Making the Lord’s Supper Memorable
Text: "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Cor. 11:24 RSV).
On communion tables all over the world you will find inscribed in many languages the simple phrase "In remembrance of me." It is a verse from the Bible, and it is probably the one verse that is in plain view of millions of Christians every time they come to worship the Lord.
Those words were first used in reference to the Lord’s Supper by Jesus himself. The apostle Paul recorded them in 1 Corinthians 11.
He quoted Jesus as saying of the broken bread and the cup of the covenant,
"Do this in remembrance of me."
Those words remind us of two basic facts: that Jesus wants us to remember him and that we are prone to forget.
The Lord’s Supper makes it clear to us that Jesus wanted his followers to remember that His ministry on earth was completed on a cross, where he suffered and died for the sins of the world.
He wants us to remember the cross as the ultimate demonstration of his love for undeserving, self-centered sinners.
And he wants us to remember that following him means being identified with him.
It means taking up a cross — suffering as he suffered, forgiving as he forgave, loving as he loved, and dying as he died.
Let’s make the Lord’s Supper a memorable celebration and not just a routine ritual.
We need Preparation and Participation.
I. Through preparation.
Let your mind travel back to that night when Jesus was betrayed.
Remember the setting of the supper and the meaning he gave it.
We are not just casual observers we are part of what happened that night.
Walk with Christ, sit with Christ on the night when he instituted the supper.
II. Through participation.
For a memorable observance of the supper, we need to come in the right spirit.
Be still.
Remember the God we bow before is our creator, our redeemer,
our sovereign Lord.
Approach him in a spirit of reverence and humility.
Count your blessings and thank him. Open your whole life to God.
Remember that you do not come alone to the supper the supper.
Your brothers and sisters in Christ are here.
Pray that we will all sense God’s nearness, His love, His strength, His purpose.
For a memorable observance of the supper, we need to examine ourselves and confess our sins to God.
For a memorable observance of the supper, we partake of the elements in faith and meaningful remembrance.
We believe the bread and the grape juice received in faith remain bread and grape juice.
We believe that partaking of them in the spirit Jesus demonstrated will heighten our awareness of God’s presence and of his call to us to follow him.
Gathered around the Lord’s Table, we remember we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper, conscious of the Lord’s presence, the Lord’s power, and the Lord’s purpose.
From the table, we look back to the cross on which Jesus died and we look forward to his coming in glory.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: 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."
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." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Prayer
