The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 4)

Welcome to the fourth and final part of our series, taking a look at the amazing blessing of communion. Far beyond the ritual, into the reality of our union with Jesus Christ. What a fantastic journey this has been!

We’ve seen how communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a very personal time. A time not to reflect on your sin, but to reflect Christ’s finished work personally for you.  A time to see how His finished work has changed your spiritual identity.

We also saw in last week’s study how the cup of the New Covenant, goes much more in-depth on a personal level, than what we typically hear about in most communion services. The fact that Jesus Christ took your sin upon Himself and paid the penalty in your place should be life-changing, but we often don’t give it the weight or attention that such an accomplishment deserves.

Today we will fit all these puzzle pieces together to see a fantastic picture of Christ’s finished work. Let’s get started!

The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 3)

Welcome back to part three of our series looking at the amazing blessing of communion. In part one, we began by examining the personal aspect of the body and blood of Christ. How communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a personal gift representing our individual union with Jesus Christ.

We also began to see how the body and blood of Christ each represent a distinct gift which Jesus has made available to us through His sacrifice.

Then in part two, we saw what it means to judge ourselves rightly in Christ as we receive and partake of His sacrifice for us. And how the rightly judging ourselves in Christ is a fantastic blessing in Him.

Now today in part three we are going to be examining the cup, which Jesus says represents the New Covenant in His blood. As we look at the cup of the new covenant today, we will see even more aspects of the amazing blessing of communion.

The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 2)

Welcome back to the second part of our study on the amazing blessing in communion. Last week we saw how Jesus suffered in our place on the cross, and we ended by seeing some of what He accomplished, including the benefits for our physical body.

We’re going to look deeper into this today, because there are many people who still do not understand this. As we read last week, the scriptures make it clear that “many are weak and sick, and have fallen asleep by failing to discern the Lord’s Body”.

So it’s important for us to see what His body truly gives to us. God wants us to see know and receive what He has given to us, and that’s why it’s written in the scriptures. I shared on this about four years ago, but it’s time to share it again because we have some new viewers, and even if you’re a longtime member here, it’s good to be reminded of what Jesus has done. Let’s get started!

The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 1)

Communion, one of the most mysterious and interesting Christian rituals in all of scripture. But why did Jesus institute it? Was it merely do give us something to do so we wouldn’t become bored? There must be more to it. God would not give us a useless tradition or a meaningless ritual. He knew exactly what He was doing, and why He was giving us the remembrance of Communion.

Today we are going to explore the amazing blessings contained within Communion, and how it’s an amazing proclamation of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us.

Behold Jesus and Be Transformed

Do you want real transformation? Real miracles? Real change? There is a very interesting section of scripture that explains how real transformation occurs, and I’m exited to share it with you today.

So many people are in need of help; spiritually, emotionally and physically. And all of it comes through one specific channel and one specific source. And it’s much much simple than you may realize. Let’s get started.

Tempting God versus Trusting Him

The idea of “tempting God” has always been an interesting one for me. Growing up in a religious setting, hearing traditional teaching, I was always told that tempting (or testing) God was a bad idea, and it was a sure way to get yourself hurt.

Of-course being a younger child (physically and spiritually), this made me apprehensive about asking God for anything or trusting Him. After all, how could I truly be certain that I wasn’t testing Him with my request? No-one ever really explained it. And as I grew-up in these same religious environment, any time I tried to reach out in faith and trust God for things, someone would come along and say “Now brother, don’t go testing God!” – and it would reignite that fear all over again.

But what does it actually mean to “test” or “tempt” God? Does it mean we can never believe Him? Does it mean we can never rely on or trust Him? We’re going to talk about this today. Let’s get started!

Did Jesus Really Finish the Work? (Being Secure in Christ)

One of the biggest areas that I struggled with in the past, was the idea that I was waging a constant battle to “improve myself”.

– Improve my performance – to commit less sinful actions

– To look more like Jesus, meaning basically the same thing, to commit less sinful actions

– To never be comfortable, but always in this constant war to try and become what God wanted me to be.

This feeling was spurned on by the Christians around me who said things like: If you’re comfortable in your Christianity, you’re doing it wrong. A phrase which always struck me as a bit of a dangling-carrot. Did Jesus die to subject us to further futility? Is the work complete or isn’t it? Did Jesus only perform a half-redemption?

I have since come to realize that I am not alone in these questions. And millions of Christians around the globe are on a mental and spiritual treadmill. Constantly running to try and reach an unreachable goal. Never being satisfied, and never feeling any comfort – because if they dared to, they would be a “lukewarm Christian” in their view.

Well, today we are going to examine this, as we have a discussion about being secure in Christ.

Faith is the Key to Miracles

Do you need a miracle today? Would you like to see more miracles in your life? Whether it’s physical, emotional, financial or spiritual, there is a single channel and avenue by which miracles come: faith. Faith is the key that unlocks the power of God in your life. And ironically it is largely ignored in favor of trying to obtain miracles by performance and works.

So today we are going to have a discussion regarding faith and miracles. Because miracles can still very much happen, and the scriptures tell us how. So let’s get started!

Your Assurance of Success in Christ

Success, we all want it. With very few exceptions, each of us wants to succeed in whatever we do; nobody likes to fail. But what assurances do we have for success? Is success just a gamble? A roll of the dice? Fear of failure can be a strong deterrent to moving forward.

So what should our view be, as believers in Jesus Christ; as reborn new creations washed clean and redeemed by His sacrifice? Perhaps simply having the question spelled-out in this way just opened your perspective somewhat. And we’re going to continue today by having a discussion regarding how Jesus Christ has given you the assurance of success. Let’s get started!

Don’t Be Afraid (Here’s Why!)

Many times throughout the New Testament writings in scripture, Jesus says to “Fear not”, “do not fear”, or “don’t be afraid” – it’s good advice… especially now with so many global catastrophes and viral scares going around. However the advice to not be afraid really doesn’t mean anything without a reason why… if someone just tells you to not be afraid, you may wonder why, or think that they were crazy! But when you have a reason, then it becomes simple.

So today we’re going to look at some examples of Jesus, and what the scriptures have to say regarding fear, and what we find will be eye-opening.