TRASH TRUCK

I read a devotional by D.J. Pollay that really sums Jesus' message up for us and shows us how to live it out in our lives today.

Pollay wrote about the day he was in a taxi and they got cut off by another driver -- he just missed them by inches and Pollay's cabdriver had to slam on brakes to keep from hitting them -- and then, to make things worse, the guy who cut them off started yelling at them like they were the ones at fault

The taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy like they were best friends -- so Pollay asked him, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ -- that's when the taxi driver taught him the ‘The Law of the Trash Truck.’

He said a lot of people are like trash trucks -- they run around full of garbage -- full of frustration -- full of anger -- and full of disappointment -- As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it -- and sometimes they dump it on you

Don’t take it personally, he said -- Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on -- don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let trash trucks take over their day

When this happens to you -- and it will -- just say to yourself, "Trash truck!" -- and let it go -- "Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets"

SERMON: BUT, WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

29 March 2015 [Modified from 20010415]

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 16:13-15

Matthew 16:13-15 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

            -- I heard a story one time -- and I was told it was true -- about this little boy who was in a family member's wedding -- as the wedding procession made its way down the aisle, the little boy would take two steps, stop and turn to face the crowd -- while facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar -- then he'd take two more steps, face the other side, and do the same thing

            -- so he did this the whole way to altar -- two steps -- stop -- and roar -- by the time he got to the altar with the rest of the wedding party, the entire church was rolling in laughter and the little boy got upset and started crying -- his mother came and got him and took him back to her seat -- she said, "What were you doing?" -- he said, "I was being the ring bear"

            -- it's a funny story -- but if you think about it, the behavior of the little boy as he made his down the aisle was kind of like a game of charades -- it was almost like the little boy was asking the crowd the question, "Who am I?" -- and because no one could figure it out, his parents had to ask him

            -- "Who am I?" -- this is the most important question that has ever been asked -- over two thousand years ago, Jesus asked this question to His disciples -- and He continues to ask it of us today

            -- it is a question that everyone must answer -- and it is the most important question ever asked because our answer to this question has real and eternal implications -- so this morning, as we gather together to remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, I wanted us to take a moment to think about that question and what it means to us

II.  Who Am I? -- turn in Bible to Matthew 16:13-15

            -- look back at verse 13-14

Matthew 16:13-14 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Matthew 16:13-15 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

            -- as this passage opens, we see Jesus and His disciples traveling and ministering through the regions of Galilee and Judea -- Jesus had been attracting a lot of people who came to hear Him preach and see Him do miracles -- He had just miraculously fed the crowds for the second time, feeding over 4000 people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish -- so Jesus asked the question of His disciples, "Why? -- Why are these people following Me? -- Who do they say I am?"

            -- His disciples told Him that some said He was John the Baptist -- others said He was Elijah -- some that He was Jeremiah or another prophet

            -- do you know what this tells me? -- the people in Jesus' day answered the question of who Jesus was based on how they saw Him

            -- Some of them answered the question based on their personal observations -- their experiences with Him -- some saw Him change the water to wine, and called Him magician -- others watched as He healed the sick, and called Him physician -- some remembered Him working in His father's shop, and called Him carpenter -- others heard His teaching, and called Him Rabbi -- while the very few called Him Master

            -- other people refused to look to Jesus for their answer, and chose to answer the question simply through their own biases and preconceived notions -- Jesus' brothers saw Him as a lunatic -- the priests saw Him as a threat -- the Pharisees called Him unrighteous, because He didn't follow their religious rules -- the Sadducees saw Him as a heretic, because of His teachings on the resurrection

            -- this question that Jesus asked, "Who do people say I am?" continues to be answered today -- if you turn on the TV or the internet this week, you'll see many shows and articles telling us who they believe Jesus really is

            -- but the question, "Who do people say I am?" really isn't the important question  -- the important question is in the next verse

            -- verse 15

Matthew 16:15 (NIV)

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

            -- "BUT what about you?  Who do you say I am?"

            -- It really doesn't matter what others say or what others think about Jesus -- it doesn't matter what some TV show or article you read this week tells you about Jesus -- it doesn't even matter what some church or preacher tells you about Him

            -- what matters is your answer to this question

            -- "But, what about you?  Who do you say I am?" -- You know what the others say, but what about you? Who am I to you?"

            -- this is a question that everyone of us here is going to have to answer at some point in our lives -- if not on earth, then in eternity -- and our answer will have eternal implications

            -- real quick, I want us to look at two men who were forced to answer that question during Holy Week -- and as we look at their stories, think about how you would have answered if you had been in their place

            -- We will need to look at three passages in order to get the whole picture of what is going on in the life of these two men and how they answered Jesus' question, "Who am I?"

III.  Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet -- John 13:1-10

            -- turn over to John Chapter 13, and while you're doing that, let me give you the context of this passage

            -- This passage tells us about the events that occurred on Thursday night of Holy Week -- the night before the Passover -- this is the day we call Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday -- the term "Maundy" comes from the Latin "Dies Mandati" -- the day of the Commandment -- which refers to Jesus' command for His disciples to love one another

            -- this was the night when Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples in the upper room and then was betrayed into the hands of the chief priests in the Garden of Gethsemane

-- look at verse 1-5

John 13:1-10 (NIV)

1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

-- As we look at this passage in detail, don't forget the question that will be asked and that must be answered this night in the upper room -- "But, who do you say I am?"

-- the first thing we see is that Jesus knew the answer to that question -- He knew who He was -- in verse 1 we read, "Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father" and over in verse 3, it says, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God."

-- Jesus knew who He was, but what about the disciples? -- they had been with Him for three years -- they had seen all the miracles -- they had seen Him heal the sick -- cast demons out of the possessed -- and walk on water across the Sea of Galilee -- they had heard His teaching -- they had seen the power -- but had they come to know who Jesus really was?

-- that night in the upper room, Jesus is serving as the host of the supper, an important position.  But as the meal progresses, He gets up, takes off His outer clothes, wraps a towel around His waist and begins to wash the disciples feet

-- You need to understand the significance of this and what it meant in Jesus' day for someone to wash another's feet

-- In that time, open sandals were the most common footwear, and it was customary for guests to leave their sandals at the door when they entered a house, because their sandals and feet would have been extremely dirty with dust from the road -- it was considered impolite to come into another's house with dirty feet

-- therefore, it was customary for guests to have their feet washed by the lowest servant or slave in the house -- any servant who was assigned the dirty job of washing a guest's feet was automatically considered the one who doesn't count, the unimportant, expendable slave.

-- the disciples had entered the upper room with the idea that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one -- they thought that they had come to Jerusalem to establish His kingdom -- in fact, they had been quarreling among themselves over who would be the greatest in His kingdom

-- but now their Messiah, their king, has gotten up, taken on the role, not even of a servant but of the lowest servant, and was washing their feet.  What was going on?  What was Jesus doing?

-- Think about Simon Peter -- He's sitting there, watching, as Jesus works His way around the room, getting ever closer.  Finally, Jesus makes it over to Him.  Peter looks down at His Messiah, acting not like a king but a servant, and reaching for his feet to wash them

-- That is why Peter responds as he does in verse 6

John 13:6 (NIV)

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

-- It's not possible for us to relate the emotions involved in this verse in English like in the original Greek.  But the closest we can come would be for Peter to say, "You?  You, Lord?  You are going to wash my feet?"

-- Peter can't believe what is going on.  How can Jesus be acting this way? -- Then Jesus responds

-- verse 7 

John 13:7 (NIV)

7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

-- What is going on here?  What is the real issue?  Jesus knows His time is short.  He knows He is about to be poured out as a sin offering for all, so by becoming the lowest, by becoming the servant and washing the disciple's feet, He is forcing them to hear and answer the question that still rings today, "BUT, who do you say I am?"

-- verse 8a

John 13:8a (NIV)

⁸ "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."

-- Peter affirms what he has said before.  "NO, you are God.  You are the Messiah.  You will never wash my feet.  You cannot stoop so low."

-- Peter has made his decision.  He has answered the question already -- when Jesus first asked that question of His disciples, it was Peter who answered, "You are the Christ -- the Son of the living God"

-- many people say that to Jesus today -- but do they mean it? -- do they believe it? -- do they live it?

-- look back at the second part of verse 8b-10

John 13:8b-10 (NIV)

8b. Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

-- Do you see?  When Jesus grabbed the basin and towel, He forced the question to be asked and answered -- it was the answer from Peter that made him clean -- it wasn't the water 

-- The answer from Peter that Jesus was Lord -- that Jesus was the Christ -- cleansed him from head to foot as if he had taken a bath.  The question was asked and answered, and Peter's answer resulted in salvation.

-- Now let's look at another example where water was involved in the decision.

IV.  Pilate Washes His Hands 

            -- Turn over to John Chapter 18:28-40

            -- while you're doing that, let me give you the context once again -- this passage takes place on the next day -- early Friday morning.

            -- Jesus has been arrested by the temple guards and the disciples have fled, including Peter, who denied knowing Jesus three times that night -- all night Jesus was questioned by Caiaphas and Annas and the other temple priests

            -- now it is early morning and the Jews are taking Jesus to Pontius Pilate for judgment and punishment

            -- look at verse 28-32

John 18:28-32 (NIV)

28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"

30 "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

31 Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected.

32 This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

            -- All night the Jews had questioned Jesus -- they had asked Him repeatedly, "Who are you?" and waited for Him to answer. 

            -- and with every response from Jesus, they had been forced to answer the question "But, who do you say I am?" in their own hearts.

            -- And answer it they did.  They said He was a blasphemer -- a sinner who should be executed -- so they hauled him off to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to be tried before the Roman court

            -- the question followed Jesus to Pilate's front door -- "But who do you say I am?"

            -- Pilate tried to avoid the question -- in verse 31 he tried to hand him back over to the Jews, but they persisted, so Pilate ordered Jesus to appear before him

            -- you can't avoid the question -- everyone has to answer it for themselves

            -- verse 33. 

John 18:33 (NIV)

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

            -- Pilate asks the same question that the Jews had been asking Jesus all night.  The same question that the disciples had asked each day they were with Him.  The same question that the people asked when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday.  "Are you the king of the Jews?" -- a reasonable question in light of the charges against Him

            -- but see how Jesus answered. 

            -- verse 34

John 18:34 (NIV)

34 "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

            -- Here we see the question again from Jesus' own lips -- "You have heard what the others say, but, who do you say I am?"

            -- Think about the answer from Jesus for a minute -- how he answered Pilate's question with another, more important question.  Pilate knew about Jesus.  He had to have known about Him. 

-- Here was a man who was worshipped by the multitude just 5 days before when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Here was a man who attracted so many people that he caused a disturbance when he entered the city and when he walked around. 

-- Here was the man who had caused a disturbance in the temple by overturning the money changer's table and turning loose the sacrificial animals

-- Here was a man who attracted more attention in Jerusalem than Pilate himself.

            -- The Romans ruled Jerusalem.  They kept peace there.  Surely, if someone was causing a problem or creating a disturbance, the Romans would know about it and would keep tabs on them.  The Romans were worried about rebellion and insurrection, and they would have kept an eye out for anyone who might cause a problem.  In fact, they had arrested Barabbas for that very reason -- because he was popular with the people and was inciting them to rebellion.  Surely, they would have paid attention to one like Jesus who attracted crowds where ever He went.

            -- Pilate may not have ever seen Jesus, but he knew about him.  In fact, we see in Matthew's gospel that Pilate's own wife went to him and told him not to have anything to do with Jesus.  Pilate's whole household had heard of this man who the people claimed was the king of the Jews, the son of God.

            -- That is why Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews.  When he saw the Jews coming with Jesus in their possession, he knew that this was why Jesus was arrested. 

-- And so he asks Jesus if he was the king of the Jews.  And Jesus responds by asking Pilate back, "Is this your own idea or was it what you heard from others?"

            -- Once again Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter.  Pilate had heard the testimony of the witnesses.   He himself had either observed Jesus directly or had others do so and report to him.  He knew what others thought.  He knew who Jesus claimed to be. 

            -- So Jesus turns the question back on Pilate and says, "You've heard what others say.  You've heard what I say.  Now, what do you say?  Who do you say I am?"

            -- verse 35

John 18:35 (NIV)

35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" John 18:35 (NIV)

Once again we see Pilate trying to get out of answering Jesus.  "I'm not a Jew," he says.  "I don't have to answer your question."  Pilate does everything he can to avoid answering Jesus directly.

            -- verse 36-38a

John 18:36-38a (NIV)

36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked.

            -- Now we can see the true conflict in Pilate.  He wants to believe.  The answer is written on his heart.  It is written on all our hearts. 

            -- Even before we heard about Jesus, we knew the truth about God.  That is why God says in Romans 1 -- "what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

            -- We have no excuse.  We know the truth.  Pilate knows the truth in his heart, but his head won't let him answer the question that Jesus asks. 

             -- So he deflects it by responding, "What is truth?"  -- This is a man who wants to do the right thing, but doesn't want to commit --  However, non-commitment is not an option.

            -- verse 38b-40

John 18:38b-40 (NIV)

38b. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"

40 They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.  

            -- Pilate tries once more to pass the buck -- to get out of answering the question.  He offers Jesus back to the Jews, but they refuse.  They have made their decision.  They have answered the question.

            -- Please turn over now to Matthew Chapter 27 and let's finish Pilate's story up there.

            -- Matthew 27, verse 24. 

Matthew 27:24 (NIV)

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

            -- The Jews tried to force Pilate to make a decision, to answer the question that Jesus had asked, "But, who do you say I am?" 

            -- Pilate tried to release Jesus time and time again, but the Jews disagreed.  So, finally in desperation, Pilate takes a basin of water and washes his hands and says, "I am innocent of this man's blood." 

            -- Pilate thinks that by doing this act, by washing his hands, that he can relieve himself of responsibility, that he can avoid having to answer the question.  Pilate thinks that he can just be neutral and take neither side.  But, he can't, anymore than we can.

            -- Jesus said that those who are not for him are against him -- Either you are for Jesus or you are against Jesus.  You cannot be neutral on an issue like this.  You cannot be apathetic on an issue like this. 

            -- Either you choose to be for Jesus or you choose to be against Him.  Either you name Him as your Lord and Savior, as the Son of God, or you deny His deity.  There is no other choice.

            -- And so Pilate ultimately answered the question when he did not name Jesus as the Christ, but instead tried to wash his hands of the issue.

V.  Closing

            -- This morning, we  have looked at the stories of two men -- each who were faced with a question that neither wanted to answer. 

            -- Both stories had a common theme -- Both men faced a similar dilemma -- Both men were asked by Jesus -- a carpenter from Nazareth -- a teacher -- a healer -- a miracle worker -- the same question, "Who do YOU say I am?" 

            -- And in both cases, water was there -- in both cases, water represented the path that each man chose to take -- water that represented the answer that each man made.

            -- The Bible tells us that there is a river that runs from the throne of grace -- it is this river -- it was this water -- that intercepted the lives of Peter and Pilate that week so many years ago. 

            -- On this river there is a fork -- representing different paths to take -- representing the two answers to the question that Jesus asked, "Who do you say I am?"

            -- Peter took the right fork, and continued down the river of cleansing provided by the Holy Spirit, washed clean and born anew when he accepted Jesus as the Christ, as His Lord and Savior.  Peter took the fork that led to God.

            -- Pilate took the wrong fork, he tried to wash his hands of Christ, and ended up traveling down the river of despair, drifting further and further away from God.

            -- Like Peter and Pilate, we are all traveling on this river.  The current is sweeping us along and we are coming to a fork and we must make a decision.  We must make a choice.  We must pick a side.  We must answer the question from Jesus, "Who do you say I am?"

            -- A choice is demanded -- we have to pick our direction

            -- We can do what we want with Jesus.  We can study His life.  We can study His theology.  We can reflect on the prophecies about Him.  We can hear what others say about Him.  

            -- But the one thing we can't do is to walk away in neutrality.  The one thing we can't do is to refuse to make a decision.  No fence-sitting is permitted.  That is one luxury that God doesn't permit.

            -- Either we allow Jesus to wash our feet and make our body and souls and spirits clean -- or we wash our hands of Him --  Either we side with Peter or we side with Pilate -- Either we believe Jesus is the Son of God or we don't.

            -- Jesus is here right now and he's asking you a question..."Who do you say I am?"  How will you answer?

            -- Let us pray.

THE APOSTLE OF THE LEPERS

"...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ."

Every year on April 15th, the people of Hawaii celebrate "Father Damien Day," in recognition of the Catholic priest Father Damien (Jozef de Veuster).  Father Damien served as the spiritual leader to the leper colony in Molokai, Hawaii, from 1873 until his death in 1889 from leprosy he contracted during his ministry.

The leper colonies in Molokai were created by the King of Hawaii in response to the growing number of people contracting the contagious disease, originally brought to the island by foreign traders and sailors.  Since leprosy was considered incurable and fear of contagion persisted throughout the islands, the Hawaiian legislature passed the "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy," and dictated the forced relocation of lepers to two colonies on the island of Molokai.  Originally, the Government planned to support the lepers through direct food aid and anticipated the colonists would plant gardens to supplement the Government assistance, but the progression of the disease and the lack of governmental resources made this impossible.  The result was a colony characterized by squalor and decrepit conditions, with immorality and licentiousness being the norm.  And, because of fear of the disease, no one would dare come to assist those who needed their help.  That is, until Father Damien arrived.

Having been called into the ministry at an early age, Father Damien dreamed of being a missionary in foreign lands, of reaching out to the poor and needy as an imitation of Christ.  Coming to the Hawaiian Islands, his dream was fulfilled when the Bishop asked for volunteers to minister to the lepers in the two Molokai colonies.  Many refused the call to minister to the lepers because of fear of the disease, but Damien went, and ministered to the lepers both spiritually and physically.  After building a church for worship services, he led the colonists to build and paint houses and to organize themselves into a functional and moral society built upon the foundation of Christianity. 

But Damien did much more than just minister to the colonists with words and deeds.  He ministered with touch.  You see, the lepers in these colonies experienced the same isolation and lack of physical touch that the lepers in biblical times experienced.  In Jesus' day, lepers were isolated outside of villages, and were required to ring a bell and call out in a loud voice, "Unclean, unclean," when others approached.  No one would dare touch a leper for fear of catching the deadly disease.  Human touch, outside of that of other lepers, was nonexistent, and the lepers lived a lonely, isolated life.

That is why the ministry of Jesus to the lepers of His day was so amazing.  Not only did Jesus stop to speak to the lepers and treat them like normal human beings, He also did the unthinkable.  He touched them.  Before He spoke healing into their lives.  Before they were made clean and whole, He touched them.  He let them know they were accepted.  He let them know they were loved.  And then He brought His healing into their lives.

He did the same to us, who, while not leprous, were still unclean in the eyes of God.  As Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  Our unrighteousness made us as untouchable to God as the lepers were to the general society of their day.  But the Bible tells us that Christ loved us while we were yet sinners.  And Jesus shocked the Pharisees and the religious leaders of His day by not only touching sinners and lepers and others deemed "unclean," but socializing with them and eating with them and loving them.  Jesus touched us while we were still sinners, while we were still unclean, and He loved us in spite of it.

Jesus became one of us, leaving His glorious kingdom and His rights as the Creator God and King of Kings, to become one with us, to love us and touch us and heal us, to reconcile us with the Father.  He touched us with His life and gave His body and blood to heal us and to make us whole again.

Father Damien, the Apostle to the Lepers, contracted leprosy because he followed the pattern that Jesus taught.  He reached out and loved and touched the lepers in the colony.  He became a leper so he could minister to them the love of Christ.  He took upon himself their disease and their illness and became one with them so that they might know the saving grace and healing power of Jesus Christ.  So let us celebrate today the memory of this remarkable man of faith, who lived out the message of the gospel and of the grace of Jesus Christ, giving his life for others in exchange for a place in the Kingdom of God.

SERMON: LOVING ENEMIES

22 March 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 6:27-36

Luke 6:27-36 (NIV)

27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.

30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.

33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.

34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.

35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

            -- this week we celebrated St. Patrick's Day -- and, for most of us, this day has become nothing more than a day we go about wearing green and celebrating our Irish heritage -- if you were a stranger in this country and were to go to the city of Savannah on St. Patrick's Day and see the Savannah River dyed green and the crowds of people drinking and partying on River Street, you would have no idea this day was actually set aside to honor a great Christian man and the work he did for Christ in Ireland

            -- it is a shame that we give such little consideration to St. Patrick on the very day that bears his name -- and it's a shame that the church has forgotten just what a great man of Christ he was

            -- St. Patrick has become a man of legend, shrouded in myth -- we remember him as the patron saint of Ireland who drove the snakes out of the country and used the three-leaf clover to spread the gospel -- but when you cut through the mists of myth and know the true story of Patrick, you will see why he is so revered by the people of God and of Ireland today -- and why we should remember his example of Christian charity as we seek to live out our lives for Christ today

            -- Patrick was born in Britain in the fourth century -- he was the son of a local community leader and the grandson of a priest -- this was a time of chaos and decline in Britain as the Roman Empire was beginning to crumble -- the Roman forces had withdrawn from Britain back to Italy to protect the seat of their power -- which left Britain without military support  and vulnerable to attacks from the Picts and the Irish and the other tribes in that area that had previously warred with the native Britons

            -- in the power void left by the Romans, these other tribes began raiding the countryside of Britain -- attacking and pillaging towns and villages and taking young men and women captive for slaves -- it was in such an attack that Patrick was captured and carried to Ireland as a slave when he was just 16 years old

            -- for six years, Patrick served as a shepherd in Ireland -- living as a slave in a pagan land ruled by local chieftains who constantly warred with each other -- it was here Patrick was first introduced to the religion of the Druids, and realized how the Druids kept the nation dominated by requiring strict adherence to their religious practices -- still, Patrick maintained his faith in Christ and spent his time in the countryside praying and reciting scripture 

            -- Patrick wrote in his Confessions that after he had been in Ireland for six years, he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home -- a few months later, the voice spoke again, saying that his ship was ready -- and Patrick fled from his slave master, made his way to the coast, where he caught a ship back to Britain and to freedom

            -- while in Britain, Patrick's faith continued to grow and he began to serve in the church, as his father and grandfather had done -- one day, Patrick had a vision of a group of Irish men crying out to him, "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us again"

            -- Patrick realized that God was calling him to leave his homeland and to return to Ireland -- to minister to his enemies -- to the people who had taken him captive and destroyed his home -- to live the rest of his life in the land where he once had been a slave

            -- Patrick had a choice to make -- he could stay in Britain and serve God in the church there -- ministering to his own people in his own land -- or he could follow the message of the vision and carry the gospel to the pagans of Ireland -- opposing the established Druid religion and sharing the love of Christ with those who had previously enslaved him and brutally attacked his homeland

            -- to go to Ireland meant certain death -- to go to Ireland meant that he would face persecution and trials and troubles, not only from the chieftains and the Irish people, but especially from the Druids who had enslaved the island with their superstitious religion -- still, Christ bid him to go and tell the Irish about the good news of the cross -- and Patrick went -- facing his fears and the trials ahead -- and carried the light of Christ to a people living in darkness

            -- Patrick's ministry in Ireland was extremely fruitful -- in his Confessions, he says that he baptized thousands of people -- he ordained priests to lead the new Christian communities -- and he founded hundreds of churches throughout Ireland -- almost single-handedly, Patrick led Ireland from pagan superstition to belief in Christianity -- and it is because of this that we celebrate his name every year on March 17th

II.  Loving Your Enemies

            -- but how was he able to do so much? -- why was Patrick's ministry so successful? -- I don't think it was because Patrick was a gifted orator or an anointed preacher -- I don't think it's because he had a special blessing from God -- I think he was so successful because of one thing -- Patrick was a man who truly found a way to love his enemies and care for them with his whole heart and that made all the difference

            -- this morning we're going to look at this passage from the Gospel of Luke where Jesus commands us to love our enemies -- now when I read that, I find it easy to say that it really doesn't apply to me -- I don't have any real enemies in my life -- I can't say that there are people in my life who are actively working against me or trying to destroy my life like the people Patrick faced

            -- but as we look closer at this message from Christ and consider the principles He is giving us in this passage, I do think we need to acknowledge there are many people in our lives, who may not be enemies, but who are just hard to get along with

            -- they may be family -- they may be friends -- they may be people we don't even know -- but, truth be told, they really get our goat -- they try our patience -- they make us angry

            -- it's like what a friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday -- someone I consider a true man of faith -- he wrote: "there are some people in this world who seem to have the sole purpose of testing my patience -- My guess is that I'm supposed to learn a lesson from their actions, but I have to say that when someone upsets either my wife or either of my daughters, I don't take that very well at all."

            -- some people are just unloveable -- they may not be our "enemies," but we just don't like them -- they just make us angry and they try our patience and they test our faith -- I have to be honest and tell you, there's been many days I've come back from a trip to town and said, "I just don't like people"

            -- as the great poet of our time, Taylor Swift, says "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate..." -- and it seems like these are the people we keep running across in our lives

            -- so what do we do with people that just aren't nice? -- with people that are just difficult and that seem to revel in causing chaos and disruption? -- with people who just don't seem to care about anyone else and who just make us mad by what they do?

            -- what do we do with them? -- how do we live with them? -- how do we respond?

            -- well, to be honest, I'm afraid that you're probably not going to like the answer -- because what Jesus is telling us to do in this passage seems wrong and it seems impossible and it goes against our human nature -- but, as Christians, it is what we are supposed to do

III.  Scripture Lesson (Luke 6:27-36)

            -- so let's look now at this passage from Luke 6 and see what Jesus tells us to do about our enemies and about those people in our lives who just make us angry

            -- look back with me at verse 27-36

Luke 6:27-36 (NIV)

27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.

30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.

33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.

34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.

35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

            -- you've got to be kidding me -- we all know this commandment -- we've heard it before -- "love your enemies" -- but surely Jesus didn't mean that, did He?

            -- how do we love somebody that doesn't love us? -- heck, how can we even be nice to someone who treats us like they do? -- Jesus can't mean what He's saying here, right? -- when He says to love our enemies, He's probably just talking about in a broad, general sense -- like Christians are supposed to love one another -- not actual "loving" them and doing things for them, right?

            -- Wrong! -- Jesus is pretty emphatic about this -- the Greek word He uses here for love is the word agape -- you guessed that, didn't you? -- agape love -- unconditional love -- the love of God that reaches out to us and loves us in spite of who we are and what we've done

            -- when Jesus tells us to agape our enemies, He's saying to love them with our heart and with our hands and with our feet -- agape love is not only a noun -- it's also a verb -- it means actively loving someone else -- in this case, someone who hates us  

            -- reaching out to them and caring for them and doing for them, even though they might be the most unloveable and difficult person on earth

            -- Jesus gives us three specific actions in these verses to define what He means by loving our enemies

            -- first, He says to do good to those who hate you -- that's an action -- Jesus is telling us to go out and do good things for them

            -- I read this story about a lady whose chickens got out of her pen one day -- they went over to the neighbor's yard and destroyed his garden -- pulling out all the plants and eating them and scratching up the other plants -- he was so angry he killed those chickens and carried them over to the woman's house and threw them on the porch

            -- do you know what she did? -- she took those chickens and cleaned them and cooked them into a pot pie and then carried that pot pie back to her neighbor, apologizing for what her chickens had done and telling him she hoped this gift made up for it

            -- that's what Jesus is talking about -- do good to those who hate you -- when someone makes you just so angry you want to spit, Jesus says, "do something good for them" -- it goes against our nature, but that's the point

            -- as Christians we are a new creation and we live in a new kingdom with a new code of behavior -- a code that says "do good to those who hate you"

            -- the next thing He tells us is to bless those who curse you -- that means we don't respond in kind -- I can tell you, the last thing I want to do when someone curses at me and abuses me verbally or belittles me in a meeting is to bless them -- but Jesus says that's what we're supposed to do

            -- our human nature tells us that we have to win -- we have to get them back -- if they yell at us, then we're supposed to yell back -- if they put us down, then we're supposed to do the same thing back to them -- the world says its a competition and you have to win and the other person has to lose

            -- but Jesus tells us to take the fall -- to choose to lose -- to choose to die to self so we might live for Him

            -- rather than yelling back at someone or angrily responding, Jesus says to bless them with your words -- respond with kindness -- speak words of grace -- or, if you can't do anything more, just don't respond

            -- finally, Jesus tells us to pray for those who mistreat us -- this reminds us of what Paul taught in Ephesians Chapter 6 -- our struggle is not against flesh and blood -- our enemies

            -- these people who are mistreating us and hurting us and making us mad and irritated are doing this for a reason -- they're doing it because this is all they know -- this is what they have been taught to do by the world

            -- we come into this world as selfish creatures and if we don't get our own way, we start life by throwing baby fits -- and a lot of people keep doing it their whole life -- it's all they know

            -- Jesus says, "Pray for them -- pray that they would come to a saving knowledge of the truth -- pray that they would come into the Kingdom of God -- pray that their hearts would be softened by the presence of God and that they would come to the cross for forgiveness and life and love -- Pray for them, because they need it"

            -- Jesus goes on in the rest of this passage and gives examples on what loving our enemies should look like -- if someone strikes you on your cheek, love them anyway -- if they take your cloak -- if they take things that don't belong to them -- love them anyway -- if they come to you and want more and more and more, don't turn them away but love them anyway

            -- in each of these examples, Jesus is emphasizing a principle -- love is more important than self -- this passage is about our attitude towards ourselves and the things we possess

            -- what is more important? -- our honor or the eternity of the one who just slapped us on the cheek? -- what is more important? -- material possessions or a spiritual inheritance?

            -- when considering how to love our enemies and how to relate to those around us, we must remember the command of Christ to take up our cross, die to self, and follow Him

            -- we can only love our enemies when we stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about them and their true needs -- we can only love our enemies when we stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about Christ

IV.  CLOSING

            -- I read a devotional by D.J. Pollay that really sums Jesus' message up for us and shows us how to live it out in our lives today

            -- Pollay writes about the day he was in a taxi and they got cut off by another driver -- he just missed them by inches and Pollay's cabdriver had to slam on brakes to keep from hitting them -- and then, to make things worse, the guy who cut them off started yelling at them like they were the ones at fault

            -- the taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy like they were best friends -- so Pollay asked him, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ -- that's when the taxi driver taught him the ‘The Law of the Trash Truck.’

            -- He said a lot of people are like trash trucks -- they run around full of garbage -- full of frustration -- full of anger -- and full of disappointment -- As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it -- and sometimes they dump it on you

            -- Don’t take it personally, he said -- Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on -- don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

            -- The bottom line is that successful people do not let trash trucks take over their day

            -- when this happens to you -- and it will -- just say to yourself, "Trash truck!" -- and let it go -- "Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets"¹

            -- so do what Jesus tells you to do in this passage:

            -- love the people who treat you right -- and love the people who don't

            -- do good for them -- show them a different way -- be for them the hands and feet of Christ -- take the garbage out for them so maybe it won't pile up anymore

            -- bless them when they curse you -- speak words of kindness to those who don't deserve it -- remember how Christ died for you when you didn't deserve it -- and speak God's favor on them as those who really need it

            -- and pray for those who mistreat you -- they act this way because it's all they know -- pray that they will come to know a better way -- pray that they will trade in their trash truck for a chariot to heaven

            -- love your enemies and do to others as you would have them do to you

            -- let us pray

1 Modified from "The Law of the Garbage Truck" by D.J. Pollay -http://www.simpletoremember.com/jewish/blog/garbage-truck/

SERMON: THE TWO CUPS OF EASTER

Easter Sunrise Service

5 April 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 26:36-46

Matthew 26:36-46 (NIV)

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.

41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.

44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

            -- when you think of Easter, what comes to mind? -- what is the symbol of Easter for you?

            -- for many people, Easter means the Easter bunny -- it means hunting for brightly colored Easter eggs -- Easter is symbolized by Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps -- it means celebrating the day with chocolate and candy

            -- for others, especially for Christians, the symbol of Easter is the cross or the empty tomb or even the outline of a fish -- for thousands of years, these symbols have represented our faith and our understanding of who Jesus was and what He did -- we wear these symbols as jewelry -- we decorate our cars and our Bibles with them -- they represent for us the reason we are gathered here on Easter morning

            -- but today I want to talk about another image that symbolizes for us the meaning of Easter -- the symbol of the chalice or cup

            -- this symbol was predominant on the Thursday of Holy Week and pointed to the purpose for Christ's coming, death, and resurrection

            -- if you remember, Holy Week began on Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey as crowds cheered His name and laid palm branches before His path and shouted, "Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord -- Hosanna in the highest"

            -- four days later, on Thursday night, Jesus and His disciples joined together in the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover Seder -- the Jewish ritual feast that marked the start of the celebration of Passover and that involved the ceremonial drinking of four cups of wine

            -- after they had finished sharing the Passover meal, Jesus and His disciples left for the Mount of Olives, where Jesus prayed alone in the Garden of Gethsemane about the ordeal He was about to face

            -- look with me now, if you would, at Matthew 26 and let's discuss the first cup of Easter

            -- verse 36-38

Matthew 26:36-38 (NIV)

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

            -- the Passover was a joyous holiday for the Jew -- it was a time of celebration -- a time of remembering God's mighty works in delivering the Jews from bondage in Egypt

            -- as Jesus and the disciples made their way from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane, I have no doubt the disciples were in a good mood -- they had just come from a party -- they were happy and well-fed -- and I'm sure this mood carried with them as they made their way up the Mount of Olives to the garden

            -- but the closer they came to the garden, the greater the distance became between Jesus and them -- as they were jovial and joked with each other, Jesus became more and more quiet -- more and more somber -- more and more sorrowful -- Jesus tells Peter and James and John in verse 38 that His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death

            -- but this distance between Jesus and the others was not just in mood -- it was also physical -- Matthew tells us that Jesus directed His disciples to sit in a certain place while He went on farther into the garden to pray by Himself

            -- this distance between Jesus and His disciples that we see in this passage was not just a coincidence -- it points to the separation between us and the Father -- the great expanse that exists between us and Him because of our sin and disobedience -- because of our sins, there is a distance between us and God -- because of our sins, we cannot approach Him

            -- only Jesus could enter into the presence of God because only Jesus had lived a perfect and sinless life -- and that's important to remember as we continue on in this passage

            -- verse 39-46

Matthew 26:39-46 (NIV)

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.

41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.

44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

            -- Jesus left His disciples and went into the Father's presence to pray -- and three times, Jesus prayed about the same thing -- a cup that the Father had asked Him to drink from

            -- this cup was the source of Jesus' grief and sorrow that night -- this cup was the reason why Jesus was in agony in the garden -- as Luke records, Jesus' ordeal that night was so great that as He prayed and wrestled with the Father about this cup that He actually sweated out drops of blood onto the ground

            -- what was this cup? -- more importantly, what was in this cup?

            -- some say this was the cup of sin or iniquity referred to in the Bible -- that this is the reason why Jesus prayed to the Father and said, "Father, if there is any other way, please do not make Me drink from this cup" because He did not want to take this sin upon His sinless self -- and that does makes some sense

            -- Jesus was the only person who ever lived who was able to fully keep God's law and be obedient to Him in all things -- Jesus was the only sinless person that ever lived -- yet, the Bible tells us that Jesus became sin for us on the cross -- that all our sins were placed upon Him -- and that He carried them with Him on the cross -- that's why some people say that Jesus drank our sins that night in the garden

            -- others say this was the cup of suffering -- that when Jesus looked in the cup He saw the suffering of the cross -- He saw the pain of the flogging and the beatings He would endure later that night and early into the next morning -- He saw the pain and suffering of the crucifixion He would have to go through on Friday and so He prayed to the Father, "if it is possible, please keep me from this suffering" -- this is the cup that some say Jesus prayed to avoid that night at Gethsemane

           

            -- but I don't believe that it was either the cup of sin or the cup of suffering that caused Jesus such grief and sorrow that night -- instead it was another cup that we see described for us in Psalm 75 and Jeremiah 25 -- the cup of God's wrath

            -- let me read for you Psalm 75:7-8 -- "But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another -- In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs."

            -- in Jeremiah 25:15 we read, "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of my wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it"

            -- this cup Jesus prayed about in the Garden of Gethsemane was the cup of God's wrath -- now when the Bible speaks of the wrath of God, it is referring to God's righteous judgment against sin and transgression

            -- all of us deserve God's wrath and judgment because all of us are sinners -- as it says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" -- God is right and righteous when He punishes us for our sins -- and that punishment is eternal death and separation from Him -- Romans 6:23 says, "the wages of sin are death"

            -- so what was going on in the Garden of Gethsemane that night was that Jesus had been presented with the cup of God's wrath and judgment that had been stored up for all eternity -- not only the wrath and judgment for my sin and your sin -- but for the sin of each and every person who ever lived and who will ever live

            -- if you can imagine the punishment that each of us deserve and then expand that almost infinitely, that is what Jesus was being asked to drink in our place with the Cup of Calvary -- that is why His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death -- that is why He prayed, "Father, if there is any other way, please let this cup pass from Me"

            -- several years ago we watched a movie called "The Last Sin Eater" -- it was based on a practice that grew up among the people of Wales in the early 1800s -- when a person died, a wafer of bread would be placed upon their chest -- it was believed that the sins of the person would enter that wafer of bread

            -- and then one person in that community -- the Sin Eater -- would eat the bread -- taking upon himself the sins of the deceased that he would carry the rest of his life

            -- this person was considered condemned and unsaveable -- it was believed he would suffer the wrath and judgment of God for all of the sins of the deceased he had eaten as well as for his own personal sins and that he was outside the reach of God's grace, condemned to eternal damnation and punishment

            -- now while we know this was not possible -- that a sinful person cannot carry the sins of another -- that each of us must pay the penalty for our own sins -- this is a picture for us of what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary when He drank from the cup of God's wrath

            -- because Jesus was sinless -- because He was fully God and fully man and lived a perfect life -- He alone was capable of drinking from the Cup of Calvary and taking upon Himself the entire wrath and judgment of God for the sins of the world

            -- this was the struggle Jesus faced in the garden that night as He wrestled with the Father -- would He drink of this cup or would He choose to let it pass and force each of us to suffer the penalty for our own sins?

            -- the decision was made in verse 42 when Jesus said, "may your will be done" -- at that moment His path was set and He stood to face the kiss of the betrayer and the suffering of Calvary in our place

            -- it was on the cross of Calvary that Jesus drained the cup of God's wrath -- it was on the cross of Calvary when He swallowed our sin and suffered the penalty in our place -- and it was because of this cup that Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

            -- on the cross of Calvary, as Jesus died, the cup of God's wrath was emptied

            -- which brings us to the second cup of Easter -- if you still have your Bible opened to Matthew 26, look up with me at verse 26-29

Matthew 26:26-29 (NIV)

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.

28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

            -- there is a saying in science, "Nature abhors a vacuum" -- which means that if something has been emptied, it will be filled by something else -- the same is true in the spiritual realm

            -- the cup of God's wrath was emptied on Calvary, poured out on Christ Himself -- but the cup did not remain empty -- it was redeemed, renewed, and refilled -- as we see in these verses, the cup of God's wrath was replaced with the cup of the new covenant, filled with the precious blood of Christ, which was poured out for us for the forgiveness of our sins

            -- because of Christ's sacrificial death -- because He chose to drink of the cup of Calvary and offer up His body and His blood as payment for our sins -- we have been given a new cup from which to drink -- the cup of grace -- the cup of forgiveness -- the cup of the new covenant

            -- through the sacrament of Holy Communion, we remember and experience anew the sacrifice of Christ's death on the cross and the hope of eternal life and forgiveness of sins made possible through His resurrection

            -- so as we close our service on this Easter morning -- with a new day of hope dawning around us -- let us come together and share this cup of the new covenant as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

            -- let us pray