WEBVTT 00:00:16.439 --> 00:00:19.640 Welcome back here to the semi -seminary podcast, 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:23.179 Theology Through the Static, where gospel meets 00:00:23.179 --> 00:00:26.660 dust and memory. Today's episode, we're stepping 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:29.760 into Corinth, into Paul's sharp word about the 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:32.960 Lord's table. You see, the table was supposed 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.020 to level the ground, rich and poor, gifted and 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:40.560 ordinary, all one in Jesus. But the Corinthians 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:44.520 turned it into noise, into pride, into a supper 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:47.659 that looked more like Rome than Calvary. If we're 00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:53.280 honest, sometimes we do the same. So the question 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:56.240 on the table is this, when you say amen, is it 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.640 just noise? Stick around because this word will 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:01.700 cut through comfort and call us into something 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:05.780 deeper. Hey, if this message stirs you, if grace 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.400 whispers through the static today, do me a favor. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:12.579 Like it, share it, subscribe. That little click 00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:14.840 helps carry the gospel further down this old 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:18.719 dusty road. So let's dive in and I will see you 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:31.810 on the other side. So I was thinking this morning 00:01:31.810 --> 00:01:36.650 as I was looking over the sermon that maybe this 00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:44.769 message isn't for you. Maybe this message is 00:01:44.769 --> 00:01:48.569 for a congregation a long time ago in the galaxy 00:01:48.569 --> 00:01:56.230 far, far away. Maybe this is a sermon that... 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:01.640 when I needed to say it, I didn't know how to 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.719 say these words. Or maybe this is a sermon where 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.199 when I felt like I probably need it, I didn't 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:12.939 know I could say these words. So it's weird because 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:14.620 here we are today and I'm not convinced this 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:17.419 is for you, but I want you to do me a favor. 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:21.599 Try to prove me wrong. Open up your heart and 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:25.240 see if maybe I didn't anticipate that this message 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.620 was for you, but it was actually for you. And 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:29.259 if you let me know, I'd appreciate it because 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:33.199 then I don't feel like this is a time that could 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:34.900 have been better spent with a different message. 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:40.060 So here we go. We're going to talk about whether 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:44.860 your amen is just noise or not. And to do so, 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:47.400 we're going to talk about a story that we find 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:51.039 in the Bible. It's from the first Corinthian 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.400 letter written by the Apostle Paul. Now, let 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:56.860 me just very quickly, let's set the stage what 00:02:56.860 --> 00:02:59.520 we're talking about. Paul, in the Bible, the 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:01.879 Apostle Paul was a builder of churches. He went 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:04.319 around as a missionary and he built churches. 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:08.080 So it didn't mean he became a starter of a church 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.120 and he became their minister, pastor, whatever, 00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:13.400 leader for a while. And then he would go someplace 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.020 else and do it again. And the church didn't move 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:20.979 with him. They stayed there. And over time, these 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:25.280 churches grew. And with their growth, good things 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:30.050 happened and bad things happened. The Apostle 00:03:30.050 --> 00:03:31.949 Paul, because he loved the churches he started, 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:34.490 had concern for them. So he wrote letters back 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:37.169 to them to either give them praise for the good 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:39.110 stuff they were doing or to correct them for 00:03:39.110 --> 00:03:42.689 the bad stuff they were doing. That's the Pauline 00:03:42.689 --> 00:03:44.669 letters, the letters that are in Paul. That's 00:03:44.669 --> 00:03:47.889 what's going on with two -thirds of the New Testament. 00:03:48.490 --> 00:03:51.330 It's Paul's letters back to these churches saying, 00:03:51.409 --> 00:03:55.610 yay, nay, right? This morning, we're going to 00:03:55.610 --> 00:04:00.960 talk about a nay. And so this is so great the 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.419 way I'm picking up where we're starting the story, 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:06.699 because I think every one of us can imagine your 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:13.020 mom or your boss or a teacher, your spouse, somebody 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:17.379 that's telling you good stuff. Hey, man, you're 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:19.689 knocking it out of the park here. This is great. 00:04:19.769 --> 00:04:22.649 You're doing awesome. And you can almost feel 00:04:22.649 --> 00:04:25.709 like, you can almost tell that she hasn't, he 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:28.110 hasn't, they haven't said it yet, but there is 00:04:28.110 --> 00:04:33.550 a but coming. But. And that's where we're going 00:04:33.550 --> 00:04:35.709 to pick up in Paul's letter to the Corinthian 00:04:35.709 --> 00:04:38.709 church. He's just given them the butter. Now 00:04:38.709 --> 00:04:42.430 it's time for the bus. The bad stuff. So he's 00:04:42.430 --> 00:04:44.290 telling them good stuff. I pick up scripture 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:49.069 right here with his but. But. In the following 00:04:49.069 --> 00:04:53.769 instructions, I do not commend you. Because when 00:04:53.769 --> 00:04:56.589 you come together, it is not for the better, 00:04:56.649 --> 00:05:01.269 but for the worse. For in the first place, when 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:03.649 you come together as a church, I hear there are 00:05:03.649 --> 00:05:08.129 divisions among you. And I believe it in part. 00:05:09.449 --> 00:05:12.610 For there must be factions among you in order 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:16.250 that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 00:05:17.290 --> 00:05:20.870 But when you come together, it's not the Lord's 00:05:20.870 --> 00:05:26.449 Supper you eat. For in eating, each one goes 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:31.709 ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:37.050 gets drunk. What? Do you not have houses to drink 00:05:37.050 --> 00:05:43.529 in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate 00:05:43.529 --> 00:05:48.050 those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? 00:05:49.230 --> 00:05:55.069 Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 00:05:56.649 --> 00:06:01.810 And then we're going to hear it again. For I 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:03.990 have received from the Lord what I also delivered 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:07.730 to you. that the Lord Jesus, on the night when 00:06:07.730 --> 00:06:09.870 he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had 00:06:09.870 --> 00:06:12.629 given thanks, he broke it, and said, This is 00:06:12.629 --> 00:06:15.089 my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance 00:06:15.089 --> 00:06:18.670 of me. In the same way, also he took the cup 00:06:18.670 --> 00:06:22.029 after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant 00:06:22.029 --> 00:06:25.329 in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it 00:06:25.329 --> 00:06:30.990 in remembrance of me. Listen. For as long as 00:06:30.990 --> 00:06:35.870 you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you 00:06:35.870 --> 00:06:39.170 proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So 00:06:39.170 --> 00:06:43.250 then, my brothers and sisters, when you come 00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:47.589 together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone 00:06:47.589 --> 00:06:51.290 is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when 00:06:51.290 --> 00:06:55.589 you come together, it will not be for judgment. 00:06:56.850 --> 00:07:03.250 Thus ends the reading word. So, picture it. Corinth. 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:07.829 on a Sunday evening. You're barefoot in the dust. 00:07:08.230 --> 00:07:11.569 You're following the smell of roasted lamb, bread, 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:15.949 and cheap wine. A wealthy patron's villa has 00:07:15.949 --> 00:07:20.209 opened its courtyard to believers. Some come 00:07:20.209 --> 00:07:24.050 in silk, reclining the front with full plates 00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:27.629 and full cups. Others slip in from the docks 00:07:27.629 --> 00:07:31.269 and alleyways, stomachs growling, hoping for 00:07:31.269 --> 00:07:35.879 more than just scraps. The laughter is loud at 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.500 the head of the table. By the time you find your 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:40.639 spot in the shadows, the bread is broken but 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:46.319 not passed. The wine poured but not shared. Now 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.100 you look around, you notice the slaves who've 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:51.939 come straight from their master's service. Too 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:56.730 poor to bring anything but themselves. You see 00:07:56.730 --> 00:08:00.529 the merchant who's brought a fine jug of imported 00:08:00.529 --> 00:08:05.470 wine. It sits proudly at the host's side. But 00:08:05.470 --> 00:08:08.529 you smell the sweat of the dock worker beside 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:12.069 you, whose hands are empty but lingers for bread. 00:08:13.149 --> 00:08:17.569 This isn't just a church dinner. It's actually 00:08:17.569 --> 00:08:22.410 a mirror of Corinth itself, rich and powerful 00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:29.480 and poor and helpless. Together, but not truly 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:34.840 one in the body of Jesus. And Paul hears about 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:40.600 it. News brought to him by Chloe's people. And 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:43.059 he says, that's not the Lord's Supper you're 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:47.500 eating. Now, I have to, and I always will, pause 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:51.860 right here. Because if your name makes the Bible, 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:55.799 you were well known. And here it is, a woman. 00:08:56.190 --> 00:09:00.269 Chloe, whose voice carries weight with Paul. 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:06.169 For centuries, women have been written out of 00:09:06.169 --> 00:09:10.730 scripture. There's stories erased or footnoted. 00:09:11.230 --> 00:09:14.669 And when we stumble upon the remnants that still 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:17.490 remain, man, we're going to shine a spotlight 00:09:17.490 --> 00:09:21.000 on them. So kind of a neat thing here that this 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.679 whole Corinthian situation gets brought to Paul's 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.879 attention by a very important disciple in the 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:33.519 early church, a woman named Chloe. But if you 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.700 were a Corinthian listening, you might bristle. 00:09:38.700 --> 00:09:43.059 Who is this Paul far away in Ephesus telling 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:48.230 us how to run our table here in Corinth? Some 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:52.690 admired him. Some doubted him. Some thought Apollos 00:09:52.690 --> 00:09:57.090 was the better preacher. Or, if you're a Corinthian, 00:09:57.169 --> 00:10:03.009 you might be in awe. Imagine sitting in that 00:10:03.009 --> 00:10:07.690 villa and realizing the apostle himself has thought 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:13.169 of us, has spoken our names, written us into 00:10:13.169 --> 00:10:17.570 his letter. That kind of attention can feel like 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:22.649 judgment or it can feel like honor. And Paul 00:10:22.649 --> 00:10:26.769 doesn't soften it. He calls it what it is. He 00:10:26.769 --> 00:10:30.370 said it's not just bad manners, it's blasphemy. 00:10:31.269 --> 00:10:36.149 Because the table was meant to level the ground. 00:10:37.649 --> 00:10:43.659 Rich, poor, slave, free, Jew, Greek, all. kneeling 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:48.519 at the same cross and holding the same broken 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:54.860 bread. Paul doesn't scold, he reminds. I receive 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:57.759 from the Lord what I also deliver to you. And 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:01.919 he tells the story again. Upper room, broken 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:06.000 bread, poured cup, body, blood. In other words, 00:11:06.019 --> 00:11:08.779 Paul is saying, don't y 'all remember how we 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:15.059 got here? Now. Slip your sandals into that room 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:18.980 in Corinth as the letter is read aloud. The house 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:23.120 grows still. You can feel the air tighten as 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:28.759 the words settle. And, this is neat, as a Corinthian 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:31.940 listening to Paul's letter, you find yourself 00:11:31.940 --> 00:11:35.440 transported back into the upper room in Jerusalem 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:39.759 with Jesus. In your hand is bread torn from the 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.080 same loaf your neighbor holds. On your lips, 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:45.840 the sharp tang of wine from that same shared 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:49.320 cup. Suddenly, this isn't just a supper, it's 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:53.159 a doorway into a greater story. That night in 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:55.659 Jerusalem when Jesus broke it and said, this 00:11:55.659 --> 00:12:00.139 is my body and this is my blood, the scrape. 00:12:00.570 --> 00:12:04.710 of the cup across the wood, the hush of the disciples 00:12:04.710 --> 00:12:12.490 leaning in, you can almost feel it. And now here 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:17.450 you sit in Corinth, far away from Jerusalem's 00:12:17.450 --> 00:12:22.250 Passover, but now folded into that same covenant. 00:12:23.590 --> 00:12:28.470 The table tells the truth. You don't choose your 00:12:28.470 --> 00:12:33.700 place at it. The table chooses you. And it announces 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:37.600 not your wealth, not your wit, but the cross 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:45.299 of Christ. But then you glance around at what 00:12:45.299 --> 00:12:49.000 we poor Corinthians actually see in this villa. 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:54.279 The wealthy lean back satisfied, plates already 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:58.840 licked clean, wine flowing heavily at their end. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:02.539 But in the shadows, the dock worker still stares 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:06.799 at an empty palm. The widow still waits, hunger 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:11.019 carving lines across her face. This table is 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:15.179 supposed to echo Calvary, but it looks more like 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:20.659 Rome. It should remind us of an upper room where 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:24.860 the master knelt to serve, but instead it mirrors 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:28.000 a banquet hall where the powerful take their 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.860 ease. Now, let me jump forward a chapter because 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:38.019 the Corinthians have another problem. Their worship 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:43.519 has become a talent show. Speaking in tongues, 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:46.399 prophecies, revelations, everybody flashing their 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.000 spiritual gifts like badges. Paul says you're 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:55.779 missing the point. Picture yourself. Wedged into 00:13:55.779 --> 00:13:59.179 a crowded house church, knees nearly touching 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:03.320 your neighbors. The oil lamp flickers, smoke 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.460 curling from the rafters. The air is thick with 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:10.360 voices. One brother stands up to proclaim a prophecy. 00:14:10.679 --> 00:14:14.159 A sister bursts out in a tongue no one understands. 00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:19.039 Another argues for his teaching. It feels alive, 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:24.279 almost electric, but also... Dizzying and overwhelming. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:31.960 You glance around the room and you wonder, is 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:39.980 this the spirit or chaos? Paul's letter cuts 00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:44.559 through the noise. He doesn't deny the gifts. 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:49.580 He says they're real. They're from the spirit. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:55.240 But. He insists the only way you know the Spirit 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.779 is really in the room is not when someone speaks 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:02.500 in tongues, not when the preacher nails the sermon, 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:06.100 not when the music swells. The proof of the Spirit 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:12.639 is love. And without it, Paul says it is nothing 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:15.759 more than symbols clanging together in a marketplace, 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:23.309 loud but empty. So imagine again, you're sitting 00:15:23.309 --> 00:15:26.669 in that crowded house church, voices rising as 00:15:26.669 --> 00:15:30.289 people's voices rise over one another. One insists 00:15:30.289 --> 00:15:32.610 on their prophecy, another bursts in tongues, 00:15:32.730 --> 00:15:35.330 another debates over doctrines. And like I had 00:15:35.330 --> 00:15:39.070 said, it feels impressive, almost like sparks. 00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:45.169 But Paul leans in and whispers, without love, 00:15:45.230 --> 00:15:50.559 it's just noise. Then he sings them that hymn 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:54.240 we all know, 1 Corinthians 13. If I speak in 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.399 the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:00.100 love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:09.559 Do you feel the weight of it yet? Because here's 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:17.990 the truth. Corinth looks a lot like us. We sit 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:20.669 in our sanctuaries with the same divisions, maybe 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.929 hide them under nicer clothes and polite smiles, 00:16:24.210 --> 00:16:28.590 but they're still there. Some congregations roll 00:16:28.590 --> 00:16:31.169 out the red carpet for the wealthy, the loud, 00:16:31.309 --> 00:16:34.389 the polished, while the quiet and the poor fade 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:39.149 into the back row. Worship can become a contest, 00:16:39.549 --> 00:16:43.669 each voice straining to be noticed, each ministry 00:16:43.669 --> 00:16:49.860 measured like trophies. And the table, which 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:53.600 is meant to be the great equalizer, gets twisted 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:59.379 into something other than the Lord's. And if 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:04.640 we're honest, some of us approach this table 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:10.660 starving for God, desperate for mercy like dry 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:15.500 ground waits for the rain. Others shuffle forward, 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:18.319 already stuffed with their own pride, forgetting 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:22.599 how empty we really feel on the inside. Some 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:27.680 arrive carrying nothing but need, trembling hands, 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:35.599 open, hoping for grace. Others clutch their abundance, 00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:40.940 guarding it as if Christ's feast was theirs to 00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:45.940 control. The Corinthian problem is not ancient 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:50.259 history. It's a mirror which churches look every 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:54.500 single Sunday. We are Corinthians. The letter 00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:57.619 wasn't written to strangers. It was written to 00:17:57.619 --> 00:18:02.920 us. But Paul's word cuts through the centuries. 00:18:03.460 --> 00:18:07.880 The table is not yours to hoard. And the spirit 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:13.150 is not yours to flaunt. Love. is the measure. 00:18:16.670 --> 00:18:22.529 So, we've just broken the bread and shared the 00:18:22.529 --> 00:18:26.930 cup. And that proclamation that we all agreed 00:18:26.930 --> 00:18:35.329 to still hangs in the air. Are we proclaiming 00:18:35.329 --> 00:18:39.910 Christ's death? Or are we proclaiming our own 00:18:39.910 --> 00:18:45.400 comfort? Do we come to be filled or do we come 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:50.619 to be emptied so that Christ may fill us? And 00:18:50.619 --> 00:18:53.940 you hear me say those words every time we gather 00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:56.839 at the table. For as often as you eat of this 00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:59.500 bread and you drink of this cup, you proclaim 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:03.880 the Lord's death until he comes. But what do 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:07.119 those words mean for us beyond just this moment 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:14.180 of worship? When we say amen at that table, what 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:19.680 are we actually agreeing to? That Christ's death 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:26.960 is not just remembered, but lived in us. That 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:32.160 the covenant written in his blood demands something 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:40.430 of our lives. Humility, mercy, and love. and 00:19:40.430 --> 00:19:43.569 how all of those work together and how we treat 00:19:43.569 --> 00:19:48.690 each other. So the real question becomes not 00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:52.470 whether you say amen to what I have to say, but 00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:55.670 how does that amen follow you out that door and 00:19:55.670 --> 00:20:01.029 into the week ahead? Because this table is not 00:20:01.029 --> 00:20:04.910 just about remembering the past. It's about declaring 00:20:04.910 --> 00:20:09.279 the future. For as often as you eat of the spread 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.799 and you drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord's 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:17.519 death until he comes. And when he comes, the 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:20.539 laughter of the rich will be silenced if it mocks 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:25.319 the poor. The flash of the gifted will fade if 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:30.859 it overshadows love. But the hungry will be fed, 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:35.420 the broken will be welcomed, and the last will 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:43.549 be first. So here we are. Corinth, Cushing, Drumwright, 00:20:43.670 --> 00:20:47.130 whatever, it doesn't matter. Spirit is still 00:20:47.130 --> 00:20:49.769 whispering the same thing through Paul's letter. 00:20:49.849 --> 00:20:54.569 At this table, grace is the only status. And 00:20:54.569 --> 00:20:58.789 love is the only proof. And Christ is the only 00:20:58.789 --> 00:21:07.319 boast. But let me press it a bit further. What 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:10.680 are we really proclaiming when we come to the 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:17.740 table? Next time, before you let an amen slip 00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:21.680 from your lips because I said it first, stop 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:28.240 and think. What does that amen mean? Because 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.400 you are proclaiming Christ's death until he comes. 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.880 You're saying his cross has a claim on your life. 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:43.039 That his mercy changes not just this meal, but 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:48.339 your Monday morning. Don't let your amen be a 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:53.680 reflex, a symbol, crashing, echoing someone else's 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.299 sound. Let it be a vow that changes how you love, 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:04.230 how you serve. And how you walk out of here different 00:22:04.230 --> 00:22:07.950 than the way you came in. And guys, that's no 00:22:07.950 --> 00:22:12.650 small amen. So before you echo it, let it sit 00:22:12.650 --> 00:22:19.470 heavy. Because I assure you, that confession 00:22:19.470 --> 00:22:24.369 will change you. And there are times when following 00:22:24.369 --> 00:22:28.230 Jesus will cost you. Cost you pride, cost you 00:22:28.230 --> 00:22:31.990 comfort. Maybe cost you relationships or reputation. 00:22:33.269 --> 00:22:38.069 But will also give you life you could never, 00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:52.089 ever, ever earn on your own. Amen? Amen. Well, 00:22:52.150 --> 00:22:54.569 you've just heard Paul hold up a mirror. And 00:22:54.569 --> 00:22:58.710 if we're listening, we see ourselves. Corinth 00:22:58.710 --> 00:23:01.450 wasn't a church long ago and far away. Corinth 00:23:01.450 --> 00:23:05.130 is us. We dress up nicer, but we still divide. 00:23:05.250 --> 00:23:08.750 We still boast. We still let worship slip in 00:23:08.750 --> 00:23:12.589 like clanging cymbals. And the Lord's table still 00:23:12.589 --> 00:23:16.549 asks us, are you proclaiming Christ's death for 00:23:16.549 --> 00:23:20.430 just your own comfort? That's the question chasing 00:23:20.430 --> 00:23:23.089 you out the door, down the street, and into Monday 00:23:23.089 --> 00:23:28.049 morning. Don't let your amen be cheap. Let it 00:23:28.049 --> 00:23:31.650 cost you pride. Let it break your grip. Let it 00:23:31.650 --> 00:23:36.289 shake the way you love. Because the Spirit is 00:23:36.289 --> 00:23:40.549 still whispering. Grace is the only status. Love 00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:46.450 the only proof. And Christ the only boast. If 00:23:46.450 --> 00:23:49.849 this word pressed on you, pass it along. Like, 00:23:49.849 --> 00:23:53.109 share, subscribe. Not for numbers, but because 00:23:53.109 --> 00:23:56.109 someone you know is hungry for this bread too. 00:23:57.609 --> 00:23:58.089 Amen.