Generosity
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Jeff Mattesich
- Matthew 6:1-4 & Matthew 6:19-24
- Life Aligned - Lenten 2020
- 40 mins 51 secs
- Views: 620
Questions for Reflection
Read Matthew 6:1-4, 19-24
- What motivates the hypocrites to practice righteousness in verses 1-4? What are the “rewards” referenced in these verses? What should motivate us to give away our resources, according to Jesus?
- Jesus invites us to a quiet righteousness, cultivated in secret, unseen by others; yet often we seek applause from those around us. What are the small ways you see yourself or others practicing generosity “in front of others, to be seen by them”? (vs. 1) Whose gaze (affirmation, approval) do you seek in those moments?
- Verse 21 says that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What rivals God as the thing you treasure most?
- Jesus says in verse 24 that you cannot serve both God and money. What is so incompatible about living in service to both God and money? How have you seen your community (or yourself) preoccupied or enslaved by money?
- What are some practical steps you can take this week to serve God with your money and be more generous?
Devotional
Read Luke 12:13-21
Before Jesus shares “The Parable of the Rich Fool,” He lets us know that He is not interested in mediating between greed and greed. It is true that Jesus is interested in all the details of our life, but have you ever wondered why He does not address certain external issues in your life that you want answers for? We see two brothers arguing here over their inheritance, and Jesus proclaims that He is not the judge between the two of them. There is a deeper issue for the brothers that goes beyond fair division of wealth – it is greed. Jesus is always after what is beneath.
Art by Paul Erickson
In the parable, the rich man is doing what we all tend to do. He does well, and then simply wants to build more storage to accommodate his success. He places security and trust in the fruits of his labor. Today, very few people would fault you for being successful and preparing yourself for retirement. In fact, taking life easy, eating, drinking and being merry is part of the American dream.
What seems to be the most haunting portion of this passage, is the emphasis the rich man places in finding storage, versus giving away part of his excess. He takes joy in building bigger barns. Jesus ends by saying that his life will be taken away today, and all this storage will be for nothing. He is rich towards himself, but not towards God, so loses everything. When we are rich towards God, on the other hand, we will know what to do with our extra.
Reflect: How are you focused on building bigger barns? In what ways do you need to be rich instead towards God?
Pray: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what your mind gravitates toward when thinking about your possessions, wealth, and “extra.” What may God want you to consider about your abundance?
Rajeev Nandakumaran
Outreach Ministries
Read 2 Corinthians 12:9
Paul conveys a conversation he had with the LORD in 2 Corinthians 12:9. He had been begging God to remove a struggle from his life, and this was the LORD’s response: “My grace is sufficient for you.” God was telling Paul, my grace is enough for you, I am enough for you.
Brene Brown says in her book, Daring Greatly, that we live in a “culture of scarcity,” in which we believe we will never have enough. We wake up in the morning thinking we didn’t get enough sleep, and we go to bed believing that we didn’t get enough done. All of us would be able to complete the statement: I don’t have enough ________. Love. Money. Time. Success. Health. Status. We live in a culture of scarcity, in which we believe “We will never have enough,” and worse, “We will never be enough.” No wonder the spiritual practice of generosity is so difficult for us. How can we be expected to give away our time and money and love when we are scrambling to gather enough for ourselves?
It is into this culture of scarcity that God’s words ring loud and true: “My grace is sufficient for you.” My grace is enough for you. I AM enough. And because I live inside you, YOU are enough. When we live out of this place of “enough,” believing that God’s grace provides for our every need, we are moved to give ourselves away in vulnerability and generosity. We are willing to give away our time, our love, our money, our stuff—because we believe that “when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10).
Reflect: Complete this sentence: I don’t have enough ______. How does the culture of scarcity create a sense of fear, hindering our generosity?
Pray: LORD, your death on the cross set us free from the need to prove ourselves worthy of love and acceptance. Help us to rest in your grace and mercy, believing that you have made us whole and filled us up. Show us how to live lives of abundance and generosity, giving ourselves away in vulnerability and trust.
Annie Neufeld
Small Group Ministries
Read 1 Timothy 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Money and faith... Like a relationship status on social media, we proclaim “It’s Complicated” when navigating money and faith. While a few might use their money and resources like a greedy movie villain or Ebenezer Scrooge, most of us approach money with truly good intentions. But even these innocent beginnings can snowball into something much more sinister. Storing and guarding money in this life has the allure of providing safety, status, and security, but looking to our finances to deliver true happiness is an endless chase.
It is said that, “The more you take, the less you have”, but we know a glorious, life freeing truth that frees us from the compulsion to make money our source of security or even an idol. It is this: Jesus comes to loosen our grip on wealth and turns our world’s narrative on money upside down.
This passage reminds us of Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Scripture teaches us that we will actually gain more joy when we loosen our grip on money and live generously. Hearing this for the first time, some may have looked at Jesus and thought, “You mean to tell me that I can be content with simplicity, and actually gain joy when I am generous, even when it’s uncomfortable?” This isn’t just a mantra or a pithy saying. Jesus offers us real hope and contentment in the midst of generous living.
Reflect: When was the last time you experienced joy from an act of anonymous generosity? How might God be leading you towards generous living now? How do we live out our calling to be generous with our time, money and resources when it is uncomfortable or doesn’t “add up”?
Pray: Lord help me to trust, live, and be obedient to the life you call me to by putting my trust in you and living generously.
Perry Hawkins
High School Ministries
Lectio Divina
Week 2:
Matthew 6: 19-24
Read: Read the passage once—slowly, gently—listening for one word or phrase that jumps out at you. Savor that word, repeating it (either out loud or in your head), listening for the “still, small voice” of God.
Reflect: Read the passage again, and this time ask: How is my life touched by this word? What does this word have to do with my life? What emotions do I feel as I hear this word? Sit in silence, meditating on how God’s word is speaking to your context.
Respond: Read the passage again, and this time ask: What is my response to God based on what I have heard?
Rest: Read it one more time and simply rest in the words of God.
Sermon Notes - English
Open:
Good morning Lake Avenue Church, I am so happy to be back with you today. I am grateful for both Pastor Chuck and Pastor Greg for so faithfully teaching while I was away. I am also very grateful for your prayers and support for myself and my family these past 2 weeks. And for those same prayers and support for Pastor Scott and Steve S. and their families. Please continue to keep Pastor Scott in your prayers as the trip continues on for him.
I will share more in coming weeks, but in short – what an amazing God we have. And whether you know this or not, God has built quite an amazing church body here. Spending time with our International Staff and seeing the kinds of places and people that LAC is committed to is overwhelming. From Europe, to Asia, to Africa – we have been invited as a church family into some amazing and unique places for the name and Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Turkana Valley and the Turkana people have a 50-year history with LAC. From Ray and Jill Davis, Randy and Edie Nelson, and Greg and Mindy Yost – this is a community and a people who we have had a long-standing commitment to. In fact when many of you found out that I was going to Turkana you let me know that you’ve been praying for that part of the world in that group of people for over 30 and 40 years. I can’t tell you the look on some of the faces when I communicated that that to them and how they broke out in applause in every venue I shared.
Let me share one picture from where we were a week ago.
(Picture from last week in Turkana)
I had the privilege to participate in the worship service with this beautiful group of people and the pastor invited me to share the word that morning. My translator, Isaac was someone who grew up in that village and because of his close relationship with the Nelson family was able to go to university and eventually received a Master’s degree and now lives in Nairobi advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. He traveled with us from Nairobi to the Turkana Valley and was able to see his mother and father and his entire extended family. He and I shared several moments together hearing his testimony of how his life has been changed because of the gospel of Jesus brought to him through the Nelsons and how grateful he was that our church played a small part in their sending.
Transition:
So - I want to say to you this morning before we talk about money and generosity… That you are a generous church. We have a generous legacy… And we also have been invited by God to be generous in the present. Your giving helps support those who bring the gospel to several people and people groups. And as I shared with you last week on the video, we sense that God is inviting us to continue to have a generous relationship with the people of Turkana. We will allow that story to be told in coming weeks but for now I’m asking you and also be aware that 6 km is the average walk taken by the majority of this world who does not have access to clean drinking water to receive their daily water. On May 16 our hope is to walk 6K as a church family and to also into invite the larger Pasadena community to walk 6K with us and in doing so we are going to be able to help many children and women not have to make that walk anymore.
Series Rational:
As you were so amazingly taught last week by Pastor Greg, these next few weeks we are looking at the teaching of Jesus in the sermon on the Mount and asking the question how our lives are to be aligned with the kind of life Jesus calls us to throughout this sermon.
For me, the sermon on the mount is one of the clearest areas in the teachings of Jesus where I see his humanity. Throughout these teachings, I see a Jesus very familiar with what it means to be human, the trappings, the propensities, the ways in which we are not aligned with the kingdom of God and the way of living as followers of Jesus. He gets us. He speaks to us as one of us.
And here we go, week one and we are going to talk about money and generosity. Jesus knows that money might be the single biggest barrier to living an aligned life. The way we view money, the way in which we attach ourselves to money and things can be a barrier to the freedom that Jesus provides.
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Would you please stand for the reading of God’s Word?
Text:
Matthew 6:1-4
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others
to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from
your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:19-24
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,
your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy,
your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Sermon Body:
3 Acts of Jewish Piety, Giving, Prayer, and Fasting. Jesus will go into these and reframe them for what sincere righteousness looks like. We will look at 2 of them next week, but for today, let’s explore why Jesus is teaching on these, what his main concern is, and how he calls us to live aligned.
- Our Audience (1-4)
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others
to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from
your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- He gets us, doesn’t he?
- To be concerned with our reputation with others versus our obedience to God.
- To self-promote or to be more focused what our “giving” will lead to in how others think about us
- Giving for others to notice rather than God – when we do this we get the “audience” wrong.
- Note that Jesus says WHEN you give, and not IF you give… assumes giving.
- Not a modern idea, and way of living that God has always intended for his people…
- It is in our giving we acknowledge God – get the audience right, the audience of one.
- If we do not have the audience right, we end up being Pharisees…
- We are called to give… and give to God. The only audience we are giving for.
Story:
- Our Attention (19-21)
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Another place Jesus shows he understands our humanity
- Since Genesis, we have been caught up in building our own kingdoms
- Trappings of things, possessions, and property – not because they in and of themselves are bad – but that they end up competing for our attention.
- “store up” – time, focus, and energy for things that will not last
- Jesus is calling us to have our attention toward heaven, toward the spiritual reality and to not be consumed by possessions and the energy that goes into getting them, preserving them, and protecting them.
- When our stuff owns us versus us owning our stuff, using our stuff for God.
- What we treasure is where our hearts are… where our minds are… they are connected says Jesus.
Story: House Isn’t Ready
- Our Attitude (22-23)
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,
your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy,
your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
- Messianic friends are helpful to me here because many times we can read these next verses as an entirely new teaching disconnected from any previous teaching about money and possessions.
- Good/bad Eyes is a Jewish figure of speech: contrasting being generous and being stingy.
- Having good eyes means being a generous person, using sight to see the needs.
- Having bad eyes means being stingy, looking away or down to the needs in front of you.
- Jesus is teaching us to have lives and attitudes that are GENEROUS. To look up, look around, and respond to what we see.
- Jesus often says “those who eyes to see”, eyes are very important to obedience!
- Ancient world not all that different than ours, because the biggest barrier to being generous is our own vision, our own self.
- Do you see how all this is connected? Get your audience right, don’t give all your time and attention to your own earthly kingdom and stuff – have margin, so that when you see a need in front of you – you can respond. You can have good eyes.
- Interesting, I read this as a lifestyle and not a single act… meaning, get your giving right to God, your regular giving… know who you are giving too... and then, live in such a way that you can still see around you and respond to other’s needs… don’t be consumed with stuff and yourself.
Story: Never Have Enough
3 Application Questions:
- How do you view “your” giving?
- Who are you giving to? Who is your audience?
- IRS
- Church Leaders
- Yourself?
- “vote and quote with our wallets”
- Time to get the audience correct
- The problem of the personal pronoun: Me and Mine can skew the audience question.
- Who are you giving to? Who is your audience?
- What are you dreaming about? Why?
- Materialistic Culture: Moth and Rust is real. What gets your attention?
- It is about attention and priority – time?
- Storage Unit Service Advertisement: we might just have a moth and rust problem around us.
- Do you hear the invitation toward “treasures in heaven”?
- Do you view the glass half full or half empty?
- Abundance or Scarcity Mindset?
- Turkana: first thing they said in our meeting was their concern for the other tribes and villages around them..
- We have much to learn from them, we suffer from scarcity syndrome.
Conclusion:
Living Life Aligned messes with all of our lives… especially our money. Jesus is messing with your money. He understands us, what it is to be human. He understands the power and pull of money. The desire we have for others to see and know that we give, the tension is building our lives around things that will not go with us beyond this life. And he understands our tendency to have bad eyes… eyes that only go out so far... AND JESUS teaches us in this place, teaches us that alignment can happen… we can get our audience right. We can direct our attention on treasures of heaven. We can have attitudes of generosity – and in doing so, live lives as Jesus lived. Amen.
Communion Framing…
Sermon Notes - Chinese (中文)
生命校準的慷慨
序：
早安，Lake 教會！我真高興今天能回來與你們一起敬拜。我感謝Chuck 牧師和Greg牧師在我離開期間的忠心教導；我感謝在過去兩周你們對我和我家庭的禱告和支持，以及對Scott 牧師和司提反家的禱告和支持；請繼續為Scott牧師未盡的行程代禱。
以後幾周我會有更多的分享，用一句話表達，我們有一位多麼奇妙的神！不論你是否意識到，神已經建立了奇妙的教會共同體。當我與我們的國際同工相處時，看到我們教會所支持的地方和人群，真是一件令人興奮不已的事。從歐洲到亞洲到非洲，我們受邀參觀了一些為耶穌基督的福音和他名的緣故而有的奇妙和獨特的地方。
肯亞的“特卡那”穀和那裡的人與我們教會有50年的關係了，從我們的Ray 牧師開始，一直到Greg牧師和Mindy Yost，這是我們長期委身的社區和人群。事實上，當我動身前往的時候，你們有很多人都對我說，你們為世界那邊的人已經禱告30-40年了。我都無法描述當我們分享這些時他們臉上的表情；以及我每到一處分享時，他們不斷爆發的掌聲…
我給大家看一張一周前我們在那裡的照片。
我很榮幸參加了這美麗的一群人的早崇拜，並在那個早晨受邀分享神的話。我的翻譯以撒是在那個村子長大的，因為與尼爾森家關係很近，後來上了大學，還拿到了碩士文憑，現在首都奈洛比傳福音。他和我們一起從奈洛比回到了家鄉，見到父母、親人；我們有幾次分享，聽到他作見證自己的生命是如何因耶穌基督的福音而改變，以及如何藉尼爾森家信主，又是多麼感恩成為我們教會差派在那裡的一員。
過渡：
今早，在我要談論金錢與慷慨的主題時，我要說，Lake教會是一個慷慨的教會，我們有這個傳統…我們是被神邀請可以如此慷慨的。你們的奉獻幫助支持了那些把福音帶給其他族群的人；正如我上周在錄影中分享的，我們感到神要我們繼續對“特卡那”如此慷慨委身。一會兒我會給大家講些故事，但現在我希望大家瞭解這世界上有許多人為了得到潔淨水，平均每天要走6公里。5月16日，我們盼望全教會都走6公里，並邀請帕薩迪納社區的人也一起走6公里募捐，不要讓那些孤兒寡母再走6公里了。
理性系列：
上周Greg牧師有精彩的講道，接下來的幾周我們會看登山寶訓，並要問每一個人當如何與耶穌所教導我們的生命校準。
對我而言，登山寶訓是耶穌最清楚的教導，讓我們看到他的謙卑。藉著這些教導，我看到耶穌非常熟悉人類，熟悉人類的套路、習慣，以及我們無法與神的國度校準、無法與跟從耶穌的生命校準的傾向。他深知我們，他像我們當中的一個人那樣講話。
這一周我們要談論金錢和慷慨。耶穌知道金錢可能是我們要過一個校準生命的最大攔阻。我們看待金錢的方式，我們與金錢的關係，都可以成為耶穌所賜給我們的自由的攔阻。
一個人不能侍奉兩個主，不是惡這個愛那個，就是重這個輕那個。你們不能又侍奉神，又侍奉瑪門。
大家可以起立讀神的話嗎？
經文：
太6：1-4
你們要小心，不可將善事行在人的面前，故意叫他們看見。若是這樣，就不能得你們天父的賞賜了。 2 所以，你施捨的時候，不可在你面前吹號，像那假冒為善的人在會堂裡和街道上所行的，故意要得人的榮耀。我實在告訴你們：他們已經得了他們的賞賜。 3 你施捨的時候，不要叫左手知道右手所做的， 4 要叫你施捨的事行在暗中，你父在暗中察看，必然報答你。
太6：19-24
不要為自己積攢財寶在地上，地上有蟲子咬，能鏽壞，也有賊挖窟窿來偷。 20 只要積攢財寶在天上，天上沒有蟲子咬，不能鏽壞，也沒有賊挖窟窿來偷。 21 因為你的財寶在哪裡，你的心也在哪裡。22 眼睛就是身上的燈。你的眼睛若了亮，全身就光明； 23 你的眼睛若昏花，全身就黑暗。你裡頭的光若黑暗了，那黑暗是何等大呢！一個人不能侍奉兩個主，不是惡這個愛那個，就是重這個輕那個。你們不能又侍奉神，又侍奉瑪門。
講道：
猶太人的敬虔有三：奉獻、禱告和禁食。耶穌要從這裡入手，將其重建為公義的樣式。我們下周會看後兩條，而今天我們要看看為什麼耶穌要教導這些，他的關切在哪裡，他如何呼召我們校準我們的生命。
1. 看我們的人（1-4）
你們要小心，不可將善事行在人的面前，故意叫他們看見。若是這樣，就不能得你們天父的賞賜了。 2 所以，你施捨的時候，不可在你面前吹號，像那假冒為善的人在會堂裡和街道上所行的，故意要得人的榮耀。我實在告訴你們：他們已經得了他們的賞賜。 3 你施捨的時候，不要叫左手知道右手所做的， 4 要叫你施捨的事行在暗中，你父在暗中察看，必然報答你。
- 他瞭解我們，不是嗎？
- 關心自己在別人那裡的聲譽與順服神。
- 是自我吹捧還是看重我們的“給與”，將決定別人對我們的態度。
- 讓人知道你的“給與”而不是讓神知道---你這樣做就是捨本逐末了。
- 耶穌說的是“當你給的時候”，而不是“如果你給”，所以前提是“給”。
- 神要他子民活出的生命方式並非一個新東西。
- 在你“給與”的行為中，我們認識了神—要知道看你的人只是他。
- 如果我們弄錯了誰在看著你，我們就成了法利賽人。
- 我們被呼召去“給與”…被呼召奉獻給神，他是唯一看我們的。
故事:
2. 我們的注意力（19-21）
不要為自己積攢財寶在地上，地上有蟲子咬，能鏽壞，也有賊挖窟窿來偷。 20 只要積攢財寶在天上，天上沒有蟲子咬，不能鏽壞，也沒有賊挖窟窿來偷。 21 因為你的財寶在哪裡，你的心也在哪裡。
- 又一處，我們看見了耶穌瞭解人心。
- 從創世紀開始，人類就在建立自己的王國。
- 那些陷阱，就如資產、財富，並非因為它們本身有多壞，而是因為它們最後奪取了我們的注意力。
- 積攢—時間、注意力、精力在不能長久的事上。
- 耶穌呼召我們把注意力放在天國和屬靈的事上，不要被財產、被追名逐利、被積攢財富、護衛財富蠶食了我們。
- 不是我們的東西擁有我們，而是我們擁有我們的東西，且要給神用。
- 我們的財寶在哪裡，心就在哪裡，意念就在哪裡，這些應該都與耶穌相聯。
故事：房子還沒有準備好
- 我們的態度（22-23）
“眼睛就是身上的燈。你的眼睛若了亮，全身就光明； 你的眼睛若昏花，全身就黑暗。你裡頭的光若黑暗了，那黑暗是何等大呢！
- 彌賽亞信徒在此處幫助了我。以前讀這句話覺得是耶穌的新教導，和上面有關金錢和財寶的主題沒關係。
- 眼睛亮與暗實際上是猶太人的比喻，對比一個人的良善與刻薄。
- 眼睛明亮意味著為人良善，可以看到需要。
- 眼睛昏暗意味著為人刻薄，對眼前的需要視而不見。
- 耶穌教導我們要有良善的生命和態度，關注並回應我們所看到的。
- 耶穌常說：“那些看見的人”…眼睛對順服來說非常重要！
- 古代世界在這點上與我們今天無異，成為一個良善之人的攔阻就是我們刻薄的眼光和我們的自我。
- 你看到這些的關聯了麼？認清誰在看你，不要將你的時間精力放在你屬世的國度和東西上---與這些保持界限，好使你看到眼前的需要就可以回應！你應該眼睛明亮。
- 有意思的是，我讀到這些就覺得是一種生活方式，而不是一個單獨的行為…意思說，你要有經常給神的…要知道你給的是誰…這樣你就能活出“給與”的生命，看得到需要並能回應別人…不要被自我和物質的東西所吞噬。
故事：永不滿足
- 應用的問題
- 你如何看待你的“給與”？
- 你給的是誰？誰在看著你？
- 國稅局
- 教會領袖
- 你自己？
- “用錢包投票和估價”
- 是時候搞清誰是真正看著你的那一位。
- 代詞的問題：我和我的會曲解上面的問題。
- 你夢想的是什麼？為什麼？
- 物質主義的文化：被蟲咬和鏽壞都是事實，你關注的是什麼？
- 關注與優先順序---時間？
- 存儲倉庫的廣告：我們只要蟲咬和鏽壞的問題…
- 你聽到邀請：“財寶在天上了麼？”
- 你看到的杯子是一半滿還是一半空呢？
- 富足還是缺乏的心態？
- “特卡那”：在我們聚會中他們說的第一件事就是對周圍部落和村子的關切…
- 我們有太多可以從他們學習的東西了，我們有缺乏症…
結論：
校準我們的生命意味著要搞亂我們現有的生活…特別是我們的金錢。耶穌搞亂了我們的金錢…他瞭解我們不過是人；他瞭解權力和金錢；瞭解我們願意別人看見並知道我們在“給與”…我們在今世所營造的一切物質保障不能跟我們進入來世。耶穌也瞭解我們寧願眼睛昏花，向外看、向錢看…但耶穌在這裡教導我們要校準我們的生命，認識誰是真正看著我們的那一位。我們要關注天上的財寶，要有慷慨的心---為此，我們當活出基督的生命。
阿門！
聖餐…