What Does a Church Do? - Part 3

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This sermon is the fifth sermon in a series of messages on the Church of Jesus. The series has been describing what a church is and what it does. This message continues the theme of the previous two messages in talking about the mission of the church and the tasks involved in fulfilling that mission.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

We have been taking a look at the church of Jesus for the last few weeks, trying to define it and describe it according to the Scriptures. Remember that even though the titles of each sermon read, “a church” to emphasize each individual/local church; yet, keep in mind that the points we are making also apply to “the church” as a whole.

Isn’t it amazing that the Son of God went back into heaven after His resurrection and left the job of reaching the rest of the world to a small group of disciples? It really is phenomenal that the gospel has spread as much as it has. The Lord is truly the head of His church and He said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Gates are defensive; not offensive “weapons.”)

In the passage of Scripture that was read a little earlier [Acts 11:19-30] I see several things worth noting before we continue with the outline I’ve been using in these messages.

1. There was a “scattering” after the persecution arose; but the people who were scattered took the message into new areas. If the persecution hadn’t happened the scattering wouldn’t have happened, and the new disciples wouldn’t have happened.

2. When the Jerusalem church heard about the new converts, they sent representatives to “encourage” them, and even more people became believers.

3. There is mention of Barnabas and Saul (Paul) teaching the disciples for a year, and the impact in the city was great enough that the disciples got a new “nickname.” – “Christians.”

4. When hard times hit because of famine, the Christians rise to the task and provide relief – carrying out the same kind of compassionate work that Jesus did when He was on earth.

This passage is a small representation of the kind of thing that has characterized the church ever since its beginning.

Today I want to continue our discussion of the things that a church does. I remind you again that I have been using the term “community” with each of the tasks we’ve mentioned just as an added emphasis on the fact that what the church does, it does as its individual members work together in community.

We have already mentioned:

I. The church is a worshiping community.
II. The church is a sacramental community.
III. The church is a disciple-making community.
IV. The church is an accountability community.

There is no doubt a number of other things we could mention that would be included in the tasks, purpose and mission of the church, but I want to just focus on 3 more today.

V.        The church is a nurturing community.

In one sense of the word, the church nurtures each other whenever they hold each other accountable as we talked about last week. But there is more than accountability involved with nurture.

I’m going to go through a quick review of Scriptures that include the words, “one another,” which I shared a number of weeks ago. These verses provide prime examples of the kind of things the church ought to be doing as it nurtures its members.

(This is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities that believers have toward each other.)

A.        Love one another

Jn. 13:34   A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

Jn. 15:17 These things I command you, that you love one another. 

Rom. 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 

Love is much more than saying nice words (although we ought to be saying nice things). It is more than warm fuzzy feelings. It is doing loving things and treating each other in a loving way, even if we don’t feel all that loving at the moment.

Remember there is such a thing as “tough love.” This probably gets more into the area of “correction” and “accountability” that we talked about last Sunday.

B.        Serve one another

Jn. 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another’s feet.

Gal. 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 

These verses emphasize the matter of trying to find ways to be a servant for one another. Jesus said whoever will be greatest, let him be servant of all.

C.        Unity with one another

Rom. 15:5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 

1 Cor. 12:25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 

In other words, do not treat some people in the body better than others – that would destroy unity and foster offenses.

D.        Comfort one another

Heb. 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 

1 Thess. 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 

1 Thess. 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 

The pastor should not be the only person that calls or visits those in the congregation who are missing church or going through tough trials and adversity in their lives.

E.        Pray for one another

Gal. 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

This undoubtedly means doing more than pray, but prayer certainly is the primary way we help carry burdens.

Jam. 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 

VI.       The church is a witnessing community.

When we talk about the church being a witnessing community, we are obviously including the task of disciple-making that we spoke about last week. To make disciples, we must witness to the unsaved/lost about Jesus and lead them to a saving faith in Christ before we can disciple them and instruct them in how to live out the faith.

But, witnessing involves more than helping people know Christ (evangelism), and teaching to follow Christ (discipleship). Witnessing also involves being the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.”

Matt. 5:13-16 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

The church needs to be the tool that God uses to shine the light of truth on the lies, deceit, and perverse ideas of the world. The church needs to be a witness for godliness and morality in a culture that is going farther and farther away from standards of moral decency. The church needs to be proclaiming God’s standards of holiness and righteousness for people to follow as portrayed in His Word. But far too often the church is following the standards of Hollywood just like the rest of the world.

I’ve quoted Dr. Francis Schaeffer before, but he states in one of his books (The Great Evangelical Disaster), “there was a segment of the church that simply accommodated the ideas and standards of society and provided no confrontation or challenge to it.”

(goodreads.com/quotes) "Truth demands confrontation. It must be loving confrontation, but there must be confrontation nonetheless.” ~ Francis Schaeffer

The church should and must stand up and witness the truth about the sanctity of life, about the sanctity of sexuality, and about the sanctity of liberty. The church should witness to the truth of a biblical worldview in spite of the godlessness that permeates all areas of life around us.

It does not matter who seeks to destroy these timeless truths. They may be educators or movie stars, judges or politicians, Republicans or Democrats. We are dying spiritually and morally in our society because far too long the church has not adequately witnessed to the truth.

(Sharon Herald, 2/19/20) The movie is a romantic comedy, about Stewart’s character, Abby, planning to propose to her girlfriend, Harper, at a holiday party – even though Harper has not yet come out to her conservative parents.

VII.     The church is a praying community.

Lk. 19:45-46 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, ⁴⁶  saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

Mk. 14:38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 

Lk. 18:1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 

Acts 6:4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 

Acts 12:5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 

1 Tim. 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 

This is just a sampling of Scripture regarding the need for prayer among God’s people. 

A search in the NT for the number of times the word “pray” (or some form of it) appears, and the result was 159 times.

Genuine, biblical, sincere prayer changes us and brings us closer into alignment with God’s Word and God’s will. Prayer is our main weapon in the spiritual warfare against the powers and principalities and spiritual darkness in this world. S.D. Gordon said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you can’t do more than pray UNTIL you have prayed.

We’ve seen answers to prayer here among our people. We know that God has answered prayers that we have prayed time and again. But I believe we haven’t seen anything close to what God wants to do if he can only find church people desperate enough to intercede in prayer.

Conclusion:

I have been trying to describe what a church does. 

I would say that many of us are doing most of these things that we’ve talked about. But I happen to believe that none of us have risen to the level of dedication to God’s mission that we can and ought to reach.

Closing song: Make Me a Blessing

What Does a Church Do? - Part 2

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen online, click on the play button of the audio player here.)

This is the fourth sermon in a series of messages about the church of Jesus. The first two sermons described what the church is. The previous sermon and this present sermon describe some of the things that the church does. This message focuses on two activities of the church; disciple-making and accountability.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

A few weeks ago I started doing a series of messages about the church of Jesus; sometimes called “The Body of Christ” in the NT. We are continuing the theme today with “part two” of the message: “What Does a Church Do?”

The last time we talked about the church doing worship and doing sacraments. I mentioned the last time that I was going to continue using the term “community” just to emphasize the fact that whatever the church does, it does as a body; a family; or a community. The very word “church” implies something other than an isolated, “Lone Ranger” mentality.

I’m discovering more and more that many people want the benefit of being forgiven for their sins by Jesus so they can go to heaven someday, but they don’t seem to realize that being forgiven and having a relationship with Jesus, means that we become a part of His “body,” which is the church. The Bible has a great deal to say about the things that the church does and it all includes cooperation within the body.

In the last sermon, I spoke about the church being a worshiping community and the church as a sacramental community. With the Lord’s help, I want to speak to you today about two more tasks that the church of Jesus does. 

III.       The church is a discipling community.

Matthew 28:19 ^(NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you….

Main verb of the passage is the word “go.” (lit. going) i.e, going, make disciples… baptize… teach.

The original disciples were to go teach and make more disciples, who would go and make disciples, who would go and make disciples, etc. Other than worship, this is probably the main job of the church – make disciples. Jesus expected His disciples to duplicate themselves by teaching and training others in the same way He had done with them. 

Disciple-making is much more than leading someone to put their faith in Christ for salvation. Jesus did not say, “Go make converts.” He didn’t say, “Go help people to know me.” Teach/train others about what all is involved with being a follower of Jesus. It is much more than simply asking for His forgiveness and believing His death on the cross was for my salvation.

(The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) [Disciple] always means the pupil of someone, in contrast to the master or teacher (διδάσκαλος, didáskalos)... In all cases it implies that the person not only accepts the views of the teacher, but that he is also in practice an adherent. 

What is involved with being a disciple?

A. No competing affections

Jesus comes first in a disciple’s affection, devotion and allegiance.

Luke 14:26-27 ^(NKJV) "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

A true disciple cannot afford to allow anyone, or anything get between him and his Lord.

B. Diligent study of the Word

John 8:31 ^(NKJV) Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

C. Love like Jesus did.

John 13:35 ^(NKJV) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 

D. Produce fruit as the evidence of discipleship.

John 15:8 ^(NKJV) By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 

Not only did the original 12 disciples understand that their job was to make more disciples, but later disciples did also (e.g. Paul).

Acts 14:21 ^(NKJV) And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

(The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) The disciple of Christ today may be described in the words of Farrar, as "one who believes His doctrines, rests upon His sacrifice, imbibes His spirit, and imitates His example."

Jesus is not merely interested in you and I believing in Him for salvation from sin and from hell. He is also passionately interested in us becoming faithful disciples and helping other people become faithful disciples.

The church is a disciple-making community.

IV.       The church is an accountability community.

Another word that is very closely associated with the word disciple is the word, “discipline.” It certainly takes self-discipline to be a true disciple and keep our focus on the Lord. It takes discipline to study His teachings and put them into practice. It also takes discipline that is applied by fellow disciples. The NT teaches that believers in the body of Christ are to look out for one another and exhort one another. They are not only to provide instruction, but also correction.

We live in a time and a place where people are not usually very open to receiving discipline and correction from their brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Everyone wants to be a law unto themselves and refuse to let anyone else “tell them what to do.” However, the NT gives no room for that kind of independent spirit and living in an isolated, self-determining way.

I’m going to read a sampling of NT passages that relate to the matter of discipline and accountability, then I’ll make a few observations about them in general.

Matthew 18:17 ^(NKJV) And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Romans 16:17-18 ^(NKJV) Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. ¹⁸ For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 ^(NKJV) But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. ¹² For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? ¹³ But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."

2 Corinthians 2:6-7 ^(NKJV) This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, ⁷ so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

Galatians 6:1 ^(NKJV) Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 

1 Thessalonians 5:14 ^(NKJV) Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15 ^{(NKJV) 6} But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. ¹⁴ And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

1 Timothy 5:20 ^(NKJV) Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

2 Timothy 4:2 ^(NKJV) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Titus 3:10 ^(NKJV) Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,

Principles for administering discipline within the body.
·         All discipline and correction must be done in a humble spirit.
·         It must be given with firmness, yet with an abundance of grace.
   ▪   Remembering our own vulnerability
   ▪   Remembering that we don’t know what background baggage the individual may be carrying
·         All correction must be done with the motivation of restoration, not for revenge.
·         Pastors/ overseers should not use the pulpit as a “whipping post.”

Conclusion:

There have been a number of scandals and abuses that have occurred in the church at large over the years. These might have been avoided if there had been a greater effort to exercise accountability and discipline in the church.

There have been a host of church members through the years who never reached the level of maturity in the faith that they could have and should have because they wouldn’t voluntarily submit to appropriate correction from church leaders or their fellow believers.

Membership Covenant (Copied from our church by-laws)

Having received the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.

We intend, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to pray for, respect and support the pastor and church leaders; to promote the prosperity and spirituality of this church; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; and to cheerfully and regularly contribute financial support for the various expenses and ministries of the church.

We also intend to maintain family and personal spiritual formation through the study of and conformity to the Word of God; to seek the salvation and spiritual growth of the lost; to live godly in the world; to be just in all our dealings, faithful to our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid harmful attitudes, speech and actions in all personal, public and church relationships; to abstain from all evil associations and amusements; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.

We further intend to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy of speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready to secure reconciliation without delay.

I believe every part of this covenant describes the content of the NT relating to the duties of Christians to one another. Part of it involves nurture, some includes instruction, and some involves correction; but all of it is the expression of genuine love for one another that refuses to sit by and let others “fall through the cracks” for lack of appropriate concern and care.

When we follow the Lord’s command to make disciples and take care of each other, we really are demonstrating our love for Jesus Himself. I really think it is impossible to love Jesus without loving His church.

For our closing song today I’ve chosen a hymn that truly is a prayer: More Love to Thee, Oh Christ.

What Does a Church Do?

(To download an mp3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen online, click on the play button of the audio player here.)

This is the third sermon in a short series that attempts to explain what the church is and what it does. This message briefly reviews the first two sermons then begins to describe what the church does. The two tasks of the church discussed in this sermon are worship and administering the sacraments.

Written Excerpts:

Ephesians 3:21 (NKJV)  to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Introduction:

We have been preaching about the church of Jesus for the last two Sundays and plan to continue the discussion today.

But first these quotes:

·         An inscription over a church door: This is the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. (This door is locked in the winter months). – (Draper's Book of Quotations)

·         In the church of God two opposite dangers are to be recognized and avoided: they are a cold heart and a hot head. – A. W. Tozer (Draper's Book of Quotations)

·         Never before has the church had so many degrees yet so little temperature. – Vance Havner (Draper's Book of Quotations)

·         Church-goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out. – Billy Graham (Draper's Book of Quotations)

If you’ve been here the past couple of weeks you know that I’ve been talking about the church of Jesus. I have been trying to remind us of things the Bible tells us about the church. The two previous messages were focused on trying to define and describe what the church isn’t and what the church is. If you missed those messages, I would invite you to go to our church website and listen to or read those messages in order to get a fresh review of the church. Or, you can request a CD of the services back at the sound booth.

Just a quick recap…

Week 1: I started by identifying four things that the church is not.

·         It is not primarily an organization/denomination.

·         It is not a building.

·         It is not merely a ritual/ceremony/meeting

·         It is not a social club

After identifying what the church isn’t, I tried to describe what the church is, and we only had time for two points.

·         It is a congregation/assembly/gathering.

·         It is a fellowship/community/common body.

Week 2: I continued describing what the church is by saying…

·         It is an organism (vs. an organization)

·         It is a FAITH community

·         It is a SACRED community

·         It is both a local and a universal community

·         It is both a visible and an invisible community

Now, I want to move on from describing what a church IS to describe what the church DOES.

As we continue this discussion I want to continue using the word “community” in order to emphasize the fact that the church is not an individual, “Lone Ranger” type of existence. The church is made up of individual believers, but it is clearly a community of believers who work together doing what God has called them to do.

I.          The church is worshiping community.

Ephesians 1:12 _(NKJV) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 3:21 _(NKJV) to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 10:31 _(NKJV) Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Many people have stated that the first and primary thing that the church does is worship.

What does it mean to say the church worships? Thoughts on worship from sermon a few years ago.

(ISBE) The principal Old Testament word is ‏שָׁחָה‎, ṣhāḥāh, "depress," "bow down," "prostrate" (Hithpael), as in Ex. 4:31.

Exodus 4:31 ^(KJV) And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel… then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

The principal New Testament word (59 times) is προσκυνέω, proskunéō, "kiss (the hand or the ground) toward," hence, often in the oriental fashion bowing prostrate upon the ground… 

We might summarize worship by saying it is a recognition of the worth/worthiness of the one being worshiped, and the unworthiness of the worshiper. Individual members of the body of Christ worship Him personally in everyday life. Each individual worshiping member makes the church a “worshiping community.”

The corporate body (the gathering/assembly/congregating) is also a “worshiping community.” It is the main reason we gather – to give a corporate offering of worship to the Lord. A corporate worship service is the closest example of what is happening in heaven – the whole “congregation” engaged in praising, adoring, and exalting Christ.

When I was a young person, I used to have the primary understanding that church services were for the purpose of hearing the gospel preached and for evangelizing the lost who might be in attendance. This is certainly a legitimate aspect of church services. But many people do not realize that the “altar call” and the use of church services as time to evangelize is a relatively recent “invention.”

Years ago, I heard someone say that the practice of calling people forward in a church service to commit their lives to Christ started a couple hundred years ago. Now, it might be closer to 300 years! So what happened prior to that? Well, in the NT, it seems that the practice was for the disciples, and converts of Christ to go out and evangelize their acquaintances right where they were – in homes, in the community. Then, when they came together corporately, it was for the purpose of worshiping the Lord and giving Him the honor and praise for who He was and for what He was doing. And, it was also for the purpose to hear the teaching of Christ to be better equipped and prepared to go back out and spread the gospel again.

I think it was after I went to Bible college when I discovered that worship services and “evangelistic services” were not the same thing.

When we gather in the name of Jesus, we gather first and foremost to worship the Lord. We gather to spiritually, if not literally, fall on our faces in acknowledgement of His majesty and glory. We gather to exalt Him, praise Him, thank Him, while we acknowledge our own unworthiness.

II.        The church is a sacramental community.

The second task of the church relates to the administering of the sacraments. I have chosen to mention it in today’s sermon because we are sharing the sacrament of communion today. In Protestant churches, when we speak of the sacraments we are talking about baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

In the past I have stated that a sacrament is a visible/physical sign representing an invisible/spiritual truth, and it is a seal that God will perform the spiritual work that was provided through the death and resurrection of Jesus. A sacrament is outward and physical, but it represents something inward and spiritual.

When we speak about the sacraments of baptism and communion, they both contain physical elements – there’s water, and there’s bread and wine. Participants literally get wet; they literally eat and drink and swallow. These physical elements represent spiritual truths and realities directly related to the work of Jesus Christ in our behalf.

Without going any deeper into the discussion of what a sacrament is, I simply want to emphasize the point that the sacraments are shared and provided within the context of the body of believers – the church. That makes the church a sacramental community.

The reason we believe that there are only two sacraments is because baptism and communion are the only two clearly instituted by Jesus Himself.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Luke 22:19 (NKJV) And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 

The NT church continued carrying out the command of Christ. Within the context of the church (body of believers), they continued to baptize and to share the Lord’s Supper.

Acts 2:41-42 (NKJV) ⁴¹ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

As a sacramental community the church administers the rite of baptism as a corporate witness to the profession of faith given by the convert and a sort of initiation into the family of faith. In the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup the church community witnesses to the saving work of Christ through His sacrifice, and reminds the members of the body of the main thing which unites them – the blood of Christ. Offering the sacrament of communion is the witness that we are all communing with each other while communing (participating) with our Lord. For that reason, the church forbid communion to any who had departed from the faith and were clearly in violation Scripture in their conduct and/or teaching. 

These witnesses of baptism and communion are provided in and through the church – the community of faith.

Conclusion:

Today we have tried to remind you of two tasks assigned to the church and carried out by the church. They are two of the things that the church does.

The church worships God, individually and corporately.

The church provides the sacraments as a witness to the work God has done and is doing in His people.

Today, we will again share the emblems of the Lord’s Supper and celebrate our privilege to commune together as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. We also celebrate our privilege to commune with our Lord Jesus Christ as we obey His command.

Before we share the communion emblems, let us sing the closing hymn: When I See the Blood