must less confusion and frustration.
    Questions to think about & discuss:
What if everyone in the world lived in a family where mom and dad were married, loving and faithful to each other?
What if all dads worked hard and loved God?
What if “being a man” brought a mental picture of Jesus?
What if all dads taught their children Biblical truths and gave them love and discipline?
What would the world be like?
    The positive answers to these questions show God’s design for the world.  Following God’s way works best.  We are always better off doing things God’s way.
Genesis 2:24 NIV
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
    Leave his father and mother and start his own family.  God’s plan was for a man to be a man and lead his home. God established marriage and the family as the first and most significant foundation on earth.  The marriage of a man and a woman was the basis to form a family and the resulting relationships. God declared His specific purpose and gave priority to the importance of godly families and the nurturing of reverent children.
    God has a plan for marriage - one man and one woman who make an exclusive commitment to each other for life.  There is a very special bond that is established between a husband and wife.  There is both physical and spiritual unity.  God’s plan rules out adultery, pornography, drunkenness, homosexuality and immoral living.  Remember, God’s plan is best.
    Two verses - Old and New Testament
Malachi 4:6 NIV
6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.
Luke 1:17 NIV
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
    The context of this verse is talking about John the Baptist.
    Fathers carry the most responsibility for keeping families unified and strong.  God expects fathers to love their children, pray for them, spend time with them, instruct them about right and wrong.  They are also to teach them to live by God’s Word and standards.
    Fathers give stability to their children.  They find comfort and encouragement knowing that he is committed to his wife and that he will be there for them in the future.  One of the best ways for young girls to not be looking for love in all the wrong places is to have a loving daddy.  One of the best ways for boys to grow up knowing what it is to be a man and how to respectfully treat a woman is to have a great example in his father.
    One of the leading sins of God’s people has been the failure of fathers to love their children enough to teach them the things of God.  John the Baptist challenged fathers to guide their families to God and fulfill His plans.
    Dads are to show their children a godly way to handle money.  The Godly ones spend wisely, pay their tithes and are generous.  You don’t have to be rich to be generous.  They use the resources God has given them wisely.
    One of the key goals of the Bible is to establish God’s intent for families.  This focuses on a right relationship between dads and kids.  A resulting factor of failure to follow God’s way is a breakdown in family relationships.  This is especially seen when fathers abandon their children.
    I firmly believe that one of the evil reasons for the attacks against men in our world in the past decades is to destroy the positive impact of men, therefore destroying society.
    When used properly, we can learn a lot from statistics.  I have done a little research and here are a few of the many I found.  Many of these came from Fatherhood.org.
    According to 2011 U.S. Census Bureau data, over 24 million children live apart from their biological fathers. That is 1 out of every 3 (33%) children in America. Nearly 2 in 3 (64%) African American children live in father-absent homes. One in three (34%) Hispanic children, and 1 in 4 (25%) white children live in father-absent homes. In 1960, only 11% of children lived in father-absent homes.
    Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.
    Even after controlling for income, youths in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.
Source: Harper, Cynthia C. and Sara S. McLanahan. “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 14 (September 2004): 369-397
    A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.
Source: James, Doris J. Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. (NCJ 201932). Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, July 2004
    People in general talk about the problems of society.  They talk about solutions.  Politicians work at telling us what the problems are and how they are going to fix them.  They are always talking about new programs they are going to invent and then we get to pay for it.  Unfortunately, most of the solutions proposed are humanly invented and the opposite of God’s plan for the world.

“The best thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother.”
Discussion:
What a “real man” is.
What a “real man” is NOT.
What is the God-factor in a real man?
How do we make a real man?

Men, ask God how you can be a better man and dad.  We can always improve.

6/9/13  DESIGN FOR LIFE - Communion

The World’s Most Expensive Meals
    A chart on the Daily Infographic website offers the following list called “The World’s Most Expensive Meals”:
    At the Fijimake Gekijyo restaurant in Tokyo you can get a bowl of Ramen for $110.
    The Capital Dawg in Sacramento, California serves up “The Ultra-Dog”, the world’s most expensive hot dog at $145.99.
    The Westin Hotel in New York City offers a white truffle bagel that sells for about $1,000.
    For $1,000 New York City also boasts the “Golden Opulence Sunday”, which includes rare cocoa beans harvested off the coast of Venezuela.
    At $2,000 a slice (or $16,000 per pie) you can enjoy Britain’s Wagyu Meat Pie and its savory combination of six pounds of Kobe beef and matsutake mushrooms which sell for $910 per pound.
    And in Italy, Chef Viola’s “Louis XIII” pizza, loaded with lobster, caviar, eight different types of cheese, and seasoned with hand-picked pink Australian river salt, sells for $12,000.
    I have to admit that I am amazed that anyone could imagine something like these extremely expensive meals.  I am even more amazed that anyone would spend that kind of money, no matter how rich they were.
    What is the world’s most expensive meal?  And yet it is offered freely to all?  It is God’s gift of salvation represented in The Last Supper, the Lord’s Supper.  They’re both offered free of charge.  Jesus paid the price that we could never have paid.  He paid with His life.
Grayson, “World’s Most Expensive Meals [Infographic],” Daily Infographic (7-25-12)
Matthew 26:26-29 NKJV
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
    Communion, The Lord’s Supper, is something that the church celebrates on a regular basis.  Sometimes, when something is a regular occurrence, it can become routine.  It can be something we do and not think about what it means.  Today we want to look at what it means.
    This celebration of remembrance was one of the last things Jesus did on this earth.  Last words are very important.  Let me share a story of Chuck Swindoll as he recalled the impact of his father’s “Last Words”.
    One of my most unforgettable moments happened when I was about ten years old. My father served our country during World War II in a plant in our hometown, building all sorts of interesting equipment for the massive tanks, fighter planes, and bombers that defended us in lands far away. Dad worked too long and too hard. As a result he suffered a physical breakdown. And on its heels came an emotional trauma that puzzled everyone, including the doctors.
    I was convinced in my heart that my dad was going to die. He may have had such thoughts too, because one night he called me into his room for a somber father-son talk …. I remember leaning hard against his bed, listening carefully to a voice that was hardly more than a whisper. I thought I was hearing him for the last time. He gave me counsel on life—how I should live, how I should conduct myself as his son. The counsel wasn’t long, and then I left and went across the hall to the room that I shared with my older brother. All alone, I lay across my bed and sobbed, convinced that I would never see my dad alive again.
    That scene still haunts me. Even though my dad recovered to live … I still remember the night he talked to me. Something very significant is wrapped up in our final words. Consider the night in Jerusalem when the Lord and his disciples gathered for … what we call “The Last Supper”.  Less than twelve hours after [that meal], Jesus was nailed to a cross; a few hours later, he was dead. Jesus understood the significance of those moments and the importance of his last counsel. And so he gave them exactly what they would need to carry them through the rest of their days.
Chuck Swindoll, Embraced By the Spirit (Zondervan, 2010), pp. 11-12
    The words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
    Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.  We can learn from people like Paul.  We are all expected to follow Christ’s example and live a Christlike life.  What does that mean?
    It means that you deeply love God and people.  This love motivates you.  It drives you to live pleasing to God.  You want God to get honor in all you do.  You will strive to be faithful to God and accomplish His work.  You learn to love what God loves and hate what God hates.
    Following Jesus helps you set an example that other people can follow.  Remembering what Jesus did on the cross through celebration of Communion brings you closer to Him.
    Later in the same chapter, Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 NKJV
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
    23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
    27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
    33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
    Jesus established the Lord’s Supper.  It is a memorial of Christ’s death for the redemption, liberation or salvation of people from sin and from eternal punishment.  As we share in Communion we are reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice and its significance for our lives.
    When we celebrate Communion we have a special fellowship with HIM.  There is a Greek word:  koinönia.  This is a special companionship and unity with Jesus as well as a sense of community with our local church body.  We need this kind of fellowship and relationship with both God and other believers.  Communion makes this more real and special.
    We are reminded of the gift of Salvation God has given us.  God has an amazing plan to take us into His family.  Jesus came to be our LORD.  The Lord’s Supper reminds us of that.  He is worthy to be our Lord and worthy to be obeyed.  Communion reminds us of the horror of sin and our desire to reject active participation in it.  We want to be known as followers of Jesus.
    Our service for Jesus is part of His eternal plan for us.  We will spend forever and forever in His presence.  We know that this messy world is only temporary.
    Let’s go back and review the verses we just read.  What are the key points?

See the sacrifice of Jesus.

What do you think of when it is time for Communion?
“It’s that time again.” (Routine)
“Awesome.”
“Thank you, Lord, for these great people I get to be with at church.”
“Celebration!!”
“Thank you, Lord, for the strong personal relationship I have with You.”

Share communion with someone and pray for them.