Christ Methodist Church Memphis
Go deeper in your faith with our weekly podcasts. Episodes include sermons by our pastoral team and interviews that guide you through some of our toughest faith questions.
Christ Methodist Church Memphis
The Lord’s Supper | Rev. Paul Lawler
The Corinthians turned the Lord’s Supper into a selfish banquet—and Paul called them back to its true purpose. What happens when we rediscover communion as a means of grace, unity, and revival?
[0:19] All right, church family, glory to God. Great to see you today.
[0:23] All right, let me calibrate what we're going to do for the next few minutes, okay? I need to have a little fireside chat with you, and then we're gonna teach the word, and then we'll honor God with worship through song as we close, and then I need to have another little chat with you, okay? So we're gonna be out at some point. No, I'm not, loved ones, it's not my heart to abuse time. Let's honor God. It may go a little past 12. If you've got to slip out, nobody's going to judge you, except this group over here. I'm teasing. This is a great group over here. I'm just teasing. Great to have the students here this morning, and welcome, and we celebrate all God's doing in your lives.
[1:16] So here's a fireside chat.
[1:24] On Wednesday, a tragedy happened in our nation, and when I, like many of you, when I heard about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I literally rose to my feet and grimaced out loud. Well, loved ones, I think I would stand at my feet and grimace out loud, regardless of the person's political perspective. All life is sacred. And we are deeply concerned about the state of our nation and where we are right now in terms of our national dialogue, the way people treat each other, the toxicity we see on social media.
[2:17] And so we're in an hour in which if God can use this for good, maybe it can serve as a wake-up call. Now, loved ones, I want you to know that as I posted a word on our church social media accounts, grieving the loss of Charlie Kirk and condemning violence, praying for his family, it's important that you know that when I characterize someone as a Christian intellectual, that it doesn't mean that I agree with everything that he's ever said in his entire life. I don't agree with everything I've said in my life, okay? Now, I hope that I agree with the things that line up with the Word of God, but I think about my idle moments in my own life where I've said things. I wish I never said that.
[3:09] But I have something I want to ask you to do, but let me set it up this way. Okay.
[3:21] So I'm sorry, you can tell, I can't hide it. This is painful. All this is just so painful. And I know you feel it too. So tomorrow morning, you're going to receive word from Pastor Paul. And I'm going to say a word in there about my statement about the death of Charlie Kirk. And I'm going to expound on that a little bit. And I want to encourage you to read that. And then I want to invite you to read the next paragraph. And the next paragraph or the next section is about 18th century England and how dark things were. This is not the first time in history where a culture has navigated darkness, real darkness. And that was true in 18th century England. And I want to invite you to read that and then carve out 45 minutes sometime this week to click the link and watch the video that talks about what God did in 18th century England through a man named John Wesley. And then I want to invite you to do this. Spend some time praying for our nation.
[4:32] Pray for yourself. Pray for our nation. pray for people who have different perspectives and let's all labor to be better in our national dialogue and to pray for one another to be better in their national dialogue amen god help us in that i'm gonna i'm gonna pray for us and then i'm gonna read the scripture and then we'll teach so let's just pray for a moment. God, we hurt. You see our grief, Lord.
[5:07] And so, God, we do pray for comfort in our grief, but we pray for our nation. There's a better way, God. So we pray, carve out in us, teach us, redeem this circumstance, and teach us, Lord. I pray particularly for the students that are gathered here, Lord. I can only imagine how they're processing. And I pray, Lord, that as they carve out a future and lead in the generations to come, that, Lord, they'll carve out a better way. We thank you for them and we treasure them. But we do pray, Lord, not only for them, but for us all as a nation.
[5:49] Help us, Lord. We're crying out to you. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hear the word of God, and let me validate awkward transition. I'll just validate that. Awkward transition to go from that to the Lord's Supper. So we're going to talk. We're not serving the Lord's Supper today. I'll get to that in a moment, but we're going to teach on it. So we're picking up 1 Corinthians 11, 17 and following. Hear the word of God. Paul writes, but in the following instructions, I do not commend you because when you come together, it's not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there
[6:24] are divisions among you, and I believe it in part. For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, is it not for the Lord's supper that you eat? For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What?
[6:43] Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you for this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, when he had given thanks, he broke the bread and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he also took the cup after supper and said, the cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then so eat the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many of you are weak and ill. Some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
[7:47] So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for judgment. About the other things, I will give directions when I come, Paul says. Now, we trust that God adds his blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word. So, you've already picked up on the fact that the Apostle Paul is writing about the practice of holy communion in the church. Now, church, this is important for us to understand. It's highly important. And the pattern began And long ago, there's even this pattern of the body and blood, bread and wine, starts showing up way back in the Old Testament. Abraham is with Mechizeldeck. Scholars tell us Mechizeldeck is a type of Christ. And that's a lot to unpack.
[8:38] Expeditiousness, I would affirm, that when they sat together, Mechizeldeck and Abraham, and shared in a moment of worship, that they shared in bread and wine. We also know that we get to the tabernacle and the temple, and God reveals these patterns on earth, that in the tabernacle and temple, there's a table of showbread that contains bread and wine. And we're aware that these things are pointing to something, pointing to an ultimate reality that's coming, foreshadowing the reality of
[9:09] Jesus and his pierced body and his shed blood. And so we're aware that when suddenly you get to begin unpacking history, John Wesley values and teaches a people called Methodists to value communion in a way that it's termed a means of grace. In other words, a means of communing with the Lord in a way that it's transformative in our lives. And so I would affirm that the reason he says this is based on an Old Testament understanding of something scholars call Deuteronomic theory, Deuteronomic theory. Now, I think I shared this about two years ago, but let's do a refresher. And it's a fancy theological term for this. Obedience brings blessing.
[9:59] Obedience brings blessing. And the reason scholars begin using that term is because the pattern starts showing up more deeply in the book of Deuteronomy and goes all the way to the book of Revelation. When we follow God and things that he said do this, it actually brings blessing into our life. Let me give you some quick examples. John 14, 21, he who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And the one who loves me, we, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, will manifest ourselves to that person. Again, you follow the Lord, love him, obey him. The Lord says, I'm going to be present with you in a unique way and strengthen you.
[10:42] Deuteronomic theory, obedience brings blessing. God says, draw near to me, I'll draw near to you. There it is again. As you follow the Lord, as you seek him, God says, I'm going to draw near to you. Forgive and you will be forgiven. And so you note, there it is again, as I follow Jesus and I forgive people who hurt me, betray me, wrong me. That what happens, it attracts the blessing of Jesus as I take on the nature of Jesus and I experience his grace by forgiving. This thing dances all over the pages of scripture.
[11:18] And so when Jesus gives us this command, do this in remembrance of me, you have an opportunity to follow Jesus, to be obedient in some things that he says. Now, in the original language, when we're commanded to do something in remembrance of Jesus, this is not an invitation just in your mind. All right, I'm just going to imagine remembering what he's done. It is that. But in the original language, there's a nuance in remembering of recalling an event so thoroughly that it comes alive in the present tense. And that's God's intent in sharing in the Lord's Supper, that Jesus and his reality of what he did in shedding blood and dying on a cross becomes a present reality in your life, that in Christ, your sins are forgiven. In Christ, you've been made new, just as Dr. William was articulating just a moment ago. You students do know it's Dr. William, right? I know that. I get it. So here's a question for you. Is the grace of God working in your life when you share in Holy Communion, you're remembering present tense reality of what Jesus has done for you, and you're in an act of confessing sin and being renewed in your heart? Is the grace of God working in that moment? Rhetorical question, yes.
[12:43] Is the grace of God working in your life when you're engaging with Jesus in co-union, communion in the act that he's commanded.
[12:55] In celebrating the Lord's Supper, and you're coming before Jesus, renewing your mind by repenting and turning toward him. Rhetorical question. Yes, yes. And this reason and many more, this is why sharing in holy communion is a means of God's grace, working in your heart, working in your life, and forms you as a believer. And there's much more we could say about this. Communion also, when we share in it, is a foreshadow of what's to come because Jesus said, hey, I'm not going to share in this meal again until the kingdom is fulfilled. And so here's what we learn from all of this. The Bible has a very high view of communion.
[13:40] And communion, when it's properly understood, plays a very vital role, even by virtue of that we're all sitting together in this room. Now, here's something you may not know as a Methodist Christian, and that is most Methodists do not realize that in the Wesleyan revival in 18th century England, that there was a revival of the word of God that convicted people and turned them to God in Christ. That's always true when there's spiritual renewal happening, but it was wed with celebration of the Eucharist. Did you know that, that there was a high view of communion, and it was very much a part of the revival fires that were burning in 18th century England because people prepared themselves to come to the Lord's table. Listen to these words from John Wesley. The grace of God given herein confirms to us the pardon of our sins by enabling us to leave them. As our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by these tokens of the body and blood of Christ.
[14:46] This is the food of our souls. This gives strength to perform our duty and leads us on to perfection. If, therefore, we have any regard for the plain command of Christ, if we desire the pardon of our sins, if we wish for strength to believe, to love and obey God, then we should neglect no opportunity of receiving the Lord's Supper.
[15:08] You see the emphasis that our church father and Wesley placed upon the Holy Communion. You see that John Wesley had a high view of communion as a means of grace. And we see in our text today that the Apostle Paul had a high view of sharing in Holy Communion. And we recognize that.
[15:32] The Son of God, had a high view of communion. And church, this is why there is a big, big problem at Corinth, because they didn't have a high view of the Lord's Supper, and Paul the apostle is addressing it. And so it's important that we know a little bit of context here, that when communion was celebrated in the context that Paul's writing about at Corinth, they're celebrating communion in conjunction with something called a love feast. In other words, they've all come together to share in a big celebratory meal. And at the end of the meal, they share in the Lord's Supper. And it's important that you know that because it's relevant to where we're going over the next several hours. So just teasing guys, okay? Just pulling your leg. Some of them don't, they're not, I mean, some of these, they're not smiling, okay? It's like all humor is based on incongruity, okay? That's incongruity. We're not going ours, okay? Just saying. All right, but listen to this. Paul says this, verse 17, but in the following instruction, note what he says, I am.
[16:41] I do not commend you. Now, what a way to start a conversation. Because when you come together, it's not for the better. It's for the worst. So the Corinthian church had so corrupted the Lord's Supper by treating it as a regular meal rather than a spiritual act of remembrance that brings what Jesus did into the present. Present, they had so corrupted the Lord's Supper as a means of grace for people and so corrupted the unity that it's supposed to foster that they're manifesting all kinds of problems. The first problem is selfishness, self-centeredness in their lives. The Corinthians, as they turned the banquet into a selfish banquet, they drank to excess and also neglected people that were actually there because it was only decent meal they would get all week. This is why Paul says in verse 21, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry and another gets drunk. And so there were people getting inebriated. And Paul, the apostle, is outraged by this as he should be. That's why he says in verse 22, wait, excuse me, he says, what?
[18:00] What? It's like, are you kidding me? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Are you just, you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?
[18:10] What shall I say to you? Shall I commend this? No, I will not. And so there's strong correction going on here.
[18:17] Secondly, there are divisions and factions that have been taking place in the church. He addressed this in chapter two and three, but it's also affecting their life together as they share in this holy meal. Look with me at verses 18 through 19. He says, for in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you, and I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you must be recognized. In other words.
[18:45] The dirt that's rising up out of the hearts of people. There are some people that you can see that aren't caught up in it. And Paul saying now you can recognize who's really in a healthy relationship with God. Many of you are not because you're divided and in factions with one another. But also there's a spiritual blindness going on because this is why Paul is saying to them, listen, do you not realize that coming to the Lord's table, sharing in the Lord's Supper is so sacred? I didn't get this just from anybody. I received this, verse 23 through 26, from the Lord. And what, this is what I also delivered to you. This is sacred. This is holy. That the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread and when he given it thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And in the same way, he takes the cup after supper.
[19:43] And he says, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Do this. And as often as you drink it, remember me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And so what's happening at Corinth, church family, is they can't discern the spiritual significance of the bread and the cup, which represents the shed blood of Christ and his pierced body for our sins. And so this is why Paul, he gets to verse 27. Get ready. Loved ones, this is going to get heavy. He says, whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of our Lord.
[20:31] Sobering. Now I've heard this taught on occasion in a way that I don't think is faithful to the text, and I think I need to address it because some of you may have been exposed to this. I have been present or watched online when a pastor would read this passage and then say something like this to the people that are being served. Don't come to take communion unless you're worthy.
[20:59] And that's not what the text says, okay? So let's look at what Paul does say. Paul is sharing, he's addressing coming to the communion table in an unworthy manner. And there's a distinction between worthiness and an unworthy manner. What is the unworthy manner? People are getting drunk and coming to the table. Some of the wealthy members in the church are getting first place, getting served first, and then there's not enough food for the poor that are in attendance. There are many who are overeating as a part of their factions and their cliques that are going on, and they're neglecting some of the persons that are not as wealthy as some members. So we recognize there's a difference between worthiness and an unworthy manner. And so what Paul's addressing is the unworthy manner in which they're not honoring the dignity and the holiness of the Lord's Supper. But we also recognize he's not talking about worthiness because none of us are worthy. Amen?
[22:10] You're not worthy. I'm not worthy. And that's the whole point. That's the beauty of the Lord's Supper is that it is a grace-filled meal. That it is a place where all those who are unworthy have the opportunity to come to the one who is, the one who is worthy and has shed blood for us so that in Christ, as was said earlier, we are new creations. He is worthy, but nobody is worthy. But communion serves as a place for those who are weak, which is all of us, to comfort those who are doubting, to strengthen those who are weak. Paul's not talking about unworthy people. He's talking about coming to the table in an unworthy manner. And so question, what does it mean to eat the Lord's Supper and to drink this
[23:03] blood, this wine, in a worthy manner? Well, we approach the table in a way where we're not dependent on ourselves. We are dependent upon Christ. We're not depending on our own merit. We're depending on the merit of Jesus Christ.
[23:19] And so as we understand that, look at what Paul says in verse 28, when you come to the table, how do you do this? And by the way, church, we're going to share in the Lord's Supper on October 5th. Now in the 830 service, I accidentally said October 3rd. So there's going to be a lot of people showing up on Friday night. We're not going to be here. So help me correct that. But October 5th, Sunday, October 5th. And so this gives us time to prepare, but listen to the word of God. Verse 28, let a person examine himself. That's the instruction of God. Then, and so eat of the bread and drink the cup. How do we examine ourselves?
[24:03] Well, when we're aware we're out of the will of God, when we're aware we're missing the mark, when we're aware that, okay, I've sinned and word, thought, and deed, I repent of those things. I don't hold back. I come to the table with a humble heart, repenting of my sin, looking to Jesus by faith. And as we approach the table, we examine ourselves. This is what the scriptures teach us to do. That's the vertical aspect. But communion is not just about the vertical. Communion is also about our relationships with one another. It's also horizontal. Now look with me, verse 29. Son, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. Now, here's a question for you. If God has raised up the Apostle Paul to instruct the church, and if that's true, and if he's saying there's a conditional clause there that we're going to have judgment on ourselves if we don't do a certain thing, I would submit we need to pay attention. And we need to ask the question, what does this mean?
[25:12] What does it mean to discern the body? Let's look at Scripture, verse 16. Notice what he says. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not participation in the body of Christ? Well, let's look at verse 17. Is it okay if we look at the Bible together?
[25:34] That's legal here, right? Here we go. Verse 17, because there is one bread, we who are many are one, say it out loud, body. We're one body, for we all partake of one bread. So here's the deal. What is the body? The body's us, the body of Christ, okay? The body represents our relationships with one another. And so when you come to the Lord's table, you not only prepare your heart vertically, you prepare your heart horizontally. And so you may even notice a few verses later in chapter 12, verse 12, which we'll teach here soon, Paul reaffirms this reality for just as the body is one, has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. Again, he's elevating the reality that the church is the body of Christ. And so when you examine yourself before you come to the Lord's table, you examine yourself vertically and you examine yourself horizontally. Some of you in this room, you've been Methodist Christians for many years. And you know that in the communion service for many years, we had a moment where we would stop and we would pass the peace. Do you remember that? And as you're preparing to come to the Lord's table, do you know it's based on this scripture?
[26:50] That because coming to the Lord's table is not only about getting right with God and just allowing God to renew your own heart and mind, but also being right with one another, vertical and horizontal.
[27:06] Now, I said a moment ago, this gets heavy. It's about to get heavier. Look with me at verse 30. Paul says, this is why many of you, in other words, when you come to the Lord's table and you're not getting right with God and people around you. This is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. Think about that. Do you realize on the horizontal level, unforgiveness is the only sin that eats its own container. I remember I said in the 830 service with the real Christians this morning that, that I'm actually, it's hard for me to believe. I'm in my fourth year here.
[27:59] That's hard for me to believe. Thank you.
[28:06] Thank you. Missy and I are very thankful. I want you to know that.
[28:14] But the reason I go there is because I know I'm about to say something I said to you about two years ago. You may read a text like this and you may go, wow, that's wacky. But here's my question. Is it? Studies show that when you experience unforgiveness or bitterness towards someone or violate your conscience, your pituitary gland secretes a hormone that actually brings on a level of the blues. It's a part of how God has wired you, not only with conviction of the Holy Spirit, but just for you to be aware something's wrong. Something's not right. And when your pituitary gland begins to secrete that hormone and it brings on a sense of the blues, that what's happening also in conjunction with that is that it weakens your immune system. You get down. And a weakened immune system is more susceptible to picking up this and that. And so when Paul says, this is why many of you are weak and ill, there's even a scientific correlation here. But what we know at a deeper level, church family, that sin always has a negative effect on a person's life. Always. Listen, when you became a Christian, did you not notice that a battle started?
[29:43] Can I get a witness on that? I know before I became a Christian, I was kind of indifferent to sin. I was just like, eh, whatever. But when I was born again, when I was birthed into the kingdom, suddenly I began going, I don't want to do that. But there's a battle going on in here. And the point is that as a follower of Jesus, Jesus is working through many means of grace, holy communion, prayer, study of the scripture, fellowship with other believers, to strengthen you to be victorious in sin. This is when you became a Christian, that battle began. But when sin stays in your life, it blinds you. When sin stays in your life, it suppresses the truth. That's what Romans 1 teaches us. It actually dampens down what's true. You ever notice, I think G.K. Chesterton said this. He said, truth can always recognize error, but error cannot always recognize truth. And Romans 1 is one of those places when Paul's talking about sin suppressing truth illustrates that. Sin weakens your will.
[30:58] That's why David, when he was repenting of his sin of murder and adultery, that he's saying, God, renew in me a willing spirit. See, sin had affected his willingness to be God-honoring in his life. And so we are aware that sin oppresses. I've said many times that sin tutors you. It'll tutor you in fear and shame. We're aware that sin brings about spiritual death. The word says the wages of sin is death. And so it deadens the joy that you had in your relationship with God. This is why John Owen once said one of the great duties of a Christian is to be killing your sin or your sin will be killing you.
[31:45] Why do we go here? We go here because this is why the Lord's Supper as a means of grace has been provided for you, so that you can experience not only God's forgiveness, but his renewing presence. And Paul here is sharing that an unexamined life coming to the Lord's table, that many will become weak and ill, some have died. And let us affirm this is not a minor issue, that we're aware that this is living an unexamined life or mistreating fellow Christians or not forgiving fellow Christians has consequences, not only in this life, but in the text, even for the next. Now, you could be asking a logical question as we're looking here. Maybe I hope some of you are. Does this mean that all sin results in these characterizations that the Apostle Paul has outlined here in this context? No. And the reason we need to clean that up is because when Jesus and the disciples were journeying together, you may remember the disciples saying, Jesus, was this man born blind because of his sin or the sin of his parents? And Jesus said, no, absolutely not. And he went on to say that God would glorify.
[33:06] Glorify his life in and through that man. Perhaps he was speaking of the resurrection one day, but he declared that all suffering is not related to sin. But there's a context.
[33:18] All of our suffering is not related from specific sin that we may have committed, but there's a context to what the apostle Paul is saying, and let us note that as a church family. So what does God tell us to do through his servant Paul? He teaches us, as we talked about last week, a culture that welcomes the presence of God. He teaches us to be repentant as we come before him. Look at verses 31 and 32. He says, but if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. In other words, if we examine ourselves in light of scripture.
[33:51] Then we don't stand before God in judgment. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined. Remember that the word teaches God chastens those whom he loves. And when God's disciplining you, it's so that you may not be condemned with the world. That's the word of God for the people of God, and thanks be to God for that truth. So as we prepare for the Lord's Supper, and we've got several weeks to prepare, we want to be repenting of our sins, the vertical, but we also want to be repenting of anything that it has damaged our relationships
[34:25] with one another horizontally and make things right with one another. So Paul says in verse 33, so my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. That principle is honoring one another. We don't share in the love feast when we take Holy Communion, but the principle is true. We honor one another. We honor God vertically. we honor one another horizontally.
[34:51] No less than five times the Apostle Paul uses a phrase in this passage, when you come together, when you come together, when you come together, when you come together, when you come together. And church.
[35:10] We come together, not in the name of something that's temporary on earth. We come together in the name of the one who's eternal. We don't come together based upon our preferences. We come together on the basis of the purposes of the one true sovereign God of the universe.
[35:30] We don't come together because we're members of a club. Nothing wrong with the club, as long as it's not doing anything immoral. We come together because Jesus Christ has bled and died and shed his blood and his body has been pierced for our sin, so that in our coming together, we share in deep fellowship with one another because we honor one that is above all temporary things.
[35:57] We don't come together in the name of our political perspectives. We come together because we're a part of an eternal kingdom.
[36:05] We don't come together based on what neighborhood we live in, how much money we make, what club we are or not a part of. We don't come together on the basis of any of those things. We come together because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We don't come together based upon the color of our skin. We come together and we're made one because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And for that reason, we come together. And in coming together, we make much of him. We don't come together because we're all young or we're all old. We come together because Jesus Christ is Lord and he is supreme and we make much of him. We come together because we are a people of eternal value to the one true sovereign God of the universe. Let us live into these realities that we've encountered today out of the word of God. In Jesus' name, amen.
[37:03] Let's pray for a moment. Let's just pray. Jesus.
[37:10] So, Jesus, I'm aware that through the teaching of your word, that there's a way that you grow us when we encounter you in your word. And so I pray for my own life. I attend church here as well. And I pray these patterns would be indelibly, indelibly marked in my own heart, mind, and understanding. I pray this for the body, God, for these people that you love deeply. Put these indelible marks and these indelible patterns into the mind and heart as we prepare to share in Holy Communion on the 5th of October for your glory. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
[37:54] So in decades of ministry, on two occasions, I've had the honor of being the pastor to two military generals, and I loved having lunch with them. I learned I would just pick their brains. And one of the things that we always enjoyed talking about was strategy, military strategy, and strategy, and companies, and businesses, and churches. And I would just sit and just take notes and listen and enjoy the fellowship. There's a term in military strategy called asymmetric warfare. Now, please, I'm not going to get off in weirdness, okay? Because I realize that's not a term you're using every day. But for military, for generals, for the War Department or Department of Defense to have plans and contingencies, they have strategies and they're asymmetric. And what that means is there's a strategy for under the sea, on the sea, on land and in the air. Now, I'm going somewhere, okay?
[39:03] I think it would be malpractice for us as a church to declare that our mission is to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ among all peoples and not have any strategy. Amen? Would that be responsible? And the answer is rhetorical. No. And so, you know, we've established goals and we're developing and have developed strategies and many of the additional strategies are underway. They're tactical as well as strategic. I'm not going to unpack all that today, but one of the tactical steps for us as a church family is September 28th.
[39:43] Sunday schools from 9 o'clock to 10.15, worships from 10.30 to 11.30 in the sanctuary, and then we'll move out under the tents and share in a big feast. And a part of that, you'll have opportunity to move toward fulfilling one or two of our goals as a church family, and that is to see 100% of the church family fulfilling mission by connecting with one or more of our ministry partners in our city and beyond. And then also there'll be an opportunity to connect with a ministry team if you meet the criteria. What is meant by that, we are developing and we have a goal around this, 20% of our congregation involved in a ministry team. And what a ministry team does is it has specific initiatives. And I'm gonna use one example, education. That's one of our teams. What we're doing in forming ministry teams is persons who are involved in initiatives of leading, raising the bar of education, which is a justice issue in our city. We want them to mobilize where they're talking to one another.
[40:58] Memphis Teacher Residency, Capstone Group, Arise to Read, and more. This is just one example, so that there's enhanced collaboration, but also that ministry team can help equip the body of Christ that wants to make a difference in education in our city. This is just one example. But I want you to have that understanding that we're not simply going to say,
[41:22] hey, we've got a mission, and then just assume it's going to happen by default. There's much more I look forward to sharing. That's a bite-sized portion. And glory to God, you're out by 1209. It didn't take hours and God is good. Would you receive the benediction this morning? Now may the love of God, that's not a figment of your imagination, but it's real, palpable, life transforming, fill your heart.
[41:49] Change your life in and through what Jesus Christ has done out of love for you, through his death, burial, and resurrection. May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be rich and vibrant, life-giving upon and in and through you as an individual, in your family, and into this city and beyond. In Jesus' name, and all God's people said together, amen. God bless you.