Communion Message
(A simple story)
March 17, 2002
Pastor Leighton Sheley

The gospel message is so simple. God created man and woman and put them in the garden. He gave them purpose to dress and to keep the garden, to protect the garden, to have authority over the garden. The man and his wife chose to sin against God. They chose to rebel against His authority. They chose to, in effect, say, God, we don't want to do things Your way. We want to do it our way. We want to establish our own kingdom.

Because of that choice of mankind, mankind has had his own kingdom, but it's been a kingdom of death and disease and destruction. God could have chosen to leave mankind in his dire consequence, but God instead chose to love us, and love us intensely and immensely.

In the fullness of God's time He sent fourth Jesus Christ born of the virgin. His only begotten Son, who was a fulfillment of God's promise to send the Savior. Jesus walked this earth and taught us about the kingdom of God. He showed us how God would desire us to live. And then He went at Calvary's cross. He didn't go for anything that He had done worthy of death, for He had done nothing worthy of death.

The Scriptures tell us quite clearly that He went of His own volition. He chose to lay His life down as a ransom for many. He chose to go to that cross to pay the wages of our sin, and that cross lead to the grave, and the grave to the resurrection.

The Scriptures say if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved -- Romans 10:9. Perhaps there are some among us this day who have been looking for something to bring fulfillment in their life. You're at a place where you realize that all that you can see and all that you can touch doesn't bring fulfillment. There's something that is missing deep inside. You wonder why you exist. You wonder if you were created, created for a purpose.

This morning if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you can be saved. God will reveal His salvation to you. And so I want to invite you to pray with me, and with everyone here, this prayer. Let's bow our heads.

Dear Jesus, I confess with my mouth that You are Lord and I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. I believe in Your word. I believe in Your salvation. Reveal Your salvation to me I pray. Begin with me this day the work of transforming my life into the image of Your Son. Make my heart a temple of Your Holy Spirit. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you said that prayer today the word says you've confessed with your mouth Jesus is Lord, you believed in your heart God raised Him from the dead, and you're saved. The Scriptures tell us at times like this that we should examine ourselves, and so I want to invite you, if you're physically able, to join with me now as we kneel in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

Lord as we've examined our self, we're once again reminded that salvation is more than an event, more than a decision, that it's a process and we need to be saved again each and every day, because each and every day we think and say and do things that are displeasing to You. And Lord we thank you for Your mercies to us that are new every morning.

We thank you Lord that Your word says if we confess our sin You're faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And that's what we desire this day Lord; that we can begin again, that we can start new and fresh, that when we leave this place we don't have to carry the burden, the shame, the guilt of our sin. We can leave that at the altar.

Forgive us Lord we pray and cleanse us this day. And Lord the elements that we hold remind us of the price that was paid for our redemption, our salvation, our sin. And the elements we hold remind us that You're a God who keeps His promises. We thank you Lord. We thank you Lord. We now partake in remembrance of You. Let's partake of the bread and also the cup.

Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord, and all God's people say amen. Let's greet our neighbors this morning.