It's been a few minutes in the word this morning as we continue with our focus. Today on the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm going to do something that's actually dangerous. On Sunday morning at church, I'm going to talk about food. I know, I understand that immediately distracts us. But maybe how we naturally respond to the very thought and to discussing food at this time on a Sunday morning will help to sharpen our focus on the truth that God's word brings to us. In fact, it is. A fact that food is very important in the life of the church, it really is from the very beginning, food has been a big part of what people do when they get together in a church setting. Will you listen with me? to how the first gatherings of the Church of Jesus Christ are described from Acts chapter two. Listen, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and prayer. So they continue daily with one accord in the temple and Breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. So right there with praying and praising and fellowshipping in the midst of it all, there's food. And it continued that way. The book of Acts chapter 20 describes the apostle Paul in the city of Troas. And you may remember the story where Paul was speaking for a long time and there was the poor guy who fell asleep while Paul was speaking. And and then he was he was revived by Paul. And then it tells us even after that, on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul spoke to them. Acts chapter 20, now verse 11, when he Paul had broken bread and eaten and talked a long while. Until daybreak, he departed. So there was the preaching and the sleeping and there was eating and there was more talking and discussion for a long time. So that's kind of what we're doing today. We're not going to keep you here till tomorrow morning. But that's that's kind of what kind of what they did. They just spent time together and they focused on the word together and they praised God together and had discussions with each other and they ate together. Now, I know you might be thinking, well, that was the Lord's Supper they were having, and some of it might have been, but not all of it was. They were just eating together. They were sharing food with each other. They were they were enjoying a time of fellowship with one another. And and these gatherings of the first Christians eating together and sharing in the word and praising God and praying developed into something which is now known as the love feast. This is what they did. They would get together. And they would praise God and they would listen to somebody teach or preach the word and they would eat and they would have lunch together. They would enjoy a meal together and they would have the Lord's Supper, what we call communion together, what Jesus instituted at the Passover meal the night before his crucifixion and what the apostles passed on to the churches and said here now we're supposed to be doing this and we continue it to this day. We'll be doing it here today. So so they had this love feast, in fact, First Corinthians chapter 11 talks about it. We'll talk about that in just a minute. But listen to this from kind of a negative perspective from the book of Jude, verse 12. Jude is talking about the bad influences in the church, and he said they are spots, they're blemishes, they don't belong. There are spots in your love feasts who feast among you without fear, serving only themselves. He said they don't belong there. They're with you. They're having lunch with you, but they don't belong there in fellowship with you. They're actually causing causing a bad influence, bringing a bad influence and causing harm to the church. So the first New Testament gatherings of believers included singing and preaching and a meal together and the Lord's Supper. And again, that's kind of what we're doing here today. We've been singing. I'm going to preach and teach a little bit and we'll have communion together. We're inviting everybody who can to join us for lunch and then this afternoon we will spend some time talking about the word. So today at Calvary is a love feast. It's a love feast. So we're here to enjoy this time together. Now as I mentioned and I just want to point this out again just so as we end up the service you can kind of be thinking about this here a little bit. But we would love for everyone possible to join us for this and some have prepared for it and that's great We have places where you can sit in the gymnasium. There's some tents right behind this building by the playground set up There's the picnic area. It's not going to rain right? No, not gonna rain picnic area over here, tables are here in the atrium. Some are going to the Epic Buffet over here. We have a room reserved. You can sit down together with each other there. So the idea is just to provide some options and places and settings for us to be together. The idea is also for you to not just go with the group that you would naturally spend time with. but to try to get to know one or two people that maybe you don't know very well right now. Now, if you have a group you're going with, that's fine. But make it a point to rather than look and, oh, OK, those are some people that I would feel very comfortable sitting down with and having lunch with. I'm going to go there. Then think, oh, wait a minute. Maybe there's somebody else I could sit with and that I don't really know that well that I could get to know. That's the idea. If you look around you right now and you're just a regular old member of Calvary, And you've got your plans and you brought your lunch or you're heading across the road or whatever. Look around you even right now and think I wonder if that person in front of me or beside me is new. And maybe I could even invite them. You brought a whole sandwich. You can live on half a sandwich and five grapes. Right. So. Sure, I mean, that's literally that's what love feast is all about. Invite him to come over to the restaurant with you. Make that connection. Extend that invitation. That's the idea of this not to be just so closed up and in our little comfort zones, but but to reach out and extend ourselves. That's what they did. That's what we want to be doing here. So we encourage you to participate in that. And then at one o'clock, we're going to meet back here, not one thirty, as we often do on fifth Sundays, but a little bit earlier. One o'clock we'll meet back here in the auditorium and then we will be going into discussion groups again. I don't know if I want to do that. I'm not very comfortable with that. Let me encourage you, if you're already in a Sunday class or a growth group, you'll be with those people that you know. But we're also putting you together with another class and or growth group so that you will be with some people that maybe you don't know that well. We'll have nursery for the youngest children, but first grade and up, all the way through teens and college age, we'll be with families. You'll be together with your family. This is cross-generational. The idea is to put you together with some people that maybe are new to you and you don't know and just get acquainted a little bit. And then you'll have some discussion time based on our study of Ephesians four and then some prayer time together. We'll finish up about two o'clock and you can go home. So if you've already decided I'm checking out 1130, would you just right now, even as we go through the rest of this service, just think about that and think, you know, maybe I should connect with these people. If you're totally new, brand new again, I hope somebody will extend the invitation to you. But even if they don't take that plunge, we'd love to get to know you. Join us. Don't let anything stand in your way. And we hope that we will have a great time together today. The idea is to get people together and to get people talking. Every part, as Ephesians 4 says, doing its share and speaking the truth in love, and this causes growth in the body, and that's what today is all about. So we're having a love feast today. This is real. This is not a little pretend tea party. We dress up and sip our tea together. This is real. This is this is the church. These are believers. These are people together. And I want to help us make the most of this day. So I'm going to ask you to start with me in First Corinthians, Chapter 10. Would you please find in your Bibles, First Corinthians, Chapter 10, and we'll start there. Now, let me ask you as you're turning, what was Calvary Baptist Church of Corinth like? Or whatever they called it. What was it like? They had a reputation, didn't they? Those people were selfish. The people in Corinth and the Christian church there were known for being self-centered. They had cliques that were hard to break into. They had arguments over issues. They wanted to exercise their Christian liberties without thought for other people that might be discouraged or tempted by that. Or they wanted to restrict people from exercising their Christian liberties because it bothered them and had lots of problems, lots of problems. So into that milieu, into that environment, Paul is sending these letters first and second Corinthians. He's trying to help these people. He's trying to encourage them. And and in the context of First Corinthians 10, he's telling them to be careful about associating with idolatry. He's saying, you know, eating. Is fellowship. And he wasn't forbidding them from eating the meat that had been offered to idols, even though they were Christians. But he was saying, be careful about this. And in that context, he actually uses the Lord's Supper as an example, so that's where we pick it up at first Corinthians, Chapter 10, let me read for us, starting in verse 14. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry, don't go toward it, go away from it. I speak as to wise men, he's saying, if you're smart, you'll listen up, judge yourselves for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, let me stop for saying the cup of blessing was actually a specific drink in the sequence of the Passover meal for the Jews, which then turned into the communion, the cup that was used for communion. It was called the cup of blessing in the Passover meal, came over into being called the cup of blessing for them in communities talking about having communion. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ or participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread. You see the unity aspect there. Now, what's he saying here? Jesus used the bread and the wine at the Passover meal to symbolize to his disciples what was about to happen to him the next day when he was crucified. And he said to them, this bread is going to be just like my body. It's going to be broken. My body will be broken for you. This wine represents my blood, it will be shed, it will be poured out for you and bring to you the opportunity to be rescued and forgiven from your sins. I'm paraphrasing what he said there to be saved from your sins, for the remission of sins. So then here Paul is saying, well, When you partake of the cup in communion, you are you are saying and affirming that that you have participated in the benefits of the blood of Christ. Jesus' blood that was shed on Calvary has personally benefited you and you share in that. And we all share in it together. That's communion. And the same is true of the body of Christ, Jesus' body when he was crucified on the cross. Jesus himself said, That we needed to partake of his body and blood, meaning to personally receive Jesus Christ as our savior. So that's how we participate in the blood and the body of Jesus Christ, not doing something physical, but we do it by faith. We trust in him as our savior. So what he's saying here is that communion represents all of us together, saying we share in what Jesus death provides for us. Folks, we are here today because Jesus Christ has brought us together. And if you have believed in Jesus Christ as your savior, you can say this as well. You can say, I'm so thankful today for what Jesus Christ death on the cross has provided for me. And I have received that benefit. I participate in it and I'm thankful for it today. And you here who have believed in Jesus Christ as your savior are united Brought together because of that wonderful truth and what Jesus Christ has done for us, it brings us together. I'm going to ask you to go over a page or so to First Corinthians chapter 11. And Paul is talking to them now about the divisions. That are among them. And he is calling them to unity, he's calling them to unity. And here is really a vivid description of what the love feast was like and Paul's dealing with problems at the at the love feasts there in Corinth. Let me read for us. First, 11, starting in verse 17. Now, in giving these instructions, I do not praise you since you come together. Not for the better, but for the worse, talking about their gatherings and their love feasts, or first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part, I believe it. For there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. Let me stop for a second. That sounds confusing. What he really means by that is you say you're coming together to fellowship and to be with these other Christians and to have the Lord's Supper together. Let me tell you something. You're playing a game. He says, if there are divisions among you and you come together and you call it the Lord's Supper, you're not having the Lord's Supper. That's the idea here. Call it something else, because you're just playing a game. You're you're playing out a role or acting a part. If you call it the Lord's Supper, it's not that. For why would he say that in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others and one is hungry and other is drunk. What do you not have houses to eat and drink in or do you despise the Church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. He's addressing their selfishness. You just think about yourself. You're just worried about your own stomachs. You're just gathering in your own little groups. And these are the this is the rich group over here and they've got a lot and they're feasting and banqueting and this group over here and they hardly have anything and they're hungry. They're going hungry. So stop thinking about yourself. This is an opportunity to come together is the idea. And now, verse twenty three, for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread and we'd given thanks. He broke it and said, take eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Four key words. It's not about you. He's saying it's about me, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the focus. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me or as often as you drink this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. He's the focus. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Now, when you hear that, some of you have been in church for a long time and you hear that, well, don't take the Lord's supper unworthily. What do you think of? Well, don't have known sin in your life. Make sure you remember all the sins you've committed that week or the past month and you confess them and get that all straightened out before you come. Otherwise, something bad might happen to you. You know what he's focusing on here to eat and drink unworthily is to participate in the Lord's Supper when you are divided and separated from another believer. That's what he's talking about here. That's eating and drinking unwordly, he's saying, listen, you need to resolve these problems, you've got to overcome these differences, you need to reconcile where there are offenses, there to be conversations and and reconciliation and forgiveness that takes place so that you can truly come together for the Lord's Supper. And that is immediate bearing on us here today, doesn't it? We've been talking about unity and in Ephesians, chapter four, remember all the big Big scenario up here on Father's Day morning with the guys and the hats and all that representing differences among us and offenses between us. And those things have to be resolved and reconciled. That's what he's talking about here. And so today we come together at this love feast and for the Lord's Supper. And if there are divisions among us, those must be reconciled between you for you to participate worthily. That's strong medicine, isn't it? Strong medicine. That's why I said a couple of weeks ago, you have a little time to get ready for the Lord's Supper. Work those things out. So so that's what he's calling us to here, and so what we're saying as we participate today in this love feast and in the Lord's Supper together is that we have removed the barriers that keep us at a distance from one another. And so I put it to you, have you? I'm not talking about being different from each other, but how we view each other because of those differences. And where there are offenses, if there is resentment or bitterness or suspicion or condemnation, and that's the aura, that's that's the mood, that's the status between you and some other believer that's got to be taken care of. Something has to slice through that. And you remember what it is we talked about? That is the bond of peace. Remember the brown hats? What did those represent? You remember? The cross of Jesus Christ, that's where we come together at the cross. That's why we can forgive, because Jesus Christ has forgiven us. Now, today we're together because we share together in what Jesus death provides for us and because we have removed the barriers that distance us from each other and we're declaring our unity is what we're doing here today. So I invite you to go now to Ephesians chapter four, and let's look for just a few minutes at the verses that we come to in our study today. Remember that the church brings us together. But we do have to work at it. And so let me read for us Ephesians four, starting with verse one. Paul says, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. With all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There's one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. When you see the word one repeated over and over here. But Paul is emphasizing is the fact that it is the same for all of us. There are many differences represented here today. Just as there were in the people that Paul was writing to here, remember, in the book of Ephesians, he was emphasizing that vast chasm between Jews and Gentiles and irreconcilable difference, but they were brought together in Christ and they were brought together in the church. And if that difference could be reconciled, so can your differences Among one another. And that's what he's talking about, he's saying, you know, here's some things we have in common, this is what we hold that's the same. I'm going to just touch lightly on these this morning. He's saying we affirm together our oneness, we are all members of the same body. One body, the church is the body of Christ, some are eyes, some are ears, some are hands, some are feet. Some are muscle, some are brains. Some are here. Some are not. But together we function for one purpose to fulfill Christ's purpose here on this earth to represent him, carry out his work, spread the gospel. To be his love, to be his hands and his feet. And so we're all working together and you're not doing this by yourself and you need others and others need you. And we come together in the church setting. We are all members of the same body and we are all given life by the same spirit. There is one spirit of the Holy Spirit does a lot of things in the church, but I'm picking out this one aspect because it is the Holy Spirit who gives new life to believers. When you get saved, it is the Holy Spirit who joins us to the body of Christ, who positions us with all of our gifts, who enables us and empowers us. It is the Holy Spirit who gives life to this church. Not vibrant music, not somebody's personality. Not a an energetic service and setting, that's not what gives life to this church. The Holy Spirit gives life here. And together we experience that life from the spirit. We are all looking forward to the same future. He says, one hope of your calling, that is our confident expectation that we will be delivered from hell. You and I, if you are a believer today, share that future. You will not go to hell. That's a good thing, isn't it? But not only that, we share the future of knowing our destination is heaven and knowing that we will be with our savior and that we will be put in places of service and ministry there and we'll be face to face with him and enjoy being together with each other and we'll be partakers in his glory. So we say we share that future that brings us together, that's something for us to share. We will be together then that should unify us now. We all answer to the same Lord. One Lord, this is not my church, as we call it, my church in a relational sense. And that's fine, but it's not my church in a possessive sense. I don't own it. I don't own a piece of it. Neither do you. He is the one who ultimately guides it and controls it. We have been entrusted with with this fellowship and with these resources and with this place and with the testimony of the gospel. He has entrusted that to us. We are stewards of it. We will give an account to him for it. We will all answer to him. The same Lord, there's one Lord, there's one faith. We're all saved by the same faith. In this case, he was talking about Jews and Gentiles. Jews weren't saved by making sacrifices, Jews weren't saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, Jews weren't saved by going to synagogue week after week and observing the Sabbath. No, they were saved by faith. Abraham was justified by faith. And the same is true for you and me. There's not one religion over here, another one over here, another one over here that are saved in different ways. No, there's one way to be saved. And that is by grace, that's God's free gift, apart from any works that you and I can do through faith, through trusting in relying on Jesus Christ only and completely to take away your sins and give you eternal life. It's the only way to be saved. And if you have believed in Christ to save you today, you share that. If you haven't, you can come on in, join those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and enjoy the blessings of that. We are each believing in Jesus and we are all together believing in Jesus. We share that. And we have all declared ourselves with the same baptism, he says, there's one baptism. I do think he's talking about believers baptism, what we do right over here. And so once when you put your faith in Christ, you publicly affirm and declare that you are believing in Christ and you're a follower of him by believers baptism. Again, for the Jews, there were many baptisms. For the people in Jesus day, there was John's baptism and then Jesus baptism. And then Paul dealt with the problem in Corinth of those who he had other people have baptized and different people developing loyalties to those individuals. No, no, no. There's one baptism. It's believers baptism for those who have trusted Christ as your savior. If you're interested in doing that, we have a class coming up in two weeks. Join us for that. And we are all enveloped by the same father, God. There's one. God and father of all for six, who is above all and through all and in you all. He is above all that he is sovereign, that is, he is sovereign, he reigns over us all. He is through all that is, he works out his purpose and will through each one of you. That's a member of the church. And all of us together. And he is in all. The Holy Spirit indwells each one of us and he inhabits the church. Ephesians 222 talks about the Holy Spirit inhabiting, being a resident of the church of Jesus Christ. He's here and he's at work here. Oh, there's so much more to talk about with this, but. This morning. Just notice that in verse four, you see the Holy Spirit at work. In verse five, the Lord is the son of God, Jesus Christ. And verse six, we see the father in view. Trinity Church is the household of God, the church of the living God. He is here in every one of the three persons of the Trinity. What you're seeing now is similar to the picture I started with, but this is actually a picture of a painting on the wall of one of the catacombs in Rome. Catacombs were underground tunnels where bodies were buried in the city of Rome. And when the Roman government started persecuting, hunting down and executing Christians for their faith in Christ, instead of submitting to the authority of the emperor and worshiping him, they hid in the catacombs and they lived there. And this is a painting from the 100s. So there was a there was Christ and the first Christians and the apostles and those who followed them, that's who these people would have been. But in the 100s in the catacombs, believers, and this is a picture of Christians eating and drinking together. You know, one thing I love about this picture, see the children, see the little people in between the big people. That's what we're going to do today. I know we do a lot of things where we're all divided up and by age and stage of life and all that, and that's that's good. But sometimes it's good just to come together. That's what we're doing today. And and so we come together Centered in Jesus Christ, affirming all of these truths. Sharing in the Lord's Supper and all it represents, enjoying a meal together afterward, discussing the word and fellowship to end our day. I invite and we invite all who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and affirm the truths that we have just talked about to join us in communion. If you don't understand it or if you're unsure about it, You don't need to participate. You can just allow the plate to pass you by. I certainly do encourage everyone to meditate on the Lord Jesus Christ, the music that we have. Well. These elements are past will help us to meditate on Christ and to give thanks to our savior. Would you pray with me? Fathers, we bow to you, we give you thanks. You have brought us together in the church and in Christ. To help us, I pray. To do this in remembrance of you. May you deepen and strengthen our unity together. In Jesus name.