Do You Love Me?

🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Derrel Strickland

Pastor Strickland explores Jesus' thrice-asked question to Peter, "Do you love me?" and its implications, emphasizing the need for self-reflection on our own love and commitment to Jesus. He highlights Peter's journey from denial to redemption, illustrating that despite our failures, God's love and faith in us remain steadfast.

The core takeaway from Pastor Strickland's sermon is that Jesus' repeated question to Peter, "Do you love me?" serves as a profound reminder of the need for self-examination in our love and commitment to Christ. Despite our human failures and imperfections, God's love remains steadfast, and He meets us where we are, offering forgiveness and the opportunity for redemption.

Additional Info

The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.

Introduction

In the closing chapter of John, a pivotal question emerges: Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" This question, asked three times, was directed specifically at Peter and carries deep significance. Understanding this question involves examining what led up to it, its significance, Peter's response, and ultimately, our own response to Jesus' inquiry.

What Led Up to the Question?

To grasp the full meaning of Jesus' question to Peter, it's essential to consider the context leading up to it. In John 20, Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection. He converses with Thomas, emphasizing belief without seeing, and concludes the chapter with a statement that seems to wrap up the Gospel.

However, the narrative continues into John 21, where Jesus reveals himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples are present. Peter declares, "I am going fishing," and the others join him. Despite their expertise, they catch nothing all night. This sets the stage for Jesus to demonstrate his power and presence, reminding the disciples of their dependence on Him.

The Significance of the Question

When Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" he uses the word "agape," a term for selfless, unconditional love. Peter responds with "phileo," indicating brotherly love. This exchange happens three times, mirroring Peter's three denials of Jesus. Each time, Jesus instructs Peter to tend to his followers, symbolizing Peter's restoration and his role in the early church.

The repeated question serves as a test of Peter's commitment and a means to strengthen his resolve. It highlights the difference between human love, which can falter, and divine love, which is unwavering. Jesus meets Peter where he is, accepting his imperfect but sincere devotion.

Peter's Response to the Question

Peter's responses reveal his humility and self-awareness. He acknowledges his limitations, unable to claim the perfect love Jesus asks for. Yet, his willingness to serve and follow Jesus despite his failures marks a significant transformation.

Peter's journey from denial to reaffirmation underscores a vital truth: God's grace covers our shortcomings. By restoring Peter, Jesus demonstrates that our past mistakes do not disqualify us from His service. Peter's subsequent actions, including his leadership in the early church and his ultimate martyrdom, reflect his deepened faith and commitment.

What Is Your Response to the Question?

Jesus' question to Peter is also directed at us. "Do you love me?" calls for introspection about our relationship with Christ. Are we willing to acknowledge our shortcomings and still commit to following Him?

This question challenges us to move beyond superficial expressions of faith. It invites us to embrace a deeper, more sacrificial love that mirrors the agape love Jesus showed us. Recognizing our weaknesses allows us to rely more fully on God's strength, just as Peter learned to do.

Conclusion

Jesus' thrice-asked question to Peter, "Do you love me?" is a profound call to examine our own faith and commitment. By understanding the context, significance, and response to this question, we see that despite our human frailties, God's love remains steadfast. He meets us where we are, offering forgiveness and the opportunity for redemption. As we reflect on this question, may we strive to deepen our love for Christ and follow Him with renewed dedication.

• Discussion Questions

  Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.

  • What was your initial reaction to the repeated question Jesus asked Peter, 'Do you love me?' How does this question resonate with you personally?

  • Reflect on a time when you felt like Peter—perhaps failing or feeling unworthy. How did you respond to God during that time?

  • Discuss the importance of Jesus using different Greek words for love when questioning Peter. What does this tell you about God's expectations versus our abilities?

  • Consider the response Jesus seeks from us. What does 'feeding his sheep' mean in our modern context?

  • Share a moment when you felt God's forgiveness after a personal failure. How did it change or reaffirm your relationship with God?

  • How can we practically show our love for Jesus in our community? Are there actions we can take that truly embody ‘feeding His sheep’?

• Recap for kids

  Connecting our kids to what we as adults are learning and hearing on Sundays is vital to passing on our faith to the next generation. Use the summary below as a great way to talk about the message we heard with your kids.

  Once upon a time, Peter and his friends went fishing. Imagine how quiet and dark it was out on the sea. They waited and waited, but they didn't catch any fish. They were feeling very sad and tired. Just then, Jesus appeared on the shore, though they didn't know it was Him yet! Jesus shouted to them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Guess what? When they did, the net was filled with so many fish they could hardly pull it in!

  This shows us that with Jesus, we can do more than we ever thought possible. Then, Jesus asked Peter a very important question, not one, not two, but three times, 'Do you love me?' Each time, Peter said yes, and Jesus told him to take care of His followers. What Jesus was really asking was if Peter was ready to follow Him and take care of others. Boys and girls, Jesus asks us the same thing. He wants us to follow Him and show love to everyone we meet. Let's be like Peter and say yes to Jesus!

• Historial Context

  The Gospel of John, where this dialog between Jesus and Peter takes place, was written with the intent to confirm and strengthen faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Understanding this passage requires insight into the setting after Jesus' resurrection and before His ascension, a pivotal moment for the early church. The Sea of Tiberias, mentioned in the scripture, is another name for the Sea of Galilee, a frequent location for Jesus’ teachings and miracles, highlighting its importance as a site of spiritual revelation and encounter.

  Geopolitically, this period was marked by Roman domination over Judea, where the early Christian faith was considered not only a minor sect of Judaism but also a potentially troublesome movement from the perspective of Roman authorities. The fishing episode underscores the return to ordinary life before the full realization of the resurrection's implications, and Peter's return to fishing signifies a temporary return to familiar routines before embracing his role in the nascent Church.

• Full Transcript

  Well, hey there, everyone. I'm Daniel Hahn, and I'm the online campus pastor here at Oxford assembly of God church. And this is our podcast. And I just want to thank you for listening today. We hope the message you're about to hear inspires you, builds your faith, and helps you see that God has a purpose for your life.

  And now let's get into the message.

  In the closing chapter of John, we have an interesting question. Jesus asked Peter, do you love me? Three times he asked him, do you love me? And each time he specifically directed that directly to Peter. Today, I'd like for us to look at four things.

  What led up to that question? What was the significance of that question?

  What was Peter's response to that question? And last but not least, what is your response to that question? Now, I'm going to cover a lot of scripture today that we could take many, many messages from. But again, I want to cover those four points.

  Do you love me? Do you love me? Let's look at the passage in John, chapter 20, the closing verses. It appears that John was closing out the book.

  John never mentions his name. In the Gospel of John, he calls himself the disciple that Jesus loved. But if you begin reading at chapter 20, verse 29, it says this, Jesus said to them, to him, have you believed? Talking to Thomas, have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

  Now, Jesus did many other signs and the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book. Now, when he talks about the book, he's not talking about necessarily the whole Bible talking about the gospel of John. That's what he wrote. But even the whole Bible says, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name. Now, that appears to be the perfect conclusion to the book.

  Seemed like it's ready to close. He said, these were written for those of you that believe, and that by believing, we have life in his name. But then the next verse or chapter starts after this. So after John had basically compile the book, now, I realize this was written later, not when it was going on. But it says, after this, jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the sea of Tiberias.

  And he revealed himself in this way, Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin Nathanael of Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, James and John, and two others of his disciples were together. And Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. And they said to him, we will go with you. And they went out and got into the boat. But that night they caught nothing.

  Now, why did Peter say, I'm going fishing? Well, your opinion and your thoughts is just as good as mine. We don't know. We really don't know why he said, let's go fishing. Cause they're like me.

  If anybody mentions fishing, I'm game. Let's go fishing. He was a fisherman. But this is just my opinion. I think even with all this going on, Jesus had resurrected from the dead.

  Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples.

  I believe he may have been a little depressed.

  He may have been discouraged. Have any of you ever been depressed and discouraged? He might have been despondent. Now, I wanted to make sure I had that definition right, so I looked it up to make sure I was right. Amen.

  That's twice this week I was right. Of course, I'm not going to tell you how many times I was wrong, but I was right twice. And the word despondent means loss of hope or courage. Now, I know you say, well, why would you say that? Well, let's continue the story.

  They go fishing and they catch nothing.

  Now, that's the reason they call it fishing. They don't call it catching. They call it fishing. Because a lot of times you go fishing and you don't catch. But think about it.

  He had years of experience. He was a professional fisherman, and he fished all night and caught nothing. Now again, it's just my idea, but if you were already kind of despondent, if you were already a little bit discouraged, if you were already a little bit depressed, how many thinks that was just added to it? Now, I know some of you say, well, why would he do that? Well, they went fishing.

  He caught nothing. And Jesus appeared to them on the shore and he said, have you caught any fish? And they said, we haven't caught nothing. Now, back in my day, I'd said, I ain't had a bike. But they fished with nets, so they hadn't caught anything.

  He said, throw on the other side.

  Now, this is not the message, but I just want to point out this point by himself. He did absolutely nothing with God. He caught more than he could haul in. We need to remind ourself of that sometime. By ourself we're weak.

  By ourself we can't do much. But I remember there's one scripture says, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me, could not harm then. Now let's read the passage beginning with verse 15 of chapter 21. They had their fish breakfast. And when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

  Now, we could spend a lot of time and ask, what were more than these, more than fishing, more than his fishing buddies. But do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, lord, you know that I love you. And he said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

  And he said to him, yes, lord, you know that I love you. And he said to him, tend my sheep. And he said to him, the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, lord, you know everything.

  You know the love that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted. But when you're old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. And this he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.

  And after saying this, he said to him, follow me. Now. We're going to come back to that passage a little bit later, but I want us to back up and ask the question, what led Jesus to ask Peter this question? What led up to the question? Now, can any of you relate to Peter?

  I can relate to Peter. I mean, he was just a good old boy. He didn't have a whole lot of culture. He didn't have any great learning. He was a fisherman.

  But I can relate to him because he always wanted to take the ball and run with it. He didn't want to wait for things to happen. He wanted to make things happen. And I kind of relate to that.

  He was one of the first, now, notice I've said one of the first to acknowledge that Jesus was the messiah, the son of the living God. Now, I know some of you say, wait a minute, he was the first, no, Andrew, that went to bring him to Jesus. When he went to Peter, he said, come look for the one that we have been looking for, the messiah. This is he. So Andrew acknowledged it, but he was one of the first, and he was the one that Jesus said, well spoken, Peter.

  Upon this rock, I will build my church. Now, that was not meaning that he would build the church on Peter. He was building the church on the acknowledgement of belief. That's what John said in this passage. That belief the gospel of belief.

  As many as believed on him. So that's the foundation of the church. So Peter was one of the first ones that proclaimed Jesus Christ was the son of God. We have to also point out that the same chapter that's recorded in Matthew, that he said that. Guess what else Peter did right after he got through acknowledging that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God, Jesus said, I've got to go to Jerusalem and I'm going to suffer.

  Now, this is one of those things that I couldn't, I could not be as bold as Peter. I cannot imagine in me pulling Jesus aside. But the Bible says he pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him. Can you imagine that? What are you talking about, Jesus?

  You're not going there. We're not going to let you. And what did Jesus say? Get behind me, Satan. Get behind me, Satan.

  So, see, that's the kind of character that Peter was. He kind of was one to get the ball moving and to stand up for what he thought was right. But after Jesus said he had to go, Jesus rebuked him. Now, the next part, I'm getting this. You ready to share?

  Many of you know it well, because I share it so many times when I do a funeral service. But if you read John chapter 13, what led up to Jesus asking Peter, Peter, do you love me? In John, chapter 13, it says this, beginning with verse 36. Simon Peter said to him, lord, where are you going? And Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me afterwards.

  Now, let me remind you where this was going on. This was in the upper room. Jesus had just gotten through washing the disciples feet. He had just got through telling them who was going to be denying him, and he had just got through telling them. And he said, but I'm going somewhere that you can't follow me.

  And Peter said to him, lord, why can I not follow you now I will lay down my life for you. And Jesus answered, will you? Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you deny me three times.

  I'm sure Peter probably had a time swallowing that one. Deny it. But let me read the next couple of verses because this is the way I picture it. See, they were in the upper room, and he had already done all those things. I picture him putting one arm around Peter, one arm around John, and he said this, let not your hearts be troubled, Peter, you're going to deny me three times, but don't sweat it.

  Let not your heart be troubled? You believe in God. Believe also in me. And my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would 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 I will take you to myself. That where I am, you may be also. Wow.

  Remember him saying, I'll never deny him. But don't worry about it.

  Don't let your heart be troubled. See, the great significance of this truth is that heaven wasn't made for the perfect. It was made for the forgiveness. Because, see, every one of us has messed up even after we become christians. Now, if you haven't talk with Lou afterwards, he's got a story he can share with you.

  If you've got a perfect record and you've never messed up, then you may not can relate to this. But most of us can say we messed up. Because we know that from there they went to the garden and prayed.

  They arrested Jesus. And before the conch crew, he had denied him three times. Three times.

  That was tragic because the scripture says there in John basically says, by this, you shall know that you are my disciples. Because you have what? Love one for another. Okay, go with me to Luke, chapter 16. Luke, chapter 16.

  Excuse me. It's not Luke. It's Mark. Mark, chapter 16. It's the last chapter of Mark.

  And I put Luke down in my notes. But Mark, chapter 16, verse five. Because, see, the last time we had seen Peter is he had denied him and he went off heartbroken.

  He went off heartbroken because he had what he had denied knowing Jesus. Now, I want to remind you, he didn't deny it to the military. He didn't deny it the court. He denied it to a young maid. A big fisherman was intimidated by a young maid when she said, aren't you one of those that were with him?

  Now, I don't know what you call it. Some people say it was a little white lie. I just say he lied. He denied it. Now, I don't know the way you brought up, but when I brought up, that's the worst thing you can do, is lie to somebody.

  And as soon as he did it the third time, the rooster crowed.

  And he was devastated. I said he was devastated.

  But in Luke, Mark, chapter 16.

  On that Easter morning and entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe. And they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen.

  He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go tell his disciples. And Peter, that is going before you in Galilee. There you'll see him just as he told you.

  One translation says, instead of saying, and Peter says, including Peter. Yes. Is that important? I believe it's very important. Because I think Peter was feeling just like most of us would fail.

  We messed up.

  Yes, I was his disciple. But when push came to shove, I denied him. I'm not worthy of being called his disciple.

  But I don't think it's by accident that the young man told them. And that was an angel that was doing the talk with him. He said, go tell his disciples. And Peter, make sure you let Peter know that Jesus not only has resurrected, but he'll meet him in Galilee. Now let's go back to John, chapter 21.

  John, chapter 21. How many of you know that the Bible was not written in English? It wasn't even written in King James English. It was not. And sometimes now, when I say this, I want you to understand there's no mistakes in the Bible.

  There may be some mistakes of man, but God didn't make mistakes. You can trust the Bible.

  But how many knows that sometimes in the translation you can make a mistake?

  Huh? Let me give you an example. Several years ago, I went to Vienna, Austria, on a missions trip. And most of the local church there did not speak English.

  And I don't remember all the story. I remember the gist of it. But for some reason, I needed some water. Now, I don't remember if it was just me. Could have been me.

  Just thirsty. Or maybe they sent me to get water for all the. I don't remember that. But remember, they didn't speak English. And I said, what I do?

  And he said, well, go in there and ask for Ula. And I said, okay. I can do that. So I went in there to the inside and outside where they had a kitchen there in the church. I said, I want some Ula.

  And they looked at me like I was lost. It do what I want some Oolah.

  And so they went inside, and their lady came out. She said, I'm ula. What do you want?

  I thought Ola was water. But Ula was the lady's name that spoke English. There was a total embarrassment on my side because I had misrepresented the language.

  This passage here, we see some of that. Let's look at it now in verse 15 as we read again. Simon, son of John, Dieu Agapeus. Me. That was the word Jesus used.

  Same word. We get word from agape. That word means to love, to be full of goodwill, to prize above other things. And be unwilling to abandon it or do without.

  So when Peter looked at. When Jesus looked at Peter and said, peter, do you agape me? Now, you can look this up in any concordance. Look it up in your book. And if you can't do that again, ask Lou.

  He can look it up for you.

  The greek word for love that Jesus used was agapeus. But guess what Peter says? Peter says, lord, you know that I feel you. You.

  That's the same word we get Philadelphia from the city of brotherly love.

  Ask him again. Peter, do you hate God? Yes, man. He said, lord, you know I filio you.

  The third time Jesus said, peter, do you feel os me? He said, lord, you know I feel you. Me feed my sheep. Same question for the first two times. And the same response the third time.

  Jesus changed it. Now, why would he change it again? This is my thought. God will always meet you where you are now. For some of you, that might name me much.

  But some of us that are always making mistakes in failure, I'm glad God will meet me where I am now. Why did he ask that question? Because it was a test. Now, I look around. I see some of you old enough to remember the old tv program.

  When it says, this is a test. Nothing but a test. And that was a test. How many knows that God's going to be giving us tests to see if we're ready to go to the next level, to see if we understand? Because what was the last time when Peter was put to the test?

  He said, I'll go to my grave, but I'm not going to deny you. But he did.

  And I think that when Peter went fishing, I think he was discouraged. I think he thought I messed up so bad. God can never do anything with me.

  But see, God knows what's gonna happen before it happens, right? And so he gave word, said, make sure Peter knows. Make sure Peter knows. I tried to tell him, but. Make sure Peter knows.

  Not let your heart be troubled. Make sure Peter knows. To tell my disciples and Peter.

  That I'm going to resurrect from the dead. That I'm no longer dead. And so he revealed himself to that.

  And I tend to believe that Peter passed the test with flying colors. Because, see, before that, he would have told him the same thing again. God, you know, I'm not gonna deny you. I'm always gonna be there. But Peter found out something.

  Peter found out he couldn't depend upon Peter.

  But guess what? God had more faith in Peter than Peter had in himself.

  But let me show you something else that's even better. He's got more faith in you than you've got in yourself because all of us have failed.

  All of us have failed.

  But Peter said Lord I'm going to do the best that I can. I can't go out on a limb and say I got blessed you because I don't know if I'm up to that. But I can tell you I'm going to do my very best to love you, to serve you. And we know that about ten or 15 days later depending on when this was on the day of Pentecost, the same Peter that couldn't stand up to a young maid sit up and preached over 3000 people.

  But that might not have been his greatest achievement because we find in acts chapter ten that God asked him to do something totally out of character. Do you realize that Peter was a jew? You realize that he was jewish and that he could not mingle with those that were not Jews. Did you know that he could not eat food that was not clean? But when he was in the upper room praying not in the upper room with the day of Pentecost.

  But God told him I want you to go to Cornelius House. But he also said rise up and eat. Had to tell him three times, I can relate to Peter. I told you some of us are slow learners.

  He said Lord I can't do that. Now what was the significance? I can tell you the significance. Peter was going against his traditional. Have any of you had to break tradition and found out that it's hard.

  Peter had to go against his family because see his family were jewish and nobody had anything to do with the gentiles.

  And he had to eat food that God had said was not clean.

  So that tells me that Peter passed with flying colors. I had to be told. He had to be persuaded.

  But there's even more proof. Let's go back to the passage where we started with John, chapter 21.

  Jesus said to him feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you when you were young you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted. But when you were old you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. Now what in the world did that mean? Well John goes on to tell us this is said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.

  And after saying this he said to him follow me.

  If we did not know how Peter died those verses wouldn't be meaningful. And I know the Bible doesn't tell you, but in church history, it tells you that when it come time for Peter to die, they wanted to crucify him. How many knows? You don't volunteer for crucifixion. But he said, I'm not going to die the way Jesus died.

  And so he was crucified upside down on the cross.

  But when you're old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you here where you do not want to go. This, he said, to show what kind of death he was. To glorify God.

  Man, do you love me? I believe Peter's response was as good as a human could give.

  Because putting it in my language, he's saying, God, I'm going to do the best I can. I'm going to do the best I can. I can't go out on that limb and say, ah, agape. I cannot say I love you with the love of God. How many knows that our love comes short of God's love?

  But I'm going to love you with a brotherly love. I'm going to do everything I can. Because, see, Peter knew his weaknesses.

  He was still human. Cause the next words out of his mouth, John came bebopping along. He said, what about him?

  And Jesus gave him a great answer again, Oxford English. He says, don't worry about John. You worry about Peter. Now. That's why he said, he said, what is that to thee?

  He said, if I let him live till I come again, that's not you. The reality is churches. We don't need to worry about what everybody else is doing. That's what he said. None of your business.

  None of your business. Follow me.

  So we see Peter's response. Let me just ask you, if we ask you the same question, wasn't a hard one, but it was kind of complex. Do you love me? Do you love me? And we could go through scripture and find out.

  There's several things of finding out if we love God. Let's look in the gospel. First, John, the same writer that wrote the gospel of John, wrote this in one John, chapter three, verse 16. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Then in chapter four, verse 15, whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, abides in me and he in God.

  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love. And whoever abides in love, abides in God. A God abides in him by this. Is love perfected with us so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment.

  It goes on to say, there's no fear in love. So let me ask your question to us today. What is your response? Do you love me? Do you love me?

  Are we brave enough to agree with what what Peter did?

  Lord, you know I love you. But we wasn't able to spill to agapes. Had to stop with Filio.

  I want to close with psalm 139. Just the first four verses. The worship king comes out. It comes up. Did everybody get their communion?

  I should have asked you earlier. Did anybody not get communion?

  Okay, there's one back there, one over here. So if you raise your hand so that ushers can see you. And make sure you take the bottom off first, because first service I didn't. And you thought I was perfect. See, I told you.

  Psalm 139.

  Oh, lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways even before a word is on my tongue. Behold, o Lord, you know it altogether. That was written by a guy by the name of David.

  How many knows David messed up?

  He said, God, you know me better than I know myself.

  And guess what? He knows you. He knows me better than we know ourselves. And he still loves us. He's still got faith in us and he still trusts us.

  And he's still asking that question. Except he doesn't say Peter. He puts your name in there and says, do you love me? Do you love me?

  Can we go as far as Peter did and say, God, I'm going to do my very best.

  I know I'm going to mess up again.

  I know I'll fail. I know I'll stumble.

  But I'm going to do my very best.

  Let's pray. Holy Father, as we prepare our hearts to receive communion today, we realize that in ourselves.

  In ourselves we're nothing.

  But with you we can do all things. And God, we realize afresh and anew this morning that we're not going to heaven because we're perfect. We're going to heaven because we're forgiven.

  And God, help us to respond to the urging of your Holy Spirit today to touch us, convict us, change us by your power.

  Minister to us today. Minister to us today. Holy Spirit, have your way. Holy Spirit, have your way.

  If you're here today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, I want to encourage you today to answer that question first. Have you been forgiven?

  None of us are perfect. But the only way we can get into heaven is not because we're perfect, but because we've forgiven. So as we prepare our hearts today, if you need to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, even while we're participating in this communion service, I'd encourage you to make your way to the front. Somebody meet you there and pray with you, pray for you.

  The same night in which Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it. And he said, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. The same night in which Jesus was betrayed, he told Peter he was going to deny him three times, but he forgave him anyway. Let's partake of the bread.

  And in the same way he took the cup, he said, this cup is the New Testament or the new covenant in my blood. Do this as oft you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death. Until he comes, let's partake of the cup.

  Would you stand with us and would you just worship the Lord for a few moments before we conclude today?

  On behalf of our pastor and staff here at OAG, we want to say thank you. Thank you for being a part of our ministry. We are grateful for you and the support you give our church and its ministries, that we can continue to do what God has called us to do, to be the family church for the family of God. For more content from Pastor Strickland and Oxford assembly of God, check out our media website at OaG Church Media.