Communion. The Lord's Supper. Eucharist. Whatever you call it or however you practice it, hopefully Christians can agree that it is more than a snack and afterthought tacked onto a worship service. So what is Communion? What are we doing when we share this sacred Christian tradition each week? In this message we look at Communion through three scriptural, historical, and spiritual lenses so that we can more fully celebrate the family reunion together.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Luke 22.19-20; 1 Corinthians 11.17-34

1. A Remix of Remembering

2. A Correction of a Clique-y Party

3. A Dine and Dash Encounter

// BIG IDEA: Baptism and Communion are Christian Physical Practices of Spiritual Realities. They are the Disciple's family traditions. We take what is tangible & finite to help us connect to what is spiritual & infinite.

// Baptism is an INITIATION rite that pictures the change of status. It creates a family through birth. Communion is an AFFIRMATION ceremony that pictures the reality of our one-ness with Christ and His body, the Church. It sustains a family through (re)union.

// To "Do this in remembrance" is to cherish and hold in your mind and heart. To bring the memory to the present moment.

// The Last Supper is not just a new Passover. Jesus is remixing and reorienting the meal around him. It's a new celebration for a new deliverance through a new Passover sacrifice for a new covenant family.

// We're called to be a forgiven family of forgiving sinners meeting at the Table of communion with Christ and (re)union with one another.

// Communion is a weekly opportunity for a close encounter with the crucified, risen, and returning King.

// "I would rather experience it than understand it." (John Calvin)

We're exploring one of Christianity's most important family traditions -- Baptism. What's the significance? Who should be baptized and when? And why is baptism like a birthday party? Baptism is a powerful physical practice that's immersed in a spiritual reality. In this message we dive deep into that spiritual reality, mix in a little history, talk about how we baptize, and offer some invitations for those who have and have not yet waded into the water.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Romans 6.1-5

// BIG IDEA -- Baptism and Communion are Christian physical practices of spiritual realities. They are the Disciple's family traditions. We take what is tangible and finite to help us connect to what is spiritual and infinite.

// PAUL'S ARGUMENT -- The chains of sin, death, and evil have been broken. In Christ we're forgiven, free, and filled with the Spirit of God. So how should we live now? Should we climb back under the shackles of sin and shame? When sin whispers in our ear, we remember the voice who called us out of darkness and into light (1 Pet. 2.9) to walk freely in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5.1; 13-26).

// To be BORN into God's kingdom is to believe Jesus is Lord and give your life to follow him. Baptism is the BIRTHDAY PARTY that celebrates this new birth as we welcome our new sister or brother into the Kingdom family.

// HOW WE DO IT -- 1. We baptize believers, 2. We baptize by immersion, 3. We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

// TWO INVITATIONS -- 1. Prepare for the Birthday Party by saying "Yes" to Jesus and get baptized. 2. "Drive a stake in the ground" and remember your baptism (Galatians 3.26-28).

Paul wrote this letter to very diverse group of people, all who would have understood the idea of sacrifice. However, the call to become a living sacrifice was a new idea -- and one we are still struggling with today. But this is the life of being a disciple of Jesus, and it is the way to true LIFE. Listen as one of our pastors, Tobi Brooks, encourages us to take Paul's words to heart and living and transformed sacrifices.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Romans 12

// Dedicating our whole self to God is a life of worship -- What are you holding back?

// The pattern of this world is hate, violence, greed, oppression, death…but that is not our destiny. We are called to be disciples of Jesus, so any conformity must be to Him.

// God calls us to be transformed non-conformists -- How are you being renewed right now? What are you conforming to?

// As we conform to Jesus, we still have individual callings, giftedness, and roles.

// God calls us to live out our giftedness in His church -- What role is God calling you into?

// We get to join in on what God is already doing. How on earth is this possible…only through Jesus, only through love.

// Love (deep and pure) is essential to live this life in the way of Jesus -- Who is God calling you to love right now?

// We don’t just say and do the right things, but we follow the person of Jesus. How did He love? Who did He love?

// In this passage we are called to give up our bodies as a living sacrifice, renew our minds to His way of thinking, let our spirit be transformed, live in His community, and love His people. This is the life of being a disciple of Jesus, and it is the way to true LIFE. We need to lean in when we mess up or doubt, because He is faithful to us.

One of our core practices is to "Create space for God and others so that transformational relationships can grow." This weekend we endeavored to do just that with our Create Space retreat. Listen as we make the case that rest and stillness are not add-ons to our life with God but rather essential components God uses to form and transform us. Whether or not we spend a weekend in retreat or a few minutes in the midst of our everyday life, God is longing to be gracious to us when make time for him. In this audio you'll hear an introduction and thoughts that preceded some reflections from our members. The full service and reflections from this Saturday gathering can be found on our Facebook page (facebook.com/tncgarland).

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Isaiah 30.15-18

// Jeremy Pace's big idea for our retreat -- We don't create space to acquire or earn God's love and presence, we create space to pay attention and experience what's already ours in Christ. Then we live not just for Jesus but IN and THROUGH Jesus.

// Creating space gets us in a position to wake up to what's already ours in Christ and to be acted upon by Christ.

// We don't take Jesus "out there" -- we discover, experience, and respond to Jesus' life already with us and within us.

Our own elder/pastor Jason Knight walks us through the turbulent storm humanity faced in the days of Noah. What we find is a grieving God and a faithful farmer who form a partnership to bring humanity back to a place of flourishing. Noah listened when others didn't. God committed when others didn't. We are still invited to participate in God's movement by doing what he's enabled us to do. When we keep our hands on the wheel and follow God's lead, we can move forward toward a better future.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Genesis 6-9

In a culture that values notoriety over the ordinary and celebrity over service, will we allow Jesus to define true greatness? Jesus embodied the kind of humility and sacrificial love that lifts, transforms, and shows others how to make a lasting impact in our world. Will we follow the pattern he's left us? Will we step up in our family, workplace, and community by stepping down from our own ego? Listen as we enter into this famous scene in the life of Jesus.

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- John 13.1-17

// BIG IDEA 1 -- Jesus-shaped love seeks the good of the other, even at cost to yourself.

// WHAT JESUS DOES -- Something ordinary, something anonymous, something lowly

// SONG -- "Little Things With Great Love" by The Porter's Gate

In the garden of our Savior, no flower grows unseen

His kindness rains like water on every humble seed

No simple act of mercy escapes His watchful eye

For there is One who loves me

His hand is over mine

Oh, the deeds forgotten; oh, the works unseen

Every drink of water flowing graciously

Every tender mercy, You're making glorious

This You have asked us

Do little things with great love

Little things with great love

At the table of our Savior, no mouth will go unfed

His children in the shadows stream in

and raise their heads

Oh give us ears to hear them

and give us eyes that see

For there is One who loves them

I am His hands and feet

// BIG IDEA 2 -- To "belong to me" means to be washed and be with

// HOW JESUS SERVES -- Indiscriminately, Intimately, Incarnationally

// BIG IDEA 3 -- Jesus is embodying and exemplifying true greatness. He's left us a "PATTERN" we can trace in our lives. How might we "STEP DOWN" so we can serve others like Jesus did?

// QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION -- Will we let Jesus wash our feet? How will we follow his pattern and do unto others what he has done for us? (Stepping down, serving, & loving in ordinary ways)

Guest preacher John Bower shares a powerful story from his own life that illustrates the downward mobility of the Kingdom of God. We often find that Jesus comes to us in surprising ways in the darkest valleys. How might Jesus be coming to you this week?

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- John 21.18-22

This is a message about Good News. And the good news about the Good News of salvation is that it's bigger than we sometimes make it. Acts 16 gives us a great snapshot of how the gospel (or "Good News") is both the answer to our individual problems as well as the antidote to global powers that enslave us. And despite what you've heard -- Jesus really is Good News.

NOTES

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 16.16-40

// SERIES -- Acts is the story of how the Good News of Jesus is on the move to everyone everywhere.

// BIG IDEA -- The gospel is the antidote to the global powers that oppose God's good purposes. The gospel is the answer to our individual problems that enslave us. It's "Salvation" with a little & big "S".

// The Good News in 1 word -- "Jesus."

// The Good News in 3 words -- "Jesus is Lord."

// The Good News in 38 words -- "The Good News that Jesus—through his life, death, and resurrection—is the reigning Lord of heaven and earth and all people are invited to live in God's kingdom, filled with God's Spirit, free from sin and death."

// 3 POWERS AT WORK IN ACTS 16

// 3 PEOPLE FREED IN ACTS 16

// "Sirs, what must I do to be saved" (v. 30) could just as easily have been "What do I do to get out of this mess?" Paul's answer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..." (v. 31) is not a change of subject but a deepening of the subject. The gospel is the Good News of Salvation & salvation.

// QUESTION -- What "Mess" in your life needs the Good News of Jesus' life, death, & resurrection this week?

// QUESTION -- What "Mess" in our world needs the Good News of the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven?

// When open hearts lead to open homes, we become a "Fellowship of Differents." Different ethnicities, backgrounds, and classes united in Christ through the Holy Spirit. This fellowship is the Divine Desire working it's way through Acts and our churches today. This fellowship is the answer to Jesus' prayer (John 14) and the outcome of the Holy Spirit's work.

If we're honest, sometimes we forget or struggle to believe that God is active and present in our day-to-day lives. We need him for the "big things" but often go about the rest of ordinary activities with very little awareness of God. But what if it isn't a matter of whether or not God is moving, present, and interactive in our everyday lives but whether or not we're attentive? Is it possible for us to have similar experiences as the early Christians who are on the move with God? In Acts 16 we see how partnership with God involves attention, intention, and incarnation. How might these words impact your life this week?

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Acts 16.6-15

// 1. ATTENTION -- Staying awake to the movement and presence of God in everyday life.

// THOUGHT -- God is present, speaking, and working in and through the obstacles and difficulties. Frustration can be a tool of formation, struggle can be the soil for growth, redirection can be a gift of grace—when God uses them to get our attention & to get us unstuck.

// QUOTE -- "Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees takes off his shoes." (ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, Aurora Leigh, 1856)

// PRAYER -- May every interaction and distraction be an invitation to seek you and find you, for every moment is alight with the fire of your presence. May I live in your love, bearing the beams you’ve given me in this time, in this place, and in these relationships; May the yoke be easy and the burden light because we walk the way together. This day is yours, I am yours; Open-hearted and open-handed I go. Amen. (ADAM WOOD)

// 2. INTENTION -- Entering unexpected places and encountering unexpected people with the expectation that God is already at work and I can partner with him.

// THOUGHT -- Living with intention moves us from passive observer to active participant. If attention wakes us up to the song, intention gets us dancing along.

// KINGDOM ON-RAMPS -- That reminds me of... a STORY Jesus told... a PERSON Jesus met... something Jesus TAUGHT... something Jesus DID... this PASSAGE from the Bible... this TIME in my life...

// 3. INCARNATION -- Making the Kingdom of God visible in our neighborhood by entering into real relationships, real needs, and real life together. It’s the kingdom "con carne."

// THOUGHT -- The Spirit of God rezoned the church's ETHNIC neighborhood through the inclusion of the Ethiopian Eunuch. The Spirit of God rezoned the church's NATIONAL neighborhood through the inclusion of Cornelius' household. Now the Spirit of God rezones the church's SOCIAL neighborhood through the inclusion Lydia's household.

// THOUGHT -- When open hearts lead to open tables, we become a "Fellowship of Different's." Different ethnicities, backgrounds, and classes united in Christ through the Holy Spirit. This fellowship is the Divine Desire working its way through Acts and our churches today. This fellowship is the answer to Jesus' prayer (John 14) and the outcome of the Holy Spirit's work.

The classic responses to threats are fight, flight, or freeze. But what about focus? What if--when pain, struggle, or suffering visits us--we zeroed in on what matters most? The Psalms are a repository of "Focus" prayers. The Psalmists never discount the difficulty of their circumstance and they show us how it's possible to focus on the goodness and faithfulness of God in the midst of any circumstance that comes their way. How can real focus help us in real trouble?

NOTES --

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS -- Psalm 57

// QUOTE -- "Your life--who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on... if you could just stay focused on the right things, your life would stop feeling like a reaction to stuff that happens to you and become something that you create: not a series of accidents, but a work of art." (WINNIFRED GALLAGHER, Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life)

// The Psalms are the prayer book of God’s people. They’re PRAYERS that train us in REAL FOCUS IN REAL TROUBLE—never discounting the DIFFICULTY of their situation while FOCUSING on God.

// BIG IDEA: When pain, struggle, or suffering narrows our focus, focus on the narrow.

(Repurposing a phrase from Fr. Gregory Boyle)

// We zero-in on: 1. Who God is, 2. What God can do, 3. Where God is

// We can let our circumstances tell us what God is (or isn't) like or what God can (or can't) do. Or... we look our circumstances in the eye (without diminishing or dodging them) and trust that God is not done and this is not the end.