Lord’s Supper service
3rd quarter – September 2016
“Do this to remember me”
Psalm 66
John 1:7
Matthew 7:12
James 2:14-20
Luke 23:42-43
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Remembering is an important part of being a human being and it is also an important part of being a follower of Jesus Christ
We sometimes have some usual ways of remembering simple things
Some tie a string around their finger
Others use sticky notes
In this modern age the use of voice recorders and alarms are common
These are for remembering things
We also remember events in many ways
We honor our men and women who have served and are serving in our military on veteran’s and Memorial Day
With parades
Flags
Cookouts
Speeches
We remember the founders of our country on president’s day with a day off from work and more speeches and ceremonies
For our remembrance of our freedom
We celebrate with Fireworks and more cookouts
Time with family
Parades
We also remember individuals in our lives who we love and had relationships with
Father’s day comes with tools, sporting goods etc
Mother’s day with flowers, cards and dinners
Valentines with Chocolate hearts and more flowers
We remember
We also remember those in our lives who have passed on
Crosses on the side of the road
Memorials such as a dedicated pew or donation to an organization
Flowers on graves
Pictures on walls
Naming children and grandchildren after a lost loved one
All of these things are differ ways of remembering
Today is our quarterly Lord’s Supper service
Jesus said
Do this to remember me
To remember me
So we must ask
How do we remember Jesus?
I mean really remember Jesus
Scripture shows us all through the Old Testament and The New Testament
How we remember
Today
I would like to point out a few ways that we can remember and honor Jesus
How we can remember his sacrifice
How we can remember his love
How we can remember how he pulled us out of the mad and muck of our old lives
And redeemed us
By his Perfection
Not our own
It is amazing that God the Son would sacrifice his life
But the fact that he gave his life while we were still sinners is beyond our limited human ability to completely understand
And
Still it is important that we remember
I told you many ways that we remember many thing, events and people
In order to tell you that we need to remember Jesus in many ways as well
Jesus says in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25
Do this to remember me when he is giving instructions on the Lord’s Supper also known as communion
So today
I want to discuss some ways that we truly remember
The first is our
Worship
Psalm 66:1-7
Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude
5 Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea,[a]
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance.
8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
Skipping down to 16-20
Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
We remember Jesus with our
Worship
When we come with prepared hearts
Repentant hearts
Humble hearts
We honor his sacrifice
When we sing his praises
When we listen to his word and apply it to our lives
We remember
Him
Our worship through song and sermon
Through prayer and fellowship
Allows us to show our thanks
Allows us to express our praise
It allows us to remember the sacrifice
Allows us to remember the love
Unconditional love
Allows us to remember his grace
His mercy
Allows us to encourage our brothers and sisters and be encouraged by them in return
In order to remember
If we truly want to remember we must worship
We must worship
Next we remember by our
Words
Words can speak love
Words can speak hatred
Words can build up
And words can tear down
We honor and remember Jesus and his sacrifice when we speak words of love
We Honor Jesus when we share our testimonies
When we tell others what Jesus has done for us
What he has delivered us from
We show others
In love that they are not alone
That Jesus gave his life so that All have the ability to be saved
Show others that their burdens can be lifted
Testimonies are powerful
And Our Jesus stories honor him
And
Cause us to reflect and remember
1 John 1:5-7 gives us a good example of a testimony
Everyone has a story
But without Jesus in it
It is just that
A story
It may be interesting
It may even be inspiring
But
A testimony gives glory to God
A testimony gives glory to Jesus
A testimony gives credit where it is due
To our Lord
John writes
This is the message we heard from Jesus[c] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Notice john says nothing of anything he has done
His words
Say
Jesus cleanses us
By his blood
By his grace
Worship is a great way of remembering
Words are a great way of remembering
We also can remember by our
Justice
You may be asking
What do you mean by our Justice?
Very simply
We remember Jesus and his sacrifice
By how we treat others
Matthew 7:12
Commonly known as the golden rule
Basic kindergarten stuff
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
Jesus says how we treat others shows them who we are
That we belong to him
How we treat others shows that we take seriously his words
Justice
Means
We treat others with respect
We treat others with love
We treat others fairly in all of our dealings with them
Our Justice can show the light of Jesus
Our lack of Justice can show the evils of this wicked world Our Justice- How we treat others shows Jesus
That we remember his sacrifice
That we remember his love
That we remember his teaching and his example to us
We remember Jesus
When we worship
We remember Jesus by our words
We Remember Jesus by our Justice
And
We Remember Jesus by our
Deeds
James
Jesus’ half brother writes in his book
James 2:14-20
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
James says we have to follow the lead of our Savior
And act on our faith
Letting the world
A lost a dying world
A world that desperately needs Jesus
See Jesus by our deeds
Not earning salvation by works
But Showing evidence of salvation by helping others
Jesus’ never sat back and said look at my faith
He feed people
Quenched their thirst
And healed people
He prayed with and ministered to people
He provided for their needs
Sometimes on an emotional level
Like when he touched the leper when a word was all that was needed for healing
Or gave encouragement to a despised tax collector
Sometimes on a physical level
Like the blind, the deaf, the lame, the afflicted
That he healed
And although the New Testament
Where he forgave sins and restored people to a right relationship with God
Jesus set the bar high on helping people
And if we follow his example
We are honoring him
And if we live as he lived
We are remembering him
Our Worship
Our Words
Our Justice
Our Deeds
All remember Jesus
And all these spell out an acrostic
That most are familiar with
WWJD
What would Jesus Do?
This is how we remember Jesus
Act like Jesus
Love like Jesus
Forgive like Jesus
Imitation is then best compliment
Striving every day to be more like Jesus
Asking what would he do?
How would he handle this situation?
Let’s us truly remember him and his sacrifice
Remember him
Because he remembers you
Luke 23:42-43
One of the thieves on the cross cried out to Jesus
While dying for his sins
His crimes
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
In those words the man found peace
As the men come to pass out the juice and crackers this morning and as
The song------ plays
Take this time to remember
Take this time to reflect
Take this time to come to Jesus
Tell him thank you
Deal with unresolved issues and sins
Take stock of your life and your heart
This is a time of remembrance
And we are to take the Lord ’s Supper with clean hearts and clean hands
I plead with you
Pass if you are not in a place to do that
And if you do take it
Please do this to remember him
SONG
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[a] Do this in remembrance of me
Eat
25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”
Drink
For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
Close from the heart
Pray