Morgan Teruel: Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy this message.
Pastor Jeff Whye: I wanna start off by talking about my kids, my kids playing baseball this past this past spring. No. My kids, sports do not consume me. I know you were thinking that. No.
They don't. Please, god, don't let them ever consume me. But but this last spring was was the first season for my 6 year old and the 3rd season for my 10 year old. It was, it was a back and forth, exciting, frustrating, time consuming, but all in all, it was a wonderful 3 months. But you know what happened at the end of the season?
After the last game, there was a pizza party. We all celebrate. We all celebrate. Either it was it was a party after our high school, or college graduation. Maybe it was a birthday party, a housewarming, that baby shower.
We all at one point experienced these type of events. It is it is at these events where where toasts are made and and awards are given and applause for a great Q3 at your job. And within all these events, there are memories shared with the individuals gathered there together. The people themselves, those invited to that celebration is what is what helps make part of the celebration itself. We all do this.
This is you. This is me. This is we. This is normal because we're people. And you know what?
Jesus did the exact same thing. He did this when he was here on planet Earth, and he's still doing this today. Listen. I'm I'm gonna tell you something that people don't say a lot, but, Jesus liked a good party. I'm telling you, Jesus liked to get down.
He enjoyed going to weddings. He even he even turned water into wine at 1, but Jesus was social. He he invited others into his life. He enjoyed celebrating great things and talking about memorable moments. And it's at one of these moments, a celebratory dinner that I wanna talk about today.
It is that it is that that moment, this moment that we're talking about, that he wanted us to remember the most, and that was his death. But I have a question for you. If you are having a celebration, like, at a Thanksgiving meal with your family, possibly at at the end of the season pizza party with your kid and his team, may maybe at that wedding reception. Question question. Are you talking about death?
Are you talking about betrayal? Are are are you talking about things that that bring everyone down? No. No. I mean I mean, who does that at a party?
Well, Jesus did. When Jesus was here on earth, Jesus gathered together with his closest friends at the annual Jewish celebration called Passover, which commemorates when the Jewish people, the Israelites, were freed from captivity over 1400 years. And at this celebration, at this celebratory meal would involve joy. It would involve joy. It would it would involve good memories and talks about life.
But I want us to step into this celebratory event where Jesus is talking about not joy, not life, but death, his death, and bringing the whole mood down. Jesus, what you doing? Well, what you doing? I don't know your background when it comes to church, but there is something called communion that we, Jesus followers, participate in. Maybe you've heard of it before.
Maybe it was to you, it's called the Eucharist. Maybe it was mass for you, if you're a part of a religious organization like the Catholic church, but we call it communion. And and and it's a shift from that annual Jewish celebration that Jewish people celebrated back then, and they actually still do this today. But Jesus took this celebratory meal and gave it a fresh look and a new direction and is no longer exclusive, but inclusive. And we call this communion.
And just so you know just so you know, this this is what Jesus does. He takes things that are that are upside down and turns them right side up. He he's able to walk into a room where there is crying and mourning and brings hope to to the whole atmosphere. Jesus has been known to make a way where everyone else says there is no other way. He's he in fact, he he had an encounter with a thief that changed that thief from a person of taking into a person of giving.
He met a woman who was embarrassed. I mean, she was so embarrassed and ashamed and and and never wanted to talk to anyone. And with one conversation with Jesus, that woman yelled up and down the streets of her town saying, let me tell you about a man who told me all my business and changed my life, and he can change yours too. Jesus had one question and a few words with a man who was so arrogant, highly religious, and he actually murdered Jesus people. But after that conversation, he had with Jesus, he became super humble, and he went on to establish the most Jesus churches.
There is story after story after story of how Jesus transformed people after people after people, and in turn, transform the world. You see, Christianity is the largest religion in the world, and the Bible is still the best selling book of all time. And Jesus is still recorded as the most historic historical figure ever. There is just something about Jesus, and much of knowing about him has to do with his followers, his first followers participating in remembering and celebrating this event called communion.
Morgan Teruel: Thanks for listening to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision here is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. At Sandals Church, we wanna see a movement of authenticity take place all over the world, and donating to the work of Sandals Church helps make that happen. If you wanna support this movement here at Sandals Church, I wanna invite you to visit donate.sc. Thanks again for listening, and God bless.
Pastor Jeff Whye: You see, the first communion was was inaugurated by Jesus in the spring of 30 AD in an upper room of Jerusalem, just one day before Jesus was crucified on the cross. It was in this room where where Jesus gathered with his 12 disciples during Passover. But this meal, this celebration would not involve laughter, joy, stories of of wonderful memories like all the other Passovers these men had experienced in the past. But this Passover, Jesus would would bring up talks of of of of them deserting him, someone betraying him, Peter, his homie, his boy, his home skillet, denying him and his death. Jesus Jesus, why why are you killing the mood?
You see you see here Jesus goes again changing the atmosphere, but this was different. This time, it it conjured up sadness, arguments, guessings of who would betray him. And then he would he would take the bread, which was a staple food at that time, and said that this bread represents his body that would that would be broken for you, and and this cup of wine, which would represent his blood, which would be poured out for you. And then he told them that he had to do this, that he had to be killed, that this was his father's will, and that he was doing what he had been talking about since day 1, bringing salvation into the world. But the disciples didn't want it like that.
They they didn't want that, but Jesus knew that this was the only way. You see, the next day, Jesus's death for them was horrific. But later after his resurrection, then they knew it was good. That's actually why we call we call the Friday before Easter, Good Friday, because Jesus knew at that Passover meal, which was the first communion, that that it that it indeed was a celebration and that this was a memorable a memorable event in which they will be talking about forever. An event that would that would change the world and joy would come from it.
This this not good event in which which he was talking about was good. You see, Jesus knew that this tragic event for his disciples, Jesus's worst day, was going to become theirs and ours best day. This is what communion is. This is why we celebrate it, and this is what it looks like to experience it. I mean, one of the best places to celebrate communion and for us to participate in communion is around others, period.
Around others who who are followers of Jesus Christ, other people who have who have your back. Those those we get to laugh with. People that we can call in the middle of the night when tragedy hits. People that will be there for you when all hell breaks loose, friends that will help help you watch your kids. You see, I believe that that this is what communion is really all about.
A lot of us know of communion as being done in in a church surrounded by stained glass or or needing to have a priest that places a wafer on your tongue. Even in the word communion is the word commune, which means a group of people sharing together and living life together, having something in common. For us followers of Jesus, this commonality, this number one shared bond between us is Jesus. It's Jesus and what he has done for us. You see, it is it is one thing to remember Jesus and what he's done for you, but it's something else, so much more when when you remember what he's done for us, that we are not alone in this world.
And that Jesus plus community of followers of Jesus means that we can do this thing called life. And I'm telling you, we need help with life. So for us who are his followers, his new disciples, who are gathered together, and just like his disciples that were on that night that that took the bread, Jesus told them that this represents his body beaten, battered, and bruised for you, for us. He told us to eat it. It's a reminder that he innocently did this for us.
And when we drink from the cup, which represents his blood, and we all know that blood signifies life. It's his spilled blood on the cross that is able to give us real life, eternal life, and it can wash away our sins, which separate us from God. And when and when we do this in community with others, in a church home, in in in a boardroom at work, outside at a park, it doesn't matter. When we do this, we are experiencing Jesus together. What matters is who's there, that that you take a moment and remember why you are gathered together.
It's because of Jesus. This is why we gather. And without Jesus, you, me, we would not know life, real life, and we would not have life. The specifics of what we eat and drink is not the point. Jesus and others is the point.
We are the point. He is the point. The recognition of what he went through for us is the point. In my life, this is this is one of the truths that I've discovered, and that is what tends to be the most painful moments in life usually are the best teaching moments in life. That's if we choose to see it that way.
I want you to know that there was a teacher, a rabbi named Jesus, who endured the most painful experience ever so that we could learn from his pain. And the lesson is, well, there's actually many lessons, but the biggest lesson is we can't do this life on our own. Without Jesus, there is no real life and we need a savior. And what used to be only for a select group of people is now offered by Jesus to all. What used to be exclusive is now inclusive, if you want it.
If you are at a place where you need a savior and you need to be saved from yourself and you are looking for a community of others who can help you become who you are designed to be, I would love to pray for you, to pray for you, to receive Jesus into your life. And so you can be invited to the party, the party that will never end in this life or the next. Let's pray. Father, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that this person was supposed to be here today. And Lord, I don't know what their background was when it comes to communion or You Lord, But my prayer is that they learn something new today and they got to experience just a little bit through the screen, dear God, what communion, community, and you is all about.
The most important event that's happened in the history of the world, you dying on the cross for for all of us. And all we have to do is say yes to you. So, father, if there's someone who is listening to my voice right now, who wants to be a part of this Jesus party, my prayers that they would just repeat after me right now, Lord God, I am a sinner. I believe that you Jesus are the son of God. And you came here to planet earth to die for my sins, a death that I should have died.
Thank you so much for rising again. And now You offer me new life in You. Come inside Lord and help me live this life. In Jesus name. Amen.
Morgan Teruel: Thanks for listening to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision here is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. At Sandals Church, we wanna see a movement of authenticity take place all over the world, and donating to the work of Sandals Church helps make that happen. If you wanna support this movement here at Sandals Church, I wanna invite you to visit donate.sc. Thanks again for listening, and god bless.
Pastor Jeff Whye: Perfect. Perfect. You wanna do an intro? Intro take?
Morgan Teruel: So Yeah.