Welcome to The Lord’s Table
(You may dress casual, but don’t come as you are)
The Bible doctrines and principles on which we base our faith have important backgrounds. They didn’t just appear overnight, but were developed over time.
An example is our doctrine of baptism by water. It originated in the ritual washings required by the Priests in the book of Leviticus. The Jews practiced ritual washing for purification.
When John the Baptist came on the scene, he took it one step further and taught that you had to repent of your sin and be publicly baptized for the remissions of your sins. We take the doctrine of Baptism for granted, but in John the Baptist’s day, it was a radical new teaching, because up until that time the only way you could get forgiveness of your sins was through sacrificing a sin offering at the temple. Forgiveness of sins required a blood sacrifice.
The doctrine of tithing has it’s origin in Abraham when he gave a tithe to Melchizedec.
The doctrine of salvation through faith had it’s origin with Enoch followed by the account of the Flood when by faith Noah believed God, was obedient to God by building the ark, and by his faith and obedience he and his family (not to mention all the animals) were saved.
In the same way, the doctrine of “The Lord’s Supper” or “The Lord’s Table” better known as “Communion” has a historical Biblical background.
The historical Biblical backdrop for communion is the Passover. If you are on track with our through the Bible reading schedule, last Monday you read about the Passover In Exodus 12:
The word “Passover” refers to both the “Passover Victim” and the actual “Passover Ceremony.”
At God’s direction, Moses repeatedly struck the land and called down plagues upon Egypt. But notice, that the Jews in the land of Goshen, a geographical area located inside of Egypt, did not experience the plagues that Egypt experienced. God’s people were spared. They didn’t have to do anything, they were automatically spared because they came under God’s umbrella of protection. Why?
Because they were God’s chosen people, and Moses provided a measure of protection – a “covering” if you will, and that same responsibility is carried on by pastors today. If you don’t come under the covering of a pastor – you need to seriously consider getting there, because if affords you the benefits of supernatural protection and someone to watch out for your soul.
As a pastor I take that responsibility very seriously. I pray for all of you who are in the Church Directory during my prayer time. Those of you who are new, and have filled out and turned in your names on the bulletin tear out have been included in my prayer time.
As your pastor, I act at a spiritual covering for you. That also means that I will from time to time act to protect you by challenging your behavior, your attitudes and your belief system. When I don’t see you here participating in the fellowship, I will come looking for you…..(pause) and I will find you! Well, that’s enough on my duties as a pastor, let’s get back to the Passover.
Up to this point the Jews didn’t have to do anything. They just sat back and said “Wow, look what God is doing to the Egyptians.” But the Passover was different. The Passover required them to act on their faith. Moses directed them to take a male lamb or goat without blemish and to kill it, take it’s blood and wipe the blood on the top and sides of the doors to their houses. In this way they would escape the “Death Angel” that God would use to destroy the firstborn male in every house in Egypt.
I want you to put yourself in the place of the Jewish family who celebrated the first Passover. Whoever you are, Father, Mother, kids or single relatives. If you are the father, you go out on the first day of the month to your herd of sheep or goats (most of them used lambs) and you pick out an animal without blemish.
Then you bring the animal home and treat it like a pet for 14 days. For 14 days everyone gets attached to “Lambchops”. Kids, you have fun playing with him, oh – he is so cute. “Bahhhhh”
Then on the 14th day all you Jewish fathers cut Lambchops throat, drain his blood into a bowl and take the foliage of the hyssop plant (a common emblem of purity) and smear the blood over the door and door-posts of your house. (Pause)
Now, Dads, this doesn’t make you real popular with the kids – (pause) Hey, you just killed “Lambchops”!
Listen Dads, you’re not done yet!
Now that you’ve thoroughly alienated yourself from your family you fire up the Barbecue, skin the Lamb and throw it on the grill.
Alright, Moms, while dad is roasting Lambchops, you make some unleavened bread – bread without yeast in it, chop up some bitter herbs and set the table.
Kid’s you are bawling your eyes out because dad just killed a member of the family and is roasting him on the Barbecue.
Dad, you try to explain to the kids, that this had to be done. You say, “Kids, if I didn’t kill Lambchops and put his blood on the doorway, Moses said the death angel would come in here and kill your older brother tonight. I know it’s a big sacrifice, but the blood of the Lamb will protect us! We must not leave the protection of the blood until morning! So tonight we will eat the Passover meal and stay inside.”
Dad, you make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked and then bring Lambchops back into the house, because he has to be eaten inside the house and none of his bones were to be broken – you roasted him whole.
Now you take your staff in your hand, tuck in your shirt, put your Birkenstock sandals securely on your feet, pack your suitcases and you sit down at the table and eat Lambchops together as a family.
Quickly…, you have to eat in a hurry, (this is the first mention of fast food in the Bible) …. any part of Lambchops that is left over has to be completely burned up after the meal. You’re eating in a hurry, because you’re getting ready to get out of town.
Alright all you Jewish families out there wasn’t that fun? (pause) Want to do it again? Well, it’s official, now we get to do this every year.
That night the death angel visited every housed in Egypt and killed every firstborn male in every household including the livestock, but the death angel “passed over” the houses that were covered by the lamb’s blood!
Let me say that again, the death angel “passed over” the houses that were covered by the lamb’s blood.
Now, let me get personal, Jesus is the Lamb of God! Jesus is the Passover Lamb who shed his blood on the cross for us. Do you have the blood of the Lamb painted over the doorway of your heart? When the death angel comes will you die and be condemned to hell or enjoy life everlasting with Jesus in heaven? Think about it.
For the Christian, Jesus is our “Passover Lamb.”
In the gospel of John 1:29 we read, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Paul says, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
In 1 Peter 1:18-19 Peter declares, “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, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”
In the book of Revelation 5:11-13 The Apostle John tells us his vision of heaven, “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
Hallelujah, Church – Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
If you are having trouble making the connection between the Passover sacrifice of Exodus 12 and the blood sacrifice of Jesus, let us ask and answer the question, “what difference will it make to me on Monday morning that Jesus went to the cross, shed his blood and died?”
Listen to what the Word of God says:
In 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 The Apostle Paul says, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
What difference does the cross make?
Philippians 3:18-20 “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
What difference does the cross make?
Colossians 1:13-22 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
What difference does the cross make?
Heb 2:14-15 “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
What difference does the cross make?
Romans 3:23-25 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…”
We can all be in agreement with the writer of the book of Hebrews when he says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The Lord’s Table
In the book of Jeremiah 31:31 the prophet declares that one day God will make a new covenant, where God’s laws will be written in the hearts of men instead of on tablets of stone. Jesus is the “new covenant” Listen to the account of the gospel of Luke chapter 22:7-20
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." 9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked. 10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ’The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there." 13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. 14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 20 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.
Jesus Himself instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper and He used the celebration of the Passover to institute the ordinance.
The Passover supper was eaten while reclining. They didn’t use straight-backed chairs with their feet under the table, instead they reclined, which means they laid down and leaned on a pillow or their elbows with their feet away from the table.
The Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples included the Passover Lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, some minor condiments and four cups of wine at specified points in the ceremony.
Mark your calendars, on Wednesday night, April 19, we are going to celebrate a complete Passover meal just like the Jews celebrate today, with the difference that you will be shown the significant Christian meaning associated with all the ceremony of the meal. Don’t miss this – it will help the Bible come alive to you, plus it’s a tasty meal with fun and fellowship. Wednesday night, April 19th.
It was during the third cup of wine that Jesus instituted the ordinance of communion. The third cup of wine is known by two names, the "cup of blessing" because it comes after saying the blessing, and it is also known as the "cup of redemption" representing the blood of the Passover Lamb. It was this cup that Jesus identified himself with in Matthew 26:28 when He said, "This is my blood of the new covenant." In Luke 22:20 we read, "Likewise, after supper, He took the cup saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you." It is also the cup the Apostle Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 10:16, "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?"
This fruit of the vine – the cup of grape-juice that we will drink today represents the Blood of the Lamb. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The unleavened bread that we will eat today represents the body of Jesus that was killed on the cross. It represents the new covenant. The blood of Jesus applied to the doorways of our hearts.
One man one tree -
Because Jesus shed his blood and gave up His body for us, we can approach God because when God looks on us he no longer sees the stains of sin, rather he sees our souls washed clean, white as fresh snow.
He sees the precious blood of His Son Jesus over the doorways of our hearts, and He says “Welcome into My Holy Presence.” We can stand in the awesome and holy presence of God only because of the Blood of Jesus. If it were not for the Blood of Jesus, we would be cast into eternal damnation – forever separated from the presence of God.
Altar Call
Because Jesus offered himself as the ultimate sin offering, atoning for our sins before a Holy and Righteous God, how should we approach this communion table?
Listen, Church, I don’t want anyone to be confused concerning the ordinance of Communion.
Communion is a SERIOUS matter. The title of the sermon underscores this fact, “Welcome To The Lord’s Table (You may dress casual, but don’t come as you are)”
Communion is different from an invitation for salvation, because for salvation God want’’ you to come just as you are, sins and all. He will cleanse you of your sin. However, communion is different, because it requires advance preparation on our part.
Communion is not to be taken lightly – you must first search your heart and get right with God before you take it. If you have sinned against someone, you need to make it right with them and God before you take communion.
I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about God. Our God is a merciful God, a fun and loving God (He invented fun) and most important, He doesn’t want anyone to perish. But, on the flip-side, He is also a SERIOUS God who won’t put up with phoniness, insinserity or backsliding.
If you don’t believe me, just look at what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. God killed them on the spot for lying to the Holy Spirit.
Listen, when we take communion our attitude should be one of reverence, honor, respect and introspection.
There were people literally dying in the Corinthian Church because they took Communion in an unworthy manner. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:17-31 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! 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. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. (that is they died) 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
So, as your pastor, I emplore you to search your hearts and get right with God before you take Communion today. I would most certainly rather you not take Communion than face the judgement of God.
Opening Prayer
Unto you, O Lord, we ascribe all glory honor and power, for You created the heavens and the earth making us in Your own image. Through Your abundant grace You gave us Your only Son Jesus Christ who became flesh, suffered death upon the cross for the redemption of our sins. There He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for the whole world. At His divine direction He instituted the command to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a perpetual memory of His work on the cross, until His second coming which is our blessed hope. We come before Your table now with humble and contrite hearts. Help us to examine ourselves as we prepare to receive Your Holy Communion. (Take time to examine your hearts)
Distribute the Elements
After you are served, please hold the elements until we all take them together. (interlude)
Prayer of Confession
Gracious and merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us our trespasses; make straight our path and be our guiding light that we may walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen
Words of Institution
(1 Corinthians 11:23-26) "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed, 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’."
(break the bread.) Let us eat the bread together:
"In the same way after supper He took the cup saying, `This cup is the new covenant in My blood, Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes."
Let us drink the cup together
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Eternal and everlasting God, You have adopted us as Your sons and daughters, forming us into Your church, the fellowship of believers. You have fed us with spiritual food through this ordinance. We are thankful that as our Passover Lamb You have covered the doorways of our hearts with your blood. Send us now into the world with renewed minds, strength for the journey and courage to live and witness for You. Amen
Benediction
May the glory of God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine dwell in you. May he fill you with hope and joy and peace through the power of his Holy Spirit. Amen
