Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services

Communion 1

Intro: Melanie Y. Clark, in The Christian Reader writes...' My aunt, Edith Clark, and I are co-leaders of a Pioneer Club, a neighborhood evangelistic outreach to children. The first week we met, my aunt and I wanted to help the children remember our last name--Clark. So at the end of the evening, we passed out Clark bars to everyone, mentioning that the candy had the same name as we did. The following week I asked the group, "Does anyone remember what our name is?"  Immediately, the youngest boy in the class raised his hand, saying, "I do, I do."  "What is it?" I asked sweetly.    Just as sweetly, the five-year-old said, "Mrs. Almond Joy."

 The boy was close, at least he remembered that their name had something to do with candy. This young boy isn't the only one who forgets things is he?

 According to a John's Hopkins researcher, everyone forgets at one time or another. What do we most often forget?
1. names   83%
2. where something is 60%
3. telephone numbers 57%
4. words   53%
5. what was said  49%
6. faces   42%

 And if you can't remember whether you've just done something, you join 38 percent of the population.

Exp: Being a Christian doesn't mean you will have a great memory. The apostles Peter and Paul found the need to remind their readers often of what they already knew about the Christian life. Why? Because they and we are apt to forget. And when we forget, the truths of God's Word do not have the same impact on us.

 So, following the example of the Apostles, as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is my responsibility that...

     in the midst of the tyranny of the urgent and immediate in your life,
     in the midst of your daily burdens and cares,
     in the midst of the trials and challenges of making your living,
     in the midst of your desires to find rest and relaxation and
     in the midst you your struggle to hide from and find victory over the temptations of the world...

 It is my responsibility and privilege to remind you of truths that you perhaps have known for a long time.... but are prone to forget.

 One such truth is the meaning of the Lord's Supper. How can we forget what we do so often? Yet, in familiarity truth is often taken for granted and as that persists, it is easily forgotten. We often go through the motions of the Lord's Supper, the rite of Communion yet, we do so without the reality of it's content and the realization of it's importance.

  So what I want to do this morning is to help you remember...to remember the significance of the Lord's Supper. Much of what I say will be familiar, repetitive, perhaps, but don't zone out on me. I believe there are no more important truths than can be found in the Lord's Supper.

Trans: When we come to the Lord's Supper, we come to...
I. We Remember:  'The Death of Christ'     1 Corinthians 11:26

 Perhaps the first and easiest thing to remember about the Lord's Supper is that Jesus Christ, God's Son died. The text in 1 Cor. 11 says that in eating the bread and drinking the cup we proclaim or remember the Lord's death...make no mistake, Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary.

Read:
    Psalm 22:14-15  I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death.

    Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death.

    John 19:31-34 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

 The shedding of blood signifies a violent death. His body broken and his blood shed graphically show that Jesus died. We have cleaned up the story with nice words, often our pictures  show Jesus as barely suffering while on the cross...yet his death was horrifying and excruciatingly painful.

 We must remember and solemnly come to the Lord's Supper remembering that Jesus didn't die peacefully in His sleep, he died horribly and in great pain crucified on a cross of wood. Remember that picture.

II. We Remember:  'The Gift of Salvation in Christ'      John 6:53-56

 Jesus connects eating His body and drinking His blood with eternal life, with personal salvation. Of course He is not talking about cannibalism but he is giving something to chew on (sorry) that is deeper than flesh and blood. He is saying that when you eat, that which you ingest becomes part of you...it is assimilated into your body. The old saying 'you are what you eat' is true to a degree, at least physically. Jesus is saying that He is the nutrient you need to sustain life. You must ingest, and allow Him to become a part of you. But why do we need to do this? Because without Christ in us there is no life, only death.

    Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

    Romans 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

    Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 The symbols of the bread and the wine brings to remembrance that Jesus just didn't die, He died for sinners to give them life.

By taking the bread and cup you remember His death on the cross for you. You are saying that you are fleeing from the ways of the world and into Jesus Christ as your place of refuge, as your strong tower as your horn of salvation.

 By taking the elements of the Lord's Supper you are remembering that you trusted your life to the one who died on the cross for your sin and who shed His precious blood that you may have life.
 Remember the gift you were given....eternal life in Christ Jesus.

III. We Remember:  'The Unity of the Body of Christ'   1 Corinthians 10:16-17

 The unity of the church is symbolized when we share the elements of the Lord's Supper together. That is why we all wait to eat and drink together.

ILL: When we give Lady our dog a snack, she takes it in her mouth and runs into the other room to eat it alone, in isolation.

 This is not how we partake of the Lord's Supper, at least not physically. But I am afraid and ashamed to say that some in God's church while taking communion are not IN communion with some in the congregation. This is sad and sinful.

 There is one loaf, Scripture says, one Body of Christ, the church.  So we are called to unity/oneness when we approach the Lord's Supper, to break bread as brothers and sisters in Christ, united by His death (remember) and our common salvation (remember).

 The symbol of the bread not only represents the broken body of Christ but the united body of believers in Christ. With this in mind, 1 Cor. 11:27-32 is often problematic for many believers. It says that we are to examine ourselves so that we don't take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner because severe judgment awaits the one who does.

 The key is defining what is the 'Body' in verse 29 so that we can discern it properly. Well, the context gives us the answer. The immediate context is vs 17-34 where Paul is discussing the problem of division in the church of Cornith when they came together for the Lord's Supper. The division here is class and social status, the haves and the have nots.

 At the Lord's Supper in Cornith the poor were excluded from participating in the Lord's Supper because  of the elitism and gluttony of the wealthy in the church. Paul is saying, you must see, understand, discern that the body of Christ is all believers, period. And that body must be united, must be one.

 Unity of the body is a recurring theme in the NT and is  always associated with love for one another. So to examine yourself, here means that we must see that we love the brethren in our midst. If we do not, we are not discerning the body and will bring judgment upon ourselves.

     Jn. 13:35 Jesus says 'By this all men shall know that you are my disciples, when you have love for one another'. No love, means no witness.

 When bitterness, hatred, gossip and criticism invade the church, the identity of the church is destroyed before the world.  If you want to wreck a church, you don't plant a bomb, just start a campaign of criticism and you will nullify the testimony and ministry of that church.

 Some, perhaps even in this church, are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord because they have not love for one another.
  Instead they criticize and despise the brethren.  The use their tongue like a sharp razor against the brethren and they avoid contact with the brethren, as much as possible. They put on a serious, humble face, pretending to declare that as they pass the common elements of the bread and cup, that they love the brethren, they are united with them in Christ.  They pretend to be one with the body when in reality they would rather some in the body be elsewhere, not there , in this place, at this time.

 Listen, ...are you not afraid that while you are sitting at the table of the Lord, you'll hear the voice of the Lord Jesus saying
'The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now'.

 So examine yourself as we come before the Lord's Table this morning. Are you guilty of the body and blood of the Lord because you lack love for someone here in this fellowship?  If you answer yes, then let the communion elements pass you by and after the service be reconciled with that bother or sister so that judgment may not come upon you.  And so the testimony of the church can remain true...that the world will know we are Christ's disciples because of our love for one another.

 Remember, in Christ, we are one.

IV. We Remember: 'The Strength Available Through Christ'    2 Corinthians 12:7-10
 Have you thought why we do not repeat ,on a monthly basis , your baptism yet we do repeat The Lord's Supper each month?
 It is because in baptism you once for all identify with Christ in His death and resurrection, since your salvation is secure in Christ there is no need to be baptized over and over again.

 But, the Lord's Supper is first a meal. And just as our physical bodies need continual refreshment and nutrients, so our spiritual lives need that which these elements represent. And they represent strength and power in what seems to the world like weakness and defeat.

 To come to the Lord's Supper and partake of the elements you are saying that you desire to feed on Jesus as your only strength. Participating in the Lord's Supper and remembering it's meanings gives the Believer the spiritual nourishment to live... Other NT terms for this include:

 abiding in Christ, walking with the Lord, being in fellowship with the Father and the Son, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 These flow out of the recurring acts of Communion. The daily growth of the Believer is symbolized by repeatedly taking the bread and cup. That is why in Acts 2:42 they continually devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

 We gain strength through remembering and participating in the Lord's Supper. But why do we need this strength? Because our strength is only weakness. We can do nothing apart from Christ. It is in the strength of Christ, our text in 2 Cor. tells us that our weakness becomes power.  We remember that we are only strong in Christ when we celebrate His victory over death in the Lord's Supper.

V.  We Remember: 'The New Covenant in Christ'    1 Corinthians 11:25

ILL: William Barclay once said 'The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ.'

 The Lord's Supper helps us remember that there is a new, yet not so new covenant that God has made with Believers. The new covenant goes back to Jer. 31:31 where God says that He will make a new covenant, written on the hearts of men that He will be their God and they will be His people and they will dwell together. This will be ultimately fulfilled in glory.

Revelation 21:3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.

 When we partake of the Lord's Supper we proclaim His death...until he comes...Guess what folks, He's coming back! Amen! Communion helps us to remember that so that we will be ready when He returns.

 And the Lord's Supper we participate in today is only a foretaste of the great supper we will feast on for all eternity at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where the Bride(us) will be united with the Groom (Christ) for ever. Great will be our rejoicing...remember that.

 But, remember that the presence of Christ  is also being fulfilled.
Matthew 1:23  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."

 Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we experience Emmanuel, God with us on a daily basis. Let us remember that we are not alone in life but in the presence of our God, who loved us so much that He gave His Son, to die for us.
 This is what the Lord's Supper represents. This is what we are to remember.