Communion Message
Rebellious Clay
September 18, 2005
Pastor Leighton Sheley

Lord, truly and surely, there has never been a potter who has worked with clay that is so rebellious as we are. Lord we just resist the hands of our Creator who desires to make us into vessels of honor, and Lord we are so thankful that You are so patient with us, that You are so faithful to us.

Lord thank you for promising to never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you Lord for promising to never give up on us while we were still unfinished; promising to finish what You have started. Thank you Lord, thank you Lord.

Our pastor's message today is on a call to holy living and I am reading now from 1 Peter: "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Obey God because you are his children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God--who chose you to be his children--is holy. For he himself has said, "You must be holy because I am holy."

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.

Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God. Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts. For you have been born again. Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God."

So get rid of all of the malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be good, and be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing. Instead, crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. In fact, cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.

May God bless the reading of His Scripture.

God's Word says at times like this we should examine our self, and I'd like to invite you, if you are physically able, to join with me now as we kneel in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

Lord we do desire to be whiter than snow, to be cleansed of our sin, and we know Lord when we first came to You, You cleansed us of all of our sin, but Lord we continue to live in these rebellious bodies of ours, these tents of flesh, and sometimes in the struggle we do things or say things or think things that are displeasing to You, and Lord we sin again.

Lord thank you for Your word that says if we confess our sin You are faithful and just and will forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And Lord we desire, we ask You to forgive us and to cleanse us this day. And the elements that we now partake of, we now partake of in remembrance. Let's partake of the bread, and also the cup.

Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Thank you for inhabiting our praises. Thank you for taking pleasure in our expressions of worship. Thank you for forgiving us and cleansing us. Thank you for the encouragement of fellow saints and the opportunity to encourage others, and proclaim the Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Let's stand and greet those who've come to worship with us today.