As most of you know, I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I first heard the gospel when I was a teenager and was invited to an outreach meeting by a local Bible church. And I have to confess, I didn't go to the meeting because I had any real interest in God or the gospel. I was interested in a girl who said she was going to be there. And I, to this day, don't recall what her name was. I showed up, I ate pizza, I sang some songs, and did my best to impress this gal, again, who I don't even remember. Then the youth pastor presented the gospel, and I actually forgot all about the girl. Over the next three or four weeks, I attended all the outreach events that the church had, and even went to Sunday morning worship, which was something my family never did, not even on Christmas or Easter. And every time I saw the youth pastor, I would run up to him and I'd say, I want to be saved. I'm like an evangelist's dream. And he would present the gospel, and I believe he would present it quite clearly, and I would say I understood. Then I would show up at the next event, I'd run up to him and say exactly the same thing. I want to be saved. It was really hard for me to understand that God saves apart from works. That salvation wasn't something I earned, it's something Jesus earned for me and then provided to me as a free gift. I couldn't wrap my mind around that. I know now you can't brightly wrap your mind around grace till you're regenerated by God's sovereign Spirit. Anyway, a few weeks passed since that first meeting. And I recall sitting in the lunchroom at my high school with some of my jock friends, guys I grew up with, none of whom were believers. And one of my new church friends showed up and mentioned something about church. I don't recall what it was. Now, you have to keep this in mind. I attended a public school with almost 4,000 students, and they had a Christian club with about 20 members or so. And so everybody in our school knew who the Jesus freaks were. It wasn't like Holland. So immediately the guys I had grown up with and hung out with wanted to know why I was going to church. And I rather innocently said, I want to be saved. You would have thought I said I'd been abducted by aliens. They just burst into laughter and started teasing me. Saved from what? Are you going to be a Jesus freak, Chip? You know what I did? I sat there, ashamed. feeling humiliated, too embarrassed to say anything about Jesus. I was afraid if I said something, they would start calling me a Jesus freak, think I was weird. Not that this is a justification, but I had only ever heard of the gospel for three or four weeks. And truth be told, I didn't know enough to say much. Nonetheless, I carry that memory with me, that in that moment, I was ashamed and embarrassed of the gospel. Has anything like that ever happened to you? Maybe in a less dramatic way. Someone you know or perhaps someone you work with or someone you hang out with asks you a question, do you really believe the Bible's the word of God and every single word of it's true? Do you really believe, based on what we know from science, do you really believe that God made the heavens and the earth in the space of six days? Do you really believe that marriage should only be between one man and one woman? Do you really believe that biblical Christianity is the only true religion in the whole world and that Jesus is the only way to God? It's 2025. Do you really believe all that Christianity stuff? Perhaps you've been in a situation where you were asked similar questions and you paused because you were embarrassed or ashamed, and instead of bearing witness, you remained silent. The Bible seeks to correct that type of sin, and it is sin, from several different angles. Jesus, for example, provided a promise and then a warning in Matthew 10, 32 and 33. Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I also will confess before My Father who is in heaven. That's the promise. Here's the warning. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Paul expressed this truth in the form of an exhortation in 2 Timothy 1.8, therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. And Paul offered his own ministry and life as an example of this principle in Romans 1.16 when he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it's the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. And you can find similar statements a number of different places in the epistles of Peter and John. But perhaps the greatest incentive we can find to help us never be ashamed of Jesus or his word or his gospel is learning and believing something that's truly amazing. He's not ashamed of you. In fact, He's not ashamed to call you His brother or sister. As we return this morning to our study in Hebrews, that's one of the glorious truths we're going to learn. So let's seek the Lord's face and we'll get to work. Pray with me once more. Father, we are so thankful. that we don't have to guess how to live the Christian life. We don't have to guess what things are important to believe. We don't have to guess how it is that you save wretched sinners like us. Your word tells us. We're thankful that we can come this morning to feast on that word and to feast upon it as that sweet heavenly manna. And so we pray, O God, as Your Word is read and taught this morning, that the Holy Spirit would take that manna and put it upon the lips of the souls of all those present here this morning. It might tend to their particular needs according to Your particular purposes. We ask all this in Jesus' name, Amen. Brothers and sisters, open up your copy of Scripture to Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. We're going to read verses 5 through 13, although most of our attention this morning is going to be looking at verses 10 and 11. And then after the fellowship meal, we'll come back and zero in a little bit more on verses 12 and 13. But we're going to go ahead and begin reading in verse 5 of Hebrews chapter 2. This is the true and living word of our God. For he has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place saying, what is man that you're mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him? You've made him a little lower than the angels. You've crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. You've put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he's not ashamed to call them brethren. saying, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I'll sing praise to you. And again, I'll put my trust in him. And again, here am I and the children whom God has given me. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. May it bless it to our hearts this morning. Well, dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we've learned that the Hebrew Christians who have been converted out of Judaism were facing enormous pressures to speak boldly about their faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. could very well have resulted in soldiers showing up at their houses to harass them or even to throw them out of their homes, or perhaps in some situations it could have even been worse. It might have led to their families being in danger. That's the kind of pressure that the Hebrew Christians were confronted with. And these beleaguered believers were constantly being derided by both the Romans and their Jewish families and friends about the perceived weakness and impotence of Jesus. Here's what some of the taunts might have sounded like from the Romans. Hey, you're following who? Jesus, the one we crucified? Why would you pledge your life to someone who couldn't save himself? Why would you give up everything for someone who suffered, bled, and ultimately died? You Christians aren't very smart. You could have picked any of our Roman gods to worship and to follow, and you chose one who died. Needless to say, the Romans thought that Christians were foolish. A crucified king, are you kidding me? And their Jewish friends and neighbors would have taunted them as well. No doubt the Jews would have hammered these Hebrew Christians with the law. You do remember what it says in the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 21, that anyone who hangs on a tree is accursed by God. Are you really willing to trade all of your Jewish heritage for one you acknowledge was hung on a cursed tree? You would trade all the centuries upon centuries of tradition for one who's accursed? You see, that was a scandal to the Jewish mind in that day, a crucified Messiah. Now, of course, the Apostle Paul said that was to be expected. Listen to what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 1.23, we preach Christ crucified to the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles, foolishness. These Hebrew Christians were being bombarded with this. A Messiah hanging on the cross was unthinkable to Jews, and a king who was so easily killed was ridiculous to the Romans. And these Hebrew Christians in their little house churches, they heard this over and over and over, till the persecution began to make them unwilling to even acknowledge Jesus in the public square. For some, it was just all too much, and they found themselves embarrassed, ashamed, and presumably afraid to confess Jesus. And the author of Hebrews seemed to know that this was causing a question to develop in their minds. Why the incarnation? Why did Jesus come in the flesh? Why was it necessary for Him to come in such weakness with all the frailty of humanity? Why? Is that really consistent with the glorious and powerful way God's presented in the Old Testament? Why a weak and broken Savior? And that's really what verses 10 through 18 are answering. As I said, our main focus this morning is just gonna be verses 10 and 11. To that end, listen again to verse 10. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Now this verse presents us with some challenging language, doesn't it? So we want to make sure we understand what's being said here. First, what does it mean that it was fitting for God to make the captain of of our salvation perfect through suffering. It's a curious language, isn't it? How was it fitting? By fitting, he means acceptable, proper, correct, something that has a rightness to it. And one of the things we have to do is make sure we keep this connected with our context. Verse 9 tells us that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels so that in his humanity he could suffer and taste real physical death for us. And of course it was on the cross that Jesus tasted death after he paid the wages of our sin. And verse 10 picks up on that and says, for this was fitting. So whatever took place on the cross That was fitting for God. Don't miss that. And the writer of Hebrews immediately tells us about God. He is the one for whom are all things and by whom are all things. He's saying God is infinitely great. He's the creator and the sustainer of the universe. He's other, he's transcendent, and yet it was fitting for the creator God to take on flesh and become a suffering servant. And the point here is that the suffering of death, excuse me, the suffering of Jesus and his substitutionary death were perfectly consistent with the character and nature and purpose of the true and living God, who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. And don't forget what the Hebrew Christians were dealing with. Romans and Jews were telling them, if the broken, bloody body of Jesus was the best their God could do, maybe they need to rethink the whole God idea. And the writer of Hebrews is saying, no, no, no. If you want to see the power and majesty and glory and splendor and wisdom of God unfurled in history, that's precisely where you see it. You see most clearly the glory of God when you see the God-man hanging on a cross atop Mount Calvary. See, the cross was not a sign of God's weakness. It was a sign of God's power. The cross was not foolishness. Instead, it displayed the omniscient wisdom of eternal God. The salvation that Jesus wrought there was not an afterthought, it wasn't plan B, it wasn't God correcting some kind of great cosmic mistake. What happened on the cross was God's sovereign plan, predetermined before the foundation of the world. To be sure, it's true the Romans and the Jews were responsible for Jesus' death, but behind that is the sovereign, determined purpose of God, to show forth His glory in saving sinners through a crucified Messiah. What happened on that cross was fitting according to who God is. And let me say it this way. Nowhere in all of history do you see the glory of God shining more brilliantly than in the cross. The cross was fitting for God because so many of His attributes are so clearly seen at the cross. In a single glance at Mount Calvary, you see God's holiness. You see the demands of His righteousness. You see His uncompromising justice. You see His wrath. On the other hand, that same glance at the cross, you see His love, and you see His mercy, and you see His goodness, and you see His forgiveness. And all of these things intersect at the cross without any contradiction. That's the glory of the cross. Dear ones, consider what that means for you and me. It was fitting. that Jesus would be the object of God's wrath, that we might be the objects of his mercy. It was fitting that Jesus took upon himself our sins, that we might have laid upon us his righteousness. It was fitting that Jesus faced condemnation, that we might hear God's declaration of pardon. It was fitting that Jesus became a curse for us on that cross that we might be the recipients of God's blessing. It was fitting that the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of man might become the sons of God. It was fitting that Jesus passed through death that we might pass into everlasting life. It was fitting for the sake of God's glory that many sons would be led to glory. And it was fitting that God displayed his glory on a cross. And who is it that leads these many sons to glory? Of course, our text tells us it's the captain of our salvation who was made perfect through his suffering. Now what are we to make of that statement that he was made perfect through his suffering? Well clearly it doesn't imply that there was ever a time when Jesus was less than morally perfect. Perhaps more than any other book in the New Testament, Hebrews presents Christ as our sinless Savior. In chapter 4, it says he was tempted just as we are, yet without sin. In chapter 7, he's described as a high priest who is holy and undefiled. In chapter 9, he's presented as the lamb without blemish. So Jesus is pure, he's holy, he's perfect. So then what does it mean when it says he was perfected? Well, it's a way of saying Jesus' entire life of suffering was destined to come to that place of completion, to that appointed end at Mount Calvary. Put simply, Jesus was born to die. He came in the flesh to lay down His life. to be a ransom for many, and to be a perfected high priest who could offer a once-for-all sacrifice that would be accepted by God. To do that, it was necessary for him to live his life under the full demands of God's law and to respond. perfect obedience. It was necessary for him to face all the suffering and temptation that humanity encounters living in a fallen world, and for him to overcome those temptations in a true human nature like ours. And when he overcame those temptations in life, it was necessary that he go to the cross and to the grave, and then overcome them through his resurrection. It was necessary for Jesus to be perfected, my friends, because we're not perfect. We hear God's law and we disobey, but not Jesus. He always obeyed perfectly. We face suffering, trials, and temptations, and often we fail, but not Jesus. He succeeded, persevered, and overcame. Our hearts are prone to wander, but not Jesus. His heart steadfastly loved God. You see, Jesus was perfected in every area that you and I are not perfect, and that's every area of our lives. The captain of our salvation, who was made perfect through suffering, death, and his resurrection, has made a way for us to have that right, perfect standing. so we could be led to everlasting glory. Now, the word that's translated in this passage is captain. Again, it's another amazing word. It's a word that could be translated as forerunner or pioneer. And it's the imagery here of one who blazes a trail, Jesus the trailblazer. Trailblazers are someone who goes before others as their leader and captain to basically make a way for them. And, you know, we live in a country that celebrates trailblazers, men and women who were just born to be pioneers, willing to sacrifice life and limb to discover uncharted territories. Certainly Van Ralty, the founder of Holland and his 53 immigrants, when they first planted in Holland, 53 of them, they came here as trailblazers. Just three years after those 53 people set up camp in Holland, there were over 5,000 residents in this area. Those Dutch pioneers paved the way for others to come here. They were trailblazers. Or think of the expedition of Lewis and Clark and Western expansion. They sought to establish a Northwest passage that would open up the West Coast to other travelers. Of course, the writer of Hebrews has something in mind infinitely more glorious than Western expansion. What he's talking about to us is heavenly expansion. We have a glorious pioneer and trailblazer who's made the way for us to get to the celestial city in his glorious train. Jesus is the captain of our salvation. He's the one out in front of us. And of course, a true leader always leads from out front. That's what this imagery is meant to convey. When Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, took upon himself a real human nature, body and soul. He was declared to be our captain, and our captain has gone before us, having been perfected through suffering. He went to the grave, he conquered it, he rose from the dead, and he blazed a trail to heaven. And he leads his people with him to that celestial city. You can begin to see how this would have been an encouragement to the Hebrews. They kept hearing how it was not fitting for a Savior to suffer. And the writer of Hebrews is teaching them Jesus suffering his death, that's actually what made him our perfect Savior. He's the trailblazer who opened a way to heaven to bring many sons to glory. Now when we get to verses 11 through 13 in a most wonderful way, it speaks directly to the family relationship between the sons and daughters who are being led to glory with their captain, who's also our elder brother. The family dynamic is really emphasized in these verses. My friends, it was fitting that through Jesus, God would make for himself a family. Listen again to verse 11. For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He's not ashamed to call them brethren. So Jesus is the one who sanctifies, and believers, that's us, we are those being sanctified. And notice what it says in our text, we are all of one. And what that means is we share a human nature with Jesus. And what's remarkable about this is that the author of Hebrews is using language to emphasize the profound intimacy that exists between Jesus, our elder brother, and the sons and daughters of God, because we have that same flesh. In fact, the language is trying to draw us to the closest possible identification we can have with Jesus. But the point is in Christ, We've become the family of God. And if you're reading through this text and you're paying attention, one of the things we learn about our family is that there ought to be a trait that characterizes us. Do you know what it is? Holiness. Holiness, right? The one we're identified with in the most intimate way is sanctifying us. In other words, he's conforming us to live according to our family identity. We get this, don't we? I mean, most families have some sort of distinguishing traits. Some families are known for athletic prowess. They just produce bulls. Some families are known for being attractive. Maybe some are known for not being so attractive. Some families are known because they produce a bunch of brainiacs. Then there are families like mine. The family of God is to be known by the trait of holiness. Francis Schaeffer, who did a series of videos on a book he wrote, How Then Shall We Live, said that most people, including evangelical Christians, aspire to material affluence and enough personal peace to enjoy it. I've just recently been rereading Schaeffer. What Schaeffer was saying is that there are a great many folks who are characterized by a desire to have stuff and then to be left alone to enjoy it. That's not what marks a believer. Those who are born again into God's family are to seek and aspire to holiness. We ought to be men and women of God who are growing, growing, in holiness. Again, in Christ we are holy. God sees us with no less holiness than He sees Jesus with in terms of our position. And that is surely the ground of our salvation and the reason we have assurance, Christ's righteousness put to our account. But what we are positionally in Christ, we're being made practically day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. We're being translated from one level of glory to another. Think of it this way, when we have a child, that new babe belongs to our family, that's his position. That's not gonna change, but as you begin to train and nurture the little one, he's gonna grow into what it means to be a member of your family, and that's how the Christian life ought to look. We ought to be growing in holiness. I've said this a number of times recently, but in the last 15 years, there's an aversion in the Reformed community to speak about the absolute need to grow in holiness. And again, I'm very clear, we don't grow in holiness because we need something from God. We want to grow in holiness because he's given us all things and out of an attitude of gratitude, we want to live in a way that will exalt his name. Christians grow in holiness, dear ones. Well, Jesus has made us holy and are standing before God. And by the Spirit of Christ, he's tending toward our growth in holiness. And again, now I just want you to hear something that's absolutely stupendous. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. You might remember when we were studying chapter one, It said of Jesus, he's the brightness of God's glory, the express image of his being. And it goes without saying that the second person of the Trinity, Jesus is the creator, we're the creature, those are two different categories of being. But we're being told here the express image of God when he became incarnate did so that our fellowship and communion with him would be so close that there would be such an intimacy between us and him that he's not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. We're the family of God, dear ones. Now to make sure that the Hebrew Christians get this, the writer of this wonderful book quotes from a couple Old Testament messianic passages. In verse 12, he quotes Psalm 22, 22, I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly. I'll praise you. As I said, we're going to come back to this. And this is picturing the risen Christ triumphantly crying out to God. from within the church. Christ is joining with his brothers and sisters in this text. And he's singing praises to God. He's leading us in worship. And then in verse 13, Isaiah 17 and 18 is quoted. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here am I in the children whom God's given me. Once more, Jesus is identifying with those he calls his brothers and sisters. When he suffered, He looked to and He completely relied upon His Father. That's where He trusted. He put His trust in Him and now as His sons and daughters, we too look to and completely trust our Heavenly Father. Well, the author of Hebrews wants this group of Christians to see the heart of God for them. and to know that through Jesus, he relates to his people in the most personal and familial way. God's given his people his own son, and his own son is not ashamed to call us brothers. Can you imagine how that must have cut right at the heart of the Hebrew Christians when they heard that? Yes, they were facing real persecution. Yes, they were really suffering for Jesus. But what of Jesus' persecution and suffering that He underwent on their behalf? Suffering that extended all the way to that Roman cross. And they would be embarrassed, ashamed, afraid to confess Jesus when He's not ashamed? to call you and them brothers and sisters. This is powerful stuff, brothers and sisters. It's fitting that Jesus went to the cross to save sinners. It's fitting that the cross magnifies the glory of God. It's fitting that Jesus blazed a trail through death all the way to heaven, making a way to lead many sons to glory. It's fitting that he's made us holy and is making us holy. It's fitting that in Christ we're God's family. And it's fitting, oh God, oh friends, that he's not ashamed to call us brothers. That's the source of our conviction and our courage. and our ability to bear witness for Jesus Christ. You see, when you look at Jesus, what do you see? A perfect, holy, undefiled priest who gave himself for us. When you look at your own heart, what do you see? Sin. He's not ashamed to call you brother. You need to meditate on this if you find the need for courage and boldness. Meditate on the reality that this great king stepped down from heaven, took a nature like ours, loved us, died for us, leads us in worship, and he's not ashamed to call us brothers. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We bless your great and awesome name. We pray, O God, when we contemplate the great and marvelous work of our Savior, that it will embolden us to never be embarrassed at his word, to never be ashamed at what it teaches, to never shrink back from speaking biblical truth, to never be weary in holding out the hope of the gospel to lost sinners. Oh God, help us to see the wonder of our elder brother who's not ashamed to call us brothers. And may we never be ashamed to bear witness to the great family to which we belong. We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, the invitation to participate in this sacrament is extended to all those who are trusting in Jesus, who know it's not their merit who gains them a right standing with God. It's all the grace of God. offered to us through the merits of Jesus Christ. If you're trusting in Christ alone for your salvation, as he's offered freely in the gospel, and you're a baptized, communicant member of an evangelical Bible-believing church, please do come and feast with and upon the Lord. If that doesn't describe you, or if you're living in unrepentant sin, when the elements are distributed, simply let them pass by. Repent of your sin, come back next time and join us. Well, as we come to the Lord's table, as you know, we confess what we believe with the historic church using the Apostles' Creed. You can find that on page 851 in the back of your hymnal, 851. Christian, what do you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Then I wanna ask you to give your attention to the reading of God's word. I'm gonna read John 6, 47 through 58, then I have a meditation that's actually adapted from Calvin's Institutes, but I think it's very helpful and wonderful. But first here, God's word, John 6, beginning in verse 47. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he'll live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? And Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I'll raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead, he who eats this bread will live forever. And you can either listen or follow along. It is printed in your bulletin, the meditation from Calvin. God has received us once for all into his family. hold us not only as servants but as sons. Thereafter, to fulfill the duties of a most excellent father concerned for his offspring, he undertakes also to nourish us throughout the course of our life. To this end, through the hand of his only begotten Son, he has given to his church this sacrament, that is, a spiritual banquet where Christ attests Himself to be the life-giving bread. The knowledge of this high mystery is very necessary. First, the signs are bread and wines, which represent for us the invisible food that we receive from the flesh and blood of Christ. Christ is the only food of our soul, and therefore our Heavenly Father invites us to Christ that, refreshed by partaking of Him, we may repeatedly gather strength until we shall have reached heavenly immortality. Godly souls can gather great assurance and delight from this sacrament. In it, they have a witness of our growth into one body with Christ, such that whatever is His may be called ours. As a consequence, we may dare assure ourselves that eternal life of which he is the heir is ours and that the kingdom of heaven into which he's already entered can no more be cut off from us than from him. Again, that we cannot be condemned for our sins from whose guilt he's absolved us since he willed to take them upon himself. as if they were His own. This is the wonderful exchange which out of His measureless benevolence, He's made with us. That becoming Son of Man with us, He's made us sons of God with Him. That by His descent to earth, He's prepared an ascent to heaven for us. That by taking on our mortality, he has conferred his immortality upon us. That accepting our weakness, he has strengthened us by his power. That receiving our poverty unto himself, he's transferred his wealth to us. That taking the weight of our iniquity upon himself, which oppressed us, he's clothed us with his righteousness. And so from the physical thing set forth in the sacrament, We are led by a sort of analogy to spiritual things. Thus, when bread is given as a symbol of Christ's body, we must at once grasp this comparison. As bread nourishes, sustains, and keeps the life of our body, so Christ's body is the only food to invigorate and enliven our soul. When we see wine set forth as a symbol of blood, we must reflect on the benefits which wine imparts to the body, and so realize that the same are spiritually imparted to us by Christ's blood. These benefits are to nourish, refresh, strengthen, and gladden. Let's pray. Father, we're thankful that you have given us this meal. We're thankful that as a kind and loving father, you've given us this gracious, grace-filled sustenance to build us up in the most holy faith, to persevere us along the way, and to enjoy intimate communion with our Lord. The bread remains bread, the cup remains the cup. But when we partake by faith, it is a glorious, invisible, spiritual food for our souls. So we gather, O God, as men and women of God who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Fill us up, O God, with your Son. We ask this in his precious name. Amen. We'll receive the Lord's benediction. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever. And all of God's people said, Amen.