Communion Mediation

Communion Mediation 

February 17th, 2019

John’s Gospel captures Jesus’ words to His disciples concerning what would eventually be called Holy Communion. Listen to Jesus from John 6:53-58.

John 6:53-58 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me…

Point:

When we partake in Communion, we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. There is no communion with Jesus unless we all recognize that He died for our sins and paid the penalty of our transgressions on the cross. 

Yet, when we celebrate Communion, we know that it was through that death that Jesus brought to all mankind life. 

So remember…

Communion Reminds Us of Death and Life!

Points:

Eastern Shore Baptist Church practices 2 Holy Ordinances. The first you have already seen this morning. Baptism. The second is Communion. 

Eastern Shore Baptist Church practices open Communion. This means that if you have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, even if in another denomination, that you are welcome to participate in Communion. If you have not made a profession of faith in Christ, we invite you to watch and view communion this morning as it explains exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross. 

Communion is a symbol much in the same way baptism is a symbol. It has no saving power but it a powerful expression of love and devotion to Jesus. In the early church, communion was given to church members, or the body of Christ, to symbolize their belonging to Christ. It was given and taken with the full understanding that if called upon, that these early church members would be willing to die or give up their lives for the sake of Christ. A martyr’s death if necessary. 

Point:

So, communion is a serious endeavor. How serious? Well Paul tells us in I Corinthians 11:27-29. 

I Corinthians 11:27-29 ESV

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.

Point:

This means that we need to come to this alter with a serious attitude and a respectful spirit. None of us want to share in the judgement of God. Rather, we want this solemn act to join us in fellowship and harmony. 

So, how do we prepare ourselves? Simple answer…prayer. 

What should we pray? Simple answer…we pray for pardon, we pray to praise, and we pray for people. We do this because it is Biblical and Scriptural. 

James 5:16 says “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Point:

So, let’s prepare ourselves this morning as we look forward to Communion. 

Prayer of Pardon, Praise and Prayer for People.

Communion Scripture:

The temptation for the believer is to take this cracker, to take this cup of juice and simply drink it without much consideration. 

Remember, we do not take communion, rather communion takes us. It takes us on a journey of faith. It connects us with Jesus and helps us understand his death. Let’s take a moment and read from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians concerning the night that Jesus ate with the disciples and washed their feet. 

I Corinthians 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 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.” 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

The Bread

Do you know what this is? That’s right, its a puzzle. How many of you enjoy puzzles? Some people like puzzles, others find them frustrating. I am one of those folks who finds them frustrating. To me, this is just a big box of brokenness. It reminds me to much of our lives. Our humanness. I like things to be put in order, to be put together, to be whole. Like us, puzzles are broken and take a long time to be put together. Someone with the patience of Job can look at this box of brokenness and make something beautiful out of it. 

Brokenness and fragmentation are constant themes in the Bible. 

I read of a fine cathedral window that was fashioned out of discarded glass fragments. The stained-glass artist had greater skill and worked harder than we do, but the principle is the same—turning fragments into beauty.

The Bible mirrors the continuous fragmentation of life and relationships—Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and his sons, Abraham and Lot, Sarah and Hagar, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers (all these in Genesis!), and then Miriam and Moses, David and Absalom, Jew and Gentile, and even Paul and Barnabas.

Brokenness and fragmentation are a part of the story of Jesus on the cross. 

I Corinthians 11:24 states, And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

The story of Jesus on the cross is a body that is broken for you. Jesus’ body on the cross mimics life. His body was a mess, broken, destroyed, in pieces. 

But we know that is not the end of the story. Three days later, God would take the brokenness of Jesus’ body and put it back together again. 

That’s what God does and that’s what Communion celebrates! Broken things being made beautiful. 

This morning, as you take this small wafer, I want you to remember that Jesus is remaking you! He is taking your broken life and turning it into something beautiful, some thing exceptional, something special. 

Jesus’ body brings peace with His Father, it brings fellowship with His Father, and it is the hope of all sinners everywhere. 

2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

Let’s praise God this morning for the body of Christ. 

And they passed the bread.

Short Prayer

John 6:35 ESV

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

And they took the bread

The Cup

Illustration:

In 1972, a shepherd had brought his sheep into a walled-off, enclosed area for the night, and he had just gone to sleep when he heard a commotion. He quickly rushed over to where the sound was coming from and to his horror he discovered that a wolf was in the process of dragging off one of his sheep through a hole in the wall. He was mauling this sheep and blood was flying.

The shepherd quickly began hitting the wolf, and the wolf turned on him and began attacking him. He bit him over and over while the shepherd was striking him with his staff, and finally with one final blow of his staff, he killed the wolf as he himself collapsed into a bloody heap.

He managed to crawl over to the half-dead sheep and began to bandage its wounds. He gave it some water, and then took it in his own bloody arms, and shepherd and sheep went to sleep together. The next morning the shepherd was found dead, his body literally draped over the sheep to comfort it and keep it warm. The following day the headline in the Jerusalem paper said, “Sheep Alive, Covered in Shepherd’s Blood.”

Point:

The Shepherd’s blood is very important. The blood of the shepherd serves as a spiritual transaction that purchases our freedom from hell itself. This spiritual concept is called atonement. 

Leviticus 17:11 ESV

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

The Shepherd’s blood purifies us and allows a path for us to be forgiven. 

Hebrews 9:22 ESV

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Like the shepherd in this story saving the sheep through the sacrifice of his blood, Jesus’ blood provides for us salvation. Never forget that you are saved today because of Jesus’ blood covering you.

Romans 5:9 ESV

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Are you thankful for the blood of Christ today? Would the headline of your life read Sheep Alive, Covered in the Shepherd’s Blood?

And They Passed The Cup

Short Prayer

Matthew 26:27-30 ESV

27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

And They Drank From The Cup

Closing Prayer

Invitation