Good Friday 2026

Good Friday Service

April 3, 2026

1 Corinthians 10 and 11

One of my most frustrating attributes is short term memory. I struggle with names and number retention. That’s why when I meet someone, I try to repeat their names over and over.

My long-term memory is not like that. It’s strong. However, it is corruptible based on pride. “I once caught a fish this big….” LOL. The length of the fish, the size of the deer, the distance of that shot, the length of that pass in football, the number of yards run etc. all seem subject to pride.

My pride seems to be the greatest distractor for my long-term memory. I know that I am not the only one. This is a human problem. In God’s Word, the word “remember” (depending on the translation) is used over 1200 times. God is constantly reminding, calling His people to remember and focus on what has been to draw them to what is.

Even those who are saved need reminding. Like the disciples who slept while He prayed in the garden, He knows that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Tonight is a time to remember.

There are two ordinances that Christ gave us, baptism and communion. When we launched MBC, we wanted to do communion as accurately as we possibly could. Now many people may not even know why we do communion at all and why we keep doing it. The truth is that this is a sacred act that Jesus HIMSELF instituted for us to remember. But there is a greater context to communion than what we realize.

It all starts back in the Old Testament. In Exodus 12 God instituted the first Passover. Passover, literally implied that the angel of death would “Passover” those who were God’s people as the angel came across the land to implement the final judgement and curse on Egypt. God’s people were to slaughter a lamb, pure and flawless and paint the blood of the lamb over the door posts of their homes and a meal eaten in hast consisting of bitter herbs, bread with no yeast and wine.

The command started a Jewish holiday that is even celebrated by orthodox Jews today during this week (April 1-9th). It is a time of great holiness for the Jewish people. They use this time to remember what God did for them in Egypt. The sad truth is that the Orthodox Jews miss the fact that the Passover was pointing to the Lamb of God who came in Jesus Christ.

The innocent blood of the lamb killed in Exodus, pointed to the blood He shed on that wooden cross. The wooden door post that was painted in Egypt symbolizes the wood of the cross being painted with His blood. The connections are too many to teach tonight, but you get the picture. When He came as the “Lamb of God” and said, He is the door, gate, light, bread etc, it is a perfect fulfillment of that Passover.

At the last supper with His disciples, recorded in Luke, our LORD forever changes the tradition of the Jewish Passover. He shows us how to celebrate a NEW Passover communion. He implements a new covenant and seals it in His blood. He taught a new practice of remembrance that points not to an escape from Pharo, but an escape from the sting of sin and death.

As we prepare to take communion, I want to share with you why we do communion.

1. Remembrance: (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)

“This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 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.”[1]

Jesus Himself says, REMEMBER. Do this in “remembrance of me”. What are we to remember?

a.     We remember the forgiveness of sin only provided through His righteous work on that Roman Cross.

b.     We remember the deliverance from the penalty of death rightly deserved by a just and Holy God.

c.      We remember that He rescued us from ourselves and Satan’s attacks.

There are countless other things to be thankful to our LORD through Jesus Christ but these are key. We pause to reflect on this. Without Him, there is NO hope at salvation.

2. Remember we participate: (1 Corinthians 10:16)

16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

“participation”- (koinōnia). fellowship, communion, sharing, participation. A term that conveys a sense of commonality, solidarity, and shared responsibility among households or individuals

We are sharing in His presence in this sacrament as He is with us and we with HIM! When we take part in this sacred act, we remember that we too are crucified with Christ: Galatians 2:20:

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me

Our path is along with, in communion with and sharing the path with Christ. He says that whoever wants to save His live must lose it, He who is not willing to pick up His cross and follow me is not worthy of the kingdom and so many more. We are called to do what He did and follow Him wherever He goes. This is a communion religion NOT a works-based religion. He with us, we with Him!

3. Remember we are one body and one mind. (1 Corinthians 10:17) 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

We remember that He had our names in mind as the nails passed through His innocent and Holy skin. Your name crossed His mind as the spit flew into His face, the insults were hurled, the crown was pressed down, the whip tore at His flesh, and the Father turned His back on Him.

As I remember this, I put myself there. I am standing at the foot of that old rugged and vial instrument of death, looking up into the perfect eyes of my savior. He is disfigured and crushed because of me.

But, instead of hatred for me and what I did too contributed to His death, He looks back in grace, mercy and love and is calling me to die to self, die to sin, die to death and join Him in one mind. I can’t climb up on that cross with Him, but I can remember. I can remember that now I am apart of His body. I am IN Him and He in me.

4. Remember that we are separate from the world: (1 Corinthians 10:21)

21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

We are called out, set apart and are expected to not have multiple loyalties. What was happening in Corinth was that they would take communion, then go down the street and worship idols in the Pagan temples. Paul strictly is warning them, you can’t mix the blood of Christ with demons. What does light have with dark?

But Pastor, I don’t worship idols today! Oh, but we do worship other things like:

Self, our priorities over God’s priorities, Phones, Friends, Hobbies or anything that competes for this solum act in our mind. For example, what are you daydreaming about now? Clear your minds, clear your desires and clear your idols from your mind during this sacred time! Why would we provoke the LORD to jealousy?

5. Remember the warning. (1 Corinthians 11:28-31)

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. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died

The context of this is simple. The people of Corinth were using communion to get hammered. They were using the wine (real wine with alcohol) to get drunk and even eating the bread to get full. This really frustrated Paul and it should us when we take this meal with so little regard.

For the unbeliever: You must NOT take this if you are NOT of Christ! God will not be mocked. What you are doing is taking what does not belong to you if you are not saved. The bread symbolizes the body that was crushed for sin. The juice represents the blood shed for sins that the unbeliever does not understand. If you are an unbeliever, start there! Call out to Christ! Recognize that what is before you is NOT to be taken lightly!

For the believer: You must guard your hearts and examine if there is any sin in your life that would cause you to take the elements with little regard. If you are holding onto unrepentant sin, then you will be subject to God correction.

32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

For the believer- God even took people home (they died) for taking this lightly. Again, this solum act ONLY for the believers. Do not heap more judgement on yourself to arbitrarily taking these elements. It is not for the one who cares so little for the death of the Son of God for their sin. It is for those who recognize His death as their only hope of salvation from the penalty of their sin.

6. Remember the commission: (1 Corinthians 11:26)

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

This is the perfect object lesson, perfect means of sharing the Gospel message to the unbeliever. If you have never heard the message of salvation before, you did tonight! You have a sin debt that you can’t clear with a heavenly being you can’t reach. Christ Jesus was and is the ONLY means of clearing that debt. He is your:

a. Mediator between you and a Just Judge who will exact the penalty of all sin

b. Payment for your sin debt

c. Substitute: On His perfect shoulders was laid the penalty of every sin from Adam and Eve to the last baby to be born. Only His shoulders could endure that level of judgement. And yet, did He count Himself to important to do it? NO! He humbled Himself to death to take all of the penalty for all of us.

Church, we must remember that we are participants being one in mind and separated from the world in Him. We must remember that this act comes with a strong warning and a requirement to share its message. As we take these elements, REMEMBER church why we do this! These elements point to His physical incarnation, sacrificial death, resurrection and coming kingdom. (JM)