The Lord has given the church two ordinances, the Lord’s Supper & baptism.

Baptism comes after one coming to faith in Christ,

Where as - when we partake of Communion – we are communing with Christ. Becoming one with him.

He did not transform either the bread or the wine into anything different.

When the disciples ate the bread it was still bread,

When they drank the wine it was still wine.

However the Lord gave a new meaning to the bread and the wine,

So then, from that hour they would serve as memorials of his death.

So you see it is an issue of the heart,

our heart connected to his heart,

our lives interwoven with his life;

God has given us the treasure of life through the death of his Son.

The question would be,

Can God hear the heartbeat of his Son in you?

1 Corinthians 11:23

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you, do this in remembrance of me.”

We should look back

the broken bread reminds us of Christ’s body which was given for us,

it is not the life of our Lord,

or his teachings that will save sinners,

rather it was his death.

Christ died for our sins,

he was our substitute,

paying the debt that we could not pay.

*1 Peter 2:24 *

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin & live for righteousness.

we should also remember how he died,

willingly,

meekly,

showing forth his love for us.

*Romans 5:8 *

God demonstrates his own love for us in this;

while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

However the remembering is not simply the recalling of historical facts,

it is a participation in spiritual realities.

For at the Lord’s table we do not walk around a monument & admire it.

Rather we have fellowship with a living Savior.

We should look ahead

The return of Jesus is the blessed hope of the church & each individual “born again believer”.

1 John 3:2 says that “We shall be like Him”

vs 25

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

the bread speaks of his broken body,

“the cup” speaks of the new covenant.

The penalty of sin was paid when the demands of a Holy God were met.

*Vs 26 *

every time you eat this bread & drink this cup,

you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

When we observe the Lord’s Supper, The table looks in three different directions.

First it is a commemoration, as he repeats “do this in remembrance of me”

Second, the table is a communion,

as it speaks of the present,

for today there is a living Christ.

*Luke 24:5 *

“why do you look for the living amongst the dead?”

*the cross is empty,

the tomb is empty,

but the throne room is full,

as Christ Jesus sits today at the right hand of the Father.

*

And third – it is a commitment,

Look to the future & his coming again.

“are you ready for the returning of Jesus in the eastern sky?

Have you come to saving faith in Christ?

These are the only important questions.

So the supper table looks to the past, the present & the future.

It is looking back and remembering what he did on our behalf 2000 years ago, and it’s looking forward to what is yet to com.

We must look within

Now let’s look at another facet of this communion time;

*Vs 27 *

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy matter will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Vs 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

*This is a time of accountability – between ourselves & the Father.

*

This is a time that we enter into the throne room of heaven,

by the shed blood of the Lamb,

& confess any unconfessed sin in our lives to the Father.

In as much the day of crucifixion was horrible,

we must give thanks and rejoice in it.

For without it - we would still be in prison -

Sentenced from the penalty of sin.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But because of what Jesus did on that cross,

we have freedom in Christ.

*Galatians 1:4 *

He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.