Seeing Jesus in Your Routine. Luke 24:13-32

From the Anchor sermon "Feeling Far From God" preached by Pastor Ryan Alsheimer. Communion message by Pastor Kaler Carpenter.

The beauty of this story is that Christ and His presence was with the two disciples throughout the entire journey...

even when they didn’t realize it.

Often times, we may feel far away from God, or like He doesn’t care when we’re discouraged. But, the whole time, 

He is walking beside us, encouraging us, speaking truth into our lives.

In the midst of trials and tribulations, our prayer should be, “Lord, give us eyes to see that you truly are with us.”

Now, in this story and even in those special moments when God reveals Himself to us, it is the Holy Spirit performing the supernatural work of “opening our eyes,” to the reality of Jesus Christ and his resurrection power. That said, on a practical level,

God is one to use the ordinary and the familiar, in order to reveal to us the love of Christ in supernatural ways.

In the case of the two disciples, this revelation was experienced through “the breaking of bread.” In this text, when it says, “ He took bread and broke it”, it refers to sharing a common meal--an ordinary meal where one person takes an ordinary loaf and divides it to be passed out. 

Thinking back to the disciples’ time spent walking with Jesus, they likely enjoyed dozens, if not hundreds of meals with their Master. At the start of each meal, Jesus, as is customary for rabbis, “took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.”

Each one of these meals, though ordinary, was made special to these men because they shared a table with Jesus and enjoyed his presence.

At this inn located outside Emmaus, the Holy Spirit used the very moment of Jesus breaking the bread (in the exact same way that he’s done so with them many times before) to bring their hearts back to the past times when Christ was with them, and then, reveal to them that

the very same Jesus is with them now

in their time of extreme discouragement. 

Friends, “Why does this church break bread every week?” If we do it at every worship service, wouldn’t that make a special sacrement, ordinary? I love how Pastor Don once answered this question, with a question. He said, “Why doesn’t your church break bread every week?”

You see, there’s value to finding Christ in a familiar routine.

• By coming to church regularly and fellowshipping with the saints,
• by reading the same scriptures over and over again,
• and by coming to the table and remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus, 

ESPECIALLY when you feel far away from God, 

you are, in effect, creating a space in the midst of your ordinary routing where you’re inviting the Holy Spirit to supernaturally work in your heart to remind you that God’s love is, indeed, oh so real. 

So, when we come to the table tonight, bring your burdens and your doubts, and come with an open mind and an open heart. I pray that, 

when you participate in this familiar act, your spiritual eyes will be opened, and your own hearts will, like the disciples’, “burn within” with the reality of His resurrection.

It’s a reality that encompasses every aspect of the human experience,

the good times, 

and even the bad.

Does Jesus' Divine Foreknowledge Take Away From His Sacrifice? Philippians 1:27-2:11

From the Anchor sermon series "Rejoice." Message "Joy in Unity and Humility" preached by Pastor Ryan Alsheimer. Communion message by Pastor Kaler Carpenter.

I love this passage because it gives a unique perspective on the motives of Jesus ("the mind of Jesus Christ", Phil. 2:5). We see here that in Jesus’ life, ministry, and even in his decision to leave behind the glories of Heaven to take on human flesh with its struggles,

all of it was entirely motivated by humility, obedience, love, joy, and sacrifice. 

Given the nature of Jesus’ sacrifice and the horrors he put himself through on our behalf, understanding Jesus’ motivation makes his sacrifice even more remarkable. And, I’m not just talking about the work He did on the cross.

Jesus’ obedient sacrifice also includes a spiritual judgement that’s hard to fully comprehend.

This idea of motivation and sacrifice came to light recently in a conversation I had with a dear friend who identifies as a skeptic. He said to me:

“Since Jesus was also God and he knew ahead of time about his resurrection, doesn’t that take away from his sacrifice?"

It’s an intriguing question because it implies that, in light of Jesus’ divine foreknowledge, him “being obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2:8),” wasn’t difficult. And, if that’s the case, then:

• What makes Jesus’ sacrifice more praiseworthy than say a soldier on the battlefield laying down his life for others? 
• Or, what’s the difference between Jesus’ sacrifice and the sacrifice of Aaron Feis (Fise), the High School football coach in Parkland, Florida who gave his life by shielding students with his own body from the shooter’s bullets?

In the Bible, Jesus speaks to such heroic sacrifices and the motives behind them. He says in John 15:

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” 

Paul provides us with further insight into this and Jesus’ motives in Romans 5:

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Ultimately, what makes Jesus’ sacrifice unique and his motives so remarkable, is HOW Jesus’ death saves us.

More frightening than bullets, and even worse the crucifixion itself, the unique death that Jesus willing signed up for (out of obedience and humility), involved taking on the full wrath of God’s judgement for the sins of the world, for you, and for me, and for the Father’s glory (Phil. 2:11).

This atoning sacrifice is at the heart of the Gospel message, and Paul again gives us insight into Jesus’ motives when he says in 2 Corinthians:

“For He (God) made him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  

Therefore, when we come to this table and remember WHAT Jesus did on the cross for us-- suffering a death designed to maximize suffering--also take time to remember and honor Jesus’ motives--WHY he journeyed to the cross in the first place. Motives that, keep in mind, were a part of Jesus’ nature even before he came to the manager as a baby, on a mission to redeem His lost people. Romans 5:9 Paul says:

“that (more than Christ dying for us) having now been justified by His blood we shall be saved from wrath through Him… (v.11) And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

So come church, and rejoice!

Seeing Sacrifice in Salvation. Philippians 1:6

From the Anchor sermon series "Rejoice." Message "Joy from Grace" preached by Pastor Ryan Alsheimer. Communion message by Pastor Kaler Carpenter.

Growing up in church, I’ve seen this verse often shared when someone's discouraged, like if plans don't work out or if ministry is difficult. And while this Bible verse certainly encourages during a hard time, for the fellow saints Paul was writing to in the church of Philippi, they understood this promise to be mean more.

For Paul's original Roman audience (and for us today), this promise is about salvation and sacrifice.

You see, Paul is a master missionary, and as such, he regularly borrows from the customs and rituals of the culture he’s ministering to, in order to teach truths about the Gospel.

In this passage, the language used by Paul points to a religious sacrifice commonly performed in ceremonies across the Roman empire, like the Roman colony of Philippi. And when Paul uses the Greek words for “to begin” (enarchesthai) and for “to complete” (epitelein), he is pointing to the technical terms denoting the beginning and the ending of this well-known sacrifice.

NT commentator William Barclay explains this ritual. He says that the following sacrificial actions were called “the beginning”, or enarchesthai: 

A torch was lit from the fire on the altar and then dipped into a bowl of water to cleanse the water with its sacred flame; and with the purified water the victim and the people were sprinkled to make them holy and clean. Then followed what was known as the sacred silence, in which the worshiper was meant to make his prayers to his god. Finally, a basket of barley was brought, and some grains were scattered on the victim, and on the ground.

And the word used by the Greeks for completing this entire ritual is the same Greek word used by Paul, epitelein, “to complete.” 

Therefore, Paul is communicating that the life of every Christian is a prepared sacrifice to be offered to Jesus Christ. 

And, it’s a sacrificial work that’s God’s already begun. It’s the same imagery Paul uses in Rom. 12:1 when he instructs the Roman Christians to “present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” 

For followers of Christ, the completion of this sacrifice and our salvation happens on the day of Jesus Christ, i.e., when the King of Kings physically returns and we stand before him, face to face.

On this day, we will be duty bound to present to the King a mark of our love and loyalty.

And on this day, the only gift that Jesus Christ will desire from us, is ourselves.

So then, we are called to live lives that are worthy to be offered to King Jesus. This is such a high calling that it can’t be achieved by our good works. Only the grace of God can enable you to be a living sacrifice that’s holy and acceptable to God, and this grace can only be obtained through the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, by having is body broken and his feet and hands nailed to a wooden cross.

Therefore, when we come to this table, we are remembering what Jesus did, and we are presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice before the living God.

And as we partake in the bread and the juice, we’re reminded that, us being found acceptable before a holy God, is only possible because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

It’s not about how good we are, or what we do or don’t do.

Instead, it’s all about Jesus Christ and what he did.

That’s the Gospel, and that’s the Good News we declare when we come forward. So, stand, and if this describes the good work that God has begun in you, then come to this table.

Hope Found in the Manger, the Cross, and the Crown. Titus 2:11-14

From the Anchor Christmas Eve communion message "Someday at Christmas."

What makes this passage so fitting for Christmas Eve is that the three main points of the Gospel are clearly seen:

The Manger (v. 11). For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 
The Cross (v. 14). Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us.
The Crown (v. 13). Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

With the Gospel, it’s Jesus’ death on the cross that gives meaning to his birth in a manger, and it’s the life that Jesus lived and his victory over sin and death that redeems us with new life, and gives us a blessed hope.  

When you fully understand this Gospel story, you can’t help but see parallels and foreshadowing of the cross in the Christmas story.

As tragic as it sounds, you begin seeing clues in the nativity scene of Jesus essentially being “born crucified.” 

• Jesus was laid in a manger in Bethlehem. Likewise, he was laid in a tomb outside of Jerusalem.
• At the manger, Jesus is pictured with Joseph and Mary on each side. At the cross, Jesus is also flanked by two people, but they’re thieves. In both scenes, Mary looks upon Jesus.
• At the manger, baby Jesus is swaddled in a cloth, perhaps by Joseph. After Jesus’ death on the cross, his body is wrapped in a linen burial cloth by Joseph of Arimathea.  
• And the course wood of the manger and its placement outside, points to Jesus’ death on a wooden cross, which takes place outside where he was naked and exposed to the elements.

Yet, there’s more to this story than a baby being born to die. It’s only a 6 mile journey between the manger and the cross. This journey, is the story of Jesus’ incarnation. The journey of his obedient life is what brings salvation to all men, and his resurrection brings redemption to the world. 

David Henson, an Episcopal priest, says, "But it wasn’t his death and crucifixion that set things right in the world. Rather it was his incarnated life that shows us what a world set right might look like. It looks like the kingdom of God — the hungry fed, the wealthy and powerful doing violence for their own sake toppled with nonviolence and solidarity, the oppressed raised up, the outsider welcomed, the end of condemnation and guilt pressed upon us by religious elites, the end of a life absent of hope, full of death. It looks like shalom. Like Jubilee. Like life lived eternally."

I believe that this, is what blessed hope looks like (the crown). 

Therefore, when you come to this table, you are declaring that your expectation and your hope are found in the the coming of Jesus Christ.

In the same way that a royal visit by a king means that everything gets cleaned and decorated, having this blessed hope means living a life that’s pure and marked by good works, so that you are always prepared for the coming of the King of Kings.  

So tonight, may your journey from your seat to the table, be symbolic of your journey from the manger, to the cross, to your crown, and from death to new life. And may partaking in the juice and bread be a declaration that your hope is found in Jesus Christ.