{"id":44099,"date":"2011-05-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/former-addict-meets-with-god-during-lords-supper\/"},"modified":"2011-05-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-23T00:00:00","slug":"former-addict-meets-with-god-during-lords-supper","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/former-addict-meets-with-god-during-lords-supper\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Addict Meets with God During the Lord\u2019s Supper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In his book titled <em class=\"citation\">The Gospel According to Jesus<\/em>, Chris Seay shares the following story:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;One week I was preaching in our church about the kingdom that is coming, and on the way out a young man grabbed me. He said,<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Pastor, the kingdom [of God] is already here. Every Sunday I used to be in the same neighborhood. I used to come down here to a bar called Emo&#39;s, and I&#39;d start every night with a drop of ecstasy on my tongue and wash it down with Bicardi 151. That&#39;s what I did Sunday after Sunday. Now I come [to a worship service] instead, and I finish the evening with the body of Christ on my tongue, and I wash it down with the blood of Christ. This is the kingdom of God.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Chris Seay adds, &quot;This man is experiencing the kingdom; he lives in its presence. We may not recognize it, we don&#39;t often see it, but it is right here, and we long to get past the mundane existence of religion and get a taste of the kingdom.&quot;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[409,411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3380,3404,3642,3831,3893,3921,4325,4326,4387,4803,4868,4882,5049,5062,5305],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-44099","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-addiction","tax_ctp_tags-alcohol","tax_ctp_tags-communion","tax_ctp_tags-drunkenness","tax_ctp_tags-eucharist","tax_ctp_tags-experiencing-god","tax_ctp_tags-kingdom-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-kingdom-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-lords-supper","tax_ctp_tags-renewing-the-mind","tax_ctp_tags-sacraments","tax_ctp_tags-sanctification","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-growth","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-thirst","tax_ctp_tags-worship"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Former Addict Meets with God During the Lord\u2019s Supper - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/former-addict-meets-with-god-during-lords-supper\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Addict Meets with God During the Lord\u2019s Supper - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his book titled The Gospel According to Jesus, Chris Seay shares the following story: &quot;One week I was preaching in our church about the kingdom that is coming, and on the way out a young man grabbed me. 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