Lord's Supper - December 28, 2025

The Lord's Supper December 28, 2025 It is the last Sunday of the year, and as we've done over the past several years, we have observed the Lord's Supper to close out the year. The Lord's Supper is what we call a sacrament, and its purpose, in short, is to remember the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ until He returns. But maybe someone here is wondering. Why do we observe the Lord's Supper? Simple answer? Jesus told us to. Here is what He said in Luke 22:17-20: 17 AND HE TOOK A CUP, AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS HE SAID, "TAKE THIS, AND DIVIDE IT AMONG YOURSELVES. 18 FOR I TELL YOU THAT FROM NOW ON I WILL NOT DRINK OF THE FRUIT OF THE VINE UNTIL THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES." 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. 20 AND LIKEWISE THE CUP AFTER THEY HAD EATEN, SAYING, "THIS CUP THAT IS POURED OUT FOR YOU IS THE NEW COVENANT IN MY BLOOD. If you are familiar with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you would know that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper right before His arrest, during the Passover Meal. However, Scripture - the Bible - does provide a warning about partaking of the bread and the cup. In fact, it basically tells us that not everyone should take the bread and the cup. Why? Well, Paul tells us the reason for this as well. In 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, he says: 27 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. 28 LET A PERSON EXAMINE HIMSELF, THEN, AND SO EAT OF THE BREAD AND DRINK OF THE CUP. 29 FOR ANYONE WHO EATS AND DRINKS WITHOUT DISCERNING THE BODY EATS AND DRINKS JUDGMENT ON HIMSELF. In this passage, there are three reasons one cannot participate in the Lord's Supper. To summarize: * First, the Lord's Supper is reserved for God's people. For disciples of His Son Jesus. So, if you are not a believer, then you should not partake of the bread and the cup. But we invite you to take part in the rest of the service. * Second, Paul warns about taking the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner. There are varying thoughts on what this means, but in the end, it refers to your heart. The Corinthians, for example, were more interested in the food than what it symbolized. * Third, and lastly, Paul says we should examine ourselves. As we prepare our hearts, that is when we should be confessing and repenting of any sin that remains. We want to approach God's Table with reverence and with a clean heart. You'll have a few minutes to do this before I invite you to come up to retrieve the elements. So, if you are biblically qualified to participate in the Lord's Supper, we would love for you to join us in the observation of the Lord's Supper later in this service. But, before we come up and retrieve the elements and partake of this meal, I want to read and speak on a passage from Hebrews 10. At the beginning of this chapter, the writer reminds his readers of the importance and the sacrifice of Jesus for the remission of sins. When we get to verse 19 of this chapter, the author arrives to his concluding remarks on his section on Christ's sacrifice. Here's what he says: 19 THEREFORE, BROTHERS, SINCE WE HAVE CONFIDENCE TO ENTER THE HOLY PLACES BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, 20 BY THE NEW AND LIVING WAY THAT HE OPENED FOR US THROUGH THE CURTAIN, THAT IS, THROUGH HIS FLESH, 21 AND SINCE WE HAVE A GREAT PRIEST OVER THE HOUSE OF GOD, 22 LET US DRAW NEAR WITH A TRUE HEART IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH, WITH OUR HEARTS SPRINKLED CLEAN FROM AN EVIL CONSCIENCE AND OUR BODIES WASHED WITH PURE WATER. 23 LET US HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE WITHOUT WAVERING, FOR HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL. 24 AND LET US CONSIDER HOW TO STIR UP ONE ANOTHER TO LOVE AND GOOD WORKS, 25 NOT NEGLECTING TO MEET TOGETHER, AS IS THE HABIT OF SOME, BUT ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER, AND ALL THE MORE AS YOU SEE THE DAY DRAWING NEAR. There are two elements that I want to emphasize with this passage in relation to the Lord's Supper. First: WHAT GOD DOES: * God brings us together. o Notice the language in this passage, and the passages we read earlier. o Notice the "us" and the "we" and the "our" all throughout the passage. o This means that participating in the Lord's Supper is a corporate act, or stated otherwise, it's something that is done together. o How does God bring us together? * Look at verses 19-20 again: 19 THEREFORE, BROTHERS, SINCE WE HAVE CONFIDENCE TO ENTER THE HOLY PLACES BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, 20 BY THE NEW AND LIVING WAY THAT HE OPENED FOR US THROUGH THE CURTAIN, THAT IS, THROUGH HIS FLESH, * The blood of Jesus represents the "cup" that we partake in during the Lord's Supper observation, while ... * ... the bread represents the body of Christ - the flesh that was beaten and bruised for us. o So, God brings us together in His Son Jesus. o Through coming together, we also see that ... * God gives us life. o The idea of sprinkling in verse 22 is connected to the work of the High Priest, which was an act of ritual purity o Notice here that the Great High Priest, Jesus, sprinkles our hearts. The Only One who can cleanse us from the inside out. o So, His sacrifice gives us life. o Finally, * God gives us confidence. o Notice the confidence is in Jesus, not in us. o Specifically, confidence in entering into the presence of the Lord, because of the work Jesus did o So, this is why we celebrate the Lord's Supper. This is why we gather each week. o But what is our response? o Or, more specifically ... HOW DO I RESPOND TO THE LORD'S SUPPER? * I draw near to Jesus. (v.22) o The entire purpose of the Lord's Supper is to remember Jesus. o In our remembrance, we must recognize that Jesus provides us a way to know the Father. o So, we must draw near to Him. o In the good times, and the bad times, and everything in between, we must draw near to Him. o We must - deliberately - seek Jesus because it is easy to get distracted by other things. o This is why prayer, reading, and as we'll see shortly, fellowship is so important for the Christian. o Next, as we remember the Lord ... * I hold fast to my hope. (v.23) o Knowing what Jesus did. o Knowing that believing in Him gives us access to the Father, o Knowing that because He died and rose again, we are forgiven of our sins, it gives us confidence and gives us assurance. o There is so much anxiety in not knowing. o For example, in 2009, the economy hit the hotel business very hard. I worked at a very busy airport hotel where we lost - on average - 30% occupancy per day. That was roughly 300 rooms per day! o That resulted in a lot of layoffs, and - in fact - what landed us in Tucson. o Everyone in that hotel were on pins and needles, unsure if they would be next - me included. o Obviously, the same thing happened in 2020 during COVID. o I survived 2009, but not 2020. o But there is nothing like not being sure. Having no assurance is a horrible place to be. o Today, as followers of Christ, we have hope, because the Bible is clear about salvation in Jesus Christ alone. o So we hold fast because Jesus paid it all. o Next, I respond to the Lord's Supper as ... * I gather with the saints. (vv.24-25) o Notice one of the objectives in the gathering. * To stir up one another * The word used here could be translated "incite" or "provoke" or "stimulate" * In this context, it's about intentional action to encourage love and good works. o Another great example of what this looks like is found in the example of the early church, found in Acts 2. o But notice something else. The emphasis on when we gather is until the Lord returns. * That's what the "Day" refers to in verse 25. Many times the designation "the Day of the Lord" refers to the Second Coming. * This means that this is a constant and ongoing gathering. o I know from experience that being with other believers has strengthened my faith. o I also know that some churches and church people could push people away, but reading these verses should remind those people that the purpose of the church is about love and good works. o This gathering also requires that ... * I encourage others. (v.25) o We'll come back to this shortly. In a few moments, I will invite you to come up to the table and ask that you retrieve the bread and the cup and return to your seats. Before that, however, I want to give you a few minutes to reflect and prepare your hearts for this meal. After a few minutes, I'll pray, then invite you to come up. [pause for 2-3 minutes] Prayer: Father in Heaven, we thank you that Your Word promises us that if we confess our sins, you are faithful to forgive us. We thank You for the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed for us, and for His precious body, as He appointed us, "to proclaim his death." For through Him, glory is to be given to you forever. We pray that you prepare our hearts to receive Your Word, and to partake of this meal. We pray this in the Name of Your Son Jesus. Amen. Please, as the video plays in the background, I invite you to the table to retrieve the elements. You may return to your seats once you've done this, and we'll take the elements together at the appropriate time. We've seen this morning that God's actions in sending His Son to take on the penalty of sin on our behalf, warrants a response. Part of that response is what we just looked at, but of course the other response is in the participation of the Lord's Supper. Please draw your attention to the screen as we prepare for the bread. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 says: 23 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, 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." Eating the Bread Then, Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 11:25: 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." Drinking the Cup I told you earlier that we were going to come back to the "I encourage others" application. As the worship team comes back up, I want you to apply this. So, here's what we're going to do for a few minutes. Encourage someone. Maybe someone recently has encouraged you, go to them and thank them. Maybe you want to encourage someone, go to them and encourage them. For example: I was very encouraged this year with all of you who volunteered at the Gospel Rescue Mission, and those who participated in the Holiday of Hope with GAP Ministries. You were truly "being the church." So, as the worship team gets ready, just take a few minutes to encourage one another as we prepare to close our time by worshiping the Lord in song. 2