The Lord’s Supper

Sacraments Recap

Secret handshake analogy

Why do you think we do that?

I think it’s because it communicates a closeness with someone and an enjoyment of their friendship.

A secret handshake is a symbol that points to a depth of friendship. It means more to us than just a random greeting. And when we do it with a friend, we feel closer together.

I want you to keep that picture in mind as we continue talking about Lord’s Supper, or communion, this morning.

The last couple weeks we’ve been talking about the signs or symbols that Jesus gave to us.

We call them sacraments, or ordinances of the church.

Does anyone know how many sacraments or ordinances we have in church?

two - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (communion)

We didn’t make these signs up, they were given to us by God, and Jesus himself commanded us to do them.

When we have baptisms or take the Lord’s Supper together, we put the ideas of the gospel on display. We can think of these things as physical pictures of God’s grace.

Heidelberg #66

“They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel and seal that promise.

——- “seal” is a personal application to us. Marking us individually as his.

And in that way, they are MORE than just merely symbolic for us. These are actually things that God uses to strengthen our faith, which is why they are so important.

So now that we’ve talked about baptism, we’ll move on to the Lord’s Supper. So go ahead and turn to 1 corinthians 11:17-34.

The Lord’s Supper Reading

1 Corinthians 11:17–34 ESV

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 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.” 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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 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. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

Explanatory Notes

The bread and the juice or wine point us to Christ’s death and resurrection.

He says the bread represents his body that was broken for us. Just like he would take a loaf of bread and tear it to distribute it amongst his disciples, his body was broken and torn up as he was beaten, whipped, and crucified.

He says the cup of wine represents his blood poured out for us, which makes a new covenant.

That covenant, is the promise of God to save us through Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf.

Heidelberg #75

As surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup shared with me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. As surely as I receive from the hand of him who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

Isn’t that beautiful? You see why God used physical signs that engage the senses? It helps us more clearly understand and meditate on the truth of the Gospel.

While baptism is given to us once, as a sign of entrance into the covenant people of God, the Lord’s Supper is something we do repeatedly.

When I talked about the Lord’s Supper last time, I said you can think of it like standing for the national anthem at a game. Before the game begins, usually everyone stands and many people will put their hand over their hearts. Everyone faces the flag and then the national anthem is sung or played. We do this at every game! Not just the first game of the season, but every game. It’s a way we show respect to our country, which gives us the freedom to do this. We show respect to those who have served in order to protect our freedoms. And it reminds us of our national identity, which unifies us together despite being on opposing teams.

We can also think of secret handshakes between friends right? We do this when we see them, and as we do our bond is strengthened and we’re reminded of our friendship.

Ok quick review:

What does the bread represent in the Lord's Supper?

What does the juice or wine represent?

New City Catechism

Recite the two catechism questions.

Application

We don’t do it in here

So naturally we might ask the question, “Why don’t we take The Lord’s Supper in FSM?”

The answer to that comes from the passage we read, where it talked about eating and drinking judgement on yourself.

I don’t want anyone to take it in an unworthy manner. And I know that in every youth ministry, not just this one, there are usually going to be students who are not yet ready to take it.

There are going to be some of you who are not actually following Jesus. You might be still trying to figure it out. You might be rejecting him all together. But the point is that if everyone were to take it, it’s quite likely that someone would be taking it in an unworthy manner.

And because this is such a small group, it’s hard to fade into the crowd. Which means there’s this social pressure to do what everyone else is doing and I just don’t want to put that on any of you.

Does that make sense?

If you partake elsewhere

But when you graduate and you attend church services here where we take the Lord’s Supper, or if you’re visiting a church elsewhere and they’re doing the Lord’s Supper, I encourage you to take it if you’re a follower of Jesus.

When you receive it, take a moment to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus

If there’s any sin in your life that you need to confess, do it then.

Mediate on what Christ has done in your place. How he offered up his body to be beaten and broken, crushed and abused, for your sake. How he let his blood be poured out of his wounds for your sake. He died for you. His body was broken and his blood was shed for you. The bread and the wine (juice) are symbolic of that.

When you take it, know that Christ is present in a special way. Not physically in the bread and the cup, but spiritually. The Holy Spirit works in us in a special way to show us grace and remind us of the beauty of the Gospel. Let it strengthen your faith.

And remember that we’re doing it together. It’s an individual act, and it’s an act of unity. It binds the church closer together as we do it and experience the Lord’s presence together.