Let's begin our second service
by standing and singing 53. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear. 53. The sweetening of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals
his wounds, and drives away his fear. Dear name the rock on which
I build my shield and hiding place. My never failing treasury
filled with best source of grace. Jesus, my shepherd, brother,
friend, my prophet, priest, and king, my Lord, my life, my way,
my end, accept the praise I bring. Weak is the effort of my heart,
entold my warmest thought, But when I see thee as thou art,
I'll praise thee as I ought. Till then I would thy love proclaim
with every fleeting breath. And may the music of thy name
refresh my soul in death. If you would turn to 447, The
Lily of the Valley, 447. or what a friend we have in Jesus
is also known as. I have found a friend in Jesus. He's everything to me. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. The lily of the valley, in him
alone I see, all I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow he's my comfort, in
trouble he's my stay, he tells me every care on him to roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star, he's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He all my griefs has taken, and
all my sorrows borne. In temptation He's my strong
and mighty tower. I have all for Him forsaken,
and all my idols torn. From my heart and now He keeps
me by His power. Though all the world forsake
me, and Satan tempt me sore, through Jesus I shall safely
reach the goal. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He will never, never leave me,
nor yet forsake me here, while I live by faith and do His blessed
will. A wall, a fire about me, I've
nothing now to fear. With His manna, He my hungry
soul shall fill. Then sweeping up to glory, I'll
see his blessed face where rivers of delight shall ever roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of 10,000 to
my soul. Thank you. I would like to read Psalm 2.
Psalm 2. Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and
cast away their courts from us. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall
he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree the
Lord hath set unto me. Thou art my son. This day have
I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a
rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's
vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye
kings. Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord
with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry,
and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in him. Let's pray. Our heavenly merciful father,
we thank you for once again allowing us to assemble together as a
local assembly. Father, what a great, great blessing
it is to have this opportunity where there is so much religion
spread all around us, so much confusion. But father, you have
taken reasons out of yourself and you have brought the light
of the gospel to this this place. Father, will you remember us
this morning? Will you give us listening ears and understanding
hearts and an appetite for your gospel? For by nature, Lord,
we do not have this. And remember brother Eric, Lord,
continue to be with him, give him strength and health, and
also pour out your spirit upon him that he may preach to us
time and again. Father, remember us as a local
assembly. Continue, Lord, to provide for
us that we may always be looking to you for guidance and that
we may take great comfort knowing that you are that that Almighty
God, that Savior, and you have all things perfectly in control.
Father, remember those of us that are struggling and suffering.
We think also of Peggy that has lost a loved one. Lord, will
you give her comfort, only the comfort that you can give. Father,
help us, Lord, as we try to help each other. And remember those,
Lord, that are suffering that we cannot see. Lord, will you
turn us unto yourself and give us the comfort of your gospel
and increase our faith this morning. Lord, give us strength and peace
that we may rest in that full salvation that was provided by
our great savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, remember us in
mercy for Jesus' sake alone. Amen. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
3. Ephesians chapter 3. Now Paul tells us that he was
given his apostleship by the will of God in Ephesians 1. But in Ephesians chapter 3, he
elaborates more on why the Lord called him and the purpose that
God gave to Paul, what he would have him do in his kingdom. Read
with me starting in verse 6, Ephesians 3, 6, and let's read
down to verse 8. This is the purpose that the
Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel, whereof I was made a
minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto
me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. In this passage, there in verse
eight, Paul makes a reference to himself being less than the
least of all saints. Who is the least of all saints,
let alone less than the least? Is this a title that's reserved
for Paul alone? Is this a generational thing,
where each generation, someone is the least of all saints? How would we even know? How would
we make such a judgment? What are we looking at? What
criteria are we to look at to know who's the least of all saints? Are we looking at their church
attendance, their timeliness or tardiness? Are we looking
at their giving or lack of giving? Are we checking to see who's
the most notorious sinner among us? And how would we even know
that? How would we know who the least
is by those things? So who is the least of all saints? I can't answer that question
using that subjective criteria. I can't answer that question,
but we can definitely learn some things about who the least of
all saints is from the scriptures. and what the Spirit of God testifies
to us in the inner man, what he reveals to us of who the least
of all saints is. I've titled this, Who is the
Least of All Saints? Who is the least of all saints? And in our first point, we'll
look at a pattern that the Lord gives us. The Holy Spirit reveals
a pattern whereby we may know who is this least of all saints.
And we'll take that on our search to look for the least of all
saints. We want to find who's this least
of all saints. And then we'll close with a few
observations that our Lord gives us to help us further in our
understanding of who the least of all saints is. So let's begin
with this pattern. Paul knew that all saints, all
saints are sinners saved. All saints are sinners saved. Saints aren't just some people
who have been known to work a miracle at some point. All of the Lord's
children, all his people whom he saved, cleansed with his own
blood, they're all saints, all are saints, and they're all sinners
saved. When Paul was writing to Timothy,
he gave us a faithful saying that we all should accept, that
we're all to receive and hear this faithful saying, which is
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why Christ
came, to save sinners. He didn't come to save people
that are well and healthy. He came to save sinners. Sin,
sick, dead in trespasses and sins, sinners. To give them life. And so our Lord, he came to sanctify
his people, saving them for his own purpose and his own use. And then Paul said that of the
sinners that Christ saved, he was chief. He called himself
chief, meaning I'm the greatest of sinners. Not in wonder and
awe and power, but greatest meaning he was the worst of all the sinners
whom Christ saved. He was the worst one. And then
Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1.16, that's the next verse after that
faithful saying of Christ coming into the world to save sinners.
He said in verse 16, how be it? For this cause I obtained mercy,
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern. for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on Christ to life everlasting." So Paul, the
chief of sinners, is saying, I'm a pattern. I'm a pattern
to them which should hereafter believe. All right, now back
in Ephesians 3. Paul says, by the gift of the
grace of God, he was made a minister by the effectual working of God's
power. On to Paul, of which he says,
who am less than the least of all saints. Now Paul is saying
this sincerely. He means it. He means, he really
believes and counts himself less than the least of all saints.
But we know according to the scriptures, the Holy Spirit is
setting forth a pattern, a pattern in those whom he saves, a pattern
of his people there in Paul that we would know who is the least
of all saints. Who is the least of all saints?
So let's take that on our search now to find the least of all
saints. The first characteristic I'd
like to recognize with you, and I think it is the first, the
first, it's the beginning point. Who is the least of all saints?
Well, the least of all saints, like Paul said, needs grace given. Grace given. Look at what Paul
said there in Ephesians 3.8. Unto me who am less than the
least of all saints is this grace given. This grace is given. We mentioned in the last point
that all saints are sinners saved. And the least of all saints knows
I need the grace of God given to me. The least of all saints
is constantly breathing out each day throughout the day, Lord,
be gracious to me. Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, there I go again. There's
my mind again, foolishly thinking of things I ought not to think.
Saying things under my breath about someone that I ought not
to say. Judging a person. Being harsh and critical. Lord,
be gracious to me. Be gracious to me. The least
of all saints is asking the Lord, please be gracious to me. Paul said, you were long suffering
with him. Be long suffering with me. Be gracious to me, Lord. Don't
cut me off. Be gracious. So the least of
all saints needs grace given. Grace given, much grace given. Turn over to Matthew 15. Matthew
15. Here our Lord gives us a good
example. Maybe this is the least of all
saints. Matthew 15. We'll pick up in
verse 21. Is this the least of all saints
here in Matthew 15, 21? Jesus went thence, or from there,
and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold,
a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cried unto
him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. But, verse 23, to this cry, he
answered her not a word. He answered her not a word. You
know, Matthew here tells us that she's a woman of Canaan. And
Mark adds that she was a Greek, a Syrophoenician. That means
she didn't grow up looking for the Messiah. She didn't know
who the Messiah is. She wasn't raised in Jewish religion. But she had a need. Her daughter
was grievously vexed with a devil. And any of you having someone
that you dearly care for, whom you can't do anything to save
them or help them, like a child or a friend, a parent, someone
that you dearly love, you know how that tears you up when someone
you desperately love like that is hurting. And She had that
need in her daughter. And someone told her that Christ
was near. And it sounds like a Jewish neighbor
said, now, before you go, when you address him, you call him
Lord, son of David, because that's who this man is. He's the Lord.
He's the son of David. And one thing we see, because
Christ didn't answer her, there in that call when she addressed
him as Lord, son of David. That's true. He is the son of
David. He is the Messiah. But one thing
we see about the least of all saints is proper religion doesn't
work out so well for them. They don't do so well in proper
religion, using all the right titles and saying all the right
things and coming properly as they should be when they're instructed
in religion. She said, O Lord, thou son of
David. And Christ answered her, not
a word. So the least of all saints, religion,
proper religion doesn't work out so well for them, doesn't
do a lot for them. Then we read that his disciples
came and besought him saying, send her away, for she crieth
after us. When Christ didn't answer her,
she began to supplicate his disciples, the saints, the other saints,
St. Peter, St. John, St. James, St. Andrew. Will you go
to him for me? Will you get his attention and
have him do something for me? I need his help. And they said,
send her away. She crieth after us. But she
found no relief doing that either. The Lord responded, saying to
them, not to her, but to them, I am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. In other words, if Christ helps
this woman, she must be a sheep, a lost sheep of the house of
Israel, because that's whom Christ came to save. She's got to be
a sheep, a lost sheep of the house of Israel. the church,
the assembly of the Lord, his gathered people together, the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. So she may be the least of all
saints, and she may be a nuisance to the other saints, a trouble
to others in the church of God, a pain, somebody that they just
don't love to be around because she's a nuisance. She that's
covered with the blood of Christ is one for whom he died. The
least of all saints may be a trouble to others, but he's beloved of
the Lord. She's beloved of the Lord and
his blood was shed for her too. All right, continuing on verse
25, then came she and worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. And there we see that when The
least of all saints brushed aside the pretension of religion and
just came to Him, falling down worshiping Him, crying, Lord,
help me. We see there a mercy beggar. The least of all saints is a
mercy beggar. beggar. They need mercy. They must have mercy because
they have no other righteousness. They have no other help for themselves. They need the mercy of Christ. And it was to this cry that the
Lord spoke to her. It was when she ceased being
religious in her approach and came and worshiped him, Lord
help me, begging for mercy, that that got the Lord's That's where
the Lord gave her attention. But, verse 26, he answered and
said, it's not meat to take the children's bread and to cast
it to dogs. And she said, truth, Lord, yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. What we see there is the least
of all saints bears many insults. A lot could be said about us. that isn't pretty, that hurts. He called her a dog and she took
it. And the least of all saints knows,
Lord, before you, I am a dog. I've got nothing to recommend
me to you. I've got no reason why you should
hear me and be merciful and gracious to me. I am a dog, Lord. And like a dog, I'm begging for
a crown. begging for a crumb of your mercy. Would you let
that crumb there fall from the table? Don't scoot it back. Don't
deliver from me. Lord, would you let your crumbs
of grace fall to me? Would you be gracious to me,
Lord? The least of all saints is willing to eat the crumbs
which fall from the Master's table, because they know I'm
a dog. I'm a filthy dog. I bear those
insults. You're right, Lord. You're right.
Your Holy Spirit shows me what a sinner I am. And what can I
say? I'm guilty. Guilty of all those things that
you say, Lord, but would you be gracious? Would you show me
a crumb of mercy? Then Jesus, verse 28, answered
and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee
even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. Another thing we see about the
least of all saints is they need faith. They're coming against
all opposition. All reason of man says, you can't
go to him. Nothing in your hand. You got
no righteousness, no goodness, nothing to recommend you to the
Lord. He's holy, holy, holy. is the Lord God Almighty. You're
gonna go to Him like that? A filthy dog? The least of all
saints needs much faith. And the Spirit of God gives them
that faith that they may approach unto Him believing, Lord, I got
nothing. But you say, you say in your
Son is life eternal. You bless your people in Him
and He's given everything Lord, I need that. I need that kind
of grace. I need that salvation because
I've got nothing. So the least of all saints has
much faith and comes with nothing in their hand, trusting only
in the blood of Jesus Christ to avail for them to be able
to stand before God and be heard by him in mercy and grace. And we're told Jesus departed
from there. And what that tells us about
the least of all saints, well, let me just say, they don't say
that he did anything else when he was there. That was it. He
went into a house, according to Mark, but that's where the
woman found him and came to him. This was all for her. And that
means the least of all saints must be sought. and found by
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's gonna go way out of his
way, if need be, to save that lost sheep way, way, way, way,
way out there, like the least of all saints will be. Way out,
way out. The Lord does that for the least
of all saints. All right, now let's go back
to Ephesians chapter three. Ephesians chapter three eight.
What else does Paul say here? Paul says, this grace is given
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Now, as we looked at, our Lord
had a very specific purpose in saving Paul. He was chosen in
eternity like all of the Lord's saints, but he determined this
man, I'm taking him and I'm going to use him in this specific way. And so the grace he received
unto salvation, we're told in Acts 9.15, that the Lord said
of Paul, he's a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before
the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. So Paul was
appointed by Christ to be an apostle, to take this gospel
to the Gentiles. But something that is relevant
to the least of all saints, because what does this mean for the least
of all saints? Well, just like Paul, a pattern,
the least of all saints is going to speak of the riches of Christ. They're going to speak of the
riches of Christ. They may not be preachers. They
may not be anybody of significant stature in the church of God,
but the least of all saints is going to make their boast of
Christ. They're not going to talk about
their works or their faith and what they did for the Lord. They're
going to speak of what the Lord did for them. Now he was merciful
and gracious to an undeserved sinner like me. That's what the
least of all saints is going to say. This made me think of something. When Michelle and I were not
married many, many years, we had one car at the time. One car was a Subaru four-door
sedan. And we had two children, and
each of those children fit in the back seat in their car seats.
And then we got pregnant again. And we had a third child. And
that third seat really wasn't going to fit back there. I think
it was maybe like this. And we would go and visit her
dad and her stepmom. She had a recent stepmom of only
about a year. And we would go and visit. And
with that third child, we would drive out there to Long Island,
if I'm not mistaken. Long Island, or maybe, well,
anyway, we would go out there a ways. Maybe they weren't that
far yet. We would visit some other family up there. But anyway,
we would visit her, and she'd see Michelle climbing out of
that back seat with, from between those two little tiny seats. And then when it was time to
leave, she'd see Michelle climb in there and wiggle her body
in between those two seats. And you can imagine it was pretty
dangerous and definitely uncomfortable for her, especially. And her
stepmother got sick with cancer. And when she died, she willed her
grand marquee to Michelle out of the blue. We weren't expecting
it. We didn't know anything about it. And it was a car wide enough
to get all three car seats back there so that Michelle didn't
have to climb in the back seat anymore. And I was thinking about
that gracious act. What a kind, gracious, thoughtful
thing to do for her. We'd only known her for, I think
by that time, maybe two years. It was around 2000. And she did
that. And I was thinking, if I remember
that gracious act, that I can recount it and tell you here
now, what a gracious thing to do for us. How much more the
grace of our Savior, who that spotless Lamb, that perfect,
holy Son of God, came in the flesh for a filthy, dead dog
sinner like me, and gave His life, laid down His life for
me, that I would have life in Him. joy and righteousness and
peace and reconciliation to my God. What a gracious, gracious
Lord. So if I can remember that kind
act of Siddhell, how can I not remember the grace of my Savior
who loved me and gave himself for me? And the least of all
saints, that's why they speak of the riches of Christ. They speak of His grace and what
He's done for them. So the least of all saints speaks
of Christ's richest riches. Now, Paul said he was less than
the least of all saints. Now, there really isn't technically
a less than the least of. The least of something is the
last of it. It's the last one. But Paul,
what he was saying there is, I'm not even worthy to be called
a saint. I'm not even worthy to be called
the least of all saints. And this, as he said at another
place, he said, I'm not me to be called an apostle. I'm not
worthy to be called an apostle of Jesus Christ. And so the least
of all saints knows I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy of this grace.
I'm not worthy of your love and compassion and kindness to me. I need grace given. I've done nothing to earn your
favor. Nothing to deserve it. Because
if there was a righteousness that we deserved and could earn,
one thing about the least of all saints, they'd be the failure. They'd be the one to fail. They
wouldn't do it because they're the least. They got nothing.
They can't do it. They'd be the failure. So thank
God for his grace upon the least of us. And one more helpful thing
that you should know in helping your search for finding the least
of all saints. Paul said at the beginning of
verse eight, the first two words, he says, unto me, unto me. So if you're looking for the
least of all saints, you start right there with those words
that you refer to yourself as when speaking of you, me. Me, unto me, Lord. Because as
long as we're looking out there and trying to find who the least
of all saints is and looking at our brothers and our sisters,
right? Sometimes we think, I found them.
I found the worst, the worst one. I found one or two of them
in my lifetime, right? So long as we're looking out
there at the others, we're always going to be mistaken. We're always
going to be mistaken. But when the Holy Spirit shows
us what we are, And then we, like Paul, say, unto me, who
am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given? Is this grace given? Now, I don't
mean that the least of all saints is constantly looking inward
and just dragging around a cloud of darkness over them and championing
being miserable and making that their mantra of glory, by which
they glory and say, look at me, I'm the worst. I don't mean that. I just mean that the least of
all saints comes to understand that we're saved by grace given. Grace given freely by our Lord. And our boast is always going
to be in Christ, our substitute, and my surety. The one who took
my place, took my death, and gave me life, imputed his righteousness
to me, and paid off all my debts to God, and made me accepted
in his beloved. And so I pray that will help
you find the least of all saints. I think that should help you
find the least of all saints. Now I know I should probably
stop there, but let me just give you a few more things that our
Lord gives us about about this grace given, this grace given. There was an occasion in Mark
chapter 9, around verse 34, where the disciples were in tow of
their Lord. They were following behind him
and they were talking among themselves and the Lord asked them, what
were you guys talking about back there? And they were ashamed
to say it. They were afraid to tell him
that they were talking about who should be the greatest in
the kingdom of God. You know, that's what the natural
man does. That's what this old man of flesh does. He seeks to
be the greatest in the kingdom of God, to be taken care of and
set at least as good as everybody else, if not better. In Mark 9 35, Christ sat down
and he called the 12 and said unto them, if any man desire
to be first, The same shall be last of all and servant of all. And so he's saying, if you would
be first in the kingdom of God, if you would be the greatest
in the kingdom of God, be last, be last of all, be servant of
all. That's what he's saying. Now,
the least of all saints, they're not striving for this world's
recognition. That's not what we're striving
for. We understand, we know what the world thinks is greatness
and what men and women ought to strive for. We know that,
but the least of all saints, they don't wanna strive for that.
They realize that's not for me. Now, our Lord said in Luke 22,
verse 25, he added this, saying, the kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them. And they that exercise authority
upon them are called benefactors. And they do good. You don't deserve this, but what
I do is in the good graces of my heart. I'm a benefactor of
you little people, right? That's how a benefactor is and
how they think of themselves. And the least of all saints,
they can't rise that high. They don't have that in them.
That doesn't mean that they're not good, very good at what they
do. And people with their own businesses
and people in positions of authority, they are. But they don't have
that thought of, I'm better than everybody else. It's just not
what they do. But he that would do this sincerely
and honestly, He that would seek to be last and to serve, and
now sinners in everything we do, I know that none of us is
perfect in this, but that one who would be last and would just
wait on the Lord, that least of all saints does much more
for the kingdom of God than that wealthy benefactor who would
do something for the church in the flesh. That's how much more
precious that least of all saints is, that they contribute and
do so much more for the people of God than a wealthy benefactor
does out of their riches and what they would do for the church
in the flesh. And our Lord said in Luke 22,
verse 26 and 27, but ye shall not be so, but he that is greatest
among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief
as he that doth serve, right? I don't think they do it much
now, but in days in the past, the oldest was served first,
and then it went on down to the youngest and they got last, whatever
they were. And so Christ says, let them
be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that doth serve.
For whether is greater he that sitteth at meat or he that serveth,
is not he that sitteth at meat? And he adds, but I am among you
as he that serveth. And there is none greater in
the kingdom of God than our Lord Jesus Christ. For God the Father
hath raised him up and given him a name which is above every
name. And he came and he served his
people so we're never going to be as great as he is and we're
thankful we're okay with that we bless and glory in Christ
our Savior all right now this brings us back and we'll be done
soon back in our text 3 9 Paul says further about his being
used in the kingdom of God, and to make all men see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world
hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Now, men of flesh, when they
look upon you, they don't see somebody. You that are the least,
he that's the least, they look upon the least of all saints,
and they don't wanna be like them. They don't see anything
that they want to emulate, that they strive to be like through
imitation. They don't want to be like them.
But your brethren, they see. They look upon one another and
see the glories of God being merciful, revealing himself,
having reconciled such in one to himself, to the glory and
praise of his own name. They see the mystery of Christ
revealed in their brethren. They say, there's a child of
God. Bless God, what a mercy that
he saved them and brought them here to this fellowship. Thank
you, Lord. We look upon one another and
we rejoice in seeing the kingdom of God revealed in the hearts
of his people. Now, the least of all saints,
they don't see that in themselves because they know their need
for grace and they just keep begging for grace and mercy.
You don't see it, but the church does. The church sees the work
of God in his people. And so they look upon their brothers
and sisters as sinners saved, saints of the Lord. All right,
verse 10 and 11. To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God. The church sees the grace
of Christ worked in his people, even in the least of all saints,
according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Amen. Now you can tell me if I should
just stop at that first point next time if I ever preach it
again, but you're welcome to tell me that, I get it. It was
a sweet spot, I know. I know, but I pray that that
last bit was a help as well. All right, brethren, let's close
in prayer. And then I'm going to ask Scott and Ron, if you
two would come up, and then Scott, if you'd say a prayer and hand
out the bread and the wine. Let's pray. Our gracious Lord,
we thank you, Father, for your great mercy, your grace given
to the least of all saints. Lord, we thank you. What a kind
and gracious, merciful God you are, that you should be so long-suffering
and patient with us and reveal your grace in us. We thank you,
Lord. And we thank you for our brethren,
in whom we see the mystery of Christ revealed, how that you
should be so gracious and merciful to us to gather your people together. Father, we thank you for this.
Lord, we pray that you would bless our hearts this day. We
pray that you will bless our hearts now as we take of the
bread and the wine in remembrance of you. Lord, thank you. Thank you for your
grace. And Lord, thank you for this
time of fellowship when we eat a meal together as well. Bless
the food to the nourishment of our bodies. Bless our conversation
with one another. May we speak and declare the
riches of Christ our Lord and Savior. It's in His name we pray
and give thanks. Amen. Alright. Just pray first and
then hand it out. You lead because Ron hasn't done
this yet. But if you'd pray, I'd appreciate
it, brother. Father, we come to you this morning
thankful for the place that you've given us to come to hear the
gospel. Father, for our pastor that preaches the gospel rock
solid all the time. Father, we thank you for blessing
this church. Father, we thank you for everything
you've done for us. Lord, we ask that you continue
to watch over and care for us in Christ's name. All right, I'm gonna read from
1 Corinthians 11, picking up in verse 23, and I'm gonna read
the whole thing, and then I'm gonna just go back to the chair
and sit, and then we'll just take the bread and the wine together,
and then after about a minute, just come up and close this in
the final hymn. Paul writes there in 1 Corinthians 11.23, I have
received of the Lord, that which also I delivered unto you, that
the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took
bread. And when he had given thanks,
he break it, and said, Take, eat. This is my body, which is
broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he
took the cup, And when he had supped, saying, This cup is the
new testament in my blood, this do ye, as oft as ye drink it,
in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Let's all stand and sing a closing
hymn, 292. Surely goodness and mercy, 292. Just as a reminder, we're gonna
sing the first three verses and then the refrain comes last after
we're done with the first three. A pilgrim was I in a wandering
In the cold night of sin I did roam When Jesus the kind shepherd
found me, and now I am on my way home. Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days, all the days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days, all the days of my life. He restoreth my soul when I'm
weary. He giveth me strength day by
day. He leads me besides the still
waters. He guards me each step of the
way. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days, all the days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days, all the days of my life. When I walk through the dark,
lonesome valley My Savior will walk with me there And safely
His great hand will lead me To the mansions He's gone to prepare
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days, all the
days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days, all the days of my life. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever, and I shall feast at the table spread for
me. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days, all the days of my life. All the days, all the days of
my life. Thank you.