Remembering When We Weren't There

Did you know that a lot of what we do in our Sunday worship service is designed to remind us of things God has done?

One of the most central matters of worship is the Lord’s Supper and even our table has the words “This do in rememberance of me” engraved on the front.

David Bible sent me a cute email about feeling old that illustrates my point well.

COLLEGE CLASS OF 2005

Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts

together a list to try to give the Faculty a sense of the mindset of this

year’s incoming freshman. The people who are starting college this fall

all across the nation were born in 1983. Here is this year’s list:

They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did

not know he had ever been shot. They were preadolescent when the

Persian Gulf War was waged. There has been only one Pope in their lifetime.

They were 10 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the

Cold War. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Tianamen Square means nothing to them. Bottle caps have always been

screw off and plastic.

Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.

The expression "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.

They have never owned a record player.

They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.

They may have never heard of an 8 track. The Compact Disc was introduced

when they were 1 year old.

They have always had an answering machine.

Most have never a black and white TV.

They have always had cable.

There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA was.

They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

They don’t know what a cloth baby diaper is.

Feeling old Yet? There’s more:

They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony.

Roller skating has always meant inline for them.

Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

They have never seen Larry Bird play.

The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI,

WWII and the Civil War.

They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

They never heard: "Where’s the beef?", "I’d walk a mile for a Camel,"

or "De plane, de plane!"

They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.

Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands...

There has always been MTV.

They don’t have a clue how to use a typewriter.

One of the dangers that we face as Christians is that we forget so easily. Our faith is built on the works of God in the past and the hope of heaven in the future. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-9, then in 2 Peter 1:12-15.

We are wearing the same shoes that those Christians wore that Peter speaks to here. We are people who need to be reminded. We were not there when Jesus died for us and rose again, we are following the witnesses who recorded these events. Yet we are not alone. Jesus has not left us as orphans. He is present with us and especially whenever 2 or more gather in his name. And when we come together on this the Lord’s day, we are reminded of the things that keep us faithful and hopeful and filled with the love of God. We are reminded of our Savior’s death for our salvation and his life for our assurance.

Brother Spencer taught our adult class this morning on the Lord’s Supper. We looked at the institution of the supper and the death of Christ for our sins and how God’s word connects these.

God chose a meal to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus. And how fitting it is. We eat and drink every day. It is part of what keeps us alive. And while our Lord’s Supper is taken in small portions of bread and cup today, it is the meaning and not the amount that we focus on. Jesus never specified the volume of bread and drink to take in this meal. It is very likely that the early disciples took more than just a pinch of bread and a teaspoon of the grape juice when they partook of this. Please don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not trying to change the way we do this, I am trying to enrich our understanding and appreciation of it.

Jesus body is the bread of heaven, and his blood the spiritual drink that brings life. We understand that without eating and drinking we would soon die. We must have nourishment to survive physically. The same is true in Christ spiritually. We must have spiritual nourishment to survive. Is your daily spiritual nourishment just a pinch of Bible and a teaspoon of prayer? A pinch of fellowship and a teaspoon of service… How much do you really need to spiritually survive? Do you just want the bare minimum? Don’t you want the full meal?