Sermons from St. Paul UMC

Washed and Fed

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NRSVue)

We talk about grace constantly. We sing about it, preach about it, and pray for it. But in the fifth message of The People Called, we look at the two things Jesus left behind specifically so that grace could stop being an idea and start being something you can see, touch, and taste. The sacraments — baptism and holy communion — are not religious rituals tacked onto the edges of Christian life. They are the places where the whole story of grace becomes physical. In baptism, the grace that claimed you before you knew you needed to ask is written on your body with water. In communion, the grace that feeds and sustains you gets placed in your hands with bread. Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 10 frame both as participation in something real — not symbols pointing to grace from a distance, but means through which grace actually arrives. This is a Communion Sunday at St. Paul. Come with your hands open.

Preached by Rev. Dylan Ward | July 5, 2026