Why: Lord’s Supper - 8th February 2026

Well, good morning. Please uh take your

Bibles

and open them up to one Corinthians

chapter 11. 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11.

We'll be in this passage. We'll be

looking at verses from this passage most

this morning. So, you can keep that

passage open. And we'll be looking at

other verses as well, and they will be

up on the screen for you. But please

flick away if you can find the verses

and keep up with me. Please follow along

with your Bible. All right, let's pray

and ask the Lord to speak to us through

his word.

Lord, we thank you uh that we have a

great redeemer. It is you, Lord Jesus.

Two wonders here that we confess our

worth in you, Lord Jesus, and our

unworthiness.

Lord, we recognize that we are unworthy

to sing the songs that we sing.

I am unworthy to stand here and speak

your word.

And yet we come here by your grace.

And we ask that you would speak for it

is your word. And we as your servants,

we are listening.

In your name, Jesus.

Amen.

So, we are going through a series called

Why. Looking at as a church, why we do

what we do?

This morning, we're looking at the

Lord's Supper. Why do we do that? Why do

we take the bread? Why do we take the

cup? Why do we do the things we do? And

just to give you an insight as to what's

coming down the road, we're looking at

the Lord's Supper. Why the Lord's

Supper? We're looking at why giving next

week. Then following that, we're looking

at why serving. And then after that,

praise God, we're going to be back in a

book of the Bible. And the book of the

Bible we're going to be back in is the

book of Job. Uh so you can get ready for

that, the book of Job. But let's look at

God's word here this morning. This is

the main passage for us. And I'll look

through different verses in this

passage. But let's hear God's word. 1

1 Corinthians 11:23

Corinthians 11 verse 23.

For I received from the Lord what I also

delivered to you. That the Lord Jesus on

the night when he was betrayed, he 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 also he took the

cup after the supper, saying, "This is

the cup in in the new covenant in my

blood. Do this as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me. For as often as

you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord's death until he

comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread

and or drinks the cup of the Lord in an

unworthy manner will be guilty

concerning the body and blood of the

Lord. Let a person examine himself then

and so eat of the bread and drink of the

cup. For anyone who eats and drinks

without discerning the body eats and

drinks judgment on himself. That is why

many of you are weak and ill, and some

have even died.

But if we judged ourselves truly, we

would not be judged. But when we are

judged by the Lord, we are disciplined.

so that we may not be condemned along

with the world. This is God's word to

us. And as we look at the Lord's supper

this morning, I want us to see a few

things about the Lord's supper. The

first thing I want you to see about the

Lord's supper. Why do we do this? Why do

we have the Lord's supper every single

Sunday? The reason is very simple. The

Lord's supper, it is a commanded meal.

The Lord's supper is a commanded meal.

You see this in one Corinthians 11 verse

24. It says this, "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." And he said the same

in 1 Corinthians 11:25.

1 Corinthians 11:25

In the same way also he took the cup and

after supper saying this is the the cup

of the new covenant in my blood. Do this

as often as you drink it in remembrance

of me.

Why do we have the Lord's supper?

Because Jesus took the bread on that

night and he looked to the disciples and

he said, "Do this." So what are we to

do? we're to do that. And he took the

cup and on the night he actually looked

at them in the eyes and he said, "Do

this." So what are we supposed to do?

We're to take the cup and we are to do

it. It is a command.

And what we notice about this command is

that as a part of the two ordinances,

what we call the two ordinances that the

Lord has given us. The two ordinances

that the Lord given us is baptism and

the Lord's supper. What that means is

he's ordained that we would do it. He's

actually those are the two things if

we're going to do anything as a church,

those are the two things that he

directly commanded us to do. Baptize

and take of the Lord's supper. These are

the commands. And so what I want you to

notice in this series when we've been

talking about why we do what we do, I

want you to notice that there is a

difference between what I'd call these

open-handed things that we do.

We do them, we believe them, but we hold

them in an open-handed way. And the

closed-handed things that we do. So, let

me give you an example. Membership, I

would see as an open-handed thing that

we do. What I mean by that is this. I

absolutely believe that it is a really

good practice of the church. I believe

it is a very good practice of the

church. I believe that we have good

biblical principles to do that practice.

I believe in some way churches,

evangelical gospel teaching churches

need to figure out how you're going to

have elders who lead and teach. And

people submit to those elders who lead

and teach. And at the same time, you're

going to have to have a congregation

that has a voice. Matthew 18. And and

realizes those who need to be removed

out of the congregation. Those two

things have to take place. You have to

have leaders who lead and a congregation

that has a voice. And we in this church,

we call that church membership. That's

how we do it. That's how we give voice

to the church.

But you know what? I hold that belief. I

hold it in an open hand. I know and

understand that other churches won't

exactly practice that in the same way I

think they should practice that. Do I

believe they're being disobedient? Do I

believe they're being heretical by not

practicing church polity in the same way

we do? I would say no. Do I believe

they're wrong? Yes.

But I don't think they're being

heretical.

So, I hold it with an open hand. And I

say, "Look, we're going to make it to

heaven together. You see this in a

different way, but I'm going to hold it

with an open hand." But then you have

the Lord's supper and baptism. That's

what I would call closedhanded issues.

If there is a church not practicing the

Lord's supper, they're not a church.

If there is a church that is not

practicing baptism in the way it's it's

it's organized biblically, they're not a

church.

These are non-negotiable realities. And

so we have to we have to practice the

Lord's supper and we have to practice

baptism. It is an ordinance of the

church. So the Lord's supper is a

commanded meal. Secondly, the Lord's

supper, it is a remembrance

meal.

1 Corinthians 11:4 says this, "And when

1 Corinthians 11:4

he had given thanks, he broke it and

said, "This is my body which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me."

And then in 1 Corinthians 11:2, in the

1 Corinthians 11:2

same way, he also took the cup after the

supper and saying, "This cup is the new

covenant in my blood. Do this as often

as you drink it in remembrance of me. So

what does Jesus do? He looks at them in

the eye and he says, "Do this."

And both times, how does he say it? In

remembrance of me.

This meal that we take, the Lord's

supper, it is a remembrance meal.

Who are you to think about when you're

taking the Lord's supper this morning?

You are to think about Jesus.

When you take the Lord's supper, you are

to remember him.

We are to remember him generally, I

believe, because he says remember me.

And what are we to remember when he said

when someone says remember me? What are

they meaning? Remember everything about

me. Remember who I am. remember what I

have done. And that's what we're to do

in the Lord's supper. We are to remember

Jesus generally, who he is and who he

was. That Jesus was man. He was born in

the flesh. He took on human flesh. We

remember that about Jesus. And that

Jesus is God. That he was the God man

who took on flesh. That all things were

made by him, for him, and through him.

that he deserves all glory and honor and

praise. And so when we remember the

Lord's supper, we are to remember him

and everything about him,

Jesus, the sinless one who suffered and

died for us. We are to remember him

generally, but then we're also to

remember him specifically in a very

specific way because he takes the bread

and he says, "Do this in remembrance of

me." And then he takes the cup and he

says, "Do this in remembrance of me."

So I think it it is right and

appropriate that when we take the bread

we would specifically remember what his

body broken for us. A specific

remembrance

that Jesus

was beaten for you.

That Jesus wore a thorn of crowns. A

crown of thorns for you.

that he was bruised

for you, broken for you. We remember

that specifically.

And we also remember his blood shed for

you.

One of the reasons I think the the bread

and the cup are so tangible

is so that we can remember tangibly

he was broken and his blood was shed for

us. We are called to remember these

things

about Jesus. Can I ask you a question?

Has your mind wandered?

I mean this morning

already

now

conclusion is yes

it has of course it has

when we take the Lord's supper

we are in a fight

against our minds

that they would not wonder

why because we are not called to

remember the dinner at that time. We are

not called to remember the meeting that

we have later today. We are not called

to remember the party that we're going

to have or the cinema that we're going

to or whatever. We're not called to

remember any of those things at that

time. We are called to remember him.

So in the moment of the Lord's supper,

ask by the spirit.

fight with the power of the spirit to

remember Jesus in that moment more than

you remember you in that moment.

It is in remembrance of him. So it is a

commanded meal. It is a remembrance

meal. The Lord's supper is also number

three, it is a proclamation meal. 1

1 Corinthians 11:26

Corinthians 11:26 says this, "For as

often as you eat this bread and drink

the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death

until he comes again."

It is not just a meal where we remember

his death. We remember something of the

past. It is a meal where we presently

proclaim his death. It is a

proclamation.

Have you ever invited someone

to church and you invite them and you

kind of say, "First, I hope people

aren't weird this morning to them. I

hope they're just normal and have a

normal conversation.

The second thing you're hoping is this.

I hope he preaches the gospel this

morning. And I hope they hear it." And

my prayer is every Sunday morning that

you would indeed hear the gospel

preached.

You would hear it proclaimed.

But in the Lord's supper, do you know

what happens every Sunday morning? You

can have this as a guarantee. It is

always proclaimed.

Christ death is proclaimed. And you may

may not be a preacher or a speaker this

morning, but every time you take of the

Lord's supper, you are proclaiming his

death, the benefits of his death, that

those who believe and trust in Jesus

might be forgiven of their sins, past,

present, and future, if they trust in

him. And that is the proclamation that

we are making every time we take of the

Lord's supper. It is a proclamation

meal. And how long do we take that

proclamation meal for? Well, it says in

the passage

until he comes.

We keep taking it again and again and

again until he comes.

Why do we have to do it over and over

and over and over again? Because we as

God's people, we forget.

Do you ever read about the Israelites?

You know, when they're in the

wilderness, what are they doing?

Grumbling and complaining. The moment

they're delivered.

The moment they're delivered out of

their slavery, do you know what they do?

Grumble and complain. Because they've

forgotten.

We often forget. And so we will do this

remembrance meal as a proclamation

until he comes again. This is why we do

the Lord's supper. And it is not only a

remembrance meal and a proclamation

meal, but it is a personal meal. It is a

personal meal in this sense. You

yourself are to take it. And as a

personal meal, we see two things about

it. as a personal meal. It is a time of

personal examination and personal

communion.

It is a time where you are specifically

called to personally examine yourself.

1 Corinthians 11 27. Look at these

words.

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. Let a person examine himself then

and so eat of the bread and drink of the

cup. For anyone who eats and drinks

without discerning the body eats and

drinks judgment

on himself.

What does it call us to do in verse 28?

It calls us as you are taking the Lord's

supper, you personally are to examine

yourself.

Similar to baptism being a personal

decision. The Lord's supper is a

personal decision to take and a personal

decision to examine yourself.

And the reason we are to examine

ourselves is because you should not take

the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner

because if you take in an unworthy

manner, you are in danger of judgment.

So what does it mean to take in an

unworthy manner? And what does judgment

mean for the believer?

Here's what it means. In the context in

first Corinthians, Paul is coming to a

church who are divided. Paul is speaking

to our church who are taking of the

Lord's supper in an unworthy manner. And

so Paul isn't just ex instructing them.

Paul, he is rebuking them. And here is

how they are taking in an unworthy

manner that is deserving of judgment. In

1 Corinthians 11:17,

1 Corinthians 11:17

look at what he says before he gives

them the instruction for the Lord's

supper, he says this.

But in the following instructions, I do

not commend you because when you come

together, it is not for the better, but

for the worse. When you're when the body

is supposed to come together, do you

know when you come together, when we

gather together, we're supposed to be

gathering together for the better, not

for the worse, for the betterment of

each other, for the glory of God and

Christ. But he's he's rebuking them

because they're gathering for the worse.

Verse 18, for in the first place, when

you come together as a church, as a body

with members, when you come together, I

hear that there are divisions among you.

And I believe it in part.

For there must be factions among you in

order that those who are genuine among

you may be recognized.

When you come together,

it is not the Lord's supper that you

eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead

with his own meal. One goes hung hungry

and another gets drunk. What?

Do you not have houses to eat and drink

in? Or do you despise the church of God

and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you? Shall I commend

you in this? No,

I will not.

And then Paul says, on the night when

Jesus was betrayed,

he took the bread, he said, do this. He

took the cup and he said, do this. and

he brings them back to the place where

they remember the Lord's supper. It's

not about them. It's about Jesus.

And so they are called, Paul is calling

them to examine themselves. Why? Because

they are taking an unworthy manner. How

do you take in an unworthy manner? When

there's divisions among you.

That is when we take as believers in an

unworthy manner. If there are divisions

among us. If there's disunityity among

us, they're also taking in an unworthy

manner because they're going away and

eating of the Lord's supper themselves

and they're ignoring the poor amongst

them. That is what it means to take in

an unworthy manner. And so when they

take in an unworthy manner, then you are

liable to the judgment of God.

The question becomes, how can a believer

be liable to the judgment of God?

Because aren't we set free from the

judgment of God when we believe? Yes,

we're set free from the ultimate

judgment of God when we believe, but

we're not set free from the discipline

of God. He is our heavenly father who

disciplines those whom he loves. And how

the those in Corenth were were

disciplined was this. In one Corinthians

11:30, it says this, "That is why many

of you are weak and ill and some have

died. But if we judged ourselves truly,

we would not be judged. But when we are

judged by the Lord, we are disciplined

so that we may not be condemned

along with the world."

They are eating in an inappropriate way.

when there's divisions among them,

they're ignoring the poor. This is not

an appropriate way. And Paul says

in chapter 11:30,

"That's why you're weak."

Paul says, "That's why you're ill." Paul

says by the inspiration of the Holy

Spirit, "That's why some of you are

dead."

We will never know if illnesses and

weaknesses and even death are the

discipline punishment of the Lord. We

can't know that in this world.

But these are some of the ways that God

disciplines his people. And it tells us

something of the seriousness of the

Lord's supper, doesn't it? that we when

we eat

we are to take and eat in a worthy

manner that honors the Lord. So it is a

time of personal examination. You are to

examine yourself and ask yourself, am I

taking this in an unworthy manner and it

is a time of personal communion.

Personal communion. There are different

words that are used for the Lord's

supper in the scriptures. Multiple

different words. I want you to look at

them there on the screen. And here are

the words. It is called the breaking of

bread in general. It is even called the

eukarist.

I know that the Catholic Church have

kind of taken over that term, but the

eukarist really means in Greek it really

means to give thanks. It's a a

thanksgiving meal. So it's breaking

bread. It's giving thanks. It's called

the Lord's supper. It's also called the

Lord's table.

And we see in 1 Corinthians 10:16, it is

1 Corinthians 10:16

also called communion.

Look at 1 Corinthians 10:16.

1 Corinthians 10:16

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it

not a participation communion in the

blood of Christ? The bread that we

break, is it not participation communion

in the body of Christ?

That word participation I've added in

the brackets communion because that word

is is coinia which means communion.

And what are we doing? We are communing

communing with Christ in these moments.

When you sit down

and have a meal with someone,

what happens?

The relationship gets deeper. When you

sit down and you look at someone in the

eye, what happens,

the relationship gets deeper.

This is why when

you know us as men take our wives out

for meals, which we should, and feel

free to hit them if you want, which we

should,

and look at each other in the eye,

it helps the relationship go deeper.

Meals do that. It is communion that

happens. It is communion that takes

place.

So it is at the time of the Lord's

supper. It is communion that happens. It

is communion that takes place.

Our relationship with the Lord at that

moment. It is getting deeper. So it is a

time of self-examination

and it is also a time of communion with

Christ.

So what should you do this morning?

Let's assume this morning that you are

thinking if I am going to eat I'm going

to eat in an unworthy manner.

And what some people do traditionally is

they let the Lord's supper pass them by.

They say, 'You know what? I'm not going

to take this morning because I'd be

taking in an unworthy manner. They're

trying to honor the Lord in that in

scripture.

But the reality is this. I think it is a

moment, not where you should let it pass

you by.

I think it is a moment in communion

where you can go before the Lord Jesus

and say,

look him in the eye as it were,

I have sinned against you.

I am sorry.

Please will you forgive me?

And that can be a deep and wonderful

moment of communion with your savior

because it is at that moment he will say

to you, "My body was broken for you. My

blood was shed for you. Take, eat, give

thanks for what I have done. Remember

me."

That's the Lord's supper. It is a

personal meal. It is a communion between

us and Christ. But it is not only a

personal meal. Number five, it is a

church meal. The Lord's supper is a

church meal. Look again at 1 Corinthians

10:16-1

17. It says this, "The cup of blessing

that we bless, is it not participation

or communion in the blood of Christ? The

bread that we break is it not

participation or communion in the body

of Christ.

Because there is one bread, we who are

many are one body. For we all partake

of the one bread.

There's one writer who wrote it this

way. If baptism brings the one into the

many,

then the Lord's supper turns the many

into the one.

It is our communion not just with

Christ, but it is our communion

with one another.

There is this phrase that is used

throughout 1 Corinthians 11 and it is

the phrase come together.

In 1 Corinthians 11:33 it says this. So

1 Corinthians 11:33

then my brothers that this is a

conclusion after giving out to them for

drinking and eating in an unworthy

manner. He says this. So then my

brothers when you come together to eat

what? Wait for one another. When you

come together to eat, wait for one

another. If anyone is hungry, let them

eat at home. So that when you come

together, it will not be for judgment.

Over four times in that passage when it

talks about the Lord's supper, it says,

"When you come together, when you come

together, when you come together."

And in verse 33, it says, "When you come

together,

wait for one another."

It is communion with one another. That

means something about the Lord's supper.

It is not only a moment when we close

our eyes and tuck ourselves in to

ourselves, when we're examining

ourselves. It is not only that moment,

and I believe there should be a moment

where you do examine yourself. I believe

there should be a moment where you do

confess your sin before the Lord, but it

is not only an eyes closed, tucked in

moment.

It is an eyes open

celebration moment when we come together

and take together. Do you know what the

best view in church is on a Sunday

morning? The best view by far in church

on a Sunday morning is the one who's

leading the Lord's supper standing here.

Because there is a practice that we do.

We hand out the cup. We hand out the

bread and we ask you keep it

and we will take together.

And the person up here says this is the

body that was broken for you. Let us

take the bread. Do you know what the

view you see? Everyone together as one

body taking it at the one time. It's

communion.

And then the cup. Everybody together

taking the cup at the one time. It is

our communion not just between me and

Christ personally, but it is my

communion with you as the body, the

church. We are a family that are called

to take this meal together and leave

nobody behind.

Don't take it alone.

Leave nobody behind.

This is why um during co I don't want to

bash churches here by the way so just

you know don't point fingers or whatever

but this is why during co we didn't

practice the Lord's supper

because we could not come together

we believe that it is a meal that the

church is to take together

not separated not alone this is a family

meal that we take together. This is why

you will not have at MCC camp them

practicing the Lord's supper

because it is not for individual camps

of Christians to take the Lord's supper.

It is a practice for the church. When

the church body come together,

you and Corinth when you come together

as one body, you take this meal

together. This is why Christian unions

will not take the Lord's supper because

it is not the church. Yes, it is a

gathering of believers, but it is not a

gathering of the church in which they

come together to celebrate. And of

course, there might be occasions

where someone who's really horribly sick

or whatever and they cannot make the

gathering and we make provision for

them. There are exceptions. Absolutely,

there are exceptions.

But what it should be

is the meal that we gather together. Do

you know when I encourage people

pastorally

to not give up meeting together,

I'm sure it's they think, you know,

maybe we want to fill a seat or

whatever. Or maybe maybe he just wants

me to hear his preaching or whatever. I

don't know.

But you know why you shouldn't miss?

There's a family meal every Sunday.

And if you miss the family meal, we miss

you.

Can you imagine

if I, as a husband,

came

the odd night for dinner

and then I skipped two or three or four

nights.

Would Lana be right and loving to kind

of say, "Shane, where are you?

Where are you gone? Why are you missing?

It's not accusation.

It's actually love.

We want you with us taking the meal

together.

And of course, there will be times that

it's tough for families and we're sick

and whatever. Well, we want you in the

meal together, taking it in unity as one

body.

So the Lord's supper is a church meal.

Number six, the Lord's supper is a sign

meal. Is it? It is a sign meal. It is

another sign of the new covenant. Just

like baptism is the sign that we wear of

the new covenant. So the Lord's supper

is the sign that we wear of the new

covenant. But it is a different type of

sign.

I compared it to the wedding before.

When you get married, you wear the

external sign of the wedding ring. And

on that day, you seal the deal in

marriage. That's kind of like what

happens at baptism.

It is our our union with Christ where we

kind of say and proclaim and seal the

deal. Our union with Christ, we put on

the ring.

But what happens after that?

Well, what you can do in your marriage

is you can renew your vows.

And that's what the Lord's Supper is in

a sense. It is the continual renewing of

the vows. It is a sign of the new

covenant, a continual renewing of the

vows. Someone once said, "It is like you

believe and you trust in Jesus Christ

and and baptism is the is the door, the

entryway into the church and then what

happens? the Lord's supper. It is the

meal that you have together. So you take

the first step of baptism.

That's union, our union with Christ. And

then we take the next continual step of

the Lord's supper, which is our

communion with Christ and others.

And so this is the reality. It is the

Lord's supper because it is a sign of

the new covenant.

Matthew 26:28 it says this, "For this is

Matthew 26:28

my blood of the covenant which is poured

out for many for this forgiveness of

sins. It is a sign of the covenant." In

1 Corinthians 11:2, it says this, "In

1 Corinthians 11:2

the same way also he took the cup after

the supper, saying, "This is this cup is

the new covenant in my blood. Do this as

often as you drink it in remembrance of

me.

It is the cup of the new covenant. It is

remembering our new relationship with

the Lord Jesus. In the old covenant,

blood was shed through animals and

sacrifices. But that blood could not

lead to the forgiveness of sins. We

needed a new covenant in which our

hearts were changed. And that new

covenant is pictured in and through the

bread and the cup that we take. And so

the difference between the old covenant

and the new covenant is this. In Hebrews

10 11 it says this. And every priest

stands daily at a service offering

repeatedly the same sacrifices which

never take away sins. But when Christ

had offered for all time a single

sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the

right hand of God. The old covenant

system was this. Animals were being

sacrificed day after day after day after

day. Blood was being spilled day after

day after day after day. The priests had

to keep standing and standing and

standing and standing. And offerings

kept coming and coming and coming and

they could never sit down. But when

Jesus came,

he came as the great high priest. He

came with an offering as the priest. And

as the priest, what offering did he

bring? He came as the great high priest.

And he offered himself once for all.

And then when he finished his work, what

did he do? He did something that the

priest could never do. He sat down.

because in the new covenant he finished

the work.

And so this is what we celebrate. It is

a sign of the new covenant. It is a

continual renewal of our vows as it

were.

What comes first?

Is it is it the vows and the ring come

first or the renewal that comes first?

Well, of course, the vows and the ring

have to come first, and then you

continually renew, don't you? You keep

up the relationship.

So, it is in the in baptism and the

Lord's supper.

Someone believes, they repent, then they

are baptized

into the family.

And then after that baptism, what

happens?

They continue to renew the vows of the

sign of the covenant, remembering the

Lord's body broken for us and his blood

shed for us.

This is why in our church, we would

encourage the children to do something.

We would encourage the children to

believe.

We would encourage the children to

repent of their sins.

And as a sign of that, we would

encourage the children to be baptized.

As I told you before, we will take our

time with that. It's going to be no

rush.

And then we would say to the children,

after you've believed, after you've

repented of your sin, after you've been

baptized,

come in and have the family meal.

Come and take.

But for now, what we ask our children to

do, what I ask my children to do is

let's let the bread and the cup pass you

by.

And then when you're ready personally,

you yourself are ready to repent and

believe and be baptized,

come and have the meal.

So that's what we want to do as a

church. It is a sign of the new

covenant. It is for those who have

believed and trusted in Jesus and been

baptized in his name. Finally, the

Lord's supper, it is um not only a sign

meal. It is a past, present, and future

meal. The Lord's supper is a past,

present, and future meal.

In Luke 22:1 15, Jesus said this. Before

Luke 22:1

he celebrated the Lord's supper with his

disciples, he said this. I have

earnestly desired to eat this Passover

with you before I suffer.

This is how I know. This is how I know

that God is absolutely sovereign

in all things, through all human

decisions.

God is absolutely sovereign. Here's why.

It was the night of the Passover.

And Jesus on the night of the Passover,

he said, "I must eat this Passover with

you before I suffer."

Why was the Lord's supper celebrated as

a Passover meal? Because it is a

reminding God's people of the

deliverance of the past.

God's people were delivered out of their

bondage of sin. And how were they

delivered out?

On the night that the angel of

destruction came, the only thing that

protected God's people was the blood of

the lamb.

It was the only thing that protected the

firstborn.

It was the blood of the lamb.

And Jesus

on the night he was betrayed,

he took the cup. He said, "This is the

blood of the new covenant.

I'm the new Passover lamb.

I'm the one through whom you will

receive sanctification,

justification,

redemption."

And so the Passover meal appointed

forward and in 1 Corinthians 5:7 it says

1 Corinthians 5:7

this. For Christ our Passover lamb has

been sacrificed.

This meal, this Lord's supper meal, when

we take it together, we're remembering

the great meal of the past where the

Lord delivered his people through the

blood of the lamb. And we're remembering

that meal of the past by taking this

meal in the present. Remembering that

Jesus, he is our great Passover lamb.

It is true and real spiritual communion.

We are standing in the line of the

Lord's great redemption.

And it is a meal that not only looks to

the past that not only is celebrated in

the present but looks toward the future.

Matthew 26 27 says this and he took a

cup and when he had given thanks he gave

it to them saying drink it all of you.

This is not just drink it you

individually, you by yourself, you

personally don't know. Drink it all of

you. For this is my blood of the

covenant which is poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you,

I will not drink it again.

I will not drink again of this fruit of

the vine until that day when I drink it

new with you in my father's kingdom.

What Jesus is saying at that Passover

meal is this meal points to the past.

I'm the Passover lamb. But this meal is

also going to point towards the future.

The great meal of the marriage supper of

the lamb that you and I look forward to.

And Revelation, it talks about this

marriage supper in Revelation 19:7.

Revelation 19:7

Let us rejoice and exalt and give him

glory. For the marriage supper of the

Lamb has come and his bride has made

herself ready. It was granted her to

clothe herself with fine linen and

bright and pure. For the fine linen is

the righteous deeds of the saints. And

the angel said to me, "Write this.

Blessed are those who are invited to the

marriage supper of the Lamb." And he

said to me, "These are the true words of

God.

Every time you take this tiny little cup

that's frustratingly small and that tiny

little square that I've somehow been

calling a meal and you hold it in your

hand, here's what you should be saying

to yourself.

There's something better coming.

and all of my brothers and sisters from

every tribe and tongue and nation. One

day we are going to sit down together

and give glory, honor, and praise to our

Passover lamb whose blood was spilled

for us. And until now, I'm going to take

this little square and this little cup,

but I cannot wait for my future.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we thank you Lord Jesus for being

our Passover lamb.

The one who suffered, the one who died,

the one who is buried and the one who

indeed rose again from the dead. And

that is why we have hope of eternal

life. That is why we have the hope of

this marriage supper of the lamb.

Lord, I pray that as we examine

ourselves now and repent of our sins, I

pray that we will remember you and not

us.

And I pray that as we take this meal

together,

that we will commune with you as one

body,

remembering one day that we will

celebrate it with you in heaven,

with our brothers and sisters.

In your name, Jesus. Amen.

Let's sing as we prepare ourselves