FRI – 04-10-2020 – The Lord’s Supper, Communion Instructions for Home (with a video)

Bible Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 | Pastor: Pastor Mike Hale | At the bottom of this web page you can download these notes.

 

April 9th, 2020 – Thursday

The Lord’s Supper, Communion Instructions for Home

1Corinthians 11:23-26

 

The Lord’s Supper [the Lord’s Table, Holy Communion] is a special occasion for
the church and for each individual Christian, it is a sacred time when we reflect on
and remember all that the Lord has done for us, while also looking to the future.

Three of the Gospels give an account of that last Passover, when the Lord
instituted the New Covenant, as He instructed His Disciples, giving new meanings to
the bread and the cup, (Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–23).

In 1Corinthians 11:23-26… Here we find instruction given to the Church of
God through Paul, an Apostle of God, who received it himself from Jesus Christ, and
now records it in God’s Word.

The bread is a symbol of Christ’s body, representing the whole person of Christ,
everything about Him: the prophecies foretelling His coming, His immaculate
conception, the announcement of His birth in Bethlehem to the shepherds, His
special names (Yeshua, God’s Salvation; Immanuel, God with us), His sinless life,
His ministry, His sacrificial death and His sovereign resurrection, fulfilling the plan,
the purpose and the provision of forgiveness and eternal life from God.

Hebrews 10:10, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.”

Jesus tells all His disciples to do this in remembrance of Him. This is a command
for all true believers to follow, just as being baptized in water is also commanded by
the Lord. Neither of these (water baptism or the Lord’s Supper) will save us, but
they are to identify us as believers and followers of Christ, servants of God who
seek to obey and honor Him.

Paul says that when we celebrate Communion, when we participate in the Lord’s
Supper, we testify to the world that we belong to God through Jesus Christ, who is
coming again.

Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and
who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:17-18, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living
One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

Our Lord is not dead He is very much alive and He is coming back to get all
those who belong to Him, to take us to be with Him forever.

As you prepare to come to the Lord’s table, each person should have available,
a piece of bread or cracker, and a small amount of juice; the type of bread and the
type of juice are not really important, they are just symbolic elements.

What is important is that this is a time set apart to remember Christ’s sacrificial
death on the Cross. Each person taking the bread and the cup should take time to
examine himself or herself, in reference to for we each ought to evaluate our own
beliefs and behaviors toward God, God’s Word, and God’s people.

If you profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you have the right, the
privilege, and the command to take communion.

 

Taking the bread in your hand, you remember what Jesus taught saying,

“This is My body, which is for you;
do this in remembrance of Me,”

and so you are to take it and ate it.

 

In the same way Jesus took the cup also saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood;
do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me,”

and so you are to take the cup and drink it.

 

God’s Word tells us that,
“as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

Clearly this is talking about when Christ returns, for He has already come, and
so this statement to, “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes,” gives evidence of
His sovereign resurrection from the grave.

John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in
Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have
told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death
until He returns to take us to our eternal home; let each of us, obediently serve
Him with all wisdom, power, and strength as He enables us, until He returns.

Romans 12:1

Bill is going to play:
“Bless Be the Tie That Binds,”

Feel free to sing along.

“Bless Be the tie that binds,
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.”

Closing Prayer

And all God’s people said,  Amen!

Pastor Mike Hale