Good morning. Good to be with you again. Let's read, if I may, some verses from Isaiah chapter 26. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. The way of the just is upright, thou most Thou most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee. The desire of our soul is to Thy name and to the reamblance of Thee. Let's come together to the throne of grace. Let's pray together. Our dear, gracious Lord and Heavenly Father, we thank you that once again, in your grace and goodness and mercy, you have granted us another Lord's Day. We thank you for the blessing and the privilege that we have to meet together. We pray for your grace and mercy to be upon each one of us throughout this day. And we pray, Lord, it may indeed be a very special day. as we particularly concentrate upon our Saviour and our God, and help us, Lord, to worship you in spirit and in truth. Do bless and encourage each and every one here this morning, we pray. We ask your blessing now, in the most precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our first hymn is number 43, Sweet is the work, my God, my King, to praise thy name, give thanks and sing, to show thy love by morning light and talk of all thy truth at night. Hymn number 43. To praise thy name, we dance and sing. To share thy love, thy holy might, and to behold thy king. ♪ It's the day of sacred rest ♪ ♪ No mortal man can disturb my rest ♪ ♪ Now may my heart in you be found ♪ ♪ I'm famous from afar ♪ My heart shall triumph in the Lord, and bless his words, and bless his word. How deep thy counsels, how divine! And I shall share a glorious bond with grace as well. of joy well-ashamed. Life, early or late, My eyes have nears no more, My inward foes shall all be slain, Though Satan break my peace first. ♪ Then shall I sing and hear and know ♪ ♪ All I desire and all I wish to know ♪ ♪ And every path I'll straighten for thee ♪ ♪ In that it's ever true ♪ I have two readings from the scriptures. The first one is from Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16, I shall begin to read verse 13. When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, began to rebuke him, saying, Be it not far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offence unto me. For thou savest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Our second reading is from the Gospel of Mark, and Mark chapter 8. Mark chapter eight and beginning to read at verse 27. And Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by way, he asked his disciples, saying unto them, whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others, one of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and said unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Well, may the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his most precious and infallible word. Let's sing, shall we, another hymn? Hymn number 387. Head of the Church and Lord of all, hear from thy throne our suppliant call. We come the promised grace to seek, of which aforetime thou did speak. Hymn number 387. Here from thy throne, as sun and moon, We have the promised place to see, Of which the full-time path of this be. Oh, I have with you that sweet word, for Jesus' name may be heard, and stamped with all inspiring power. We have thy presence, King of kings, of ever-slaves, ♪ That we can yield this life to you ♪ ♪ I can't sleep great delight with us ♪ ♪ All in the toil unbent to touch ♪ ♪ And in the tend of fruit will be ♪ ♪ The star in the sky ♪ ♪ Though I am with you even so ♪ ♪ Thy joy of strength we fearless know ♪ ♪ And praise shall crown the stars above ♪ Let's come together then to the throne of grace in prayer. Let's pray. Our dear gracious Lord and heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessing and the privilege of prayer. We thank you for the opportunity you have given us already this day, in our homes, in our families. And they Lord, you give us an opportunity as a body of your people to pray as a corporate unit to the throne of grace. We thank you that we can pray in boldness and in confidence, not of course in ourselves, or our techniques or any of that nature but because your word tells us that we can come to the throne of grace with boldness and confidence because we come in the most precious name of our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you dear Heavenly Father that we can bring anything that we desire before you Lord. There is no who are interested in the smallest details of our lives as well as the major issues. And we thank you, Lord, that we would all be able to testify here this morning of how you have so graciously and wonderfully answered our prayers. So, dear Heavenly Father, be guiding and please, Lord, guide and lead us in our time of prayer together. We thank you for the witness of your fellowship here at Gordon Road. We pray you would richly bless Gary up at Wivelsfield this day for Colin and his preaching ministry. Do undertake both and do help them and enable them. We do commend and pray, Lord, the ministry during the coming week here as well. And we ask, Lord, for your blessing indeed upon that. We thank you, Lord, that has the The hymn says, we have a gospel to proclaim. And we do thank you for that. We pray, Lord, that we may never, ever be silent believers, that we would always have that desire within us to share the hope that we have in us in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, that during this coming week and in these coming days, you would give each one of us opportunities to have a word of the season. a word here, a word there, an opportunity to speak of Christ in whatever situations may occur. And we pray, Lord, that as we speak, that Lord the Holy Spirit himself would take our feeble and perhaps inadequate words and use them, Lord, for your honor and your glory. We do indeed commend each one here this morning, and indeed those who are not here for different reasons, We pray you would undertake them in the day-to-day lives. Perhaps, Lord, there are things coming up in the weeks ahead, perhaps hospital appointments or results from tests. Perhaps, Lord, there are some who have an oppression on the mind and feel distraught and sometimes don't know which way to turn. Lord, we pray that you would fill such with your love and joy and strength. That you would fill them with your spirit. Enable them, Lord, to know your peace and grace whatever lies ahead. We thank you that nothing ever takes you by surprise. And we pray, Heavenly Father, you would undertake for each and every one of us in the ups and downs of our lives in the days ahead. We do pray to Heavenly Father for Your blessing upon our loved ones, wherever they may be on this day. For those that are serving you, Lord, we pray you would bless them and encourage them. For those that are not, Lord, we pray you would draw them to yourself, Lord, in repentance and faith. And may they indeed be truly born again. We do pray, dear Heavenly Father, for our nation at this time. Lord, it's a nation that's in decay in so many areas. It's national life. It seems, Lord, confusion and chaos reign in government, morality, and there's no such thing in these days. It's, Lord, everyone does what's right in their own eyes, Lord, and we just pray, Lord, as we look at our country and as the state of the nation goes down and down and down. Lord, all we can do is plead for your mercy, that you would yet have mercy. Lord, you have done it before. You've caused revivals and awakenings in the history of our land. And we pray, Lord, that because you have done it in the past, Lord, we pray that you would yet do it in the future. Lord, we would ask, Lord, if we could be even some small part in that ministry. Lord, what a blessing that would be. We do indeed commend our nation to you. We pray, Lord, for our brothers and sisters in Christ who do meet in various circumstances so different from ourselves. They meet with the fear of arrest or imprisonment or punishment. And we pray, Lord, for these dear brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world that you would undertake for them and help them to maintain a bold witness for Christ. We know, Lord, many of them suffer imprisonment and beatings and torture. And of course, some face the ultimate of death. But we pray, Lord, you would strengthen them and encourage them in their situations. And may their stand for Christ, may their witness for the Lord Jesus be an example to ourselves here. Perhaps there may come a time when, because we hold certain views about certain issues, that the police will be knocking on our door and that people will be accusing us of being hateful and all the other things that they accuse us of. Lord, if those days are to come, we pray, Lord, you'll give us the grace to stand and to stand firm, that we stand firm on biblical truth and no other. We do not bend with society. We do not bend with public opinion. but we look to our God and our Sovereign Lord and the Word of God as we see in the Scriptures. So help us, Lord, in these days. Do bless and encourage the ministry of the Word of God. We do commit that to you as well. Pray, Lord, you'd help each one of us as we hear what you would have to say to us. May, Lord, it be a word perhaps for some of encouragement. perhaps some a word of comfort, for others perhaps a word of challenge or perhaps a word of rebuke. We pray that the Holy Spirit himself would presence himself among us and take the word of God as it is ministered and as it is preached and use it according to his purposes in each and every one of us. And we just pray for this, Lord. And we pray for your continued blessing with us now. And we pray these prayers in the most precious and in the most wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our next hymn is number 501. Sovereign grace or sin abounding, ransom souls the tidings swell, tis a deep that knows no sounding, who its breath, its length can tell, on its glories let my soul forever dwell. Hymn number 501. It is the day that knows the smelting, Where its bread, Lord, it can tell, All its glories, all its glories, That I've sown forever. But from Christ that soul shall step forth, Bound by everlasting fastness, Fastening in, in, in forever, None shall bark thee, none shall bark thee, from the strength of Israel's hands. Best of all, join hands with Jesus, come, let by his grace be done. Oh, what wonders He hath done! One with Jesus, one with Jesus, Thine eternal union one. Thou art such love, Christ, Alleluia. Alleluia. Grace shall reign forevermore. Can we turn, please, to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9. Luke, Chapter 9. I'd just like to read, if I may, verses from 18 through to verse 22. And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him. And he asked them, saying, whom say the people that I am? They answering him said, John the Baptist, some say Elias, others say that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, the Christ of God. And he straightly charged them and commanded them to tell no man that thing, saying, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be slain and be raised the third day. And that passage there in Luke's gospel begins with the Lord Jesus Christ is praying alone or he is praying apart. He was free from the crowds and he was there with his disciples. And indeed it's always worth noting the emphasis on prayer in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke himself, rites of Jesus praying seven times or places in his gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed before his baptism. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed when his fame began to increase. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed before he chose the twelve. He is praying in this passage we have here in chapter 9. And then the Lord Jesus Christ prayed before his transfiguration. And he prayed before he taught his disciples how to pray. And finally, the Lord Jesus Christ prayed in the garden at Gethsemane. Now, of course, it stands to reason, it's absolutely obvious that the Lord Jesus Christ prayed on a different level to his disciples and to you and I. We come to God knowing that we need a mediator that will gain us admittance to the throne of grace. And that, of course, is through our Lord Jesus Christ. And when we come to the throne of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come on the basis of mercy. We come on that basis of God's love and compassion and, of course, God's grace. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, talked to God the Father with a familiarity that he would have had because he had perfect fellowship with his Father. It's interesting on this particular mention of the Lord in prayer. J.C. Ryle says this, much private prayer is the secret of success. Much private prayer is the secret of success. But then the Lord asked him a question. After he's praying, it says there his disciples were with him and he asked them a question. Now, I have to say this, the Lord Jesus Christ already knew the answer to his question. He's getting to get things out from his disciples. He's beginning to prepare his disciples for the question that he will put to them later on in verse 20. Now I know, as I say, the Lord Jesus Christ knows the answer to his question. But his disciples would be in a position to learn from the mistakes of others. That's an application that we need to look to ourselves. That we could make, look at mistakes people make. Pray that the Lord would Deliver us from making similar ones. Learn from the mistakes that we have made. Ask the Lord that we wouldn't be delivered from future ones. And as we see, hey, people out, perhaps they'd be able to get alongside, to give them a bit of counsel, a bit of help in these situations. And it's interesting that he's teaching his disciples, and his disciples are ordinary men. How important it is that we should spend time with ordinary people. It's so important to get to know what people think. Most people are clueless these days on what true Christianity really is. And we need to really try to get alongside, to try and understand in spiritual situations, spiritual issues. It's interesting, isn't it? to hear what people today say about the Lord Jesus Christ. What does popular opinion say? And of course, if we were to go out and ask people, we'd get all sorts of various responses. Now, I imagine a lot of people would know that the Lord Jesus was a very exceptional person. Some may even say he was a supernatural person. I remember when I was looking at this in the week, way back when I used to work for, I used to work on the night shift at International Computers Limited, ICL. And we were there as engineers, so we often had time to just sit and Drink tea, as you do on night shifts. And I remember when we got talking, who would you most like to meet? Now, I wasn't a Christian when this took place, but I've always remembered it. Who would you most like to meet? And people went round and they mentioned various personalities. And one chap said, I'd like to meet Jesus Christ. So I said, why? He said, I'd like to know where he'd done all those miracles. Now, there's a man with no belief. but he'd love to know how Jesus did all those miracles. But I see most people in the Lord Jesus Christ's day saw him as an earthly leader or maybe an earthly ruler. But you see, it's interesting in that question. Whom say the people that I am? He didn't want to know what the rulers were saying. He didn't ask to think, what does Pontius Pilate think of me? What does Herod think of me? What do the Pharisees and the Scribes and the Sanhedrin, what do they all think of me? He doesn't want to know what they think. He's not concerned so much with the interests or opinions of those who are in prestige positions, who are in places of privilege, of leadership. What an encouragement it is that the Lord Jesus Christ is so interested in ordinary people. Because if he wasn't, none of us would be here this morning. But he's interested in ordinary people like you and me. And of course, they come back with different answers, don't they? Seems a favourite candidate is John the Baptist. John the Baptist, of course, has recently been executed. Now he's returned, he's come back to life. Others say Elijah. Because remember, Elijah went up to heaven in a chariot of fire. Or maybe, I think it's in Matthew's gospel, they mentioned Jeremiah. Or maybe one of the other prophets. They've all come back. Now of all these different claims, and of course they're all false, probably the most popular choice would be John the Baptist. But it's interesting, isn't it? John the Baptist, Elias, one of the old prophets. Nobody says, well, they're saying that you're the Messiah. You're the Lord. Nothing like that. The only thing that the people did notice, of course, is whatever they thought of who the Lord Jesus Christ was, they saw and they knew that he was so different from the scribes and the Pharisees. And of course that comes across particularly in the way that he taught. And of course, what do the ordinary people say? John the Baptist, Jeremiah, one of the prophets, Elijah. And of course one of the problems is once you start going down that line and putting the wrong side to the Lord Jesus Christ, there you can get into ruination of your soul. You see, all the opinions that are available today, and I imagine if you went on one of the search engines, you'd get all sorts of weird and wonderful responses. Of course, it's nothing new. It's happened throughout the history of the Church. People have denied the Lord Jesus Christ to humanity. They've denied his Godhead. And so on, and many other things as well. But the trouble is it leads people away from true faith. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is interested in absolute truth. And so he asks his disciples an explicit question, Whom say ye that I am? And now that is a question that can stop conversations. and can lose you friends in whatever area you're in. Once you challenge them personally, where they stand with the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, their answer will make their faith in the Lord more definite, more explicit. And so we have the view or if you like, the opinion of these disciples. And Peter seems to speak for them all. The Christ of God. He's saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Christ. He is the Messiah, the promised Redeemer. These disciples see him as Christ, the Son of God. And what Peter is speaking is, if you like, a confirmation of the deity of the Lord Jesus. But, if we were to read on further in the Gospels, we know that this declaration that Peter made on behalf of the disciples, himself and the disciples, did not entirely settle their spiritual problems. And we read of that, of course, in other parts of the scriptures. And to die, it is so easy, isn't it? To skirt rain and go rain the edges and go rain, and you get nowhere. There is a need today for direct questions. Now, it's interesting. I think to be somebody in public, to be a politician, you have to go on a course to learn how not to answer a question. I won't mention who he is, but many years ago, when I was in Wandsworth, with the London City Mission, the Vicar of Wandsworth organised this meeting with our local MP, who happened to be a government minister at the time, I won't mention his name, And he had all the people there, the ministers and clergy and all sorts of things. And everyone was there to ask him a question. Most of the questions had been vetted beforehand, as ever. And they were all things that you'd all agree on. What is the government's position on illegal drugs? Yes, we all agree with that. And then we had a problem at the time with Yardie gangs. And we all agree with that. Anyway, we came to this chap who happened to be the vicar of St. Michael and all the angels' safe fields. And he said, and so the chairman said, David, he said, have you got a question for the minister? And he said, yes. He said, what do you make of the Lord Jesus Christ? And the room just stopped. And he was stuck for, I've never seen a politician stuck for words, but there he was. And the chairman started coughing a bit, as they do, to try and get over the embarrassment. And he waffled, cuz he didn't know the Lord Jesus Christ. But straight in, a conversation stopper, I suppose they call it. You see, when you get a direct question, It stops all the waffling, doesn't it? They also tell me it's a way, we used to find you get a seat on the underground as well that way. Because people tend to move away from you when you start talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. What think ye of Christ? And that's a question that we need to ask people. Because on what they say depends their whole eternal future. And we need to be honest with people. We need to say things as they really are. That's the question, isn't it? Perhaps we've got people in the church, they've been coming for donkey's years maybe or they're on the fringes and really you don't know where they are, do you? Perhaps we've got to go up and say, do you believe? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? Are you going to heaven or are you going to hell? There are an awful lot of people in churches today who have no idea that their minister will tell them that hell is in a place that doesn't exist anymore. And people need to realize it. We have to be... sometimes it does take an awful lot of courage to put somebody on the spot. But you never know, there may come a time when they come and say, thank you for putting me on the spot. You see, Peter's confession here, the Christ of God, puts all others' opinions in the shade, doesn't it? And the you is emphatic. As he says, who do you or whom say ye? Who do you say? Not the rest of them. You. It's emphatic. You see the Lord wants an open confession of faith. He doesn't want dilly-dallying. And a true believer will always fly in the face of popular opinion. The true believer will have a conviction which is contrary to the majority. And we are to stand up boldly for the truth. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the essence of Christianity. You see, if the Christian faith is that it says then we have to maintain it and be witnesses for it. We have to say that you need to personally experience Christ, not live off somebody else's, not live off an experience that may have happened 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago. The fact that we may have been brought up in a Christian home, been baptized, perhaps take the Lord's Supper, whatever it may be. We need to know the Lord Jesus Christ personally, personally experience Him, personally feel Him, personally be possessed by Him, owned by Him. But here, of course, they answer and the Lord straight away says, don't say this to anyone. Don't tell people that I'm the Messiah. His deity, was to be hidden at this time. Now, it has to be said as well, as mentioned earlier, that the disciples themselves had not yet a full and clear understanding of the nature of Christ's Messiahship. There was, at this time, no doubt, a commotion going on in their hearts. And they still had a lot more to learn. And it's certainly that the general public, if you like, were not ready for the news. You see, what the people generally were looking for in the Messiah was someone to deliver them from the yoke of Rome, to once again usher in like a golden age. But today, as the Lord did, our task today is to bring people face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ that we read of in the scriptures. Of who he is, of what he has done, and what he is doing, and what he will do. We need to speak of his uniqueness, his deity, his saving power and so on. We proclaim his death and his resurrection and all that that means. To hear his death and resurrection is revealed to his disciples. And what a shock that must have been to them, to hear the Lord speak in that fashion, that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain and be raised the third day. That would have been quite shocking, that the Messiah must suffer. Not only must he suffer, but he would also be put to death through the spiritual leaders of the people. He was revealing those people who would seek his death. However, he would be raised on the third day. When it mentions there about the elders and chief priests, the elders would be lay members of the Sanhedrin. Members of highly privileged families. And then, of course, you had the chief priests and all his highly exalted family as well. And the scribes that I mentioned there, they were the trained and ordained theologians of the day. They would be the ones that studied, interpreted, copied, and taught the law. And notice there that the son of man must Again there is that stress on that word must. It is a divine necessity. It is essential to the plan of salvation. And of course it's prophesied in the Old Testament. He must be killed and he must be raised up. And of course it was necessary for the Lord to say this here to his disciples. They needed to know the real reason for the coming of the Messiah. And as I say, it was startling news for them. That the Messiah would actually be killed is almost unbelievable. And it's possible that when they heard that, that was such a shock to them. They may not have heard and be raised up the third day. Sometimes, isn't it, if you receive shocking news, the first bit goes in and it turns you into a turmoil and sometimes you don't hear the bit on the end. But the Lord here gives a clear message. And of course his suffering and his death will be unique. He will do this. He will be put to death on a cross, and he will pay the price for the ransom from sin in so doing. And this, of course, is a voluntary act of the Lord. Out of his own, if you like, his own free will. The will of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's the result of the eternal councils of the Trinity, even before the foundation of the world. And because of all that the Lord Jesus Christ did, because he went all the way to Calvary, because he was prepared to suffer there the pain and indignation and cruelty of crucifixion, the wrath of God poured upon him for the sins of his people. that people like you and I can sit in absolute, total, perfect security this morning. There are no doubt many concerns in your lives as there is in mine. But I know we're ongoing. I know who's in control. There's a reason for everything. And I have to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's true for all of us. that as he went to the cross, there's a gospel hymn they used to sing in Northern Ireland, and I can't remember the word, so I won't try and sing it, but it was something like this, that when he was on the cross, I was on his mind. And you think that personalised that. When Jesus was dying on the cross for the sins of his people, those of us who are believers, were on his mind. And what a motivation that is to live for him and to stand firm in his truth. Let's sing, shall we? Our last, well, not our hymn, number 221. Man of sorrows, what a name for the son of God who came. ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah. What a saviour. Number 221. For the Son of God who made me, who in sin was truly made, Alleluia, the wondrous Savior. ♪ To take my place on earth ♪ ♪ Beauty of heaven and Christ the King ♪ ♪ God's love, love of God, God's King ♪ ♪ What torment can it be ♪ ♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ ♪ Lifted up was he to die ♪ ♪ In his finish was his strife ♪ ♪ Now in heaven exalted high ♪ ♪ The King of glory is born ♪ When he comes, how glorious is he! All his brides are come to greet. And the music's song will sing. Once more we meet around this table at Lord's Supper in remembrance of our Saviour's sacrifice, His death, and His love for His people. We do so because it's good for us to remember Him, good for us to remember His sacrifice and death on our behalf, and before we come to His entrance we'll approach our Saviour as we invite Him to meet amongst us, to be present with us this morning as we pray. Gracious Lord God, our loving Heavenly Father, we come into Thy presence this morning again and we thank You for the fact that Thou art with us. Here our minds hop back to that time, Lord, before Thy death and sacrifice that night, and let us meet around these emblems with Thy disciples, so that has set this Come on, as it were, in place, Lord, that we should remember Thee. And Lord, we come around this table with our minds and hearts fixed on our Savior this morning. Lord, we pray that Thou wilt grant us that nearness and clarity of thought as we meet together. Lord, we pray that it may not be another communion service where we go through the motions, Lord. refresh our minds as we think on our Saviour. Help us to focus on Him, His sacrifice, His death. Lord, warm our hearts as we do so, as we remember that He came in obedience to His Father, and came to live that perfect life. He went about preaching love, repentance, forgiveness of sins, but we thank you that all these years later we're gathered here in this small corner of Palesham as recipients of His mercy and His grace and love towards us. So bless us Lord as we partake these emblems. Be with us now we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Read these familiar words in 1 Corinthians. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he break it and said, take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner, also he took the cup when he had stopped, saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death, till ye come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself. not discerning the Lord's body, having the effect of the present moment. Lord, God, and the Holy Father, we come to you tonight, today, Lord, remembering that day. Lord, let's put this down, let's sin this one, let us of this, let us do this for the sins of man. Lord, we thank you, Lord, for it. We thank you, Lord, for the death. We thank you that you were winning. You went winning to the cross. You did not have your life taken from you, because you gave it up, that we might be redeemed. We thank you, Lord, that you rose on the third day, conquering death, and making a way of atonement to us. We pray, Lord, bless this time for us, Embrance in our memory goes to us, so that we would truly remember and be blessed by this, by Laide, and remember in sorts of things that is so vital. We'll sing together as we conclude hymn 895. 895. Verse 2. Jesus, the sinner's friend, he whom our souls adore, his praises have no end. Praise him forevermore. 895. ♪ And so before we part ♪ ♪ We bless our Savior's name ♪ ♪ Let every tongue and heart join to extol her name ♪ ♪ Thy blessings to impart ♪ ♪ We bless in Jesus' name ♪ ♪ And in His name we part ♪ ♪ If ye'll bring me tomorrow ♪ Our gracious Lord God, we thank you for this time together spent by word and around this table. Remember we do this in eager anticipation until he comes. So Lord we pray that help us to occupy until that time, and we pray now that Thou wouldst dismiss us with Thy blessing and be with us, until we meet again we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.