Why We Take The Lord's Supper

Why We Take the Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-32

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared August 1, 2023)

MESSAGE:

*Do you know the first food ever eaten on the moon? Believe it or not, it was the Lord's Supper. Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin took the Lord's Supper with him on that first moon landing. The moon lander touched down at 4:17 p.m. EDT, on Sunday, July 20, 1969, and Buzz had brought along a tiny communion kit given to him by his church. It had a silver cup and wine container about the size of the tip of his finger.

*Two and a half hours after landing, he radioed, "Houston, this is Eagle. This is the LM (Lunar Module) pilot speaking. I would like to request a few moments of silence. I would like to invite each person listening in, whoever or wherever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the last few hours, and to give thanks in his own individual way."

*Buzz Aldrin later wrote, "In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the cup our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled, and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the Scripture (where Jesus said), 'I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit.'

*The moon lander's metal body creaked. I ate the tiny piece of bread and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility." (1)

*Why did Buzz Aldrin think it was important to take the Lord's Supper on the moon? -- For the same reasons why it's important for us to take it here today.

1. FIRST: WE TAKE THE LORD'S SUPPER TO REMEMBER.

[1] AND ONE THING GOD WANTS US TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS TOOK THE PUNISHMENT WE DESERVED.

*Verse 23 helps us remember, because there Paul said, "I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread." Paul heard these truths straight from Jesus, and He reminds us that the Lord's Supper was first served on the night Jesus was betrayed.

*Betrayal is an ugly thing. And thank God, we didn't betray Jesus. Judas Iscariot did that. But our sins put Jesus on the cross too. That's why in vs. 24, Paul wrote that when Jesus had given thanks, He broke the bread and said this to His other disciples: "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.''

*The Lord's body was broken for you, and for me. Wayde Wilson explained: "Jesus Christ carried much more than the cross. He carried the weight of the whole world's sins on his shoulders. Every sin you can think of was added to the weight. Your sin was added to that weight." Jesus died for our sins! (2)

*Dr. W. A. Criswell was one of the best known preachers of the 20th century. He was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas Texas for 50 years.

*One time Dr. Criswell told the church about a dream he had. And in this dream, Dr. Criswell saw Jesus. The Lord's back was bare, and there was a Roman soldier lifting up his hand to hit Jesus with that awful whip laced with bits of metal and broken bone. In the dream Dr. Criswell reached out to grab the soldier's arm to hold it back. When he did, the soldier turned in astonishment and looked at Dr. Criswell. Then Dr. Criswell looked at the soldier's face, and saw that the soldier was him! (3)

[2] GOD WANTS US TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS TOOK THE PUNISHMENT WE DESERVED. HE ALSO WANTS US TO REMEMBER THE PRICE JESUS PAID.

*And the price was the precious blood Jesus shed when He died on the cross for our sins. Paul points us to the price in vs. 25, where in the same manner Jesus also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.''

*In Old Testament times, millions of lambs and other animals were sacrificed as offerings for the forgiveness of sins. Their blood was never enough to save us from our sins. Instead, they all pointed to the ultimate sacrifice that God's Son would make on the cross for our sins. So, John 1:29 tells us that when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, John said: 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'"