Lest We Forget - DJ Dickerson - 5/24/26

Tomorrow, [clears throat] many across

our nation will observe Memorial Day.

Uh for some, it may be simply a day off

from work, time with family, or the

beginning of summer activities.

But Memorial Day is intended to be much

more than that. As we know, Memorial has

that very meaning. It's a remembrance, a

day of remembrance. It is a day when a

nation pauses to remember those who gave

their lives in service to others.

Now the very idea behind Memorial Day is

that sacrifice should not be forgotten.

Freedom should not be taken for granted.

Blessings enjoyed today may have been

purchased through the suffering and

sacrifice of others yesterday.

And whether someone stands at a

graveside or sees a flag that has been

placed near a headstone or simply pauses

in quiet reflection,

the message is the same is for one to

remember lest we forget.

That thought ought to speak deeply to

Christians

because long before nations established

days of remembrance, God taught his

people the importance of memorials.

Throughout scripture, God repeatedly

gave his people reminders. He gave them

feasts, stones, sacrifices, songs, and

observances that were designed to keep

spiritual truth before their eyes and

upon their hearts.

Why?

Because God knows the human heart. Fact

is, he created all mankind. He created

all things. The fact of the matter, he

knows that we are prone to forget.

I want you to think about how this

happens. Uh we may forget blessings

once they become familiar.

We may forget deliverance

once the danger is behind us.

We may forget mercy

once life becomes comfortable.

We may forget the cost

once we begin enjoying the benefit.

And perhaps most sobering of all, we may

forget God

while still going through religious

motions.

In our reading this morning that brother

Aiden Mosley led us in from Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8, you notice there right off in

verse 11, I highlighted it here. Beware

that you do not forget the Lord your

God.

That's a warning, isn't it? He goes on

to say, by not keeping his commandments,

his judgments, and his statutes, which I

command you today. The the warning that

warning was given as Israel prepared to

enter a a land of abundance. They would

eat and be full. They would build

houses. their herds and flocks would

multiply and their silver and gold would

increase. And what Moses knew is he knew

the danger, didn't he? He knew the

danger

that when life became comfortable,

their hearts

could be lifted up and they could forget

the Lord who brought them out of

bondage.

I'm going to submit to you this morning

that that warning is still needed. Still

needed.

It is possible to be blessed and forget

the blesser.

It's possible to be delivered and forget

the deliverer.

It's possible to be redeemed and yet

grow cold toward the redeemer.

So the Lord has given his people a

memorial and and for Christians the

greatest memorial is not a monument of

stone uh not a national holiday and not

a place marked on on a map. The greatest

memorial given to us is the Lord's

supper.

On the night before his death, Jesus

took bread and said, "Do this in

remembrance of me.

Jesus did not merely say do this when he

speaks of the bread and he speaks of the

cup

again Matthew 26 as well as Luke 22 p

the examples or that that which we find

recorded for us uh in the scriptures of

the institution of the Lord's supper

again he didn't say just merely do this

he said do this in remembrance of to me

because the Lord's supper is not an

empty ritual. Uh it's not a religious

pause between songs and sermon.

It's not something that we rush through

because it appears every single week in

the order of worship on the first day of

the week. Friends, it's a sacred

memorial.

It's a proclamation. It's communion.

It's a moment when the people of God

gather around the table of the Lord and

are brought back to Calvary.

And and so today when with Memorial Day

approaching, let us think about a

greater remembrance. Let us think about

the importance of truly remembering the

Lord,

about the significance of the Lord's

supper,

and reminded that a Christian who

forgets Calvary

will soon drift from devotion.

As mentioned briefly there in the

introduction, the first thing I would

bring to you again is God's people need

memorials because God's people can

forget.

From the beginning, God knew his people

needed reminders. Uh I mean if you go

back and you even think about when uh

the Egyptian bondage right the Israel

came out of their Egyptian captivity and

God gave them the Passover.

Exodus 12 and verse14 speaks of this in

Exodus 12 and verse14 it says so this

day shall be to you a what? Memorial.

And it goes on to talk about, "And you

shall keep it as a feast to the Lord

throughout your generations. You shall

keep it as a feast by an everlasting

ordinance." So what they were doing,

what was instituted in this part here

after they came out of Egyptian

captivity is that every year they were

to remember the night God delivered them

by blood, by power, and by mercy.

They were to remember bondage. They were

to remember judgment. They were to

remember the blood of the lamb. remember

that

they were to remember that they were not

a self-made people.

They had been delivered by the mighty

hand of God. And the Passover was not

merely remembering a date in history.

It was about remembering who they were

because of what God had done.

So later when Israel crossed the Jordan

River, God told Joshua

to take 12 stones from the riverbed and

set them up as a memorial. Joshua 4

records this. And I have before you

there verses 6 and 7. Again, prove all

things according to God's word, not

mine. But Joshua 4:es 6 and 7 records

this where where Joshua 4 says that when

their children would ask

that this may be a sign among you when

your children ask in time to come saying

what do these stones mean to you?

The fathers were to tell them how the

Lord stopped the waters on the Jordan

and brought Israel across on dry ground.

You see, those stones had no power in

themselves, did they?

They were just stones.

That's all they were.

But when connected to the word of God

and the work of God, they became

teachers.

They preached silently to future

generations

because a child would ask the question,

"Why are these stones here?"

And a father would answer because God

brought us through.

Is that not what what memorials do?

Memorials preserve meaning. They teach

identity. They keep one generation from

becoming detached from truth, sacrifice,

and grace that shaped the people of God.

And again, we need that today.

Our children need to know why we

worship.

Not this is just what we do. This is

what my great great grandfather did.

This is just this is all we this is what

we just this what we do.

They need to know why we gather on the

first day of the week. They need to know

why we sing. They need to know why we

pray. They need to know why we preach

the gospel. They need to know why we

partake of the Lord's supper every first

day of the week. They need to know why

in the very authority of the scriptures.

They need to know more. Again, this is

what we do. They need to hear this is

what the Lord has done.

This is what the Lord

desires of his people.

Because friends, there's a great

difference between ritual and

remembrance.

There's a great difference between those

two. Ritual can be performed by habit.

That's a ritual.

Remembrance is something that engages

the heart.

Ritual can continue while the mind

wonders.

Remembrance though on the other hand

pulls the soul back to truth.

Ritual may preserve an outward form

but remembrance preserves inward

devotion.

As mentioned earlier, God did not give

memorials because he had forgotten what

he had done.

He gave morals because his people were

prone to forget.

And the same is true of the greatest

memorial that we have we have and that

is the Lord's supper.

Friends, the Lord's supper is not

because God needs to be reminded of what

happened on Calvary. It's because we do.

Every Lord's day,

God's people are called back to the

cross.

We are reminded that salvation was not

cheap. Grace was not casual. Forgiveness

was not offered without cost. Our

freedom from sin was purchased by the

body and the blood of Jesus Christ.

And if we forget that,

everything else begins to weaken.

When we forget Calvary, worship is just

a routine.

When we forget Calvary, sin becomes

easier to excuse.

When we forget Calvary, gratitude begins

to fade away.

When we forget Calvary, the church

becomes less precious.

When we forget Calvary, the world

becomes more attractive.

Is that not what happened? The warning

that was given in Deuteronomy chapter 8

Deuteronomy 8 · chapter mention

to beware not beware lest they forget

the Lord their God.

What did that passage go on to say

that when they had went and built houses

and they were enriched,

what does that tend to do?

causes people to forget.

The world around the Israelites became

more attractive. Although they have

escaped,

they were delivered from Egyptian

captivity

and the oppression that they were under.

Before long, they were looking back to

the days of Egypt. They had forgotten

about what that that life was about.

It was terrible, but they longed for it

because they had forgotten

about God, his wondrous works.

That's why the Lord says even today the

institution of Lord's supper is do this

in remembrance of me

because the Lord's supper does this.

Lord's supper calls us to remember his

body.

You go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, you

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

see this passage actually up every time

we partake of the Lord's supper.

In addition, the men who stand here and

and speak of the Lord's supper prior to

our observance of it, they'll use other

passages,

wonderful, wonderful passages that they

share that again

tells us and reminds us about his body,

his blood, why we do this, the

importance of it. 1 Corinthians 11:es 23

and 24. This is Paul saying here for I

received from the Lord that which I also

delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on

the same night in which he was betrayed

took bread and when he had given thanks,

he broke it and said, "Take, eat. This

is my body which is broken for you. Do

this in remembrance of me." Sounds quite

familiar from Matthew 26 as well as

Luke, right? It sure does

because that's where Paul is taking the

Corinthian brethren. He takes them back

to the night that Jesus was betrayed.

And and I believe that's significant uh

because the Lord's supper was not

instituted in a peaceful moment free

from trouble, right? That's that's not

how that worked. Uh it was instituted on

the night of betrayal. Judas would go

out into darkness. Peter would soon deny

him. The disciples would scatter.

Gethsemane was near. The cross was

coming. And in that solemn hour, Jesus

took bread and gave it. Meaning he said,

"This is my body."

When we take the bread, we remember that

the son of God came in flesh. It takes

us right back to John 1 and verse 14.

And the word became flesh and dwelt

among us. And we beheld his glory, the

glory as of the only begotten of the

father, full of grace and truth. See,

Jesus did not save us from a distance.

He came near. He entered the world. He

created. He took upon himself human

weakness and hunger and weariness and

sorrow and pain.

And this bread, the bread reminds us

that redemption was not abstract. It was

bodily. It was real. The body of Jesus

was given.

He walked among men. He touched lepers.

He wept at gravesides.

He looked with compassion upon

multitudes of people. He was tempted in

all points as we are, yet without sin.

And then that body was given over to

suffering.

His back was scorched.

His brow was pierced with thorns.

His face was struck. His hands and feet

were nailed. His side was pierced.

We must be careful that the cross does

not become so familiar in language that

it becomes distant from our hearts.

Crucifixion was not gentle, friends.

It was not sentimental. It was cruel. It

was shameful. It was painful. It was

public. And Jesus endured

for us.

Those two words should humble every

single soul.

For us.

This is my body which is broken for you.

Not for his own sin.

He had none. Not because he deserved

death. He did not. Not because man took

his life against his will. He said in

John 10 and verse 18, actually, "No one

takes it from me, but I lay it down of

myself. I have power to lay it down. I

have power to take it again. This

command I have received from my father.

What's he saying? He's saying I give my

body willingly. My body I give lovingly.

I give my body sacrificious

sacrificially.

When I take the bread I must remember,

we must all remember that our sins were

not small.

Our guilt was not imaginary.

Our soul was not cheaply redeemed.

The body of Jesus was given because sin

is serious and God's love is great.

The bread should humble us.

Before I boast, I need to remember his

body. Before I complain, I need to

remember his body. Before I treat sin

casually, I need to remember his body.

Before I withhold forgiveness, I need to

remember his body.

Before I drift into indifference,

I need to remember his body because that

bread preaches every single first day of

the week. It says, "This is what love

gave. This is what sin cost. This is how

far the Lord came to save us.

And along those lines,

we have the cup. The Lord's supper calls

us to remember his blood.

Says in verse 25 of 1 Corinthians 11, in

the same manner, he also took the cup

after supper, saying, "This cup is the

new covenant in my blood. this do as

often as you drink it in remembrance of

me.

The cup points our minds to the blood of

Christ.

Blood runs through the redemption story.

In in Egypt, blood marked the houses of

Israel, didn't it? Under the law of

Moses, we find that blood was offered in

sacrifice. The Hebrew writer speaks

volumes on this. You go to Hebrews,

you'll find much on this. Hebrews 9 and

verse 22. I use this instance this

morning. And according to the law almost

all things are purified with blood and

without shedding of blood there is no

remission.

Right there.

But as the Hebrew writer would go on to

say, the blood of bulls and goats

could not permanently take away sin.

Those sacrifices pointed forward and

again they were shadows. They were

reminders and they were preparing the

way for the true lamb of God.

And then Jesus came. John 1 verse 29.

John 1:29

This is John that saw Jesus and John the

baptizer saw Jesus coming toward him and

said, "Behold the lamb of God who takes

away the sin of the world."

Remember

when Jesus instituted

the Lord's supper, when he talked about

the cup, what did he say about that cup?

You go to uh notice what it said in

verse 25 of Paul referencing back to

Matthew 26 as well as Luke 22. This cup

is the new covenant in my blood.

That means the cup does not merely

remind us that Jesus died.

It reminds us that his death

accomplished something.

His blood purchased something. His blood

established something.

Consider with me what that means.

His blood purchased the church.

Acts 20 verse 28 says that. Therefore,

Acts 20:28

take heed to yourselves and to all the

flock among which the Holy Spirit has

made you overseers to shepherd the

church of God which he purchased with

his own blood. The church, not a

building, right? The people,

his blood brings forgiveness.

Jesus in Matthew 26 and verse 28 says

that for this is my blood of the new

covenant which is shed for many for the

remission of sins. His

blood gives access to God. In Hebrews

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10 speaks of boldness, having

boldness to enter the holiest by the

blood of Jesus. His blood cleanses us.

It reaches deeper than outward behavior.

It reaches the strain, the the stain of

guilt and and the burden of shame.

And when we take the cup, we remember

that sin required blood.

That's a truth our world desperately

needs. Friends,

many want to minimize sin, excuse sin,

redefine sin, ignore sin.

But I'll tell you this, the cup will not

allow us to treat sin lightly.

Because the cup reminds us that sin is

not some minor uh mistake needing a

small adjustment.

Sin is what separates man from God. As

Isaiah 59:1 and2 speaks of sin brings

Isaiah 59:1

death. Sin required the blood of Christ.

But the cup also reminds us that grace

is greater than sin.

Because the blood of Jesus does not

merely tell us how guilty we were.

It tells us how loved we are.

God did not look at sin and say it

doesn't matter.

He looked at sin and he gave his son. At

the cross, God's holiness and mercy met.

Sin was judged. Love was displayed.

Justice was satisfied.

Grace was offered.

And that's why we don't come to the

table casually.

We come gratefully.

We don't come carelessly. We come

reverently.

We come remembering the blood that

cleanses sin. And every Lord's day, the

cup says to the Christian, "You were

bought with a cross."

And if we truly remember that,

it will affect how we live.

The Lord's Supper,

I I want to talk about an important

question that that needs to be asked is,

you know, well, who partakes the Lord's

supper? I've had that question asked

many times in in my life.

And the Lord's supper is for those who

belong to the Lord.

The answer to the very question who

partakes of the Lord's supper is the

very nature of the supper itself.

It is the Lord's supper.

So what that means is it belongs to him.

It was instituted by him. It remembers

him. It proclaims his death. It is a

covenant memorial for those who are in a

covenant relationship with him.

It's not a common meal.

It is not some kind of gener uh general

religious snack. It's not something for

anyone to take merely because they are

present in an assembly. It is a

spiritual communion for those who have

come to Christ in obedient faith. And

what that means is, as you see in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, those who were gathered there

on the day of Pentecost, they heard the

word of God proclaimed. They were cut to

the heart. They said to Peter and the

rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren,

what shall we do?" And Peter said to

them, "Repent and be baptized. Every one

of you, be baptized in the name of Jesus

Christ for the remission of sins, and

you shall receive the gift of the Holy

Spirit." As you go on through that text,

you'll find that those who came out of

that water grave of baptism to rise and

walk in newness of life as Romans 6:3

Romans 6:3

and4 says, "Well, they gladly received

his word baptized. And that day about

3,000 souls were added to them, and they

continued steadfasting the apostles

doctrine and fellowship and the breaking

of bread and in prayers." And then you

go on down to verse 47. And the Lord

added to the church daily those being

saved.

Added added to the church. Shall notice

that added

the Lord added to the church. Well,

that's how they became members of his

body was because they were added to the

Lord's church. The one that Jesus said

in Matthew 16:18, "Upon this rock, I

Matthew 16:18

will build my church and the gates of

hell shall not prevail against it."

You got to notice the order here. They

received the word. They were baptized.

They were added. Then they continued

steadfastly in the apostles doctrine,

fellowship, breaking bread, and prayers.

Y'all see?

And again acts 20 and verse 7. Now on

the first day of the week when the

disciples came together to break bread

who came together to break bread

the disciples. And and again that's

significant because the Lord's disciple

the the Lord's supper is for disciples

of the Lord. It's for Christians. Those

who have believed the gospel who have

repented of sin who have confessed

Christ who are b who have been baptized

into Christ. It's for those who have

been redeemed by the blood. they are

remembering.

Now this does not mean Christians

partake because they are worthy in

themselves and think I am worthy of

this. Christians come to the table

because

we belong to the Lord. It's for penitent

people. It's for redeemed people. It's

for covenant people.

is for those who have been brought into

Christ and who seek to walk with Christ.

So friends, when we ask that question,

one must come to Christ. I was just

quoting there from Romans 6 3 and 4 that

teaches that we are baptized in Christ

Jesus. We're baptized into his death. We

are buried with him through baptism into

death and and raised to walk in of life.

And so those who have been united, see

those words, those who have been united

with Christ in his death are the ones

who gather each Lord's day to remember

his death.

So when we partake of the bread, it's

not merely bread in the hands of

religious people. It's memorial in the

hands of the redeemed.

When the cup is taken,

it's not merely juice in a cup. It is

the remembrance of blood by those who

have been cleansed by that blood.

The Lord's supper belongs to the Lord's

people because it proclaims the Lord's

death until he comes.

Now, I want to make a note also and you

go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Go back

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

to that passage there. What Paul says

regarding those who are partaking of the

Lord's supper in verses 27 down through

verse 29. It says, "Therefore, whoever

eats this bread or drinks this cup of

the Lord in an unworthy manner will be

guilty of the body and blood of the

Lord. But let a man examine himself and

so let him eat of the bread and drink of

the cup. For he who eats and drinks in

an unworthy manner eats and drinks

judgment to himself, not discerning the

Lord's body."

The examination is not meant to drive

sincere Christians away from the table.

It's meant to bring us to the table with

reverence, with humility and

discernment. And every Christian should

ask, am I remembering the Lord? Am I

discerning his body? Am I approaching

this memorial with gratitude? Am I

living in a way that honors the

sacrifice I am so proclaiming?

That's the thing. The Lord's supper is

not for the spiritually careless.

It It's not for those who want the

symbol while rejecting the Savior.

It's not for those who want the memorial

without belonging to the master.

Friends, because the Lord's body and

blood are so sacred, we dare not partake

carelessly.

and the Corinthians. Why this is even

being addressed here. And there's a

whole lot I could get into. My time will

not allow me to. I wanted to, but I'll

save that for for another time.

The Corinthians had failed in this very

matter. Their conduct around the Lord's

supper had become selfish. They were

divided. They were irreverent. They were

gathering physically. But their hearts

and their conduct, their behavior

contradicted the very meaning of the

supper.

They were partaking of a memorial of

sacrifice while acting selfishly.

They were remembering the body of Christ

while mistreating members of the body of

Christ.

And Paul's warning reminds us that the

Lord's supper is serious because Calvary

is serious.

The memorial is sacred

because the sacrifice is sacred.

And we don't need to forget that.

1 Corinthians 11 verse 26 takes us to

1 Corinthians 11:26

this point about the Lord's supper and

what that supper does. It proclaims his

death until he comes. You see that in

verse 26 again. For as often as you eat

this bread and drink this cup, you

proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.

That one verse shows us that the Lord's

supper really looks in in several

directions. And I was thinking about

this and and if you got the charts

already ahead of time, then you kind of

see what I'm about to put on the screen.

But

when you look at this and break this

down and you think about the Lord's

death,

it looks backward to the cross.

When you see the words you proclaim,

that is outward in proclamation.

And then when you look at the words till

he comes,

it looks forward in hope.

And even as the verse that we're talking

about a moment ago

that let a man examine himself, what

does that do? Well, that looks inward to

the heart.

And when you look at this,

the Lord's supper is not silent in

meaning or significance. Even when no

sermon is being preached in that very

moment, the supper itself is preaching.

It proclaims that Jesus died. It

proclaims that his death matters. It it

it proclaims that his death was for sin.

It proclaims that the cross is central

to Christianity. It proclaims that the

church has not moved beyond Calvary.

We must never become too familiar with

the cross.

We must never become too busy for the

cross. We must never become too

sophisticated for the cross

because the cross is not an entrylevel

truth that we later outgrow. The cross

is the center.

Paul said in Galatians 6 and verse14,

"But God forbid that I should boast

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus

Christ by whom the world has been

crucified

has been crucified to me and I to the

world.

The Lord's supper keeps the church

centered. Y'all see that?

There are many things that can occupy

our minds when we assemble. Uh we think

about songs and prayers and

announcements and classes and sermons

and responsibilities and schedules. But

at the table, everything comes back to

the heart of the gospel, doesn't it?

Again, Christ died. Christ died for our

sins. He was buried. He rose again. And

he is coming again.

see all of that.

And that's why the Lord's supper is it's

not a funeral meal for a defeated

savior.

It's a memorial meal for a risen Lord.

We proclaim his death till he comes.

And those words are filled with hope.

The one we remember, he's not still in

the tomb. The one whose body was given

now reigns. He sits at the right hand of

the throne of God make intercession for

us. Thy great high priest as the Hebrew

writer even speaks of. The one whose

blood was shed now intercedes. The one

who instituted the supper will return

one day.

So when we partake, we are not merely

looking back with sorrow. We are looking

forward even with expectation.

We remember the cross, but we don't stop

at the cross.

We remember his death, but we also

remember the victory. We proclaim his

death until he comes because we believe

that he lives.

So every Lord's supper is an act of

faith. We're saying he died, he lives,

he is coming,

and until he comes,

we will remember.

And friends, before I bring the lesson

to a close,

I think that to end,

this is only appropriate.

Is remembering the Lord must shape the

way we live.

One of the dangers of any memorial

is that we may honor it briefly

and then live as though we have

forgotten it.

A nation may pause on Memorial Day and

then return to ingratitude.

A family may visit a grave and then

forget the values of one buried there.

A person may look at an old photograph,

feel emotion for a moment, and then go

back unchanged.

Could the same thing happen spiritually?

Could we remember the Lord for a few

minutes on Sunday and then forget him

and our choices on Monday?

Could we meditate on his sacrifice at

the table and then live selfishly after

we leave?

We no longer think about our fellow

brothers and sisters in Christ.

We don't think about seeing them again.

Maybe the next service.

maybe following up to encourage somebody

and we just forget

about the church that Jesus died for

that unites us all.

Could we proclaim his death in worship

and then deny his lordship in daily

life? You see, true remembrance is more

than a mental recall. Biblical

remembrance was always focused on

faithful action.

When God's people remembered what the

Lord had done, they were to live

differently because of it.

When Israel remembered Egypt, they were

to be humble and obedient. When they

remembered the wilderness, they were to

trust God. When they remembered the

covenant, they were to keep his

commandments. That's how it works. So

when Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance

of me," he's not merely calling us to

think about him for a few moments. He's

calling us to let the memory of his

sacrifice reclaim our hearts

and center our lives. And if I remember

his body, I should offer my body as a

living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 and2.

Romans 12:1

If I remember his blood, I should walk

in the light as he is in the light. 1

John 1 and verse 7. If I remember his

humility, I should lay down my pride.

James talks about humble yourselves

mighty hand of God.

If I remember his forgiveness, I should

forgive others.

Jesus spoke of that. If I remember his

obedience, I should obey. If I remember

his love, I should love.

You see, the Lord's supper is not

intended to be disconnected from the

rest of life. It's a weekly call back to

the center so that we may go back into

the world shaped by that cross.

That means our remembrance follows us

home.

You know what that means?

It should shape the way husbands and

wives speak to each other, how you treat

your spouses.

It should shape the way parents train

their children.

It should shape the way we treat our

fellow brethren. It should shape the way

we resist temptation. It should shape

the way we use our time. It should shape

the way we handle conflict. It should

help it should shape the way we view the

lost.

Because if I truly remember that Jesus

gave himself for me,

how can I give him only what is left

over of my life?

This is not a checklist

on our Sunday to do things.

It's not.

We are walking straight into

condemnation if we treat it such.

Because if I truly remember that he died

for sin, how can I make peace with sin?

And if I truly remember that he's coming

again, how can I live unprepared?

Because the Lord's supper, friends,

brings us to the cross.

But it don't just bring us to the cross.

It sends us out from the cross.

It calls us to live as people who have

truly been redeemed. And we know the

meaning and the significance of what we

do.

A Christian who remembers Calvary

cannot remain unchanged by Calvary.

Friends, Memorial Day reminds us

that earthly freedom often comes through

sacrifice.

And it's right to be thankful.

It's right to remember. It's right to

pause and reflect upon those who gave

their lives in service to others. It's

right.

It's good. But as Christians, our minds

must rise even higher.

You know, sometimes I I I think about

how how how

crazy it is and man, that's the word I

use is that we can we can look at

Memorial Day and we can look at other

days that we have set aside and holidays

and

you know and we can be thankful that we

have opportunities like this in this

country that we can come together and we

can worship God without the fear of

molestation of any man.

But about the time someone says, "Hey,

you know what? We're going to take that

away from you." Oh, all of a sudden, you

know, we get all an uproar, don't we?

But where were you the rest of the time?

Right?

What did disassembly mean to you before

someone says, "I don't you can't

assemble. You can't worship." Because we

have grown ungrateful.

There are people on the other side of

this world that don't have what we have

today.

And they would love to have it.

They would love to have it

because they are being beaten and

they're being killed for what we're

doing this morning.

Let that sink in

because the Lord's supper means

something to them. Their fellow brothers

and sisters, that means something to

them.

Christ who died on Calvary means

something to them. And we got to make

sure does he mean the same to us? That

if it became down to oppression and

persecution and whatever, what will we

do? What lengths will we go to so we can

worship God

and we can do as he commanded?

Because we rise higher because there's

greater sacrifice. There's greater

freedom. There's greater memorial here.

Because Jesus didn't just die for one

nation. He died for the entire world. He

died for all mankind. He didn't die to

preserve earthly liberty and freedom. He

died to free us from sin, death, and

condemnation.

He didn't merely give his life as an

example of courage.

Though his courage is beyond measure, he

gave his life as an atoning sacrifice.

And every Lord's day we gather around

his table to reme to be reminded the

bread, his body that was given, the cup,

the blood that was shed, the supper

reminds us his death must be proclaimed.

And the empty tomb reminds us he lives

and the promise reminds us he is coming

again.

So we don't forget.

We don't forget him in worship. We don't

forget him in our homes. We don't forget

him in our decisions. We don't forget

when we're tempted. We don't forget when

we get comfortable. We don't forget him

when suffering. We don't forget him when

gathered at the table.

And if there is someone here, friends,

has not obeyed the gospel of Jesus

Christ,

you have an opportunity

to become a partaker of grace.

You have an opportunity to repent of

your sins, confess Jesus to be the son

of the living God, be baptized, immersed

to rise and walk in newness of life as

you see in Romans 6 3 and 4 to partake

of that grace

because sacrifice

of Jesus Christ made salvation possible.

The gospel calls you to believe in

Christ, repent of your sins, confess his

name, be baptized for the forgiveness of

your sins, and to be added to his

church.

If you're a Christian,

this lesson has spoken from his word.

And if we've grown cold or distracted or

forgetful, you come back in heart to the

cross. You remember the Lord. You

remember what he gave. Remember what he

purchased and remember who you are

because of him. You remember that

a people who forgets sacrifice

will soon take freedom for granted.

A Christian who forgets Calvary will

soon

drift from devotion.

The records from the Israelites proved

all of that to be true.

They were told in Deuteronomy chapter 8,

Deuteronomy 8 · chapter mention

"Don't forget the Lord your God for what

he has delivered you from." And what did

they do? They built houses. They got

full

and they forgot.

A heart that remembers the Lord will

find its way back to gratitude,

humility, worship, and faithful living.

Jesus said it,

"Do this in remembrance of me.

less we forget.

I appreciate so much your kind attention

in this lesson

and I hope that this lesson has been an

encouragement to you

to again remind us of why we do this

and that we explain to our children the

significance and the importance of why

we do it. Because generations are

coming.

They need to know that this is serious,

that this

is not to be taken lightly.

It has farreaching effects in our lives.

If you're sub invitation call, the

opportunity is being given as a song

that has been selected to lead me to

Cal. Think about the words of song with

the lesson that we have just looked at.