![]() ![]() It Is a Powerful Proclamation-the World’s Greatest Sermon! But have we left him alone at his Table during Communion when we are thinking of everything in the world except him? Imagine if you stood inside the Lincoln Memorial and suddenly you heard a deep voice intoning, “Four score and seven years ago.” When we come around the Lord’s Table, we come to a memorial of the dying Christ and find ourselves suddenly confronted with the living Christ. Imagine if you stood before the Washington Monument and suddenly the father of our country was at your side. In an illustration about the Lord’s Supper on, Christian minister and educator Mike Shannon says, That’s basically what happened even in old Israel-those who ate the sacrifices offered on God’s altar entered into God’s action at the altar. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are he raises us to what he is. When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness-Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. I like The Message’s rendering of 1 Corinthians 10:16-18, for it makes clear what is going on in Communion: Other translations use words like communion or sharing or fellowship. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, my emphasis). It Is an Actual Participation in the Body and Blood of Christ ![]() On Sunday, the Christian’s Memorial Day, far too few of us think of the One who died to set us free from sin, death, and Hell. if our minds are a million miles away? On Memorial Day, far too many Americans never take time to remember those who died to keep our country free. What do we imply if we don’t remember him. Jesus said, “Do this.” What are we saying when we don’t “do this”? Is he the Lord of our lives or not? Jesus wants us to remember him, his great love, his tremendous sacrifice. The visible Word of God (the bread and the cup) belong with the audible Word of God (Jesus’ words of institution). Augustine called the Lord’s Supper the verbum visible-the visible word at the action of the Lord’s Table. The words “do this in remembrance of me” are Jesus’ own words, spoken at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19). Please notice that Christ himself passed along this teaching to the apostle Paul. It is decorated with one gold star-representing the One who paid the supreme sacrifice for our sins.įor 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” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). We should be on our best behavior when the bread and cup are passed. We stand at attention when the flag passes by. Memorials are hallowed, not meant to be hollow. The Freedom Wall is covered with 4,048 gold stars, each star representing 100 Americans who made the supreme sacrifice. Located on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, it is dedicated to the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during the war, especially the 400,000 troops who died during the conflict. On May 29, 2004, the National World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. It is the crown jewel of worship because. Please consider four vital truths from the inspired writings of Paul in regard to Communion. The observance is so simple a child can partake with a sense of understanding, yet it contains so many theological ramifications that even the most mature believer will not fully comprehend its meaning. In addition, it provides a time for believers to examine their own personal relationship with God as well as their relationship with other believers while experiencing communion with the exalted Christ. The celebration of the Supper directs our attention backward to the work of Christ on the cross and also encourages a forward look to the Second Coming of Christ. The highest form of corporate Christian worship is the Lord’s Supper. In his foreword to the book The Lord’s Supper: Remembering and Proclaiming Christ Until He Comes, Christian educator David S. It should be the central act of our Christian worship. The Lord’s Supper is the crown jewel of worship. ![]()
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