Jesus’ words, Do this… in remembrance of me” has implications beyond just remembering that he died for us.

Introduction

When you were preparing to come to this service today, what did you do different? Today we are celebrating Communion, the Lord’s Supper. Did you do anything to different to prepare for what we are doing here today? Or was it the same old, same old. There is an interesting verse in our passage today. Listen to it again.

1 Corinthians 11:27 NASB95

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

I am not going to go into all the background of what was happening in the Corinth Church, but when the Apostle Paul wrote this, he was writing to the Corinthian church because they were not taking seriously what they were doing when they came to celebrate communion

Celebrating Communion, particularly Worldwide Communion is not just the same old, same old. When we celebrate Communion we are in fact remembering much more than the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Of course remembering his death is central to what we are doing, because what was accomplished in and through his death completely changed history and it changes lives. However, much more is happening when we “eat the bread and drink the wine”

Reaffirmation of Faith.

Reaffirmation of Faith.

When we “eat the bread and drink the wine” we are declaring that God’s Spirit is present among us. We are declaring - Emmanual - God with us. We are declaring the truth of Jesus words recorded in Matthew - You remember, when he gave his great commission to his disciples -

Matthew 28:20 NASB95

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20 NASB95

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matt 28:2

:

Matthew 28:19–20 NASB95

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Listen to those last words again, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When we share the Communion elements we remember that we are literally in the presence of the Creator of the Universe, in the presence of him who loved us so much that he entered into human history to bring humanity, to bring you and me back into a loving relationship with him so that we could know what it is to be really alive.

We are also reaffirming the truth declared by Jesus when he told his disciples

John 14:6 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

In essence when we “eat the bread and drink the wine” we are reaffirming our belief in who he is, what he has done and who we are because of his self sacrifice

In essence when we “eat the bread and drink the wine” we are reaffirming our belief in who he is, what he has done and who we are because of his self sacrifice

John 3:16–18 NASB95

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:16-1

John 3:16–17 NASB95

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

J

Recommitment to the Church and the local community of Faith.

When we “eat the bread and drink the wine we reaffirm our faith and we recommit ourselves to the Church of Jesus Christ and the local community of faith.

When you have lunch together, following this service, look around. Look at the faces of the men, women and children around you. You have through the act of “eating the bread and drinking the wine” recommitted yourself to each other. Actually today you are doing it twice. Once when you share the communion elements and second when you eat lunch together. In the middle east the sharing of food with another person is a declaration of friendship. It is a symbol of a relationship bound together in trust.

When you have lunch together, following this service, look around. Look at the faces of the men, women and children around you. You have through the act of “eating the bread and drinking the wine” recommitted yourself to each other. Actually today you are doing it twice. Once when we share the communion elements and second when you eat lunch together. In the middle east the sharing of food with another person is a declaration of friendship.

Have you ever stopped and wondered why it was such a big deal that Jesus went to stay in Zacheus’ house? The crowd was really upset.

He

Luke 19:7 NASB95

When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Luke 19:

By going to his house and eating wit him, Jesus was saying that this man, this tax collector, this sinner Zacheus is someone I want to be in my circle of trusted friends.

Listen to what happened after the crowd grumbled.

Luke 19:8–10 NASB95

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:

It’s amazing how a life can be changed when a person feels accepted and trusted. We wonder why street gangs and cults are able to enlist people into their ranks. It’s because they offer acceptance that the person has never experienced. This is what Jesus offered Zacheus - acceptance, but he also offered something else, something that no one else can offer - soul deep forgiveness. Friends this is what the Church is about. It’s what the local congregation is about. It is what this congregation is about offering - acceptance, forgiveness, and community. This is what is being said through the “eating of the bread, and the drinking of the wine”. When we do this we are recommiting ourselves to the Church of Jesus Christ, to our life within the local community of faith, to each other. And we are declaring that this community is a place where the sinner can find acceptance, deep soul forgiveness and community, and that they can bet their life on it.

Rededication to the work of Christ.

I love the saying that says, “The Church is not a hotel for saints, but a hospital sinners”. We have all broken our relationship with God, but because of the death of Christ, our relationship is renewed, renewed with God, each other, ourselves, and creation.

Rededication to the work of Christ.

to the work of Christ

When we “eat the bread and drink the wine” we are reaffirming our faith, we are recommitting ourselves to the Church of Jesus Christ, to our life within the local community of faith, to each other. And we are rededicating ourselves to the work of Christ.

What is the work of Christ

Our first task is to work with Christ to bring back all people to the family of God.

John 1:6-13

John 1:6–13 NASB95

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Like John the Baptist we are to witness to the light. Witness to Jesus. How? By show and tell. We think that it is difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. At the men’s Saturday morning discussion group (all men are invited) we talked about this. In Clifford it can be as easy as putting up a flag pole outside the church with two flags on it right at the corner. The Christian flag on top and the Canadian flag underneath. Almost everyone in town comes to the post office and would see it and people will ask you, “Why do you have two flags on the flag pole and why is the Canadian flag underneath the Christian flag?

Ready for this? Here’s your answer. The Christian flag is on top because Jesus has changed my life and it has made me a better person and a better Canadian.

If you want to know more about the conversation - talk with Ross Derbecker or join us monthly at the men’s breakfast.

What’s the work of the church?

Our second task is work with Christ to make make disciples so they can understand how to live this life that has changed us, to live it - abundantly.

Matthew 28:19–20 NASB95

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew

In , Jesus says, “… I came to that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

I like the way it says it in the paraphrase, “The Message”.

Recommissioned to Serve and Witness

(The Message)

… I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

Conclusion

This is what you are doing when you “eat the bread and drink the wine…

You are reaffirming your faith, Recommiting yourself to the Church of Jesus Christ and the local community of Faith, and rededicating yourself to the work of Christ.

This is why when we come to the table of the Lord we need to have taken time to remember. Remember what Christ has done for us and what we are doing when we “eat the bread and drink the wine”.