Remember Me The Power, Purpose, And Promise Of Communion

There are moments in life you never forget.

The birth of a child.

The day you said “I do.”

The phone call that changed everything.

Some moments mark you.

Communion is not just something we do.

It’s something that marks us.

Yet if we’re honest, sometimes we treat it like a church routine.

A quiet moment. A small cracker. A sip of juice. Then we move on.

But when Jesus instituted Communion, He wasn’t starting a ritual.

He was establishing a reminder.

A declaration.

A covenant.

And today we’re going to rediscover what this table really means.

I. COMMUNION IS A COMMAND TO REMEMBER

Jesus said in Luke 22:19, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

He didn’t say, “Do this if you feel emotional.”

He didn’t say, “Do this occasionally.”

He said, “Do this.”

Why?

Because we forget.

We forget what it cost Him.

We forget what it saved us from.

We forget who we were before grace found us.

Deuteronomy 8 shows us something about human nature. God repeatedly tells Israel, “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God.”

Prosperity makes us forget.

Pain makes us forget.

Busyness makes us forget.

Illustration – “The Medal in the Drawer”

I once heard about a soldier who received a medal for bravery. It was awarded in a formal ceremony. Salutes were given. Words were spoken. It meant something.

But years later, the medal ended up in a drawer.

Still real.

Still earned.

Still valuable.

But no longer remembered.

It didn’t lose its significance —

it just lost its visibility.

Sometimes that’s what happens with the cross.

We don’t deny it.

We don’t reject it.

We just tuck it away in the drawer of routine Christianity.

Communion takes the medal out of the drawer.

It puts the sacrifice back in front of our eyes.

It reminds us this was not symbolic bravery.

This was substitution.

The bread says:

You were broken — but He was broken for you.

The cup says:

You were guilty — but He bled in your place.

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Communion is a holy interruption.

It stops our week.

It silences distraction.

It fixes our eyes on Jesus.

II. COMMUNION IS A DECLARATION OF THE GOSPEL

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:26 “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Notice that word — proclaim.

Communion is not private.

It is a sermon without a microphone.

Every time we take the bread and the cup, we are declaring:

Jesus died.

Jesus paid.

Jesus saves.

The cross was not symbolic.

It was substitutionary.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

At the cross:

He took my sin.

I received His righteousness.

That’s not religion.

That’s redemption.

When we take Communion, we are preaching to ourselves.

We are reminding our doubts.

We are reminding our guilt.

We are reminding the enemy:

“The blood still works.”

Hebrews 9:22 says: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

And Jesus shed His.

Fully.

Willingly.

Completely.

III. COMMUNION IS A CALL TO EXAMINE

Now here’s where it gets serious.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:28 “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.”

Notice — examine yourself.

Not your neighbor.

Not your spouse.

Not the person across the aisle.

Yourself.

Illustration – “The Physical Exam”

Think about a yearly physical with your doctor.

You don’t go in and say,

“Doc, I’d like you to examine my friend.”

Or, “Can you check my wife instead?”

No.

The doctor checks you.

Sometimes they find things you didn’t feel.

Sometimes they catch things early.

Sometimes they ask uncomfortable questions.

But the purpose isn’t to shame you.

It’s to protect you.

It’s to strengthen you.

It’s to keep you healthy.

Communion is a spiritual check-up.

God already knows what’s there.

Examination isn’t for His information —

it’s for our transformation.

Communion is not for perfect people.

It is for forgiven people.

But we don’t approach it casually.

Psalm 139:23–24 “Search me, God, and know my heart… See if there is any offensive way in me.”

Before we come to the table, we ask:

Is there unconfessed sin?

Is there bitterness I’m holding?

Is there pride I need to lay down?

Is there disobedience I’ve been ignoring?

Communion is not about condemnation.

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

But it is about honesty.

Grace is free — but it’s not cheap.