Valley Church Clinton
August 30th

      • Psalms 95:1-4CSB

      • Psalms 95:5-7CSB

  • Man Of Sorrows

      • Ephesians 5:15-18CSB

      • Ephesians 5:19-21CSB

  • Jesus Paid It All

  • Why We Worship

    Good morning! Thank you all so much for being here, today is a 5th Sunday, and we use that as a Sunday to slow down and have everyone in the same room, and today is even more special because we are participating in communion, or the Lord’s Supper.
    But before we get into that, I wanted to take just a moment to explain why we come here and gather and worship with song and voice.
    Because I know worship is deeply engrained in our American churches, and I know it can seem like a rigamarole every time we gather to go through the songs…
    And just kind of be numb to it, and to either not know or forget why we do it.
    Well, there are a few reasons we worship here, and the first is that

    He Deserves It

    God alone deserves our attention.
    Nehemiah 9:6 CSB
    6 You, Lord, are the only God. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their stars, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them, and all the stars of heaven worship you.

    Worship is How God Moves

    Acts 13:2 CSB
    2 As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

    Worship is our Purpose

    Revelation 7:9–10 CSB
    9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
    Singing unites us in the same language.
    Worshipping out loud is essential to match internal feeling and external action.
    Music us a gift from God.
    Essential in remembering.
    Pleasing to God
    It regroups us and grounds us, reminds us that God is good.
    It helps us in our affliction.
    Acts 16:25 CSB
    25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

    Communion

    You know, we have a tradition in this country that is honestly one of my favorite things, it actually is one of the few things that completley makes the U.S. stand apart from the rest of the world.
    At least, I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this. And when I explain it to people from other countries, it boggles their minds.
    And this tradition, it happens every November, you may have already guessed what it is…
    Thanksgiving.
    And Thanksgiving is great, I love it. I think it’s the second greatest government bill to be passed by Abraham Lincoln, established in 1863.
    And this was of course during the American Civil War, by far the bloodiest battle that the U.S. has ever seen, as 600-700k Americans died during the war.
    But Thanksgiving was established to promote national unity, and healing, and togetherness, and rumor has it that most major fighting, for that moment, paused while the entire country, many still in their battle uniforms, muskets loaded, sat down and enjoyed a meal together.
    What an American thing: we’re all fighting, let’s sit down and eat a big meal. Right?
    It actually reinforces my long-established theory that a lot of our conflicts would be solved if we just went over to Ritters and had some ice cream to calm down.
    But when I say Thanksgiving, you immediately get a certain feeling, don’t you?
    You know what a good Thanksgiving is supposed to be like.
    For me, it’s showing up at Grandma and Grandpas house. The Turkey is there, but way more importantly, the ham is baked and the noodles are in the crock pot.
    Thankfully, Grandma buys the sturdy paper plates, and I can line the entire bottom with mashed potatoes, and start piling from there.
    My mom brings something, usually broccoli salad.
    The fireplace is going, the room is warm, the cousins are laughing and catching up after not having seen each other for a while.
    The guys are talking about the end of fishing season, and the beginning of hunting season, lying about their success in both.
    But then, everyone stops, the table gets set, and everyone sits down to enjoy a meal together.
    And yes, there may be tension when Uncle Bob starts talking about how the democrats are destroying America, or when Aunt Karen starts going on about a story that you’ve heard 1000 times,
    But for some reason, we do it year, after year, after year.
    Because we as humans have an inherent need for embodied connection. It’s something online and social media will never replace…
    We have a need to be together, to eat a meal together, all in under the same roof, all part of the same family…
    Why do we do it? Honestly, I don’t know. But this is something that has never not existed in the course of human history.
    Every period discovered has evidence of communal meals, eating together, cooking together, hunting together.
    As much as western society promotes individualism, we are people of community.
    And I think it’s because our God is, and made us that way.
    I mean, think about it. If God didn’t crave and desire community, He would have never made us.
    He was totally sufficient alone, totally Holy alone, He was just fine.
    But, the great mystery of humanity is why did he make us?
    Well, the answer is God wanted community, and he wanted us to love.
    And not only did He make us, he let us tend to his world. To his created universe, he gave it to us to work, and make better.
    Ephesians 1:4–6 CSB
    4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
    But, unfortunately, we did not and could not love God back like we should have.
    Indeed, we could not fulfill our end of Ephesians 1:4-6, we could not fulfill our part of anything, actually.
    We chose our own path.
    And for that reason, God had to become human and fulfill our side of things for us.
    Not only because we couldn’t, but because that man was eternal, and held the final decision.
    I’m sure you know about this story, but it’s one of my personal favorites, when Jesus was here on earth, he was walking through Jericho one day, and there was this big crowd, it was chaos, like usual when Jesus entered a town.
    But there was this one guy, Zacchaeus, and poor Zacchaeus, he had no idea that for generation, children would sing of him as a wee little man…
    But he was short little guy apparently, so he climbed a tree, and Jesus of course immediately noticed him, probably because he was a grown man climbing a tree.
    And Jesus said - hey, I’m coming over today, and I’m staying at your house.
    And Scripture says Zacchaeus welcomed him joyfully.
    Here’s the end of that story:
    Luke 19:7–9 CSB
    7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” 9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.
    You’ll notice a lot in the gospels that Jesus get’s a lot of complaints, but probably in his top 3 are complaints about eating with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners.
    In that day, and really in this day also, that was a huge no-no. Your reputation was largely influenced by who you hung out with.
    But Jesus, being so incredible, he didn’t give a rip about his reputation.
    What he gave a rip about was salvation. And we see this in the story of Zacchaeus.
    Jesus took pity on him, he realized society had rejected him, but at the same time realized Zacchaeus had really given in to a sinful lifestyle.
    But Jesus sees the inner man, and goes and eats with him, stays at his house, and Zacchaeus’s life and eternity is forever changed.
    Jesus forgoes his reputation, his status, his dignity, and his life, to be with us.
    I know we love saying: Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, isn’t that great? We should do that.
    And believer me, I don’t want you to not think that way, I absolutely think we should be a light to the people society looks down on.
    But what I think we forget is we are Zacchaeus.
    We are the sinners, I am the sinner, I am the prostitute, I am the tax collector, I am the swindler, I am the blasphemer, I am the one shaking my fist at God,
    Yet he looks up in my tree, and he says - get down, I’m coming over, and we’re eating a meal together.
    Not considering oneself wise, but associating with the lowly, means considering oneself the worst of sinners. If my sin appears to me to be in any way smaller or less reprehensible in comparison with the sins of others, then I am not yet recognizing my sin at all. My sin is of necessity the worst, the most serious, the most objectionable. Christian love will find any number of excuses for the sins of others; only for my sin is there no excuse whatsoever.
    ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible
    Yes, Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors. That means you. He’s reaching out to you, even though his reputation among the “elites” will be tarnished.
    And let me tell you, it is life changing.
    Because what we don’t realize is Jesus is setting a table for us.
    Revelation 3:20 CSB
    20 See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
    What we don’t realize is if we are in Christ, every day is Thanksgiving that we get to celebrate with Jesus.
    Jesus sets the table, and we all pitch in, we come together as the church, and we get to dine with Jesus Christ, as family, feeling the warmth, and love, and satisfaction.
    This is what communion represents. The church coming together, dining with one another and Christ, and remembering what He did for us on the cross.
    You know, I’m not really one for art, Dillon is always profoundly disappointed when I say that,
    But this painting has actually quite impacted me, and of course it’s based on Revelation 3:20.
    This is a painting called Light of the World by William Holman Hunt, and it depicts Jesus standing at a door, knocking with a lamp in dark, as if to be a guide in the night.
    But you‘ll notice, the door is overgrown, it’s weedy, no one has used this door in quite some time,
    And you may notice there is no doorknob.
    That means the doorknob is only on the inside, whoever is inside the house is in complete control of whether they come out, or not.
    You may be here this morning, and this is what your door looks like.
    It’s overgrown. You haven’t answered the knock. Maybe you’ve gone back in, maybe you’re feeling like you need more, or you’re ignoring the beacon back to Jesus.
    This morning, we are going to take communion. Jesus Christ is calling you to the table, he’s knocking,
    And he’s not asking you to clean yourself up before you come.
    He’s not. He’s asking that you come sit down with him.
    Because he knows you’re a sinner. There’s nothing he doesn’t know. He knows you aren’t enough.
    But. He knows He is enough.
    All he wants is to see you at the feast.

      • Nehemiah 9:6CSB

      • Acts 13:2CSB

      • Revelation 7:9–10CSB

      • Acts 16:25CSB

      • Ephesians 1:4–6CSB

      • Luke 19:7–9CSB

      • Revelation 3:20CSB

  • The Old Rugged Cross

      • Philippians 3:7-8CSB

      • Philippians 3:9-10CSB

      • Philippians 3:11CSB

  • Give Me Jesus
Valley Church Clinton
3 members