We are coming this morning to the Lord's table to share together the birth of Christ and then in thinking of the new year. In the first coming of Christ, he brings us our salvation. He turns us and delivers us from our sin and makes us into a people who are new. and as we think about the birth of Christ and His coming in the Incarnation and going to the cross for our salvation. That is what we tend and should primarily focus on as we share in the Lord's table. But there is a sense also of the second coming of Christ. We anticipate as we proclaim the gospel in doing in this ordinance. We are proclaiming the gospel until He comes. And so there's a sense of anticipation as well. But in between, there is the expanding kingdom of Jesus as we go and as He gathers His elect people. Just some time as we come to the table and we consider and share. I'm going to give, first of all, just a few instructions, particularly for the sake of our guests. First, as has come our tradition here, be prepared to share testimonies. Just ask you to raise your hand. One of our men will bring you a microphone. We are streaming and so we need you on mic. And now nobody's gonna talk. I know how that works. So some of you know that I will simply call on you. So be ready to give testimonies. We're thinking this morning then about testimonies of newness. how Christ has transformed your life and made you into a new person. And we know we are living in the already but not yet. And so that sense of becoming who you are. Also, we invite all who have publicly professed faith in Christ through baptism to be involved. You don't have to be a member here. If you are a believer, you have put your faith and trust in Christ, you are part of the body of Christ, then we want to acknowledge you and recognize you, and you participate together as a part of the body of Christ. Many churches have a tradition of a time of quiet and self-reflection and confession of sin. And I think that we have, eschewed, we have stepped away from that old tradition to recognize, to emphasize that we can only take this by God's grace. Now, yes, if you have unconfessed sin, deal with it as you should every day. But we come not because we have made ourselves worthy through dealing with our sins. We have come only and purely because of the mercy of Christ and the grace of Christ and this work of Christ that we celebrate. So we are worthy not because we have done anything. but because Jesus has done it all. And we are sharing in this corporately as the body of Christ, giving testimonies and rejoicing in one another and acknowledging one another. And therefore, we are, in a sense, rejoicing in God's work, not just in me, in my little isolated, independent, Western, and even worse, American, flag-waving way. But we are joined, not only in this room, but we are joined with believers all over this nation, all over this continent, all over the world. There are people, many of them unlike us, and yet have put their faith and trust in Christ, and who in different ways at different times are breaking the bread and lifting the cup, and we say, hallelujah, amen. This is what it's all about. in a small way to acknowledge that, and in preferring one another. As our men serve, please wait, and then we will participate and partake together. Now, I'm aware 1 Corinthians 11 is thinking about something else, as they gathered around an agape feast and waiting for everyone to arrive, but we have just chosen this way to say, we are one, and we are doing this together. And so we ask that as you are served, just to wait, pray, listen, give testimony. That's what we'll be doing. And then we'll share together. this morning for our time. I'm reading from Matthew 26, focusing on verses 26 through 29. So if you'd like to open your Bibles and have them at hand and in your laps, then to follow along in Matthew 26. For our salvation, the Lord Jesus was broken and spilled out. It was the evening of Passover. The disciples were gathered in the upper room, and there were lots of conversation that preceded this, including Jesus washing the disciples' feet, an announcement of a betrayal. But then, in the course of the meal, Jesus, standing at the end of the Old Age, and as the one who inaugurated the new age of grace. He is this transitioning, transforming figure. Takes up in the middle of the Passover and initiates for us what we are doing this morning. In verse 26, now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take eat, this is my body. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your grace. We thank You for Jesus, for His broken body. We thank You that the price was paid. We thank You that this is about Him and to glorify Him. And so, in our thoughts, our testimonies, our words, And in all that we do in these few moments, may we focus on and remember Christ, particularly His great transforming grace. In Jesus' name, Amen. You may serve. Testimonies of the transforming work of God, God's grace in your life. Who will start? Lise? Trevor? Check, check. There we go. So in the youth class, we're going to be going through attributes of God at the beginning of January. One of them is God's holiness. And so I think it's hard to measure on this side of the Lord saving me when I was a young child. But growing up, having the category of God's holiness is something that definitely didn't have prior to the Lord saving me. And since I was saved so young, it's hard to know what my life would look like had I not had that category of what does it mean for God to be holy, set apart, and his people to pursue holiness as well. And so it's hard to measure, but thank the Lord that his people have this category of what God's holiness is and how that is a transformative aspect in our lives. And so that's what I praise the Lord for, his holiness and how that affects us. Amen. Someone else? Transforming power of God's holiness, Tim. Thinking about the newness in 2024 and God's work in my life with regards to newness, it would be new relationships with many people in this room. We've walked through a lot of transition in the last few years and in some ways maybe of our own doing have felt a little bit on an island or isolated a little bit. But just, you know, getting to know you all in here, and I even made it to be part of a group text with a group of men here, so I think we're officially friends at that point. I think that's what that means. And I'm just very thankful for the newness of relationship, walking in community with brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen. Newness in relationships. My son. I've had many questions about why Jesus came and why He had to come and listening to sermons and the Lord revealing Himself to him and just being part of that. Someone else. Right here. Hi, I'm new here but I just wanted to talk about the, in my own life, the newness of spirit. We all know about the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, etc. But I found, especially these past three or four years, God has really been working in me in bringing about the new creation. And so I have this new peace and new love and a lot of new patience that I've developed over my job and working with people. And I just am really proud of what God has done in me. So newness and the holiness of God, newness in relationships, sense of newness and awakening, understanding, and a newness by the work of the Spirit. Gentlemen, come along. I think as we come into the new year and as we think about, and some, you know, the world does all these resolutions and all of those kinds of things, and that's not what this is about at all. And this is about recognizing that we are on a path toward a kind of newness we can hardly imagine. And we should live in anticipation of that, and thinking about that. And so, let me just... None of this newness would be possible, not at all, if it weren't for the broken body of Christ. That our sins were laid on Him, And he stood in front of the wrath of God and took the very anger and wrath and judicial punishment that was due us, and he took it for us. And in this small symbol, partaking in this bread, and the sharing of his broken body that it was broken for us. We thank God for this symbol that we might remember him and his work. Take heed. The text further says, in verse 27, that he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Gentlemen, please. Blood in the Old Testament and coming into the New Testament is a symbol of life. It's a symbol of a sacrifice life, of an outpoured life. It was what was required. A perfect life, a blameless life. That was what was required. And we couldn't do it, could we? Because we were already tainted by our sin. Greg? Simmons, would you give thanks for the body, for the blood, please? Father, what praise can we give you that would be sufficient? What thanks that you sent your son to bear the wrath that was due us Father, that is, our salvation is so great that we as human beings really can't comprehend it in any of its fullness. But what we can comprehend, Lord, we are grateful and thankful. And you have placed your spirit within us so that we may commune with you You have loved us with an infinite love. So father, may our response to that love be worship and love and praise for who you are and all that you have done and all that you will do and all that you will be for us in Christ. We love you, we thank you, we praise you, in the name of your son. Amen. You may serve. Testimonies of the transforming work of Christ in your life. We're working on one mic, so maybe if we're on different sides of the room, that'll be help, yeah. No matter. Tad can run. Testimonies, who'll share? Somebody? Am I not seeing a hand? Ron? Charles? Would you share with us testimony of God's transforming work? Yes. Come on. Instant in season, brother. All right. Someone else? Tom? Right beside you here, brother. Tom, you can stay seated if you want. I'm thinking about transforming power. I think of my past life, and I think about what God brought me out of. Particularly when I was in the service, I was a bit of an ornery fellow. But the Lord has saved me and he has helped me in many times here in this past year. I've had a lot of difficulties, but God, through the prayers of his people, which I'm very thankful for, and I want to let you know that, that he has sustained me. And I have great confidence in him that he will continue to do so. Amen. And I'm glad for this. I wanted to say to the leadership, I'm so glad for your leadership and how you lead this church on getting us to read the Bible more in your plans. I'm just thankful to God for that, for good leaders. And I ask God that he would sustain them also and bless them. Thank you, Tom. Someone else? Testimony? I should say thank you to Tad for doing this. I appreciate your brother. So this kind of echoes what Tim was saying earlier. I just think about growing up in a kind of a Christian home, I guess, but, you know, my parents would always try to get my brother and I and my sister, they would try to get us to go to youth groups and Sunday schools and stuff. And I hated it because I didn't like the people. I just didn't, you know, I didn't enjoy being around other Christians, but the affection that I have for people in this room today, and because of what Christ has done, because of what he's done in my heart, and he kind of binds us all together, I can now look at these people and know that I'm gonna spend eternity with my brothers and sisters here, and I'm just very thankful for that. All right, one more. I realized if I don't stand, you won't see me at all. Even if I do stand, you might not. Just really quickly, I know most of you were semi-new and most of you don't know my past or my history and all those things, but I am so beyond grateful to the Lord. Short version is I should not have made it to my 18th birthday for several reasons. And the person that I was in high school and college was not a person you'd want to know. That's the, yeah. But I am incredibly grateful to a God who saved my life when He absolutely did not need to. Who changed me and took an eternal God who took time to change me when He didn't need to. We should always remember that God's transforming work has an initial, am I missing? That's pointing to someone. Oh, okay, sorry. I know you said one more, but I felt like I should share. You can be the one more. Okay, I'll be the last one. There was a time in my life where I underwent suffering, and I very clearly and outwardly declared that the Lord was not the answer. I was angry. And I couldn't understand why my life was so difficult at the time, and I just wanted out of it. And, you know, I did all the things, read my Bible, went to church, remembered verses, memorized. And I'm like, this isn't working. So I stopped going to church. I just forgot it. And I grew up in a Christian home, Christian family, all the things. So, I contrast that part of my life to my most recent suffering that I feel like I've been through and ongoing, and I can contrast the difference of what God has done in my life then versus now. I don't believe the same way, so I just want to praise the Lord for His work in my life over those years. then versus now. Boy, didn't I just kind of say it all? So many of us are nodding and saying amen in our hearts. And it's good to remember that though there is a then and now, there is this transforming work that God is doing. And it takes time. And Tozer pointed out that what we think of as time is really a measure of change. And so we are changing, being transformed more and more. And we're being transformed and changed by the work of the Spirit in the life of Christ that indwells us. He's changing us from the inside out and doing that work. Thank you. You may be seated. You'll note in that Matthew text that The Lord emphasizes not only is this His salvation in His blood, and not only is this the blood of the covenant, the new covenant which we celebrate, but in it is the forgiveness of sins. And there is that transaction that takes place on the cross in which the Father forgave our sins and then with us when it is applied to us and we confess and believe, and then there is the ongoing fatherly forgiveness as we walk in confession. And then there will come a day where it won't be necessary anymore. And forgiveness will be a totally past thing, but not forgotten. And so the life of Christ poured out in his blood for us to pay the price that we could not pay. Why? Not because we didn't have enough, but because what we had was already tainted, corrupted by sin. But Jesus was the blameless lamb who poured out his life so that we might begin a transformed life anew. Remember him. in the book of Mark and the recording of the Lord's Table reminds His disciples to do this as often as you remember Him, and that we are preaching the gospel until He comes. This is the heart of the gospel, what Jesus did for us and what He has done for us and how it is ongoing. But then He also says that He will, I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the Father's kingdom. You know, that newness began right after the resurrection and will reach its culmination in the new heavens and the new earth. So the question is, when Jesus says, I will not take it, does that mean after the resurrection? Or does it mean, as we have generally thought, this day, this event in heaven in which he will lift the cup once again and say, we tend to live on both sides of an oar instead of both sides of an and. And I think that as we lift this, we are in God's kingdom and it is unfolding until that day. And what is it that we are looking forward? Take your Bible and turn with me to Revelation 22 for just a moment. A meditation on what? Of the glory that we anticipate. Revelation 22, 1 through 5. This is where that transformation is going. And then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, through the middle of the street of the city, and also on either side of the river, the tree of life with the twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. And they shall see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more. They will need no light of the lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." What amazing imagery for the glory of a future reality. Let's never forget that what we are moving toward in life and death can only be told to us, can only be seen, understood in metaphors and pictures. If we turn these into brutal facts, maybe of overly literal things, we'll probably lose the vivid brightness of what the new creation and the final arrival of the Lord and His Kingdom mean. Here's what we are to imagine. And through each of these as a lens, to think about the glory that we are headed toward. A throne, bright and shining, with the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The throne of the Father and of His Son. There is a river of the Spirit's life-giving flow, rushing down from the mountain of God and spreading in the hearts of His redeemed people. There is the city of living stones, the people of God, and the chief cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ, filled with the life-giving waters from God's throne. a living, fruit-bearing tree, nourished and sustained by the Spirit, who brings spiritual healings to all the people groups through the proclamation of the gospel. All the curse is gone with all its chaos, all its decay, all its deadness and darkness, for it has been dispelled by the bright Son of Jesus' glory. And all of God's sons and servants will be known as His and will worship and serve and reign with Him forever. This is the glory in the little simple sentence, until I drink it new in the Father's kingdom. This is what the Lord has made possible through what we have remembered and reflected and responded to. But then in verse 6 in Revelation 22, there is the surety of what we anticipate. Verse 6, and he said to me, the angel, these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits and the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place." You know, let us never think that just because we think of these things in pictures and images and metaphors, that they are not real. We're not watching Lord of the Rings. We are listening and looking behind the shimmering curtain of present reality. and to the bright, sweet reality that exists even now. C.S. Lewis said, we live in the shadow land. We think it's real, and it is real, but oh, the sharp, vivid, technicolor reality of the new creation. And all this is true. The words are true. The revelation is trustworthy. And it is to our shame that we live lives so uninformed, so untransformed, so unenlivened by this anticipation. But there are privileges in the light of what we anticipate in verses 7 to 9. There are two important privileges, but they also carry with them a sense of responsibility. There is first the blessedness in obeying the Scriptures, verse 7. And behold, I am coming soon. This is what Jesus said. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. In obeying the Lord, we live in the realm of God's grace and His blessedness. This is not just a bare legal obedience. This is bending the trajectory of our obedience towards God's purposes. A fascinating promise of obeying the words of a prophetic book. So in our anticipation of the Lord's return, there are attitudes to adopt and actions to do. But then there is the imperative of worshipping the Lord, verses 8 and 9. I thought this was the most appropriate for this season of the year. And that as we come out of celebrating the Lord's birth and we move into beginning to think about newness in a new year, so often the idols of our heart take control. He says, and I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me, You must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. You worship God. We have a wrong tendency in an appropriate desire to honor God's messengers, whether angels or shepherds, we begin to worship them. Even heavenly beings bringing divine revelations are not to be worshiped. We must follow the imperative of the scripture and worship God. So we move into the newness of a new year. May our life as Christians be lived as worship. To worship God. As we prepare to worship the Lord in song, these words. To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault. There it is. Without fault. and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages now. and forevermore. Stand with me as we enter into a time of worship. Father, we come before you to praise you, to honor you, to sing to you. We are ever so thankful for the cross and we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb, the Lion, our Redeemer, our Ruler, the One who took our place before your wrath, the One in whom we take shelter, the One who died and was raised again for our justification, the One whose righteousness is put to our account, the One whose life is placed in us by the Holy Spirit, the One whose life empowers our righteousness, the One whose throne rules over us from heaven above, the One whose new creation is unfolding, the One who is coming again. And Father, he will come, yes, in judgment, to vindicate his name and his people. And he will come to bring the final glory and fulfillment of all that you have promised. We worship Christ and all God's people said. Amen.