Father Ron, a long time friend of Pastor Arty Hart and Vineyard Church shared a powerful and poignant message on Sunday May 1 st , 2005. His message was an exposition on partaking of the Holy Sacrament (also known as Holy Eucharist or Communion).
While we apologize for not having a transcript of his message we offer the following scripture references and text on Holy Communion from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (used by the Episcopal Missionary Church, of which St. Andrews Church is affiliated).
Father Ron was brought up in a Baptist Church environment and being a close friend of Pastor Arty and Vineyard he has witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit. This service and message were anything but an Episcopal message (not to imply anything negative about the Episcopal or even the greater Anglican Church). What this service was was spectacular. Maybe supernatural would be a better word to use. Even for Vineyardites (who are used to witnessing the Holy Spirit show up in church through Words of Knowledge, Prophesy, Praying in Tongues and Worshiping in the Spirit) it was an exceptional service.
The service began with three powerful worship songs before Arty introduced Father Ron. Within his message he asked Pastor Arty and his wife Jackie to sit on the stage where Ron performed a foot-washing for our leaders. Ron explained that the foot washing is an example that all who love Jesus and are washed in his blood through accepting Him into their hearts and being baptized in the name of the Lord need only to wash their feet. We are cleaned and perfected through our faith and acceptance of Christ but each day we are tempted, led astray and fall short of God's will in our lives. This foot washing is an example of how daily we are to go to God in prayer in a symbolic act of washing ourselves of our daily failures and sins. Ron washing our leaders feet and praying over them was a moving event to witness and the church as a whole accepted Ron's blessings on Arty and Jackie as blessings for the whole church.
The communion table is always open to everyone in attendance at Vineyard on the first Sunday of each month. This Sunday was no different except that Father Ron really exposed the reasons why we are all invited to the Lord's Table and the only reason to not partake. All are invited and encouraged to partake as it was Jesus' command that we do it in remembrance of Him and his sacrifice on the Cross. We need not be perfect we only need to be reaching forward and working toward being more Christ-like. In fact, the only reason to not partake of the Lord's Supper is if you know your living with a sin in your life and you have made the choice to not do anything about. Refusing God's direction and blessings is removing your self from God's Table as well.
Following the message the altar was opened and the Vineyard Ministry team was made available for those in need of prayer. Many came forward as the Holy Spirit continued to move throughout the sanctuary.
Unfortunantely, we had technical difficulties and the service and message were not taped. In my opinion this was a clear attack of the enemy. This powerful, heart touching and soul stirring service was a great threat to the enemy and an act of worship itself to God.
Below are the scriptures and Communion text from the 1929 Book of Common Prayer used in the service.
I truly hope you were touched by this message. May God bless you and your house.
Grant Raudenbush
Presented by Rev'd Ronald Dent Kuykendall, Rector OSL Chaplain With ST. ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH of Gainesville , Fl.
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 (NIV)
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
18 Consider the people of Israel : Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Jude 1:11-12 (NIV)
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.
12 These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm-shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted-twice dead.
John 13:3-10 (NIV)
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
Holy Communion Liturgy
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
It is meet and right so to do.
IT is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.
THEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying,
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God of, hosts, Heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Amen
And now, as our Saviour Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say,
OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
WE do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, and our souls washed through his most precious Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen
ALL glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that thou, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious the death and sacrifice, until his coming take the Paten again: For in the night in which he was into his hands. betrayed, (a) he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, (b) he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, (c) this is my Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, (d) he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for (e) this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you for many, for the remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.
WHEREFORE O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of thy dearly beloved Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, we, thy humble servants, do celebrate and make here before thy Divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same.
AND we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us; and, of thy almighty goodness, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.
AND we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness, mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching thee to grant that, by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we, and all thy whole Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion. And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee, that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him. And although we are unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice; yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service; not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen.
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