1. In God's Family, We Remember

Introduction

“In our family, cell phones go in the basket and don’t come out until 8:00…” Family values, practices, rhythms, and traditions…

Personal: Why do we celebrate Communion? What does it mean? Is it a stale tradition, and meaningful ritual, or an intimate expression of worship? What goes through your head and your heart when you eat the bread and drink the wine? Does celebrating Communion cause you to live differently?

Biblical: Luke 22:19… Communion is a remembering.

Luke 22:19 ESV

19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Subject: What does Communion remind us of? What are we remembering through the Lord’s Supper?

Body

Ella: Communion reminds us of the personal presence of God. The Lord’s Supper recalls that the Creator is intimately involved in Creation.

Scripture

John 1:1–4 NIV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

1 John 1:1–4 NIV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

Reflection

Communion reminds us that we don’t serve a distant God. He didn’t just create the Universe and then step back and leave us to our own devices. Rather, we worship a personal God, a God who is present among us. The whole Earth is filled with His glory and presence!

Communion proclaims that Jesus was and is real, that His disciples saw Him with their own eyes and touched Him with their own hands. And, God is real and present to us today. When we surrender our lives to Him, and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit of God fills us with His presence, His power, and His love.

Response: Song

Communion reminds us that the infinite God became flesh. The Lord’s Supper recalls the Incarnation.

Scripture

Philippians 2:5–11 NIV

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Reflection

We will only find completion and fulfillment when we are reconciled to God. Until we live in a relationship with our Creator, we live for ourselves, looking for meaning from within, but not finding it.

Bread and wine reveal that there is only one person, Jesus, in whom the divine and human unite, and through whom our relationship with God is restored. God Himself took on human form as one of us; the eternal Creator-King humbled Himself to death on a cross for us. The bread and the cup are the image of the union of the human and divine, the infinite God who became flesh for the sake of our salvation.

Response: Corporate Prayer

Heavenly Father, we used to be alienated from You. We were not Your children—we were Your enemies because of our sin. But You sent Your Son to save Your enemies from death. Lord Jesus, You stepped down from the splendor of Heaven and took on flesh as a human being. You showed us what true humanity is like, and then you reconciled us with God the Father through the death of your physical body. You took our sins, our selfishness, our pride, our lusts, our addictions, our abuse, our brokenness, our stains, and our blemishes on Yourself. And You gave us Your perfect righteousness in exchange.

Lord, have mercy on us. We are sinners and we are in desperate need of You. O that we would follow You all the days of our lives; forgive us when we stray! Grant us the grace, humility, and power through Your Holy Spirit that You had when You walked this earth in the flesh. Establish our faith; help our unbelief. Give us strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

In the name of the God who became a man to save us, the name that is above every other name, the only name given under Heaven by which anyone is saved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Ethan: Communion reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ. The Lord’s Supper recalls redemption.

Scripture

Romans 5:1–11 NLT

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. 6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Reflection

When we celebrate Communion, we remember Jesus’ sacrifice, and we understand that his life of sacrifice is to become our life of self-sacrifice. The fulfilled and meaningful life is not the life of acquisition, power, fame, sexual freedom, consumerism, or materialism, but it is the life that daily takes up its cross and follows Christ. It is the life that is lived out of the crucifixion. It is willingly, voluntarily choosing to give yourself to others, to endure suffering for the needs of others. Communion reveals the meaning of life as the act of giving up the self to do the will of God for the good of others because that’s what Jesus did for us—one Man’s sacrifice brought salvation for all who believe.

Response: Silent Confession

Communion reminds us of the victory of Christ over evil. The Lord’s Supper recalls the resurrection.

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:19–26 NLT

19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. 24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Reflection

An early Christian prayer, written in the first centuries of the Church, says this about Jesus: “He was betrayed to voluntary suffering that He might destroy death, and break the bonds of the devil, and tread hell, and shine upon the righteous, and manifest the resurrection.”

Communion reminds us of Christ’s death, but Communion is a celebration because we also remember that He’s not still dead! Jesus defeated death, and triumphed over the powers of darkness and evil, making a public spectacle of them on the cross.

The resurrection gives us the hope in a hopeless world. No matter how bad things in this world seem to be, there is victory in Jesus. No matter how hard things in our lives seem to be, there is victory in Jesus.

Response: Song

Communion reminds us of the Eternal Kingdom. The Lord’s Supper recalls the coming restoration of all things.

Scripture

Revelation 19:6–9 NIV

6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

Revelation 21:1–5 NIV

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Reflection

Communion reminds us that Jesus didn’t come only to save us. He came to redeem and rescue the whole world! For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.

Bread and wine reveal God’s plan for the whole world. Paul said in Romans 8 that Creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Communion proclaims to the world its own ultimate destiny—just as Communion demonstrates the union of God and Man, it also declares the union of Heaven and Earth. It looks forward to another meal—not a funeral dinner, but a wedding supper—when Jesus, the Lamb of God, establishes His eternal kingdom and literally creates Heaven on Earth.

Response: Jesus has invited you to the wedding supper. Have you RSVP’d?

Conclusion

Summary

Communion reminds us of the personal presence of God among us.

Communion reminds us that the infinite God became flesh.

Communion reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ.

Communion reminds us of the victory of Christ over evil.

Communion reminds us of the Eternal Kingdom.

Response: The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy worldwide Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.