Sermons About Communion
The Essential Practice- Part B
Continuing this mornings message on thte "one needful thing" in our busy lives.
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Dreams - Community - 11.9.2008
This was the fourth of four messages concerning the dreams that make up the focus on Tapestry. This week's message was from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. Tapestry dreams of being a group that loves greatly. We believe that salvation brings people together.
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The Lords Table
When we come to the Lords Table, we are embarking on an extremely serious endeavor. Too many people today flippantly come to the table not discerning the body and blood of Christ. In this message we learn that to come to the table is a very spiritual matter, only for those who believe in the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Those who come to the table with the right heart, are strengthened, but those who come in an unworthy manner, are weakened, some even unto death.
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Intimate
Could someone describe us as a person who is intimate with God? Are we known as someone who listens well to God? Just like any relationship, good communication is essential for intimacy to grow. In fact, Jesus shows us that intimacy is how we know if someone loves Him.
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Learning to Be the Revolution
It's time for us to "go down the mountain". There are real people who need our healing touch...if we will but have faith. We are called, compelled, to go out ant tell people, "God is especially fond of you!"
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The Purpose of God's Remnant - Love, Mercy, and Justice Part 5
When I was in college, I didn't have a standard meal plan where you could just go to the college cafeteria and eat. I just couldn't afford one, so I made it through 4 years in the dorm room by cooking all my meals in a toaster oven and a microwave. There was a particular semester, when classes were over, that I was flat out of money. I had $.27 in my bank account and the cupboard or the dorm fridge, if you will, was bare. Since I was an RA in the dorm, I had to stay a couple of days after the semester ended to wrap things up. I was extremely curious as to how I was going to eat. Well as one my residents was leaving, he wished me an enjoyable break and said he would see me next semester. A few minutes late he walked back and said, "Hey I've got 4-5 meals left on this meal card, do you want it?" A similar story happened when Amy and I were engaged. We had absolutely no money for a honeymoon just weeks before the wedding, and we did not know what we were going to do. I got a phone call one night as we were making last minute wedding plans. It was from an insurance adjuster. You see, I had been a passenger in a head on collision about 6 months prior, and the insurance adjuster wanted to know how I was feeling. After a brief conversation, he wanted to know if $700 was adequate for the suffering I had incurred in the wreck. I thought to myself, "$700 is adequate for a honeymoom at the beach." I imagine we all have had those situations where you had a bill and you just did not know how you were going to pay for it. And then, either a friend, or a spouse, or your mom and dad just happened to be setting some money aside in case something like this happened. A good friend of mine calls that J.I.T. – Just in time. Once again this week, I asked for the congregation's help, and they gave me some examples of similar experiences. We came up with some great stories. Let me give you a few examples. · We had one couple who told me about when they first got engaged. One partner brought in some bills and debt to the relationship. It just so happened that her fiancé happened to have the exact amount tucked away for a rainy day and was able to pay the bills. · Another one of our folks talked about being stuck with a huge car payment and all of a sudden getting a new job that exactly covered the payment. Well, the reason I tell these stories is because the idea of sticking aside a little money for a rainy day or saving some money just in case you have an emergency in similar to the idea in scripture called "a remnant" – a remnant is something that is saved for a later time with a specific purpose. We see two explanations of who or what a remnant is in scripture. · Romans 11:5 speaks of God saving a remnant of Jewish people. Through out the biblical days and in the present, the majority Jewish people do not believe in Jesus Christ, but God has promised to specifically choose a remnant of Jewish to believe by His grace and not their by their own doing. But that is not the only description of a remnant in scripture. · Acts 15:17 also describes any that would believe in Jesus from the Gentiles as a remnant. Essentially, if you believe in Jesus you are a remnant chosen out of the world to believe in Christ. This is very important to remember as we look at these next few verses in Micah because the application of the promises found there meant something specifically to the people that first heard it and also something very specific to us. So let’s look at those promises and seek to understand how they apply to them and to us.
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