SLIDE 1
Welcome, attendance pads, prayer
God of powerful voice, speak once again your words of majesty and love. So often we hear only sounds of uncertainty and anxiety; we long to sense your powerful presence among us. To those who feel fear and powerlessness, speak your life-giving words, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.”
We lift up those who feel alone and unloved, whose hands no one holds, whose names have been forgotten. Tell them and tell us, “I have called you by name. You are mine.”
We pray for those facing crises, whether physical or mental, that threaten to overwhelm, who feel as though they may drown in their struggle. Tell them and tell us, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”
We remember those facing personal trials, in communities, families, relationships or calls, who live afraid of being burned by their circumstances. Tell them and tell us, “When you walk through fire you shall not be burned.”
Because we forget so often, O God, remind us all of your love for us and all of your children. Tell us all once again, “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” As you speak to us, may we sense your presence and hear your love so that we might share them with all who long for you. In the name of your loving and comforting Son. Amen.
READ:
11 Corinthians 11:23-26 : The Message
23Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. 24Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
25After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
26What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns.
This will be my last Sermon until August because I will be on vacation and educational leave in July. Maybe you think about my preaching sometimes like this minister I heard about.
He gave an unusual sermon one day, using a peanut to make several important points about the wisdom of God in nature.
One of his members greeted him at the door and said, "Very interesting, Pastor. I never expected to learn so much from a nut."...
We continue today in the series of sermons: What Christians Believe, focusing on the gifts that God has given to the church in the sacraments. The sacraments.
Now, the sacraments are a confusing topic for many, both those who just start coming to church as well as those who have been lifetime believers. We are not at all clear exactly what they mean. In fact, in the churches we make it even more confusing, for we practice them in quite different ways.
In some churches there are no sacraments, only ordinances, a different word for a similar kind of concept. Baptism and Holy Communion in many churches are called ordinances, not sacraments.
In some churches, there are seven sacraments, as in the Roman Catholic church, whereas in Protestant churches, there are generally two sacraments. In some churches, baptism is practiced by putting people all the way under the water, and then only young adults or adults. In some churches, like ours, we baptize children and we pour water over their head.
In some churches, they take holy communion by having people sit in the pews and they pass a plate down the aisle and you take a little cup and drink, and in other churches you come forward and you take the bread and you dip it in the cup as we do here sometimes. And in still others, you drink from the cup.
And of course here we use juice in communion instead of wine as many other protestant churches do. Here’s the story behind the use of juice:
The possibility of the practice goes back to the late 19th century and a Methodist dentist named Thomas Bramwell Welch.
Apparently Welch had scruples about the use of wine and had heard of Louis Pasteur’s process of pasteurization of milk. Welch was successful in applying the process to grape juice, and he began to use it in his church, where he was a Communion steward. His son, Dr. Charles Welch, was an enterprising Methodist layman (a dentist, like his father) from southern New Jersey.
He marketed the pasteurized grape juice to temperance-minded evangelical Protestants as authentic biblical “wine.” As word spread and as the temperance movement grew among evangelical Protestant churches, Welch left dentistry and produced Welch’s Grape Juice commercially.
Well I hope this never happens here like happened in one church: One communion Sunday, the communion steward prepared communion with a twist. When it came time to uncover the elements the grape juice looked darker than usual. The pastor thought nothing of it and began to serve the communion. Promptly upon receiving the cup, each recipient’s face had a peculiar, stunned look. When it came time for the pastor to receive he discovered why the strange looks...the juice was prune juice! One parishioner stated, "Perhaps this is a Divine commentary on our spirituality...we need a little loosening up!"
Besides all of the different ways to have communion, we’re not at all clear exactly what a sacrament is. So in these two sermons on the sacraments, my goal is to try to uncover their meaning, make clear the distinctions, and help you come to appreciate and fully receive all that God has for you in the acts of baptism and holy communion.
SLIDE 2
In the Methodist church, we talk about the sacraments as means of grace. Means of grace. John Wesley was fond of that term. That these are vehicles through which God gives his grace, his mercy, his unmerited favor to us, and through which we receive that. These are very tangible ways of receiving an intangible process.
SLIDE 3
In the sacraments, the outward and visible signs of bread and wine, of water in baptism, they are outward and visible signs of a covenant relationship forged between you and God.
Last Sunday I discussed what we believe about Baptism and I have posted that sermon on our web page if you you’d like to read it or you can contact the church office for a paper copy of the sermon if you missed it and want to learn more about the meaning of baptism.
Today I want to discuss what Holy Communion means. Where does it come from, first? What are the origins of Holy Communion?
SLIDE 4
The origins of both of our sacraments, of both Holy Communion and baptism, go all the way back into the Old Testament. The Bible is divided into two parts. There is an Old Testament and a New Testament. The word “testament” also means covenant. There is an old covenant and a new covenant. The old covenant, of course, was formed on Mt. Sinai when God made a promise to his people, Israel, when he delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and there was a meal that was celebrated to remember that covenant.
In Exodus, Chapter 12 -- that’s the second book in the Bible. We read the story of God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The Israelites were slaves for 400 years in Egypt. God raised up Moses and Moses went to Pharaoh and said, “Pharaoh, let my people go. Let them go. Deliver them or release them from slavery.” Pharaoh refused and God sent plague after plague after plague after plague.
So the plagues came. Pharaoh would harden his heart. He was not willing to let them go until finally the last plague. Do you remember what the last plague was? It was the plague of the firstborn.
It was a dreadful plague where the angel of death would go through the land of Egypt and every firstborn child would be killed and every firstborn animal would die. Now, God told Moses, “Moses, this is what’s about to happen, and I do not want my children to be harmed, so here is what you are to do:
SLIDE 5
You are to take a lamb and to sacrifice the lamb, and take the blood of that lamb as an offering to me, take the blood of that lamb and take a hyssop branch and dip it in the blood and then wipe that blood on the doorpost or over your door on your house. Tell all of the Israelites to do this.
And when the angel of death comes through the land with this plague, the angel of death will pass over the houses that are marked by the blood of the lamb and will go to the next house.” And that night, that’s exactly what happened, and there was great mourning and grief throughout Egypt, but the Israelite children were safe.
The next day, Pharaoh said, “Please leave. Get these people away from me,” and the Israelites began to flee. They fled so quickly that there was no time for their bread to rise or leaven, and so they had unleavened bread to eat that day. And after the deliverance, after they were delivered across the Red Sea, God said to Moses, “
SLIDE 6
Now, this is what you’re to do: The Israelite people are to remember my act of deliverance for them by a meal. They are to remember my covenant with them by a meal, and they are to at that meal have unleavened bread, and every year they are to eat it as a reminder of how I have delivered them.” This is the Passover Seder. To this day, the Jewish people eat this meal as a reminder of God’s deliverance of the Israelites, of their people from slavery in Egypt.
All of that is the background to this meal that we have. It is the last week of Jesus’ life, it is Thursday—do you remember what day this was that Jesus was celebrating the last supper? It was the Passover. It was the Passover. Jesus sent his disciples on into town.
They went to an upper room and they made preparations for the Passover meal. Jesus is celebrating this meal with the disciples that Moses commanded in Exodus Chapter 12. He is remembering how God delivered his people Israel. That is the linkage between holy communion and the Passover Seder. So your Jewish friends are doing in some ways what we as Christians do when we take holy communion.
But we are remembering God’s newest and latest and greatest act of deliverance-- the deliverance of all people from slavery to sin.
SLIDE 7
So that night at the supper, Jesus transforms the meaning of the Passover Seder. He changes it.
He takes the unleavened bread, and before he breaks it, he blesses it and he gives thanks, and then he breaks it and he says, “This is my body now, and it’s broken for you.”
And he takes the chalice, the cup of wine, and he says, “This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of your sins.” And in that way, he was pointing to God’s new act of deliverance and the sacrifice.
Do you remember what John’s gospel calls Jesus? John the Baptist is standing there baptizing, Jesus comes to be baptized, and John says, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Do you see the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament? It’s all one story flowing together. The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And on the day when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, Jesus celebrates the last supper with his disciples.
Now, this is the origins of this meal that we celebrate. But what does it mean? What is it really about?
SLIDE 8
It is a sign of a covenant. It is a way of receiving God’s grace and mercy and of rededicating yourself to God.
There are three names that Christians typically have for holy communion, and each of them describes a different aspect of this meal and what it might mean for your daily life.
SLIDE 9
1. The first is the Lord’s supper.
The Lord’s supper. Now, the Lord’s supper is a title that helps us link this meal
directly to a meal that was celebrated 2,000 years ago. It brings it into the present. Jesus says, “When you do this, remember me.”
It is not just remembering with fond memory something that happened in the past. It is remembering in such a way that you bring it into the present. You bring it into the present.
So in the act of holy communion, we are remembering that our faith and what God has done for us is rooted and grounded in what Jesus did on the cross. We are remembering that this is about a man who died on the cross. This is about God’s grace and mercy. It is about how much he loves us, that he was willing to pay the ultimate price just for you. It is about the cost that was paid so that you could be forgiven and you could have mercy. It is about the lamb of God who gave his life for you. That is in part what communion is about.
And when we speak of the Lord’s supper, we’re speaking about Jesus’ table. We’re remembering that this is the Lord’s table. At Bethany Church everyone is welcome to the Lord’s table because it belongs to him. It doesn’t belong to Bethany. It is not only for Methodists or only for Roman Catholics or only for Lutherans. This is for anybody who wants to follow Jesus because this table belongs to him.
And in the Lord’s supper, we remember forgiveness. We remember God’s grace, that he can forgive our sins.
Sometimes I see some of you coming forward for communion and I’ll see tears streaming down your face and I have no idea why. I know that something inside is happening, that God is speaking to you, and sometimes for some of you I have the sense that that’s a moment where God’s been dealing with you about your sin and saying, “You know what, this is for you.”
There was an old Scottish preacher who was standing serving communion, and there was a young woman who came forward, and she stood there and she started to take it and then she was afraid, and he could tell that she was really struggling with the things that she had done in her past, and she starts to dip the bread in the cup and then, no, and she can’t. And finally he says, “Go ahead, Lassie. It’s for sinners.” And this is for sinners. Charles Wesley wrote hymn called Come Sinners to the Gospel Feast. Every one of you is a sinner in need of saving, in need of what Jesus, the lamb of God, did for you.
And when you receive holy communion, when you receive the Lord’s supper, you’re saying, Lord, I need this too. I receive your forgiveness. I receive your sacrifice on the cross. Come and cleanse me and make me whole.
SLIDE 10
The second term that we use or word that we use to describe the Lord’s supper is Eucharist.
Eucharist. That’s a Greek word, eukharistos. It means to give thanks. Fascinating. Every time that Jesus broke bread with his disciples—in the scriptures, you read over and over again Jesus is having meals with people. So many of the gospel stories happen around the supper table. He feeds the multitudes, the 4,000 and the 5,000. He sits with tax collectors and sinners and he breaks the bread and he breaks the bread with his disciples.
And every time we read about Jesus breaking the bread, it says first he gave thanks. It gives the word “Eucharist.” He gave Eucharist. He gave thanks, and then he blessed and broke the bread.
But it’s particularly profound that at the last supper he gave thanks, for Jesus this very night will go into the Garden of Gethsemane and he will agonize there, knowing that the next day nails would pierce his hands and his feet, knowing that he’d be beaten and abused and scorned and carry the weight of the world upon his shoulders.
SLIDE 11
He goes to the garden and he cries out, Lord, please if this cup can pass from me,take it away from me, yet not my will, but thine be done. Bearing all of this in his heart that night, his heart’s so heavy it nearly burst, he still takes the bread, and what does it say? It says that he gave thanks. He gave thanks.
This is a thanksgiving meal for the church. Yes, it’s serious business because grace is offered, but it’s also a time of joy. This is a celebration. This is a time of joy and thanksgiving for all that God has done for you. So often it’s easy for us to focus on all the things that are wrong in our lives.
SLIDE 12
I spend so much time ministering with people, and all they can see are the black clouds around them, how awful their lives seem to be. And sometimes it can be that way. We can be overwhelmed by depression or despair by the circumstances in our lives, and yet holy communion calls us to stop and to quit focusing on all the things that are wrong and for a moment to remember what God has done for you in giving you life, in grace and mercy, to stop and praise him and thank him, and in the midst of thanking him and praising him, the clouds begin to separate.
This is what the Eucharist is about, giving thanks to God and praising God for all that he has done for you, for his love and his mercy, for the fact that no matter what happens in this life, you will spend all eternity with him. When you are one of his, you give thanks.
SLIDE 13
And then finally we call it holy communion.
Communion. To commune is to be bound together with another. When my wife and I were bound together in marriage, we had a communion unlike any communion I’d experienced with another human being. We are soulmates. We think each other’s thoughts. We have a deep love for each other. We have a sense of friendship that I can hardly even explain to you.
But it doesn’t begin to compare with the possibilities you have in communion with God.
You see, God’s spirit lives inside of you. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God walks with you and talks with you along life’s way. God has promised that he will never leave you nor forsake you, and in this meal when we come together, you are being bound together once more with God. He is saying, Yes, I’m here. I’m right here. And because you can’t see me, I give you a physical sign of my presence. And as you take it and as you eat it, I am giving you a physical reminder that I live inside of you, but not only that, you’re also saying that you want me there.
God is saying, “I love you,” in holy communion and you are saying, “Lord, I receive your love and I love you too.” Holy communion binds you together with God, but not only with God.
It binds you together with one another, for this is the church’s meal. This is our family supper. When we gather together and eat this meal, we are reminding ourselves we are bound together in Christ, we are brothers and sisters, and this is the family of God. Communion.
SLIDE 14
Now, all three of these are what God has in mind whenever you gather to receive the this meal—it’s the Lord’s Supper, it’s the Eucharist, and it is Holy Communion.
Some of you come from church backgrounds where they have altar calls. And I came from a tradition like that where the pastor every Sunday— there was an invitation first for those who received Christ, and then for all the rest of the church to come forward, and there was something sacred about coming to the altar table and we would come and we would rededicate our lives to Christ.
SLIDE 15
We have altar calls here whenever we have communion. This is our altar call. This is the invitation for you to come and rededicate your life to Christ, to enter into that covenant once more, to remember the promise that God has made to you and you have made to God in your baptism, to say to him once more, Lord, I need your forgiveness and your grace.
SLIDE 16
I want to love you. I want to know you. I surrender my life to you, and I receive all that you have for me. And God’s opportunity to say to you with the bread and the wine, I’ve paid the price already for your sins. I love you more than you could imagine or believe. Come. You belong to me. That is what the Lord’s supper is all about.
I hope by now you’re hungry for the Lord’s Supper. I hope there’s a part of you that wants to experience this and wants to rededicate your life to Christ through the act of holy communion. You can do that today after this service (or again in August).
I hope you’ll use the study guide in today’s insert to help you learn and understand more about the sacraments.
Gracious God, you have given yourself to us in so many forms. Your body has been blessed and broken, your blood poured out for us. Teach us this radical giving. Help us to break free from our habits of cautiousness so that we may grow deeper in love as we give ourselves away. Even though we give only what we can, discipline us in this practice so that tomorrow we may be able to give a little more, until we have spent our lives in giving. In your Son’s name we pray. Amen
BULLEYIN OUTLINE INSERT
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT COMMUNION
What Christians Believe
Bethany Church – Pastor Don Hawks
June 27, 2004
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 : The Message
23Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. 24Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
25After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
26What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns.
Communion is available today between the 2 services at the altar table in the sanctuary from 10.00 to 10.45 am. You may come to the altar table as you feel led either individually or with a group, for example, with your Sunday School class or as a family.
Next scheduled date for Communion: Sunday, August 8 during worship services.
Means of grace: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
The outward and visible signs in the sacraments:
· Baptism:_____________________________
· Communion:__________________________
Origins of the Sacrament of Communion:
· Old Testament -- Exodus 12
· New Testament -- 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 1:29 NIV "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
3 NAMES FOR HOLY COMMUNION:
1. _____________________________________
1 Corinthians 11:24 (Jesus): “Do this to remember me.”
2. _____________________________________
1 Corinthians 11:24 Having given thanks, he broke it…
Matthew 26:39 (Jesus): "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
3. _____________________________________
1 Corinthians 3:16 You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you?
· Altar calls happen when________________________________
________________________________________________
