This Do In Remembrance Of Me

Maybe that is what it would be like to be lost, without the hope of salvation that we have through Jesus Christ.

SUM. I wonder how many times we gather together holding in our hands those sacred emblems & we never say "Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul"? Our communion ought to be a time of thanksgiving to our Lord.

III. WE DO PROCLAIM OUR FAITH

Last of all, did you notice that Paul teaches us also that when we partake of the Lord's table that we proclaim the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus? We proclaim it to each other, & we proclaim it to the world.

ILL. C.S. Lewis said, "You have 3 choices when it comes to Jesus. You can believe Him to be a madman, or a liar, or God."

He can't be just a good teacher. And there is no way in the world that He can be just a man, because if Jesus is not God He is a liar & a fraud

By reaching for the emblems & taking them we affirm once again that we believe that God is who He says He is. And that His love for us is so great that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to live with us, & to die for our sins.

And He is coming again to receive us unto Himself, for He has prepared a place where we will live with Him through all eternity.

That is our faith. And as we partake we proclaim it again & again!

ILL. In Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of Christ” there is an obscure detail in the crucifixion scene that usually goes unnoticed, but actually says so much.

When Jesus is being placed on the cross, the camera comes close to watch as a large spike is positioned in the middle of Jesus’ hand. Then, a mallet comes into focus, & a rugged hand swings it to drive the spike. Those are all things you expect to see.

But there is something you don’t see. You never see the face of the one who drives that nail. You never get a glimpse into the eyes, or heart of the one who pounds away until the spike has passed through Jesus’ flesh & sinks into the wood of the cross.

The person who played that role in the movie was the director himself, Mel Gibson. But why did he never show the face of the one who was nailing Jesus to the cross? Why did he never identify the one who was putting the Son of God to death?

He didn’t show us that face because that face was his. And it is ours. We are the ones who put Jesus to death. It wasn’t just the Romans, or the Jews. It was our sins that nailed Jesus to the cross.

(ADAPTED: Sermon Central Staff. Live interview of Mel Gibson at Saddleback Community Church, January, 2003.)

So when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we remember Jesus, we recognize our sinfulness, we give thanks for God's love, & we proclaim our faith in Him who gave Himself for us.

INVITATION