Introduction

Pull up a chair at the table of grace. Imagine the Savior’s hands—steady, scarred, and sure—lifting bread and a cup. Imagine the warmth of lamplight, the closeness of friends, and the quiet hush that falls when Jesus speaks. A table gathers people. A table settles hearts. A table says, "Come and be cared for." That’s what God is doing today. He is calming anxious minds, steadying trembling hands, and feeding faint souls.

Have you ever noticed how the simplest meals become the most meaningful? A crust of bread with a friend, a cup shared when words fail, a moment that says, "You belong." The Lord’s Supper is this holy kindness multiplied by mercy. Here, Jesus gives bread for hungry hearts and a cup for thirsty souls. Here, he reminds us his promises stand firm, his presence is near, and his people are one family—across pews, across neighborhoods, across nations.

This meal isn’t a performance; it’s a place. A place to receive what Christ has sealed with his own blood. A place to share in Christ and with one another. A place to proclaim the Lord’s death—boldly, tenderly, gratefully—until he comes. Do you need forgiveness that is real? Do you need fellowship that is warm? Do you need hope that holds? The table tells you, "Yes." The Savior says, "Come."

John Wesley once wrote, "It is the duty of every Christian to receive the Lord’s Supper as often as he can." (John Wesley, "The Duty of Constant Communion") Duty, yes—but also delight. Like rain on dry ground, grace comes to believing hearts as we eat and drink with faith. This is a meal of memory and mercy, comfort and courage, repentance and renewal. Bread that points to a broken body for you. A cup that points to cleansing blood for you. A family gathered because of Jesus, and held together by Jesus.

So let’s listen again to the words that first set this table. Let’s hear them as if for the first time, and let them land on us with fresh wonder.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 26:26-28 (KJV) 26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

1 Corinthians 10:16 (KJV) 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

1 Corinthians 11:26 (KJV) 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for setting the table and inviting us in. We come with open hands and hopeful hearts. Feed us with your grace. Cleanse us by your blood. Knit us together in your love. As we read your Word, warm our affections. As we come to your table, strengthen our faith. Help the weary, lift the worried, and steady the wandering. Let this bread and cup point us to your cross and keep us looking for your coming. We receive what you give, and we give you our praise. In your strong and saving name, Amen.

Receive the covenant Christ sealed

A covenant is a promise that holds. God makes it sure. Jesus makes it sure with his blood. He gives that promise to people who could never earn it. He brings them in and keeps them in. The Supper is where that grace meets us. We come with need. He meets us with mercy. The sign is small. The gift is large.

When we receive the bread and the cup, we are not chasing a feeling. We are taking what Jesus hands to us. He ties his words to these simple things. He ties his work to these simple things. He says, "This is for you." Faith says, "Thank you," and takes it.

Think of what a sealed promise means. It means you can rest. It means the terms are set. It means the one who signed will do what he said. Jesus signed with his life. He did not hold back. His cross stands as the seal. The Supper keeps that seal in view for us again and again.

Hear Jesus say, "Take, eat." Hear him say, "Drink ye all of it." In Matthew 26 he gives clear words. He took bread. He gave thanks. He broke it. He gave it. Then he said it belongs to his people. He does the action. He sets the meaning. He calls us to receive.

He also speaks about the cup. "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." The word "testament" means a binding arrangement. It means covenant. Jesus connects the cup to forgiveness. He ties pardon to his poured-out life. He places that pardon in our hands.

This is not theory. This is grace in practice. We take what he offers. We admit our sin and take the sign that points to real cleansing. We admit our weakness and take the sign that points to real strength. We admit our hunger and take the sign that points to real life.

"Drink ye all of it." That line matters. No one in his family is left out. The command is simple. The grace is wide. The blood has reach. It covers a real record. It covers the shame we hide. It covers the guilt we carry. The new covenant brings a clean slate and a new start under the same King.

Paul calls the cup "the cup of blessing" in 1 Corinthians 10:16. In the old meal, a blessing was spoken over a cup. Thanksgiving rose to God. Paul says that when we bless this cup, we share in Christ’s blood. That word "share" means we take part. We do not watch from a wall. We join in what Jesus gives.

He also calls the bread a share in Christ’s body. The bread is broken. We break it too. Yet what we receive is Christ himself by the Spirit. This is real fellowship with a living Lord. He feeds faith. He draws close. He binds us to himself in a way that is tender and strong.

This sharing also links us to each other. One table marks one people. Many hands. One loaf. Many cups raised. One Savior confessed. The meal pulls scattered lives into one grace. Pride cannot live here. Grudges cannot breathe here. We come as guests who are kept by the same love.

In 1 Corinthians 11:26, Paul says that eating and drinking is a way of showing the Lord’s death until he returns. The meal speaks. It speaks to our own hearts. It speaks to the church. It speaks to a watching world. Christ died. Christ will come. Between those two, we keep taking bread and cup.

This makes the Supper a kind of sermon in action. We taste what we say we trust. We touch what we hope in. The cross is not far away when the bread is near. The promise is not vague when the cup is passed. Our lips become the pulpit. Our Amen is swallowed and believed.

"Until he come." Those words add a horizon. The covenant holds into the future. The same Jesus who gave his life will appear. The meal trains our hope. It keeps us from forgetting. It keeps us from drifting. It keeps us steady in hard weeks and long nights.

The word "testament" in Matthew carries the weight of the whole Bible. Think of the first time blood sealed a bond in Exodus 24. The people heard the words. Blood was sprinkled. Moses said, "Behold the blood of the covenant." That day tied a nation to God under promise and mercy.

Now hear Jesus speak of his blood as the new covenant. This is the better day. The prophets pointed to it. Jeremiah spoke of sins remembered no more. Ezekiel spoke of clean water, a new heart, and God’s Spirit within. Jesus stands in that room and says that his blood brings those words to pass.

So the cup is not a bare sign. It is a sign with a seal. It says, "God keeps his word." It marks the people who live under that word. It tells them they are forgiven. It tells them they belong. It tells them the Spirit is at work in them to will and to do.

How do we receive this? With faith that looks away from self. With confession that holds nothing back. With gratitude that rises from the ground of mercy. With love for the church that Christ bought. With hope that keeps eyes up and forward.

Receiving the covenant means letting the finished work of Christ set the tone of your days. It means coming again when you feel dull. It means coming again when you feel keen. It means coming again when you feel afraid. It means coming again when you feel strong. The meal does not change with your mood. Grace holds steady.

The bread and cup teach our senses. They slow us down. They mark us. They write grace on our memory. They say, "This promise stands when you wake. This promise stands when you sleep. This promise stands when you fail. This promise stands when you stand firm."

Bring your sins to the place where forgiveness is named and sealed. Bring your needs to the place where Jesus is present by his Spirit. Bring your love to the place where his people gather and receive. Bring your hope to the place where his return is kept in view.

And keep the words close: "This is my body." "This is my blood." "For the remission of sins." "The cup of blessing." "Communion." "You do show the Lord’s death till he come." Let those lines lean on your heart. Let them steady your steps. Let them fill your hands with what Christ has given.

Share in Christ and with one another across the world

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