FBCWest 524 | Why We Celebrate Communion
Recorded On: 10/09/2022
Bulletin
Hymn #255 “Sweet, Sweet Spirit”
SCRIPTURE READING – John 4:23 & 24
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Glorious Day”
“Build My Life”
“Forgiveness”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Why We Celebrate Communion/Lord Supper”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Love Ran Red”
Lord Super/Communion
“Think about His Love”
Benediction “God Really Loves Us”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
Matthew 26:26 -29 Because He instructed us to do so
John 1:29 He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sines of the world
1 Corinthians 5:7 He is our Passover Lamb
1 Corinthians 11:23 – 26 Because in so doing we declare His death
1 Corinthians 11:26 Because in so doing it is a statement of faith that He will return
1 Corinthians 11:27 – 32 We are to take the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. We are to examine ourselves
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Audio file
FBCWest524.mp3
Transcript
Olsen, founder Bible please turn to roachie.
Let's start over.
If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew Chapter 26.
We're going to be celebrating what often is called the communion or the Lord's Supper.
First, let me say that many churches will celebrate this every Sunday.
Others will do it the first Sunday of every month.
Others will do it irregularly.
So that's kind of where we are now.
I will take responsibility that we celebrate this much more infrequently than we ought to.
And so we'll I'll try to do better, to have us come together as a church and celebrate it.
But one of the reasons that we do not celebrate this is because the communion or the Lord's Supper is not a sacrament.
But what do I mean by that?
The Lord's Supper does not impart grace.
God has already imparted grace to us.
That is why we take it.
We don't take it to receive grace.
We've already received grace and therefore we take.
So this is not something that makes us holy.
It is not something that saves us.
Is not our participation of an act of.
Good works.
It is a recognition of what we're going to be talking about.
So First off, it's not a sacrament.
Baptist calling an ordinance.
Kind of a weird word that we use.
I like a more simpler.
We do it because he told us to.
But they want to call it.
An ordinance or command or whatever.
It's certainly not a suggestion.
And so in.
In Matthew Chapter 26, it is recounting that Jesus has gathered with his disciples to celebrate Passover.
So that's the context celebrating Passover, and the recognition and acknowledgement and the personalization of the freedom of the children of God as slaves out of Egypt.
To being led by God to being a nation free.
And so it recognizes that it also recognizes that it was Passover, because when the Death Angel saw the blood of the lamb put on the doorposts that the injury would pass over, it didn't look inside to see if they had followed the all the laws.
Right.
Or if they were good little boys or good little girls, it said simply by seeing the blood it would pass over.
And so his disciples and Jesus are celibate.
In this holy day before his crucifixion.
And at this time he says in verse 26 while they were eating.
And some of us.
Our churches.
More or less in the sense that many of us in our congregation have celebrated a Passover Seder in our church or in other places, and there is not just the.
Elements that we take, but there was a meal, there was a Passover meal, and then there was a unword, basically bringing nearly four cups drank, and then there would be the the meal.
Meal another two cups with some leavened bread in between and Jesus in this time of.
The celebration of Passover.
He then makes this change to pass.
For instance, bother reading Jesus took some bread and after a blessing he broke it and gave it to their cycles and said take eat.
This is my body.
So Jesus has changed the meaning of Passover.
From this being unleavened bread, a bread of haste to being his body.
And it's broken.
Or then and then after that it says, and we're told in another gospel that he did this after the supper, when he had taken the cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant.
Which is poured out for many or forgiveness of sins.
Then Jesus says he will not or take her bid until they bustle in the Kingdom on you.
So Jesus has now changed the cup, meaning from that of blessings to that of a new contract and new covenant.
It says that this.
Frank symbolizes this new covenant in his blood.
So Jesus has gone from taking a look at the blood on the doorposts and saying we are going to take this element and acknowledge that this is what is becomes our Passover.
Situation where the blood applied to us.
Now allows us not to be considered for little boys or girls, but because of his grace.
In John chapter.
One of the reasons that we participate in this.
Is it?
On recognize who Jesus was, and in verse 29 and John one it says the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And so we celebrate Communion, we celebrate Passover.
We celebrate the Lord's Supper because he's the Lamb of God.
It takes away the sin.
Now what we do is not what.
How we follow along but the fact is that Jesus was sent or the scripture says for God so loved the world that he gave sent Jesus that whoever believes in him may not perish but have everlasting that.
And John early on recognizes exactly who Jesus is and proclaims that he is that Lamb of God.
But then it tells us.
First Corinthians chapter.
We were told this inverse.
Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump.
This as you are in fact unleavened.
So Paul is talking to him and saying 11 represents sin and he's saying we are a new lump.
We're we're not that old lump that was subject to sin.
We are a new unleavened group that does not have seen because of Jesus.
Sacrifice is orcrist.
Our Passover also has been sacrificed.
You see what was done by the.
Brain of the Lambs and placing the blood on the doorposts was a symbol of what was to come, that Jesus, the Lamb of God, Jesus.
The Passover lamb was sacrificed for us.
So that we might.
We exempted that we might be justified just as those who replace the blood on the doorposts and the lentil.
And so we do this because we recognize.
But as he said that this bread that we take is his body, that this truck that we drink is the blood of his covenant, as we recognized that he was our sacrificed, he was the one that was substituted for.
All that we had done.
So that we might be justified before God.
That he is that Passover lamb.
So we acknowledge in this time that Jesus.
Hold this.
Is celebrated.
He told us.
That he's the Lamb of God, and that he.
Is that Passover lamb?
But when we come together, where to remember this?
And then in First Corinthians Chapter 11.
I'm going to start with verse 23 which is a little sooner than no, not sooner. 1st 23 says this, but I received. This is Paul, but I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you.
But all it's saying is I wasn't there.
Jesus gave me instruction.
So he's saying I didn't learn this from Peter or John or Thomas.
I learned it specifically from Jesus, what Jesus was doing.
It's that important that Jesus hold.
All that was all about.
But the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread.
We had given thanks.
He broke it, and said, this is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me. This is again why we celebrate communion or celebrate the Lord's Supper, because we do this in remembrance of him.
In remembrance that he is the son of God.
In remembrance that he is the Lamb of God, the remembrance that he is the Passover lamb.
In remembrance of what he taught, in remembrance of what he did, in remembrance of what he was going to do and in remembrance of what he's going to do.
So we take this.
Not because it's.
Just symbolic.
And not just because, but we do so because we do so remembering who and what he is and did.
In the same way, he took this cup also after supper, saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this as often as you drink it.
In remembrance of me.
So Paul has double reminded us every aspect of this.
The the unleavened bread, the drink.
We do so both.
In remembrance, we don't do it because of the bread, and we don't do it just because of the blood.
But each time we take the elements, we ought to remember Jesus.
Doesn't give us race.
Because if Jesus did nothing for you, what's the purpose of taking it?
But having received Grace, having acknowledged that he was the Lamb of God, who took away this our sins.
Well, you see, that's what I think is very unique about.
Our Jewish brothers and sisters.
When they celebrate Passover.
They don't celebrate it like those several thousand years ago.
All ancestors were freed from slavery, and it wasn't that wonderful.
Kind of like, well, we do our 4th of July celebration. We celebrate 1776, we don't celebrate today.
But they take it personal.
And as part of the ceremony, they say they had their children asked why do we do these things?
And then the answer is personal.
Again, this is something that we should do, not simply as.
An act.
But it's personal.
That it is Jesus, his body that was broken, not just for us.
But for me.
And then his blood was shed.
Not just for us.
But for me, and that I remember that he loved me enough to do that, and he loved us enough.
To do that.
This is for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup.
You proclaim the Lord's death.
You see, that's again why we celebrate this.
We don't celebrate this because.
He just had a meal and then went on his way.
We celebrate this because he died.
The crucifixion death.
So we proclaim his death.
We're not ashamed of it.
We're not surprised we proclaim it.
Jesus died.
For you and me.
He died for those.
Who even rejected?
We proclaim his death.
Now if it were up to that point, why we celebrate it, we could go.
OK, and we could feel really guilty and really sad because in fact Jesus had to die.
But I might be forgiven.
And that Jesus had to die for you to be forgiven.
And as we were to take this, we would go.
Oh Lord, I'm guilty.
I wish you never had to do this.
I am not worthy.
Why did you do this?
But he's added something as a statement of faith.
We are too.
As often as we would eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
We take this as a statement of faith that Jesus not only rose from the dead, because he did, but he told us he's coming back.
And since he told us he's coming back, he is, and we will claim that until he comes.
So there's going to be a time when we're not going to do this the way we do it.
Jesus says I'm not going to drink the cup again until I do it anew in the Kingdom.
There's going to be a marriage supper of the lamb and I'm going to bet it's going to be any party you've ever gone to.
And there's going to be joy and there's going to be rejoicing and probably going to be singing.
And I bet we're either going to be all on feature.
All off pitch.
Whichever God likes because he made more people all fits the non fits.
So maybe he likes all fits better, I don't know.
But there's going to be great singing in heaven because we're going to be there in his presence with our Lord.
Seated among us because we're there because of what he did.
So we do this.
Because he told us to.
We do this.
Because he's the Lamb of God.
We do this because he's our Passover lamb.
We do this in remembrance of him.
We do this to remember.
We do this to declare his death, and we do this to proclaim he's coming back.
We look, we live and praise a risen savior.
And so, yes, we can feel melancholy and guilty because of why he had to do what he did, but there should be rejoicing because he's coming back.
Do so.
Until they come.
Now the scriptures go on.
Because I need to share this.
There is 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.
Now I think the.
Old version of the the King James version said worthily.
My translation is an unworthy manner.
It doesn't say that we are.
Worthy to take this.
It says that we are to take this worthily, or in a, uh, not in an unworthy manner.
Which means all the things that I told you.
Why we're supposed to celebrate.
This is what we're supposed to be thinking about when we're celebrating it.
When you're thinking about.
The football game, which I know it's hard not to think about, 'cause.
We all.
Love football game?
Then it's unworthy.
Or if you're thinking you know.
I'd have preferred a different kind of juice.
When are we going to be done so I can get out of here?
When you start thinking about all the other things that life has, whether they're fun or you're, you know you're worried about the build a chat to pay, or whatever.
And that interrupts why we concentrate and remember him when we do so in an unworthy manner.
But you see in the church at Corinth they had done this, but instead of having just the Passover meal, they had what was called an agape feast, which I find.
And ironic term agape means.
The love of God.
So they had a feast that was supposed to express the love of God.
But the problem was when they did, we had the rich people who brought in Prime Road and all kinds of great stuff and high end wine and whatever it was.
And some of the four people have baloney sandwiches.
And some of the other people.
Didn't even have that.
Ball goes.
You're denying the love of God, by your way.
You're celebrating.
And in essence, they were unworthy.
Because it was about.
And the blessings God had given, and not looking at how God was.
In the entire body.
So to avoid that.
We have simplified it as simply.
We don't have a meal before or after because.
We're practical.
Some of you are going to bring food.
When you go to work and cook it and make it and sold it and others of you are going to just.
Sit down and eat it.
The people who are.
Working hard and where they might tend to go.
I worked hard and whatever and brother so and so didn't do anything and SIS or whatever it is.
Both the plate then took some home.
By making it simple, we don't.
We don't have to.
Worry about all that.
We simply concentrate on what God is.
Now one day in the married supper of the Lamb, we don't have to worry about.
But we are to take it in a worthy manner.
Which means what?
But a man, the person, must examine himself.
And so doing, he is the eat of the bread, and.
Drink of the cup.
You're to examine yourself.
I'm not to examine you or you, or you.
I'm examining me.
This isn't about whether you're worthy or whatever.
It's about me and the fact of what Christ has done for me.
And how I.
Show or don't show his life.
Now, the last time we participated in this was a long time ago, but probably most of you don't remember when it was.
Are you closer to the Lord today than it was when we?
Celebrated last.
Where is the progress in?
Your faith.
Now we all go up and over, never in the.
Christian life is in a.
Straight line, it goes up, it goes down.
It goes up, it goes down.
We have challenges in our faith.
We have victories.
We have setbacks.
But the progress should be from 1.2 of I used to say if this was how I was at this wall when Jesus saved me, and that is how Jesus is going to make me.
Hopefully I'm closer to that wall today than I was.
The last time.
We need to examine ourselves.
Do I truly have faith?
Do I truly?
Not just say.
He's my Lord.
But ah.
And then by examining myself.
And let's face it, probably failing the test.
They thank God.
That his body was broken for me.
Thank God that the it's the blood of the new covenant.
That I can have failure after failure after failure.
And Jesus is the one who will pick me up.
And Jesus is the one who said my blood covers him.
He's holy.
He's justified not because of who he is, because of who Jesus is and what he's done for me.
But we examine ourselves.
Not to say, oh, I'm a great Christian and therefore I can participate.
No, I examine myself so that I don't think more highly of who I am or more lonely who I.
But I examine.
My situation.
For he who eats.
And drinks, eats, and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge.
The body rightly.
So again the question is when we participate is it because we acknowledge that while the matzo?
It's just a matzo.
We and our belief believe that it's symbolic, not doesn't change, not transubstantiated.
I just.
The body and blood of Christ.
And in case you think symbols are not important.
When you get to heaven, talk to Moses about.
'cause Moses struck.
A rock when he was told to.
Speak to it.
He was denied going into the promised land.
Because we were told that that rock represented Jesus.
Jesus was being struck 1.
God takes his symbols.
And so should we.
And as a result, because they did not this for this reason one.
Many among you are weak and sick.
A number sleep.
If we judge ourselves rightly, we will not be.
But here's the great thing when we come and say, Gee, I'm not worthy.
You judge yourself right?
Gee, I'm a Sinner.
You judge yourself.
I need a savior.
You judge yourself.
The next step is I've got.
His name is Jesus.
He died for me.
And he's coming back.
When we break the bread in particular.
We partake because his body was given for us.
And the drink?
It's not.
It looks like blood.
Because his blood ran red in love for us.
And we acknowledge that.
So as the band will come in and we pray it's time for us as they sing as we seen.
And we take this moment in prayer.
Examine ourselves.
That we might take it not worthy.
But in a worthy manner.
And all God's people said.