Celebrate Life!
05/23/04
Intro: Today we are celebrating the life we have in Jesus by observing communion together. It is through the life and death of Jesus that we are able to have a relationship with God.
The Bread Of Life
Jesus begins the communion by breaking bread with his disciples.
“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.’”
I Corinthians 11:23-24 (NIV)
The bread is a representation of the humanity of Jesus.
Literally it is the union of the divine and the human found only in Jesus.
As Jesus speaks of the bread as his body, it is a reminder of who Jesus truly is.
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means God with us.”
Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
The significance of the bread is that it reminds us of who Jesus is.
Jesus referred to himself as the “Bread of Life.”
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will not hunger…’” John 6:35 (NAS)
The Cup of Grace
Just as the bread represents life, the cup represents death. It not only represents the blood of Jesus poured out when he died, it represents the end of the old covenant between God and man.
“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.’”
I Corinthians 11:25 (NIV)
The old covenant was a sacrificial system of mans offering to God.
The sacrifice of Jesus was to allow us to receive the eternal promise of God.
“Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.”
Hebrews 9:14(The Message)
The blood of Jesus freed us from the law and brought us into Gods grace.
“God gave the law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17(Today’s English Version)
Gods grace is the power behind our salvation.
“We believe and are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus…”
Acts 15:11(Today’s English Version)
The communion is focused on who Jesus is and what he has done.
He is the living God and he has given us his grace so that we may have life in him.
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Pass the Bread- The bread is the reminder of the unique nature of Jesus. He is God and man. As we receive the bread, we must remember who he is and who we are.
Song-“Who Am I?”
Pass the Cup- In the cup, we remember the sacrifice of Jesus and the gift of his grace. It is through this gift that we were able to receive Gods grace.
Song- “Grace Flows Down”
