**Love rains down.**
His love rains down.
Rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
His love rains down.
Plate when it comes by in just a little bit. If you're worshiping with us online, we are grateful that you're here with us from wherever you are, and we would love to know that you are with us by putting your name in the comment section on the live stream. That way we know you're with us, because we want to know that our reach is beyond these four walls.
So a couple of things to know for this week and upcoming into the rest of September. So TGIW, which is our Wednesday evening meal, begins again. It's a weekly schedule, beginning this Wednesday at 5:30. And then at six o'clock, kids programming, youth programming, and a Bible study that I'm teaching starts. And then choir rehearses at 6:30 in the choir room. You can see all of that on the calendar that's printed in your worship guide that you can take a look at.
One thing I do want you to mention is on the website, you can find a link to the TGIW website, and you can find a link to the calendar. On Thursday, the 5th at 6:30, there is a handbell 101 offering. And so that is an introduction or a reintroduction. Maybe you played handbells as a youth like I did. But this is an opportunity for anybody ninth grade and above to get a sense of what it means to play handbells, all the different ways that you can do that, and get your feet wet. If that's something that you're interested in, you can talk to Miss Diana over here. She'd love to talk to you. You can talk to me about that. Or you can just show up on Thursday evening at 6:30 in the choir room, which is on the exact opposite end of this building here from where we are now.
Harvest Festival is coming up at the end of the month, and you can find donation forms, and you'll find out more information over the course of this month about how to donate, how to plug in, how to volunteer. And then just remember that it starts about 9 on the 28th and goes till about 2, and there's fun activities all day long, and it's a great opportunity for you to bring your neighbors and friends and come and connect with your other church family.
So all those things coming up this month, it's going to be a great day. So I want to invite you to take just a moment to breathe with me as we center our hearts and minds as we continue in worship today. So let's breathe.
Holy Spirit, fill us now. Fill us with your power and your presence so that as we worship, as we declare our faith, as we open scriptures, and we hear from you, that we will be attentive to what it is that you are saying to us. Draw us close to your side as we come to the table later this morning. Allow us to see your grace in action and simple gifts of bread and juice. We pray for all of this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
I invite you to stand as you are able, and we're going to declare our faith together with the Nicene Creed. It's been around almost 1,700 years. And it declares who we are as followers of Christ. So let us say it boldly today.
All things were made for us and for our salvation. He came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the living.
I better stop. We're gonna get on. Good job, Carter.
So, as our ushers prepare to receive our offering this morning, I want to give you a figure, a number. It's four percent, and the reason that four percent is significant to us here at Smithfield is that when we joined the Global Methodist Church last July, we joined a connection of churches throughout the globe, and one of the things that we do as the body of Christ in Global Methodism is we have connectional giving.
That four percent number is the amount of money that we give from our offerings on an annual basis that go to the connectional opportunities that we have, and one percent goes to the global denomination, the worldwide denomination, and the work that needs to be done on that global scale, and three percent goes to our annual conference.
So, when you add the one percent and the three percent, the work that is done as a Global Methodist Church, both in mid-Texas, our annual conference, and then around the world, gets done. Some of you were here when Smithfield was a United Methodist Church, and you know that that number was a lot larger.
One of the things that happens when the Global Methodist Church is a global denomination is that it decided to run lean at the top, at the structural level, so that more money was available at the local church level for missions, and ministries, and programs in the communities where the churches were active. So they set that cap. The Global Church decided that one percent was the cap, and then mid-Texas for the next, you know, for at least the first year, and the end of the second year, they said it's going to be three percent.
That's money that goes to do more than we could do as a local church on a broader scale, but it also enables us to do lots more things here in the local community, because resources are freed up from that connectional giving. So I want you to know that when you give to Smithfield, not all the dollars stay right here in our community. Some of them go to our annual conference, which is a global denomination, and some of them go to our local church, and some of the stretches from the Rio Grande to the Red River through the central part of Texas, and some of it goes to the work of us as a global denomination.
I just want to remind you of that. Let me give you that stat of four percent. Those are dollars that go to make a kingdom impact, and it happens when you give here to the church, so let us pray.
Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of generosity. We thank you that you call us, your children, you've called us and equipped us with gifts to send to the work both here in North Richland Hills and then around the world through our connectional giving. We thank you that we are part of a global church that is in mission and ministry around the world, and we pray, oh God, that you continue to allow us to be the light of Christ for our world through the work of God. The ways in which we give. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.
Let's pray.
Holy and gracious God, we thank you that your Son came to us, came to us, as not just the lion and the lamb but a child born in the manger, the one who would set us free, both God and man in a way that we can only begin to understand. Help us, oh God, to put our trust in him, to put our life in his hands so that you might continue to do the work that you have given us to do, that you have placed into our hands.
We thank you, oh God, for Jesus, for his life and his death, his resurrection and his ascension, that he rules and reigns with you forever and ever. We thank you that the spirit lives and breathes among us, empowering us to be your people. We thank you that as we worship this day, as we have lifted our praises to you, so now we draw our hearts to you in prayer.
We know that there are many whom we love and care for who are ill, who are undergoing treatment for various illnesses, who are longing for full bodily health to be restored. We ask, oh God, for your presence to be made known with them just as your presence is already with us. May we understand that you move in your time. Our job is to pray, our job is to lift them up, our job is to intercede on their behalf when they have no words to pray for the transformation that you will do in and to believe that you will do that.
We ask, oh God, that as we continue in worship today, as we open your scriptures, as we come to your table, will you reveal yourself to us so that we might know more of who you are and how you are calling us to be shaped into the image of Jesus Christ so that we might be the image of Christ bearing out into this world to our friends and our family, to our colleagues and to strangers.
We ask, oh God, for your grace and your mercy to be made known in our lives and in those we love. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus the Christ who taught us to pray, saying:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Amen.
So a few weeks ago, the world tuned in on their TVs or maybe some people got a plane ticket and went to Paris and witnessed the Olympics happening this summer. And we watched or participated in, we saw these feats of athletic excellence of people from around the world who had spent hours and days and years in training for this moment to shine on us on the worldwide stage and represent their country. And they did so in order to win either gold or silver or bronze medal and perhaps the pride of their nation. They expended themselves in the midst of all of that.
I don't know how much you watched, but I watched a couple of things in the midst of the Olympics, and I just, I still cannot wrap my mind around how Simone Biles is able to twist and turn and flip her body over so many times and still land on her feet. It's phenomenal. My favorite event is swimming, and I love to see all of those athletes that can swim in a straight line. Like I cannot swim in a straight line. I wish I could, but I cannot. I long to do that sometime.
But they all were chasing after a prize that ultimately, while it may be a little bit, it may be good for a few moments, it ultimately fleets away. And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9 that we are to be after a prize that is our heavenly call. That is one that does not lose its shine and luster over the years, but one that is our heavenly prize.
And so when Paul writes in his first letter to his protege Timothy, he's telling him that Timothy has responsibility for this church that he is in charge of. And when he does that, he has to make sure that those who are in his charge understand the truths of the faith that they need to hold on to and live by and then be the example of that faith to other people. And it starts with Timothy.
Now Timothy was a pastor, but I don't want you to check out if you think, "Well, I'm not a pastor." You are, Dave, but not me. There is something in here for all of us. It's not just that pastors have work to do, because we do. It's that as Christians, we are called to be an example for others.
And so when we read these words that Paul writes to Timothy, we need to see that they apply across the board for Christians of all ages and stages and times and places. Because if we lose our focus on the things that are truly of eternal value, we will divert our attention to things that have no value whatsoever and ultimately are fleeting.
Because as Paul will tell us, we train in godliness for an eternal, eternal impact. I invite you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 4 in the New Testament. There's Bibles in front of you if you didn't bring one with you. If you did, great. It'll also be on the screen in front of you. We're going to begin in verse 6.
Hear now what Paul writes to us this day.
If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales. Rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
This is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in a living God who is the Savior of all people and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. Until I come, devote yourselves to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
Be diligent in these matters. Give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray.
Holy God, we thank you for the gift that you have placed inside of each of us as followers of Christ. May the Spirit nourish that gift so that we might be the hands and feet of Christ for this world, so that we might be the example of Christ for someone whom we know and love so that they might come to faith in you. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Alright. So Timothy is Paul's protege, and he begins by talking about what it is that Timothy needs to do. The second half of verse 7, Paul says, "Train yourself to be godly." The word "train" there really is about, it's about, it's the word that we use for gymnasium. It's an exercise. It's the idea of exercising vigorously. It's like breaking a sweat. Like those athletes who competed at the Olympics broke sweats all the time because they were training themselves for a particular event.
And so Paul is calling Timothy to teach his followers in his church to train themselves in godliness, to train and to exercise vigorously in godliness, which he says is better than taking care of our physical body. Paul says to exercise vigorously to be godly by spending time in prayer and filling the spirit of God inside of you, reading scripture, meditating on God's truths, realizing that God is continuously pouring out his truth to us.
Let's go back to verses 8 through 10. I'm going to read them again. It is of some value, and that word there, "some value," is really like just about that much. But godliness has value for all things. All things. And when Paul says "all," he means all. Holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all people and especially of those who believe. Don't get me wrong; moving and taking care of your body, your physical body, is important. We have just one, and we need to make sure that we take care of it in a way that enables us to be in the world doing the things that God is calling us to do. It's a good thing for us to take care of our bodies.
But Paul says that shaping and developing our spiritual lives is a God thing. It is what God is calling us to do. Training our bodies to do what we need it to do is a tool for a long physical life. We really do need to keep our bodies in as good a shape as we possibly can, but he says training in godliness is the key to our life having an eternal impact which lasts far longer than any of our physical bodies will.
We trust Christ with all that we have, and our hope is in eternal life. Our hope in eternal life is in Jesus. It's in Christ because the Lord is the Savior of all people. Paul says to those who believe they already know it, and the good news is that to those who don't know it yet, they still can know that good news.
So we train in godliness for eternal impact. The rest of this passage is Paul's instructions to Timothy. Now remember, Timothy's a pastor, and he's, and Paul is calling him to specific actions, but remember, don't check out, lean in, because all of us is good for us no matter where we are, no matter if we think we lead anybody. By the time we're done, I'll let you know that you do, whether you know it or not.
So verses 11 through 16, Paul begins to give instructions to Timothy. First he says, "Command and teach these things." These things are the truths of scripture. These things are the truths that have been revealed to him through who Jesus is. So the life, the death, the resurrection, the ascension of Jesus, these are the things that he is to teach. These are the things that he is to pass on to those under his charge. He is commanded to teach these things so that they know the truth.
We have the responsibility as followers of Christ to know who Jesus is and what that means for us and then spend time, that exercise thing, in proclaiming that through our testimony, through our conversations, and the way that we live our life.
He says in verse 12, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young." So Timothy was the protege to Paul, and Paul was most likely probably a couple of decades older than Timothy when I think Paul took him on. But Paul knew Timothy as a young man. He knew who his mother was. He knew who his grandmother was, and he saw the character that Timothy had.
And so when Paul tells Timothy to not let the people look down on him because he's young, it's not just because he's, you know, he's not a teenager at this point. He's probably, you know, up to somewhere probably, you know, mid-thirties or so. He is most likely younger than the people in his church, so it's not a matter of age for Timothy. The truth of God knows no age. The truth of God, when it comes from the mouths of infants and babies, is still the truth of God just as much as it comes from those who have lived more years than you. It's still the truth of God.
So what Paul wants Timothy to understand is that he doesn't have to shy away from telling the truth to the people under his charge because he's young. In fact, Paul says that he should be an example to them, that it's not just that he tells them the truth, that he lives the truth, but he sets an example for them.
And this idea of being an example for the believers comes in five parts for Timothy, but it comes because Paul used this same phrase when he wrote to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 3. Paul is writing to the church in Philippi, and he says this. He's writing to this congregation that he loves. He says, "Join together in following my example." There it is right there, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
So as Paul is saying goodbye to the Philippian church, he's reminding them that there are examples of how to live after Christ, and so he was one, and he's saying that there are others in your church, and you need to see what they do and how they model Christ and then do that to be the example.
So Paul says to Timothy, back to 1st Timothy, "Set an example for the believers." Like don't just, you know, talk about things, but live these things out. Five parts. First one is in speech. My friends, our words matter. The way that we speak to one another, the way that we speak in the community, the way that we speak as believers into a world that needs to know Jesus matters. Are our words building people up? Are they drawing people closer to Christ? Our words matter.
He says the second thing is that we should set an example for the believers in conduct. Whether we like it or not, our actions matter. The way that we live our life, the things that we do, the things that we don't do, they matter in the way that we live our life. They matter because people are watching, and we look and we wonder, are they adopting our behaviors? And if they are, are those good behaviors? You look at it and go, "Oh, they got that from me." I've had that moment in my life.
Third, set an example for the believers in love. How we love others matters. Are we stingy with our love? Are we like, "Nope, I don't know you, so I can't love you just yet," or "I don't know you well enough," or "Maybe as long as you fit a mold that I like," or whatever? Or are we extravagant in our love? Are we willing to extend love first, see the good in people, and then take an opportunity to extend grace to them? Our love matters.
Fourth, in faith, our beliefs matter. What we profess with our mouths needs to be how we actually believe, and they need to be the truth of scripture and the truth of the church. Because when our beliefs, our core beliefs, and our words don't match up, there's a disconnect there. When our beliefs are one thing and our actions are another thing, there's a disconnect there. Our beliefs matter because they are drawing us closer to Jesus. Are our beliefs drawing us closer to Jesus? Are our beliefs drawing others closer to Jesus?
Then we set an example fifth in purity. Our holiness matters. The way that we live our life after the example of Christ. Are we more like Christ today than we were yesterday? Will we be more like Christ tomorrow than we are today? Our holiness matters. Are we on this journey of sanctification, of being made more like Christ? Are we following after the example of Christ so that our life looks more like his throughout our life?
Paul tells Timothy to set an example for the believers in speech and conduct and love and faith and purity. And then he says this. He says, "Devote yourselves to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and teaching." Now remember, this is not just for preachers, okay? This is not the reality.
In Timothy's day, most likely he was one of a few people who could read, and so he was responsible as the pastor of that community to read the scriptures to them, to those who couldn't read, so they would hear it and know the stories of creation and the flood, and they know the stories of Noah and Abraham and Jacob and all of his sons. They would know all of those stories, but they would most importantly know the stories of Jesus and how he came and taught, fed the hungry, healed the sick, gave his life on the cross, rose on the third day, and ascended into heaven. All of those things they needed to know.
And so until the scriptures were written down, the New Testament scriptures were written down, they had to be told in an oral culture. So what we do in devoting ourselves to the public reading of scripture and preaching and teaching is to be about the work of reading scripture and sharing our story about how God is moving in our lives and talking about what it is that we are learning. That's not just for preachers; that's for everybody.
He goes on, Paul goes on to say, "Do not neglect your gift," that there must be consistent engagement with these things, that there's no off days. As Christians, we are full-time Christians. It's not show up for one hour on Sunday morning and then live the rest of the 167 hours of your week however you choose. There are no vacation days for Christians. There's no PTO. There is no time where you could just be like, "Eh, I don't want to do that today." When we say yes to Jesus, we give him everything. All the hours of our week, our waking and our sleeping, our working and our playing, all of those are done so that we might know Christ more and that others might see Christ in us.
We don't take a off day. We devote ourselves consistently to it. We don't neglect the gift that God has given us and builds inside of us. He says to be diligent in these matters. Not only do we need consistent engagement, but we need consistent attention to the things that God is doing. Then he says, "Give yourself wholly to them," and that's wholly with a W.
So there is this idea that we are all in. Like Paul says, "Timothy, and everybody else reading this, including myself, we need to be all in on what God is doing in our lives." Give him everything. Give everything that we have to that work. James Clear wrote a book called Atomic Habits, and he talks about the concept of the 1% principle, that every day you get 1% better at something. I think the Spirit can do way better than that in our lives, but the idea is that you do something every day that draws you closer to Christ, that makes you more like Christ. That's the process of sanctification.
And then he closes, and he says, "Watch your life and doctrine closely." As followers of Christ, we need to make sure that our lives are reflecting Christ back to the world. We need to make sure that the things that we believe are the things that we live out. And I don't know about you. Well, I do actually know this about you, because it's true for me, is that you have blind spots. I got blind spots. Maybe you have blind spots. No, I do know you have blind spots. There are parts of your life that you can't see.
I found this out last week. So when I was a kid, I had a tumor in my left ear that took away 95% of my hearing, and I still have a scar in my ear, and it was hurting. It was causing me a little bit of dizziness, and I was talking to Debbie about that, and I said, "I can't see my ear," and she went, "Duh." So she got her phone out, and she snapped a picture of it. And I could see. She showed me the picture, and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, that's my scar, and that's where it hurts."
Now, I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. But I had a blind spot. I can't see around there. Here's what I know about you. You have spots that you can't see, that other people can, that other people might be able to help you out with, if you let them. If you let them into your story, if you let them into your life, if you let them poke around at those sore places. Mentors are good at this. Coaches are good at this. Sunday school classes, when structured the right way, are good at this. Accountability groups are good at this, because you've opened yourself up to them to say, "Where have I gone wrong?" And then they get the opportunity, because you gave it to them, to say, "There's this spot right here that you need to pay attention to."
And then it's our choice whether we go, "Eh, you're full of baloney," or you pay attention to what they're doing. Watch your life and doctrine closely. We need people around us who will speak truth to us, who will say, "That was wrong. You shouldn't have done that." We need people around us who will say, "That's not going to be helpful for you in the long run if you keep doing that." We need people like that in our life, because we are training in godliness for an eternal impact.
The last phrase that he uses here is the most important for us today. It's persevere, and I kept saying persevere, persevere in them, okay? Because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. We are to remain steadfast in our life and doctrine, because there are souls at stake, our own and those whom we love.
Parents, your children are watching. They really are. I know this to be true. Because things that I've done, and things that I've said, have come back at me. And I'm like, "You learned that from me." Grandparents, your grandkids are watching. They see you. They see what you do. They see how you live. What do they see?
We all have friends. Your friends who know that you are a follower of Christ will look at you and wonder, "Is their life any different than mine because they follow Christ?" They're watching. What are they seeing? What are they learning? And those of you, oh, blessings to us. Those of you, those of us who have siblings. Our siblings watch what we do too. Especially the oldest ones. They're like, you know, those of you who are parents, you know, these are your crash test dummies. You know, these are the ones you figure things out on.
But the younger ones come along and they're like, "Oh, they did that and that happened. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's a bad thing. Maybe I'm going to do that. Maybe I'm not going to do that. Maybe I'm going to try something even farther down the road than what big brother, big sister knew." And those of you who are siblings, those of you who are friends, you have people who are watching you. What are they seeing? How are they seeing Christ modeled in what you do and how you live your life?
The way that you speak, the way that you interact with people. What are they seeing? Persevere and remain steadfast in our life and our doctrine because there are, here's my challenge for those of you who are already followers of Christ. I said it this way in first service, break a sweat for Jesus. Alright. Exercise vigorously your faith. Like spend enough time in scripture and in prayer and in following after spiritual disciplines that you get to the end of it and you got to take a deep breath and go, "That was kind of heavy. That was, you know, that was really important. What God just did in my life."
Exercise vigorously in godliness. And that's not just for this week. That's for every week. Be like Jesus more tomorrow than you are today. And remember to get up when you fall because we're all human. We're going to fall. We're not going to get it perfect a hundred percent, but God gives us grace for today and tomorrow.
If you don't have a relationship with Christ yet, I want you to pay attention to the Bible. I want you to pay attention to the Bible. I want you to pay attention to the communion liturgy here in just a moment, because it tells the story of the gospel. Now Jesus was who came to us. He bled and died and rose again for us. And we remember it in simple gifts of bread and juice. And perhaps today you might find a way to say yes to eternal life in Christ through the grace that is poured out in these moments.
God invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another. Therefore, we come to dwell in charity with our neighbors, and we intend to live a holy life. Draw near with faith and take this holy sacrament to your comfort, making your humble confession to Almighty God.
Let us pray together.
Almighty and most merciful God, we confess and lament that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. Because the remembrance of our sin is more than we can bear, have mercy on us and forgive us. For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, pardon us of all that has passed, and grant that we may ever serve you in newness of life. To the glory of your holy name. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
In his great mercy, our Almighty God and Heavenly Father has promised forgiveness of sins to all who repent and with true faith turn to him. May he have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hear these comforting words that Jesus Christ, our Savior, said to all who truly repent. God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Thanks be to God.
The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. It is right and our joy to give thanks to you in all places and at all times, Almighty Father. You are the source of all truth, life, and love. You made us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we are in our sinfulness, we turned away from you and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.
You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, and called us to new life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore, we praise you with the angels and the archangels and all the company of heaven, forever singing this hymn to the glory of your name.
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
All praise and glory is yours, O God, our Father, for in your tender mercy you gave your only Son, Jesus Christ, to the world. Your Spirit anointed him to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to comfort those who mourn, to proclaim freedom for captives, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce the year of the Lord's favor.
In obedience to your will, he stretched out his arms upon the cross and offered himself once for all, that by his suffering and death we might be saved. By his resurrection, he broke the bonds of death, trampling hell and Satan under his feet. As our great high priest, he ascended to your right hand in glory that we might come with confidence before the throne of grace.
On the night that he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Likewise, after supper, he took the cup. When he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink this, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me."
Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of faith. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Celebrate this memorial of our redemption, O Father, receiving these gifts of bread and wine with thanksgiving for the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. Sanctify them by your word and Holy Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ. Sanctify us also that we may worthily receive this holy sacrament and partake of his most blessed body and blood.
By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, and one is your church, that Christ may dwell in us and we in him. In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ. And gather us together with all your saints in the joy of your heavenly kingdom, where we shall see our Lord face to face. We ask this through your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit in your holy church, be all honor and glory now and forever. Amen.
Body of Christ, broken for you, thanks be to God. Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray together.
We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your abundant and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs from under your table, but you are the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and that our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. Amen.
If you've been designated to serve this morning, I'm going to invite you forward now. So we will receive communion this morning via intinction. It's a simple process where you come forward at the usher's direction and you cup your hands to the person with the bread, and you will receive a communion with the person with the bread. They will break a piece of bread off the loaf and hand it to you with the words, "The body of Christ broken for you." And your response is "Amen."
Then you'll step, you hold on to that, step to the person with the juice, and you'll dip your, you have the opportunity to dip it into the juice with the words, "The blood of Christ shed for you." And again, your response is "Amen." And then you consume both elements at the same time. This is how it works. So we'll have two stations. Let's go right up on the cushion there. So we'll have two stations this morning. We'll be quick through.
But if you have gluten issues, allergies, or gluten sensitivities, then I will have on my far right, your far left, a tray of individual gluten-free pieces of bread as well as individual juice cups. And you're free to take advantage of that if that's something that you need or want to partake in.
Otherwise, come and be present here. Our communion rail offering this morning is going to our Bulgaria Covenant that we have with the Bulgaria Annual Conference. And we as a Mid-Texas Annual Conference have covenanted with them to provide their pastor's salaries for the upcoming year through offerings that we take. I'll tell you a little bit more about that before we leave this morning.
But if you would like to give to that, you can leave it at the rail this morning. So this is Christ's Table. This is the table that he opens to all who can hear my voice and to hear him calling them forward. So come. Come share in the gift of simple bread and juice that is a representation of the grace and love of Jesus Christ this day.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. And for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of your Son and heirs of your eternal kingdom.
And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit be honor and glory now and forever.
We have one more song to sing this morning. So I invite you to stand as you are able and let us sing together today.
Alright, so I told you I'd tell you a little bit more about our Bulgaria Covenant. So, General Conference is happening for the Global Methodist Church at the end of September, the last full week of September. And our delegates from Bulgaria are coming to Mid-Texas to meet us and come around. And they are ending their time before they go to Costa Rica right here at Smithfield.
So, I told you TGIW was starting back up on Wednesdays. Well, guess what? On the 18th, we will not have TGIW because we will be meeting on the 17th, which is TGI Tuesday, at 6 o'clock. All the Bulgarian delegates will be here. Folks from around our annual conference will be here to meet them and greet them and hear their stories and, you know, get them ready, prayed up to go the next day to, they leave the next morning for Costa Rica.
So, on Tuesday, September 17th, make plans, like adjust your plans right now to be here on Tuesday, the 17th to meet our Bulgarian delegates, to meet folks from around our annual conference and to pray up the delegates who are headed off to General Conference at the end of September.
So, we'll tell you more about that. Go ahead, mark the 17th on your calendar as a beautiful day within the life of our church. We have a great privilege to host that evening together. So, we're having lasagna and all the fixings, so you got that going for you.
Receive this now as your benediction. Go forth from this place to love and serve God with all that you have and all that you are. Going with vigorous exercise after our godliness. Go, go this day to be more like God. Go, go this day to be more like Christ than you were yesterday with hope and expectation that you will be better tomorrow than you are today.
Go in this day in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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on Sep 03, 2024
