COMMUNION MAY 2024

TRANSITION

WORSHIP IS NOT JUST SINGING…

WORSHIP INVOLVES GIVING & RECEIVING

Let’s talk about Giving

Members and regular attenders, we have a responsibility as a people who have been given much…to in turn give much.

We recognize that all of the money we possess ultimately belongs to God and not just a percentage.

We also see Jesus as far more valuable than money or what money can buy.

So we live to demonstrate this by being faithful in our giving by giving regularly, generous in our giving to the local church as the Bible reveals, and sacrificially at times as we have opportunity to do great things.

C. WHY?

Because we have been given so much through the person and work of Jesus!

Though our world would try and lead us to consume more and more, as followers of Jesus we joyfully live openhanded for the glory of God and the good of His people.

4. HOW TO GIVE

There are several ways to give.

We do not pass a plate here at Mission,

we desire to see you give not out of compulsion but out of love for Jesus.

So you can give through the Church App,

you can give online at MissionBibleChurch.org,

or as you are leaving today place your physical gifts in the box located at the back of the pews.

We worship by giving…and we worship by receiving…we’re about to receive communion together now.

COMMUNION

PRAYER TO TRANSITION

Dear Lord, surely you are the all in all of everything that is sacred and blessed. You are the altar, the sacrificer, and the sacrifice!

And it can only be from your blessing on our poor worship, when we remember your one, all-sufficient sacrifice with a feast, that we discover the deeper spiritual meaning.

Come often to YOUR table, dearest Lord, and sit as a king.

Everything at the table is yours: the bread of life and the fruit of the vine, all the elements of your banquet.

Come then, dear Lord! Come to your own banquet, to your church, your table, your house of prayer, your ordinances! Come and bless your people! Amen!

[ADAPTED] Robert Hawker, “Come to the Table,” in Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans, ed. Robert Elmer (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), 145.

Let’s make every effort now to SET OUR MINDS on what is before us…but we must also ENGAGE OUR MINDS and HEARTS so that in THIS supper, we might commune with Christ Himself AND with one another.

We call this COMMUNION, because our desire is to have communion with our Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ - the one who spiritually nourishes our souls - in a special way. AND BECAUSE THIS IS A SHARED EXPERIENCE - NOT A PRIVATE ONE.

This morning, through our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim the death of Christ.

These elements, which represent the body and blood of Christ, are a visible sermon to us; they are the gospel in tangible form. They proclaim to us the great drama of redemption in Christ:

salvation in the present (“for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup”),

salvation in the past (“you proclaim the Lord’s death”),

and salvation in the future (“until he comes,” 1 Cor. 11:26).

In light of such a salvation, the apostle Paul warns us, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (v. 27).

Before we partake of the Supper, let us examine ourselves this morning, recognizing both the gravity of our sin and the weight of Christ’s glorious sacrifice.

When the elements are distributed, please wait...we'll all partake together.

1. This is not for everyone...the fact that this is a family meal reinforces the distinction between Christ’s church and those who are not a part of His church.

This is for those who have a living relationship with Jesus Christ. - If that's not you, or if you have hesitation, just let the elements pass by. - Let the body of Christ proclaim the death of Christ to you this morning.

2. This is an act of worship for the saints. Let's be reverent to honor the Lamb. Let's be reflective in the cost of this privilege. Let's be responsive to the Great Commission...this is a part of our proclaiming.

As We take the lords supper, remember:

You were an enemy of God, but now you’ve been adopted into his family

You stood condemned in your sin, but now you are counted righteous

You are a slave to sin, but now you’ve been set free to serve God

You were dead in your sin, but now you’ve been made alive

You were headed for hell, but now you are citizen of God’s heavenly kingdom

And all this is because of Jesus!

As we come to the Lord’s Supper we need to remember:

this is NOT ABOUT YOU!

This isn’t a private, extra-special worship moment with Jesus…IT IS A SPECIAL MOMENT WITH THE FAMILY THAT HE BROUGHT YOU INTO.

Thank God for His grace in the lives around you as much as in yours.

We are celebrating the fact that he’s made us all one family!

Our Communion is with JESUS AND OUR CHURCH FAMILY!

BREAD

​1 Corinthians 11:23b–24 ESV

...that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

PRAYER FOR BREAD

Lord, as WE taste the bread this morning, TOGETHER, HELP US TO REALIZE that as real as that bread is in our mouths, so real is the fact that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ became a man and gave up His body for us so that we might have eternal life.

Take, eat!

CUP

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

PRAYER FOR THE CUP

Lord, as we taste the fruit of the vine this morning, TOGETHER, Help us to remember the sweetness of having OUR sins COMPLETELY forgiven because You so loved us that while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ poured out His blood for us!

Take, drink.

1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This causes us to look forward, with a LIVING HOPE, to that GREAT DAY when we shall feast with Jesus!

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Lord, we long to be in your presence, free from sin, for all eternity. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!