Do you remember your first car, your first home, your first job, your graduation from high school? You probably do. We tend to remember the special moments of life. For many of us they are freeze-framed in our minds as KODAK moments.
Our memories are not simply for personal moments; ours is a nation of memories. Throughout our country, there are monuments to mark the special occasions and events. If you have ever been to Washington D.C. you know we are a nation of monuments. There you find the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial; reminding us of the contributions these men made to our country in perilous times.
In 2004, our country recognized the efforts of some 16 million men and women who served in WW II with the National World War II Memorial, as a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people.
Monuments are not exclusive to Washington D.C. we have national cemeteries and Battlefields such as Arlington and Gettysburg, which remind all of us of the high price of freedom.
Tomorrow we will celebrate Memorial Day; a day set aside to remember the men and women who gave their lives for our country.
Monuments, cemeteries, battlefields and special days all designed to help us remember and never forget the sacrifices made for us to enjoy our freedoms.
Memories are not just for heroes, go into any bookstore in America and you will find an abundance of “memory books”, they are called memoirs, recollections of experiences and events people want to remember.
We have a desire to remember, for we are a nostalgic nation.
Realizing our need to make and keep memories alive, marketers have tried to cash in our desire to remember; offering a variety of products to help us mark the special events of our lives. One that caught my eyes this week was the Bank of Marian, in Marian California. The bank allows its customers to send a picture or a drawing to the bank that is placed on their checks – thus making the checks unique and highly personal. Undeterred by the high cost of such a personal item some 2,500 individuals have paid for these special checks to be created. The most imaginative customer is the man who ordered a set of the memory checks to be used solely for paying the alimony checks to his ex wife. What is the picture on his personal check? A picture of him passionately kissing his new wife – now that is a memory!
As Christians we are given a memorial to celebrate and remind us of our Lord, Jesus Christ; the Lord’s Supper. You may know it by a different name, communion, the Eucharist, the cup and the loaf. While there may be different names, the Lord’s Supper has but one purpose…
To reminds us of Jesus…
His sinless life
His sacrificial death
His special covenant with us
While the gospels tell us when Jesus established the Lord’s Supper (the night before his death), it is Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that give us the most instruction regarding the Lord’s Supper.
Today, I thought it would be good for us to be reminded once again why the Lord’s Supper is important to Christ’s followers. As we look at our text today, I want to ask you the question; Do you remember, how can you forget?
My desire today is for us to have a greater appreciation for the Lord’s Supper and a deeper love for Jesus, the one who established it for us.
1 Corinthians 11:23-29
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,
24 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."
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."
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Let us first remember…
The Lord’s Supper is a constant memorial
Ask any woman and she will tell you men are programmed to forget things, in particular dates and events. Men seem to have three kinds of memory…
Good
Bad
Convenient
Maybe we easily forget things because they are not always before us, after all birthdays and anniversaries only come around once a year. When it comes to poor memories, out of sight out of mind seems to be a good adage.
But the Lord’s Supper is a constant memorial, designed to be remembered often.
The practice of the early church was to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week to commemorate Christ’s victory over the grave. Some would say a weekly observance makes the Lord’s Supper routine, but a constant reminder does not make it routine, rather it refocuses us weekly on what truly matters to us as believers.
Today, we make the Lord’s Supper a central focus of our worship
Special emblems are used, a time of reverence is observed, and often we have a meditation to help draw our thoughts to the importance of the Lord’s Supper in the believer’s life. The Lord’s Supper is a place of remembrance.
What are we to remember?
His Death – There is uniqueness to this memorial of Christ. The monuments of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson all remember their great works of these men when they were alive. The focus of their monuments is on their life. The Lord’s Supper focuses on the death of the Jesus. 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death…
If you go to Israel today, tour guides will take you from place to place showing you the sites of the great events from the Bible. Some of these sites are legitimate, while others are simply tourist traps. Crafty Street vendors will often try to sell you supposed biblical artifacts, such as splinters from the cross of Jesus or thorns from the tree is which the crown of thorns was produced. While these sites and supposed artifacts make for great stories and photo opportunities, they do not draw us to Jesus. Our Lord did not want us to remember a particular place or purchase an artifact to help us remember Him, we are to remember Him by participating in the Lord’s Supper, which reminds us of his death
Not only are we to remember his death, we are also to remember his return – Paul says we proclaim his death …until he comes. Every Sunday as we partake of the Lord’s Supper we, all preach a powerful message, Jesus is coming again. Steven Brown says, “The World drinks to forget, but the Christian drinks to remember” Every Sunday, Christians around the world are drawn to the Lord’s Supper to remember his sacrificial death and to celebrate the return of Christ.
The Lords Supper should remind us our failures are not final
Our disappoints are not deadly
Our hurts are not forever
Because of the death of Christ, we are victorious and because he is returning, we will conquer all this life throws at us. Communion should remind us that though we face difficulties we are able to be over-comers through Christ Jesus.
We must also remember…
The Lord’s Supper is a Costly Covenant
When Jesus established the Lord’s Supper, he said, In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Luke 22:20
In essence, God and man are entering into a contract.
The covenant has two elements
Blood – We are in a covenant relationship with Christ. The covenant covers our past and guarantees our future. The covenant is binding, because Christ sealed it with his blood.
In the OT the blood that sacrifices of goats and bulls simply rolled back the sins of the people, God was teaching his people their were being put off until a day true sacrifice could be made. Under the new covenant, our sins are no longer rolled back, they are forgiven. The words of the old hymn say it best…
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
Nothing can for sin atone - Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
Naught of good I have done - Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
O! Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know - Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
When we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we are acknowledging our covenant with God allowing Christ blood to be the substitute for our death.
Peter wrote,
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
God’s covenant required blood; not of a lamb, or of a goat, but my blood and your blood and Jesus stepped in and took our place.
The Second element of the covenant is just as important as the first
A Response – for there to be a covenant there must also be a response on our part. Here lies the problem with our response; when we fail to gather for the Lord’s Supper, we damage the covenant relationship we have with Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, you can be a Christian and miss the Lord’s Supper, but the habitual and haphazard way of missing of celebrating the Lord’s Supper, puts us in danger of breaking the covenant God established though the blood of Christ.
Why is our response to the Lord’s Supper so important? The Lord’s Supper is much like a signpost giving us direction in our life
It points back toward the death of Christ, centering on the fact that 2000 years ago outside the city of Jerusalem the Son of God died for us.
It points upward to a savior, now seated at the right hand of God interceding for us.
It points downward; symbolizing Christ came to dwell with us. C.S. Lewis – “The Son of God became man so that men may become the sons of God”
It points forward to his second coming, when we will no longer celebrate with Bread and a Cup, but with the marriage feast of the Lamb.
It points outward reconciling us to one another, Jesus said if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me, when we reconcile with the Lord through communion, we are reconciled with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
We must also remember a third aspect of the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a Close Encounter
The Lord’s Supper is personal in nature. You cannot participate today, tell your friends about it later and they receive the same benefit as you. The Lord’s Supper is a close encounter…
A. First, it is a close encounter with self
Paul says the Lord’s Supper is to take place in a worthy manner.
27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
A worthy manner speaks of our attitude and our participation, rather than our own worthiness. If we were to wait until we are worthy to participate, the time would never come, but we participate in humility, knowing our sins have separated us form God, but because of his covenant, we can participate in this act of remembrance.
To participate in a worthy manner means we understand what was at stake – my relationship with God, and I understand what was necessary (Christ’s atoning death) for me to share in the communion.
We participate in a worthy manner when we…
Bring our focus to the cross
Bring our thoughts on the savior
Bring ourselves to humility – Understanding we observe the Lord’s Supper not out of privilege, but out of gratitude for What Christ did for each of us.
The Lord’s Supper is a close encounter with Jesus.
For the disciples the upper room was the last time they would share with Christ before his death. Following the upper room experience, the disciples would be scattered in many directions and experience many different emotions.
Judas would betray Jesus
Peter would deny Him
Thomas would doubt Him
All would run
Yet in this last meeting, they would share a close encounter with the savior. Though they did not know it, this last encounter was a preview of what was going to happen on the cross. For the next day, Jesus would go to the cross and through his death on the cross, Jesus would be able to forgive the betrayer, the doubter and yes, even the one who denied him. The covenant of blood would forgive their sins.
Each week we gather here as sinners needing forgiveness, as we come share in communion we are reminded because of the atoning death of Christ all can be forgiven.
The Lord’s Supper is a Close Encounter with Others
AS I look out among the congregation today, I see various likes and dislikes, from music to TV, to politics to fashion; we all have various opinions. Nevertheless, in a few moments, we will all be like-minded, for we will all share in the cup and the loaf.
At that point, all of our differences will disappear, at the Lord’s Supper, we all realize we need a savior – and that savior’s name is Jesus.
One of the founders of the Restoration Movement, Alexander Campbell was so aware of our need to connect with one another, it was his desire to have believers say the following to one anther as they participated in communion; You are my brother, once an alien, you are now a citizen of heaven. Once a stranger, you are now brought home to the family of God. You have owned my Lord as your Lord, my people as your people. Under Jesus the Messiah, we are one. Mutually embraced, your sorrows shall be my sorrows, your joys my joys. We shall jointly suffer with him , that we might joyfully reign with Him. Let us then renew our strength, remember our king and hold fast to our unshaken hope to the end.
Communion reminds us just as we are connected to God we are connected to one another. Let us cling to this close encounter.
The world is full of monuments, statues and memorials, reminding us of the great battles and works of men and women. All of these monuments have one thing in common, repaired or refurbished or as time goes by, they are forgotten.
2000 years ago in an upper room, our Lord left a different kind of memorial…
23 The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24 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."
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." 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
His was not a memorial that would need to repairs, nor would it need to be refurbished. His memorial is not one of marble and granite, but of bread and a cup. So simple, but so necessary, for the Lord’s Supper reminds us we have a…
A Constant Memorial
A Costly Covenant
A Close Encounter
May we always remember, and may we never forget
Prayer
