God’s Immutability • 12.15.24
Nick Lees   -  

God’s Immutability

Finding hope, comfort, and purpose in the God who never changes

  1. Consider the extent of God’s immutability
  2. Let God’s immutability change you

Deacon Presentation

Good morning, church family! (Introduce self + welcome guests)

Today I have the privilege of doing something special during our services. Honoring two men and their families who have sacrificed to serve our church family for years. Specifically in the role of deacon. We read about this role in 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 3:8–13 (ESV)

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Athis time I would like to invite the Conns and Wallins to the stage. I want to acknowledge the sacrificial service of the entire family today because I know that it is not just the deacon who bears the cost of the role. Their family does as well.

Adam has been serving as a deacon since before I moved to Des Moines 7 years ago. Jeremy joined the deacon team in 2019. Both men are rotating off of the team at the end of this year and we wanted to make sure to show our appreciation for them before the year was out.

Would you please join me in showing them our gratitude?

As a token of our appreciation, I have a plaque for each of your families thanking you for your sacrificial service at our church. As well as some cards from our pastor team with a gift for your family within.

Let’s pray and give thanks to the Lord for these faithful men and their families!

Pray for them/our church/the men who are being evaluated to take their roles

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Sermon

Ushers + Bibles

Who has celebrated a birthday recently?

My daughter, Haddyn, just turned 9 years old a few days ago. My grandma turned 90 the day before that. I’ll be turning 40 in two months. Do you realize what happens as you age? You change. Not just in getting older. You also mature (or at least that’s what is supposed to happen)… You get stronger (or weaker). You grow in wisdom (or in folly).

As you go through life, you are inevitably shaped by your experiences and your interpretations and responses to them. I’m sure all of us have had the opportunity to know someone who was once kind and gentle who later became bitter and cranky. Or a person who once looked at things with optimism now growing cynical and calloused. This is a real and challenging possibility for those who are constantly changing. Of course, the change is not always in the negative direction; in fact, we hope it is for the better.

But my point is that change is certain. Our physical appearance changes. Our character changes. Our goals and aspirations change. How many of us wanted to grow up to be veterinarians or astronauts? Eventually you just want to be gainfully employed in a job you like! Even our speech and behavior changes as we learn and are shaped by the content we consume and by the people we spend time with.

Some of the change we welcome – growth in maturity, wisdom, capabilities – yet other change is unwelcome – increased awareness of our world’s decay into brokenness, as well as our own temptations to sin, uncertainty of our direction/aims in life, or our own physical decay – gray hair (less hair or no hair!), wrinkles, aches and pains, creaks and cracks where they weren’t before…

The ability to change is also what allows for moral decay. People who were once our closest friends or family can betray us or let us down. Wedding vows that were spoken in sincerity are forsaken for worldly pleasures or treasures. Politicians who made promises during their campaign abandon them the moment they take office because they are no longer politically beneficial for them. Christians or pastors or churches or even entire denominations who once affirmed the truthfulness of God’s Word now twist it to have another meaning or excuse its teachings away or abandon it entirely for another, more socially acceptable system of belief.

Hopefully you’re getting the point. For humans, change is certain, and it comes with powerful potential – for growth or decay. For holiness or wickedness. Our capability to change, while filled with powerful potential for good, is also what makes us unreliable and a poor place to put our hopes and trust. I wanted to start with this bittersweet dose of reality because I believe it makes the truth of God’s immutability that much sweeter!

“God’s what?” His immutability. His “unchanging-ness”. The reality that God is not subject to change. He is unable to change or be changed.

This is the attribute of God that we are studying today, and it is oh-so-sweet in light of the dangers and hardships that come when change is possible. Unlike humans who change in their character, will, desires, and words (and so on)… God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the unchanging God. And this can become a source of incredible hope, comfort, and purpose for you, if you’ll allow it. That is my aim for our time together today.

I am very much aware that there are people within our church family who have been deeply hurt by changing, fickle people in their lives. If that is your situation, I hope this sermon will be a balm to your soul… Please join me in…

Finding hope, comfort, and purpose in the God who never changes

Our journey this morning starts here. We must first…

  1. Consider the extent of God’s immutability

Again, the term immutability means “unable to change or be changed.” Theologian Arthur Pink puts it this way, “God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations.” You can hear some elaboration on the extent of God’s immutability in this definition. Theologian Wayne Grudem says, “God is unchanging in his being, perfections (attributes), purposes and promises.” This is very similar to Pink’s explanation, simply using some synonyms for the word attributes (perfections) and determinations (purposes and promises).

These definitions are all well and good for sharing the definition and extent of God’s immutability, but how do we know whether they are accurate or not? For this, we must turn to our source of truth – the Bible! Today we are moving between many passages, so I will include the full text on the slides behind me in case that is easier for you to follow along. My plan is to consider each component of the definition given by Pink. We’ll start with the truth that…

  1. God is immutable in his being

This is the idea that God never changes in who he is at the core of his being or essence. Let’s journey to Exodus 3 where God meets Moses in the burning bush.

Exodus 3:13–14 (ESV)

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

Now you may hear that passage and think, “Where does that say anything about God’s immutability!?” The answer is in God’s name. God chooses to reveal his personal name to Moses and his name is I AM or Yahweh in the Hebrew. This is a powerful statement about God’s nature. By identifying himself as I AM, he is saying that he is the uncaused causer of all things. He is the pre-existent, Creator God. He is the God who has always been, always is, and always will be. The God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

By identifying himself like this, he is giving Moses and the nation of Israel a way of understanding who he is. His name describes his essence. If God were able to change, then his name would become inaccurate. God knows that he cannot and will not change, therefore revealing his name to Moses is for his benefit and the benefit of those whom he will lead out of Egypt.

Listen to how Moses led the nation to sing to God after escaping from the Egyptians at the Red Sea.

Deuteronomy 31:30–32:4 (ESV)

30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:

 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,

and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

        May my teaching drop as the rain,

my speech distill as the dew,

          like gentle rain upon the tender grass,

and like showers upon the herb.

        For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

ascribe greatness to our God!

        “The Rock, his work is perfect,

for all his ways are justice.

          A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,

just and upright is he.

Moses proclaims the name of the LORD (Yahweh) and then goes on to call him, “The Rock.” This name for God comes up five more times in this song. This is indicative of God as a steadfast, stable, secure place to find their hope and protection.

King David would revisit this name of God for the same reasons when he penned Psalm 18:

Psalm 18:1–2 (ESV)

        I love you, O Lord, my strength.

        The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

This is not a mere title, but it is a descriptor of who God is and what He is like. He is the Rock – unchanging, steadfast, reliable, dependent… That is who He is!

Of himself, the LORD also says, “For I the LORD do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) The context of this proclamation was that the children of Israel might have hope. God is still the same long-suffering, compassionate God that He has always been, which is why the entire nation has not been consumed by wrath for their disobedience. He is keeping his end of the covenant. However, he also will not change to lower the standards of holiness either. He does not change!

God’s unchanging essence or being means that he has never grown, evolved, or improved. As the perfectly Holy One, he cannot change for the better or the worse. And we ought to be thankful for that! A God who is able to change for the worse would be terrifying! And a God who is able to change for the better is no god at all, for something else could be “better” than them. Only a perfectly holy God who never changes will do. And that is exactly what we have in Yahweh. He is immutable in his being. The Scriptures also testify that…

  1. God is immutable in his attributes

Consider this truth about the Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness:

Psalm 100:5 (ESV)

        For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

His steadfast love has no end. It endures forever. It is unchanging. He has always been and always will be steadfastly loving. His faithfulness or truthfulness endures throughout all generations. Neither our ancestors nor our descendants have or will ever know a God who fails to be faithful.

This truth encourages generational faithfulness in us! My children worship the same God that we do. He is the same to them as he is to us. Perhaps for you, this is the same God that your grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great grandparents served and worshiped! What an incredible realization.

Amongst humans it is rare to find a person who is consistent in their character from week to week, let alone year to year or decade to decade. But our God is unchanging in his attributes! You can count on his steadfast love remaining the same on your worst day as you can on your best day. That’s an incredible comfort and source of hope to broken people living in a broken world!

Or consider the unchanging nature of his word.

Psalm 119:89 (ESV)

89      Forever, O Lord, your word

is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Forever… Firmly fixed… What God says, He means. What God says, stands.

I think, as humans, we have a really hard time with this one. Because we are creatures who change, we struggle to comprehend a God who says exactly what He means and then His word never changes. We struggle to conceive of that because I may say one thing today and tomorrow change my mind about what I said. Or I may find out new information that enlightens my perspective and I change my position.

THAT NEVER HAPPENS TO GOD! As the all-knowing God, he is not surprised by new information… EVER. He has all the information needed to speak the perfect counsel of His word and have it firmly fixed forever. Just stop to consider that for a moment. I honestly think some of our brains might melt and run out of our ears…

Maybe that’s why some try so hard to change God’s words and their meaning. They just cannot believe and accept the beauty of the unchanging truth from an all-knowing God. Consider how often we hear of Christians or churches or denominations pondering, “Did God really say?” or “Did God really mean?”

It has been a struggle since Genesis 3 to have fallible, changing humans trying to question or undermine the firmly fixed Word of God. Now, this is not to say that we should not continue to study the Word and seek to understand it better. That’s not the attitude or practice I’m talking about. Absolutely we should do the positive practice of studying the Word to know and apply it to our lives. What I’m addressing is the selfish, sinful practice of questioning the Word’s clear teachings to escape conviction or permit sin. That is a practice that continues to this day.

God’s firmly fixed Word invites us to find hope, comfort, and purpose in God’s revealed plans and purposes for us.

  1. God is immutable in his determinations/counsel

Of this, the Psalmist speaks:

Psalm 33:11 (ESV)

11    The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

God’s plans and purposes are unchanging. The all-knowing, all-powerful God has always known what would be best and, in his sovereignty, is able to execute his plan and purposes. There is no reason for God’s plans and purposes to change because they were made with perfect knowledge. He always does what is good. Notice how the attributes that we’re studying this month tie together here.

About this, Arthur Pink says, “God’s purpose never alters. One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: want of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of power to execute them. But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent there is never any need for Him to revise His decrees.” (The Attributes of God)

We must not forget that God is not like us in our weaknesses. He lacks nothing. He knows everything. And when he communicates his plan/purposes, he has the power to carry them out.

God makes this truth very clear through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 46:9–11 (ESV)

              remember the former things of old;

          for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

10      declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

          saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

11      calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

          I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.

Boy this gets me excited to resume our verse-by-verse study of Isaiah in the new year!

Earlier this year in our study of Isaiah, we heard multiple times of how God promised a particular outcome and then brought it to pass according to his plan. And these were not small matters, they were moving entire nations into and out of power. Directing entire armies around the world. God’s plan and purposes are not able to be thwarted or resisted by the most powerful among mankind.

This is an opportunity to rejoice, especially when combined with God’s goodness and holiness. We can rest assured that God’s plans and purposes are always good and will result in what is best. Even when we do not understand or see fully how this may be, it is our opportunity to trust God. (Main point slide)

Consider this truth in light of Christmas. It was always God’s plan to send His Son to rescue and redeem his people from their sins! This was not plan B, C, D or even Z after Adam and Eve sinned. This was plan A, the only plan, from eternity past. How incredible that the Creator desired to go to such great lengths to save those who were dead in their sin and actively rebelling against Him! In what other context would a Great King so freely love and pardon treasonous citizens by taking on their punishment?! Answer: NONE! Yet this is the immutable plan of our unchanging God! *pause*

Now let’s look at God’s immutability from a more critical angle.

What about the times in Scripture where God appears to have regret, as if his plan needed to change!? Perhaps you’re familiar with passages like Genesis 6 where God sees the continual evil intentions of man and regrets making them or 1 Samuel 15 where King Saul chooses sin and God says he regrets making him king. This language of regret does not mean that God changes his plan or purposes. God is speaking in human language of the pain that they are causing him by their sin, yet he still chooses to go forward with his plan! He knew from eternity past that these things would happen, and he counted the cost of enduring them!

The prophet Samuel helpfully says:

1 Samuel 15:29 (ESV)

29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”

It is precisely because God is unchanging that he responds to man’s sin in the way that he does – with righteous discipline and long-suffering patience. As a perfectly holy God he is expressing sorrow over sin. Yet he proceeds with his unchanging, grand plan of redemption. And for that, we should be deeply thankful! Our fickle, sinful nature does not change God’s plan of redemption. Are you thankful for that this morning?

(Quick review)

  1. Consider the extent of God’s immutability
  2. God is immutable in his being
  3. God is immutable in his attributes
  4. God is immutable in his determinations/counsel

Throughout this study I’ve already sought to share some ways you can respond to these wonderful truths, but now it’s time to make it even clearer. If you’re going to find hope, comfort, and purpose in the God who never changes, then you must…

  1. Let God’s immutability change you

Allow these beautiful truths about our unchanging God to have a deep and profound impact on your life. Let’s talk specifics of how this could and should play out.

First, I want to address those of you who are stuck in sin and are not turning to Jesus for forgiveness. Whether you want to realize it or not, you are depriving yourself of the hope, comfort, and purpose that could be yours in God. I don’t want that for you! So…

  1. If you are unrepentant, know his holiness and justice are unchanging

Jesus, during his life and ministry, gave some very sobering words:

Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

These words are intended to shock. No one fools Jesus on judgment day. He knows the hearts of men/women. Those who are putting on a show in this life or those who outright reject him are depriving themselves of the hope of eternal life and the comfort of knowing Jesus as Savior/Lord.

God spoke even more bluntly through the prophet Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 8:18 (ESV)

18 Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

The point is simple. Do not believe the lie that God does not care about you or your sin! Do not believe the lie that your sin is no big deal! Do not wait until judgment day to cry out for mercy!

Today is the day of forgiveness and salvation. God has made a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is what we celebrate at Christmas! Confess your sin and ask Jesus to forgive you!

Do not deprive yourself of the hope of the forgiveness of your sins or the comfort of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness towards you! *pause*

Broadening the focus now to everyone present, we must all…

  1. Realize God’s desire is for you to change

God has gone to great lengths to make change possible for us! His unchanging loving-kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. What we find in the Scriptures is that our change is essential in our repentance.

Ephesians 4:20–24 (ESV)

20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

If you are here today and stuck in sin, whether as an unbeliever or as a Christian, please realize that our unchanging God has provided clear guidance for how you can change!

First, trust in Jesus by confessing your sin and asking him to forgive you. Second, put off your old self both through prayer, “Lord, help me not to live this way anymore!” and through practice, “I’m not going back to that way of life!” Then, renew your mind through the truth found in God’s Word. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many people in the counseling room. I think many are surprised at how practical and applicable God’s Word is to their daily struggle. Our all-knowing God did not leave us without the resources to fulfill our purpose! If you put in the time and effort to KNOW God through His Word, I guarantee you that you will be amazed at the truth you find within it. Finally, put on the new self (Christ’s righteousness) by taking the next step of obedience. As God teaches you, put it into practice.

This process of change is lifelong as we daily repent (or turn) from the old ways of sin and turn to the ways of God. This process is known as sanctification (aka growing in holiness). Paul reveals its beauty:

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The promise of God’s unchanging Word is that as you put in the time and effort to behold the glory of the Lord, you will be transformed. You will change as you become more and more holy! You will radiate the light and purity of Christ! What a hope! What a comfort! What a glorious purpose for our lives!

You should also allow God’s immutability to lead you to…

  1. Trust him as your Rock

Earlier we heard that God is the Rock. He is a sure refuge and protection in times of need. While our family and friends may fail, our God never will. He is your solid comfort who can be relied upon.

Listen to this beautiful promise from Psalm 34. This is the same psalm where David invited us to taste and see that the Lord is good last week.

Psalm 34:17–22 (ESV)

17      When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18      The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

19      Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20      He keeps all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

21      Affliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22      The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

God hears your cry for help and delivers you from your troubles. That may not mean he removes the trial, but he will bring you through it! How wonderful is it to know that he is near to you when you are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit! Some of you are in such a season right now. Trust God as your Rock. Cling to Him! He will deliver you! He redeems the life of his servants; none who take refuge in him will be condemned!

What wonderful promises! God’s immutability can be a precious balm to our souls in the midst of the trials and tribulations of this life, if we will allow it. Do you ever stop to consider how the Psalmists can, in the same psalm, begin with honest lament about their trials, while ending with worship and praise of God? This is a common pattern in the psalms. This is only possible when you have drunk deeply of the beauty of God’s unchanging being, attributes, and determinations. So, drink deeply of these things and allow it to foster a trust in God that brings you through the storms of life! That will produce a testimony in you that is beautiful and attractive to the world around you. They will want to know how you can have such hope, comfort, and purpose in your trials.

(Recommend Trusting God by Jerry Bridges or Knowing God by J.I. Packer)

If you’re tracking so far, God’s immutability can change you:

  • from dead in your sin to alive in Christ
  • from living in sin to growing in holiness
  • into a man/woman who trusts God no matter what

And finally, I want to encourage you to find hope, comfort, and purpose in your unchanging God as you…

  1. Devote your life to worshiping him

If you consider what we’ve already heard today… Because God is unchanging…

  1. He is trustworthy and true
  2. His Word is trustworthy and true
  • His plan of salvation is trustworthy and true
  1. His promise to come again is trustworthy and true

It’s this last that I want to end on. Jesus made a wonderful promise to his disciples:

John 14:1–3 (ESV)

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

John not only had the privilege of hearing that promise firsthand, he also had the opportunity to see a vision of how it would be fulfilled in the future:

Revelation 21:1–6 (ESV)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

John’s vision of the new heaven and new earth is grounded in the unchanging character of our God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Because God is who He is, He will do what He has said He will do. (Main points slide) He alone is worthy of your worship. He alone deserves your allegiance and unconditional obedience.

What could be a greater source of hope, comfort, and purpose than the unchanging God who rescues and redeems His people? Who not only made them but sustains them each day? Who has a good plan for their life and has called them to a holy calling of representing and reflecting Him on earth?

Will you devote your life to worshiping the immutable God? Will you allow Him to change you and conform you to His Son’s glorious image? I pray that it would be so. If you have questions about any of this, I would love to talk with you more after the service.

Communion

We are going to close out our services today by worshiping the Lord through the celebration of communion or the Lord’s table.

Communion is an opportunity for Christians to remember all that the Lord has done for us through his death, burial, and resurrection. This is an opportunity for Christians to remember that we have embraced the promised hope of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and salvation of our souls!

We will celebrate by partaking of both the bread and the cup as a symbol and reminder of Jesus’ body broken in our place and his blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Communion is an opportunity to remember how great a price was paid so that we could be saved from our sin. It is a sobering, yet joyful celebration for Christians. Sobering that the Son of God would give himself for us as a ransom. Joyful that he did, and the result is a living hope that cannot be taken from us! Jesus is victorious; therefore, we have the hope of heaven with Him!

At this time, I’d like to invite the ushers forward with the elements.

Before we pass them, I want to share the biblical requirements for joining in this celebration.

This celebration was given by Jesus to his followers. We invite anyone who has trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation to join us in this celebration today. If your faith is not in Jesus Christ alone, then we would encourage you to let the elements pass by you and simply consider what you’ve heard so far during the service this morning and reflect on what is keeping you from trusting him for the forgiveness of your sins and salvation of your soul.

The second requirement we see in Scripture is a call to examine ourselves. This is the idea of making sure that you’ve confessed any known sins and sought to turn away from it. It would not be wise to partake of the table if you have sin in your life for which you are not repentant. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that taking the table while living in sin is eating and drinking judgment on yourself. I would ask you not to do that, for your sake and the sake of God’s glory. Instead, I would encourage you to use this time to confess that sin and make a plan to address it right away. If you know you need to be reconciled to someone else in this church, please take care of that during this time. The table is time to protect the unity of the church.

The ushers are going to pass the elements now as we have a time of silent reflection and prayer to prepare for the table. Please use this time to reflect on all that we’ve talked about today and to prepare yourself to take communion by confessing and repenting of any known sin. After the elements have been passed, I’ll lead us in prayer and taking communion together.

Ushers pass elements

Silent prayer. Corporate prayer.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (ESV)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Take bread.

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Take cup

Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus!