Communion Service 1/15

Reconciliation

Dave’s sermon text caused me to think of this passage in Romans

Romans 5:7–9 LSB

7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

God showed His love toward us

While we were yet sinners

Christ died for us

Justified by His blood

Saved from wrath

In the next verse

Paul writes that

we were reconciled to God

through the death of His Son

In this God’s love has been shown to us

Propitiation

As the Apostle John says in 1 John 4:9-10

1 John 4:9–10 LSB

9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Love of God was manifested,

was revealed, exposed, displayed in us In us

how?

God sent His only begotten Son

-reference back to John 3:16 -

a reference to the reality of Gods love in sending His Son

So that we might live. Why?

Because God lovingly sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sins

Christ satisfied the demands of God’s justice

and appeased His holy wrath against our sin

And this is what we celebrate at the Lords table -

the God of the universe

the Holy Holy Holy God

has so loved us by sending His beloved son to justify us before Him,

by sending His beloved Son to save us from His wrath,

by sending His beloved Son to reconcile us to Himself

by becoming our propitiation through His death

This is what we proclaim and celebrate this morning as we partake of the Lord’s Table

Fencing the Table

Here at Heritage we practice an open communion

which means that this meal is open to all

who have been reconciled to God through His Son.

You are all welcome to celebrate the Love of God

through remembering the death of His only Son for you

if you have believed upon Christ for your salvation

and you have proclaimed that belief through your baptism in His name.

At this time I would like the ushers to come forward

so that they may pass the emblems to you.

If you have not believed in Christ,

if you have not been reconciled to God through His son

and you have not been baptized

please allow the plate to pass by you.

But if you are in a right relationship with God,

if you have been reconciled to God through faith in Christ’s death for your sins

and you have been baptized

please take the emblems as they are passed

so that we might celebrate together.

Brothers please serve our church

My Body, My Blood for You

Now that we have these emblems

I want you to look at the bread, and the cup

and I want you to look at one another

and I want you to consider this,

the bread symbolizing Christ’s body

and the cup symbolizing Christ’s blood

were lovingly given by God in order to reconcile you to Himself

and so that we might be reconciled together as one family of redeemed saints

Listen to the words of Christ from Luke 22:19-20

Luke 22:19–20 LSB

19 And when He had taken some bread and 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.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

His body was lovingly given for us

His blood was lovingly poured out on to the cross for us

for our justification before God

for our salvation from the wrath of God

for our reconciliation to God…to the God who loved us so, even while we were yet sinners

Pastor Greg, will you lead us in prayer and then we will partake of the emblems together?

the passage we read in 1 John has an especially apt application in the next verse… 1 John 4:9-11

1 John 4:9–11 LSB

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.