LORD'S SUPPER

Worship

Angels We Have Heard On High 278

WE THREE KINGS 288

LORDI NEED YOU

CHRIST IS MINE FOREVERMORE

There’s this quote that I always think about during this time of year in light of the world’s attempt to ignore Christ. The author, Brennan Manning wrote this about Christmas:

"In the month of December, he strikes both the secular and sacred spheres of life with sledgehammer force. Suddenly, Jesus is everywhere, his presence inescapable. We may accept him or reject him, affirm him, or deny him, but we cannot ignore him. Of course he is proclaimed in speech, song, and symbol in all Christian churches. But he rides every red-nosed reindeer, lurks behind every Barbie doll, and resonates in the most desacralized “Season’s Greetings.” Remotely or proximately, he is toasted in every cup of Christmas cheer. Each sprig of holly is a hint of his holiness. Every cluster of mistletoe is a sign he is here.”

When we look at the birth of Christ, the story is usually told the same way. Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem to be counted, and Mary gives birth to Jesus in a pretty barn with tranquil animals because there was no room in the inn. Shepherds show up followed by three wise men. For extra flair, in pageants there’s a star that is above the manger and a lot of little angels appear (have some fun like share about how your mom would make angel costumes out of white shirts that she would give you a week later at Christmas)

Hear me out, there is nothing wrong with telling the story in this way. It is beautiful and full of celebration and joy with how we present it. And while we could talk about how we don’t know how many wise men there are or when they actually showed up or how there probably isn’t a mean old innkeeper who refuses to let Mary and Joseph stay in his inn, I think there is something that a lot of times is right there in front of us in the story. Yet we don’t see it.

It is the cross. In the background of the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we are reminded of the cross through the gifts that were given. Very much present in the celebration of Jesus’ birth is the foreshadowing of His sacrifice. We read the account of the gifts the wise men gave in Matthew 2.

Matthew 2:11 CSB

11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

None of these gifts that are given are normal gifts. They are not traditional congratulations on having a baby. But they are gifts that represent who this child is and ultimately point to Jesus’ sacrifice. There are three things that I want us to recognize in light of taking the Lord’s Supper at Christmas:

Recognizing Christ’s Kingship

Revering Christ’s Divinity

Remembering Christ’s Sacrifice

1. Recognizing Christ's Kingship

Matthew 2:11

The first gift that we read is Gold. Gold is a gift of royalty. Gold signifies Jesus’ kingship. This gift of gold shows acknowledges Jesus’ right to rule. Not just as being in the line of David, but as the king of all kings who was foretold.  The wise men came because they saw a most unique star. For them, this star signified a new King had arisen. And so they traveled to recognize and pay homage to this King. Yet when they saw Jesus, Matthew says that they bowed and worshipped Jesus. I think this is significant. In that they aren’t just paying homage to a king, but to the king of Kings.

Please understand that I am not saying that these men, who were astrologers, understood the full ramifications of who Jesus was. I do think that they understood this was no ordinary king. Outside of this passage of Scripture, we do not know anything about these men. Scripture says that they entered where the child was, they fell to their knees, and worshipped Jesus. The way Matthew writes it here is not from some bowing at a new king, but an act of reverence that this child was more than just any king. He is THE KING/

For us, the gift of Gold reminds us that Christ is our King. It reminds us that when we partake of the Lord’s Supper we are declaring in a symbolic way our allegiance to King Jesus. That our lives were bought at a price because of the Father’s love for us. The gift of Gold calls us to recognize that Jesus is worthy of our lives. This serves as a call for us to live out our lives in manner worthy of the sacrifice that Jesus did by giving up everything to become the sacrificial lamb.

Jesus’s birth is a celebration of the King of Kings.

2. Revering Christ's Divinity

Matthew 2:11

Not only did they give Gold, but they also gave frankincense. What is interesting with frankincense is that it was common for the Jews to use it in worship at the Temple. Frankincense, when burned, creates a pleasing cloud of perfume. In particular, it was instructed by God to Moses in order for God to meet with the people of Israel. Let’s look at Exodus 30:34-35:

Exodus 30:30–35 CSB

30 Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve me as priests. 31 “Tell the Israelites: This will be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It must not be used for ordinary anointing on a person’s body, and you must not make anything like it using its formula. It is holy, and it must be holy to you. 33 Anyone who blends something like it or puts some of it on an unauthorized person must be cut off from his people.” 34 The Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices: stacte, onycha, and galbanum; the spices and pure frankincense are to be in equal measures. 35 Prepare expertly blended incense from these; it is to be seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

The wise men give this gift of frankincense that is a fragrance pleasing to be used in an encounter with God Himself. While we don’t know that the wisemen fully understood that this was God in the flesh before their eyes, they understood that this was not just a child, but the One worthy of Worship. What is interesting is that this gift that is pleasing to smell was also used in welcoming the presence of God in the midst of worship. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper then, it is more than just a meal or something that we do every so often. It is an act of worship. When we partake of the Lord’s supper we are invited into the Holiness of Jesus. When we partake of the bread and cup, symbols of His body and blood, we are acknowledging Jesus’s divine nature, and how it is only through Jesus that we have access to God the Father.

3. Remembering Christ's Sacrifice

Matthew 2:11

The third gift that is mentioned is Myrrh. Myrrh is a resin, like frankincense. It was often used in anointing oil.  It would be used in combination with other ingredients to prepare the temple for worship. It was also used as a perfume, but there is something significant about this gift.  Myrh appears here in the birth story, and one other place in the life of Christ. Turn to John 19:38-42.

John 19:38–42 CSB

38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and took his body away. 39 Nicodemus (who had previously come to him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Jesus’s body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. 42 They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.

Did you catch when myrrh is used again? It was used with preparing Jesus’ body for burial. A gift used for preparing a body for burial? Why give it to a child? Again, we see foreshadowing, where Matthew is hinting what is to come. And what is to come is this: this child, Jesus, is the one who is prophesied about in Isaiah, and he will sacrifice His life so that we can be set free from the bondage of sin and can be restored to God.

Hidden in plain sight of the birth story is the cross. It matters for us to understand and realize that Jesus’s birth leads us to turn our attention to the reason He came. It was not so that we can sing songs, decorate trees, and give gifts. He came to redeem mankind. His birth is the beginning of the fulfillment of prophecy and His death is the redemptive completion of it. In John 3:16 Jesus tells Nicodemus that it is because of God’s love that Jesus was sent. Jesus was sent to die, taking our place and receiving our punishment of sin. Let’s look at what Isaiah says about this baby and His mission.

Isaiah 53:1–5 CSB

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. 4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.

This little baby who we have sung about later gave his life willingly for you and me. So that through His death, we who are dead in sin can be made alive in Christ. Sin causes death, the gift of Jesus brings life and hope.

So these gifts bring us to this table. In Matthew 2:11, the Magi's gifts to Jesus—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—signify not just homage but also the multifaceted nature of Christ's kingship. These gifts encapsulate His identity as king, as God himself, and the suffering servant, setting the stage for the profound significance of the Lord's Supper as a celebration of grace and recognition of Christ’s lordship over our lives. The Lord's Supper serves not only as a commemoration of Christ's sacrifice but also as an empowering celebration of our identity as heirs of the kingdom, urging us to walk confidently in His grace and authority.

We are going to have a time of reflection. A song is going to play and the altar will be open. Before we partake of the elements, let’s pause a moment and prepare. If you need prayer, the altar is open. But let’s spend the next few moment in prayer examining our hearts and reflecting on the Christ child who came to die so that you and I can be set free.

I’ll open this time with prayer and then you follow the Spirit leading.

Play Acoustic Version of Joy To The World.

After, invite the men who will serve to come forward.

Paul instructs the church on the events of that night. Paul was not there when it happened, yet reminds us that this is an ordinance that celebrates the unity for all who profess the name of Jesus. This meal serves as a symbol and reminder of the sacrifice that Christ made so that you and I can be made free from sin and restored back to God.

HAVE DEACON PRAY OVER THE BREAD.

HAND THE BREAD OUT.

READ SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 CSB

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

EAT BREAD

NOW TURN TO THE DRINK

After the breaking of bread Jesus then turns to the cup and just like the bread, the cup is a symbol of His shed blood. It is through Jesus dying, shedding His blood that we are “washed” clean of our sin. Isaiah writes it this way:

Isaiah 1:18 CSB

18 “Come, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.

So tonight, as we drink the cup may we do so with thanksgiving for Christ who came to shed His blood so that we can be clean from sin.

HAVE DEACON PRAY:

HAND THE DRINK OUT

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 CSB

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “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.

In our rejoicing may we remember the reason for the season as we celebrate Jesus’s birth. And may we remember that His birth points us ultimately to His death on the cross, giving us the greatest gift - forgiveness of sin and redemption to spend eternal life with God the Father.

When the disciples left that night, they did so singing a hymn. Let’s close tonight doing the same:

Amazing grace, oh, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now am found Was blind, but now I see