Regarding Communion
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever wondered what Communion is all about?
Why do we go through whole bread & wine thing twice a month?
Why do some go up for communion & others don’t?
Well I’m hoping that today we might be able to provide some answers to those questions
Let’s start off with looking at what communion is (slide)
What Is Communion?
What Is Communion?
Now the passage read out this morning comes from a letter written by Apostle Paul
Paul was having to address issues in the church regarding taking part in communion (slide)
We’ll look at the issues later on - want to first at Paul’s description of his understanding of Communion
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
First thing to notice is Paul’s referring to what we call last supper
It’s the point in the Jesus story when he gathered with his disciples in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (slide)
That same night Jesus was betrayed by Judas & arrest in Garden of Gethsemane
Paul is quoting Jesus words he spoke during that Passover meal (Slide)
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.
So what Jesus did at Last Supper was to change meaning of Passover meal
Originally Passover was meal Jewish people had regularly at least once a year
Meal with lots of interactive elements of food, cups of wine, and symbols
Everyone in the family incl. children took part in Passover meal
It was time when the Jews remembered how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt back in OT
Meal was designed to reminded them of God’s love; how He set them free then
& how God had promised that he would set them free from slavery again in the future
So Passover was meal of remembering the past in the present, while looking to future of God’s promises fulfilled
So Jesus took that meal of remembering & reinterpreted it
It was now to become a meal of remembering of how God love’s all people
And that Jesus died on a cross and was resurrected so all people could be set free
All people could find freedom from the slavery of sin, guilt, evil, and death
So the Lord’s Supper of Communion is when we remember past events - Jesus death on the cross
An in the present or today - we express our thanks for God’s love, grace, and forgiveness He’s given us
And we look forward to the future fulfilment of God’s promises to destroy sin, evil & death
To renewed all of creation & establish his forever kingdom (slide)
Illus - Communion is not unlike how we celebrate birthdays or anniversaries.
We celebrate the day when we were born, or got married in the present
While looking to the future & the hope for a long & happy life
Communion fulfils exact same function but with more symbolism that has deep spiritual meaning
Does that make sense? (Slide)
So let’s have a look at the 2 main symbols used in our communion meal
What Do the Bread And Cup Mean?
What Do the Bread And Cup Mean?
So during communion we eat a piece of bread or wafer & take a drink of wine
We understand that these represent or are symbols of Jesus body & blood
Which when you think of it seems really grim & dark - so why are using these things to symbolise this? (slide)
Firstly Let’s look at the cup which symbolises Jesus blood
Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Back when God used Moses to help lead Hebrew people to freedom from Egypt
God made a covenant with Hebrew people through the sacrifice of an animal
The animals blood was sprinkled on Hebrew people as a sign they agreed to covenant conditions
God’s covenant was a list of terms that explained how his relationship with Hebrew people would work
God promised to bless Hebrews and God called Hebrews top be his people that faithfully trusted God in all things
God promised to forgive them for straying away from God’s moral Laws he gave Moses
If the people recognised that only God can forgive & take away sin
SO the sacrifice of an animal was a symbol that when they did stuff wrong there were consequences
And that forgiveness came when God’s justice was fulfilled
i.e. when consequences of their wrong actions were paid for through death of animal
What this meant in reality was - whenever someone did something break God’s moral laws - like lying, stealing etc
They had to go to temple & sacrifice an animal as their acknowledgement they’d done something wrong
Only God is one who can forgive them and take away consequences of their actions
So lot’s of animals died - lot’s of blood shed - because people kept breaking God’s moral law (slide)
“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Over 1000 years later God acknowledges Hebrews failed to be faithful & trust Him so decides to make new covenant
It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers ...because they broke my covenant,
God revealed His plan - to make a new covenant - establish a new relationship with all people not just Hebrews
God said I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts...No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or his brother
...because they will all know me...“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
It was a relationship with all people where God would once & for all forgive all sin forever
This was accomplished when Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross - shed his blood
It was Jesus who once & for all paid for humanities sin for all time
So the cup symbolises God’s new covenant with us
It reminds us that it was Jesus, Son of God, who was the once & for ever blood sacrifice ...
That paid debt or consequences of everyones evil & sinful thoughts / actions for all time
I.e. God himself in Jesus paid debt we owed Him; so His perfect justice was upheld
& We received benefit of Jesus sacrifice - God’s forgiveness for all our sin
Only reason we’re forgiven is because of God’s limitless love & grace (slide)
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.”
Now the bread is connected to the same thinking as the wine
Jesus pointed to bread as symbol of His bodily death on the cross
But there’s additional meaning within what Jesus did (slide)
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Paul described the universal Church as being like a body - specifically Body of Jesus
Every Christian person added together in total equals the single body of Christ
We are all individual members that make up a single body, a single unit, that belongs to Christ (Slide)
Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper, he broke a single flat bread & handed it around the disciples
And they broke off a piece from that bread and handed it along
So that the whole group were eating from same loaf
This was a symbol to remind us we are all part of God’s people, of body of Christ, the Church
Together, we all the churches around the world, we are all united together through Christ’s death on cross
Jesus sacrifice unites us in our shared faith in him
The breaking of the bread symbolises that
So Communion is when people who’ve placed their faith in Jesus...
& Remember what He accomplished for all of us – both individually and corporately as the Christian Church. (slide)
Illus - Symbols are an important part of who we are as humans
We use symbols to help us remember to act in a certian way, or do a certian thing
They help us to remember consequences of our actions as well as our responsibility to others
Communion serves same purpose when it comes to our faith (slide)
So lastly we come to an important question
Who Can Take Communion?
Who Can Take Communion?
Now let’s consider the problem Paul tried to fix in the Corinthian Church (Slide)
In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
Back in the Early Church Communion or Lord’s Supper was an actual meal like Passover
But it happened quite often - a number of times during week
Where all church members were supposed to come together at someones house (slide)
Their shared meal was part of their worship service & during that they’d spend time remembering Jesus
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
But it wasn’t working like that in Corinth
Instead rich church members would turn up early eat all food without waiting for others
So that when the poorer members turned up there was no food
The meal was over, they weren’t sharing food & they weren’t spending time remembering Jesus togther
Communion or Lord’s Supper was all about remembering Jesus died for everyone
& We’re all part of Church, Body of Christ (slide)
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
So Paul wasn’t saying that unless you are perfect & sinless then you can’t take communion - you’re unworthy...
He was warning those people who were treating Lord’s Supper like a having big feed...
Without having respect or reverence for why they were gathering together
They were treating the memory or remembering of Jesus suffering & death for our sins
As though it wasn’t important to them, as though it didn’t matter - that’s why Paul said those words
So lastly I want to say this - Jesus who instituted the Lord’s Supper or Communion not the Church
Jesus is the one hosting us at communion - He’s one who invites all who have faith in Him to come to His table
It’s Jesus who brings His people, body of Christ, into fellowship and union with Him through Communion
So that those who take part in Communion enjoy fellowship with Jesus & receive spiritual blessing from Him
So communion is for everyone who comes into this place & has placed their faith & trust in Jesus finished work on the Cross
So let’s pray
Heavenly Father - thank you for the special meal we get to take part in today
As we take communion today help us to be reminded of what Jesus has done for each of us
And we ask that you unite us as your church who share a common faith
That we may have fellowship with each & other and with Christ
In Our Lord’s name we pray, Amen