Communion this morning was something special. More than usual, I really felt the presence of Christ as I took the elements. I'm thankful for the grace of God via His presence in that holy sacrament. Thank you, Lord.

As I watched the throng roll in to the 10:15 service Sunday morning, I was amazed at how much of a mission field even Sunday morning worship at Antioch can be. What I mean by that is you've got all kinds of broken and hurting people piling in, and they're people who need to experience the saving grace of JESUS just as much as anyone sleeping off a Sunday morning hangover. People need JESUS. It's that simple, and as we see in 1 & 2 Corinthians and in Revelation, even Christians have a need to repent and believe the gospel. I love our church.

Jimmy's message this morning focused heavily on 1 Corinthians 1:12: "Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.'"

How many of us, he queried, would say, "I am of John Piper," or "I am of Beth Moore," or "I am of Mark Driscoll"? The example that got the most murmurs among the congregation was, "How many of us would say, 'I am of Antioch'?"

Jimmy's picture of a tightrope walker, keeping his eyes on a fixed point, was a good illustration. While we can learn and draw from many sources, our eyes and hearts should be fixed on the author and finisher of our faith, JESUS. His message had a ring of ecumenism in it, and I've been a big fan of ecumenism for the past few years.

Jimmy also told an intriguing story about meeting William P. Young, the author of The Shack, while on an airplane ride. I've had theological issues with The Shack, and Jimmy alluded to certain theological concerns he had as well, but the point of the story was to say that we tend to be less judgmental of people once we get to know them, once we get to know their story. Apparently Young and Jimmy had a good chat, and Young was able to share his heart to let Jimmy know where he was coming from on many of the issues he wrote about in The Shack.

That makes me think of a story in Stephen R. Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey was traveling on a subway with another man -- a stranger -- and that man's two unruly children. The children were apparently hellions, running amok while the father sat there motionless. Covey become agitated and confronted the man. The man replied, something to this effect, "We just got back from the hospital where their mother died. I don't know how to handle it and I guess they don't either." Covey's mindset toward the man changed immediately, he called it a paradigm shift.

So to sum up what I got from this morning's message: We are of Christ, no one other.

This morning Jimmy began a new series. I can't quite recall the series title, but I think it's something like "True North: Being Like Jesus In A Corinthian World." (I hope the two of you who may be reading this blog will forgive me if I've butchered the title.)

The crux of the message was grace. Jimmy said, "Grace has a name, and it's Jesus Christ." Amen. The Gospel of Grace is the defining characteristic of Christianity, and it's what sets our faith apart from every other religion under the sun. As John said, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." For me personally, I know I've been marked by God's grace: He pulled me out of a pit, granted me repentance (2 Tim. 2:25), and set me free to be conformed to His image.

I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful for the brothers and sisters at Antioch who have walked with my family and me through all of the years and through all of the pain. I'm 34 years old and I'm finally learning that life is painful, but JESUS Christ, our great God and Savior, is all I need. He's good, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I'm looking forward to learning more about being like JESUS in a Corinthian world.