The Elements of Communion | Pastor Nate Capshaw

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at Celebration ORL or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.

First of all, welcome to Celebration Church Orlando.

Grateful that you are joining us this morning on behalf of our senior pastors.

Special welcome to all of you who are new, special welcome, you know, just special, special.

Everybody's special, right?

Welcome to summer school.

This is an annual treat for us.

We get to switch gears, as Pastor Keith would like to say a little bit, and uh do something different, kind of outside of our normal Sunday format.

Uh we like to look at summer school as a little bit more uh educational, um, a little bit more informational, obviously everything pulling everything from the holy word of God.

Um but yeah, just to kind of have a new spin on things on a Sunday morning.

You guys okay with that?

Awesome.

Protractors ready?

Just kidding.

No math.

And I always feel bad saying that because there's people who really like math.

No conjugation of verbs.

How about that?

Um today we're gonna be, well, before we do that, um, there's a lot that goes into every single Sunday, there's a lot that goes into to this.

Um, people have been working to get iPads synced up to projectors.

Uh in my own life, my both of my children were up at 5 30 a.m.

this morning.

I had to be here at 6, and so my wife has bore the brunt of that.

Um, people were here early to get coffee so you don't fall asleep while I try and articulate what we're gonna be talking about today.

Can we just honor the church?

Can we honor everyone?

Um, and then the Lord Jesus, the whole reason that we're here this morning.

Amen.

Week two of summer school is we're gonna be talking about communion.

Um, and today's title is uh Elements of Communion for your note-taking.

Elements of Communion.

We are going to play on words there if you didn't catch that.

We are going to do a basic overview today, okay?

I'm not gonna get in the weeds too much, we'll stay in the grass, but just a little bit of a basic overview of what communion is.

We do this on a regular basis.

Um, some traditions do it weekly.

Uh we typically do it once a month.

Uh we'll do it with baptisms as well.

So uh this is something that we participate in.

It's centuries old and it's something we get to be a part of.

So there is a lot.

Well, there's not a lot in scripture actually about this, at least explicitly.

There are a few passages that speak to it.

Um, so it is actually for its prevalent practice, is an obscure topic.

Uh, we have, well, we'll get into that in a little bit.

Well, we don't have a ton.

So what we're doing is we're by the guide using the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we're doing our best to surmise and to honor and uh do this practice as our Lord intended for us to do.

So um, before we jump into any of the specifics, though, I think it's probably a good idea that we approach our Holy God in prayer.

So will you bow your heads in prayer with me?

Dear God, um, we come before you today uh just humbled because you are the all-knowing, all-powerful, uh, all-present, ever-present God, and you allow us to come into an art museum and to worship your name.

Lord, that you have also provided us your word straight from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit printed in black and white so that we can know you.

You provided your son for us so that we can approach you.

And you have because of your son, you've given us the gift of your spirit so that we can walk with you in communion, that your spirit guides us.

And so that's that's my plea today is that your spirit would guide us, your spirit would guide me as I stumble along this Lord.

I pray that you would properly articulate what you want to be deposited into the hearts and minds of your people.

It's in the holy name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Uh let's talk about some terminology, first of all.

Some terminology when it comes to communion.

The first is uh the obvious, which is uh the Lord's Supper.

Yeah, right.

I told you we should honor our church, right?

Let's go.

Um, terminology.

So, Lord's Supper, this is uh for obvious reasons the a popular term used as it was instituted by the Lord Himself at the Last Supper.

Now, why they didn't decide to go with Lord's Dinner, I don't really know.

Who says dinner?

Who says supper?

Who interchanges sometimes?

Sometimes I say I'm having dinner.

I guess Lord's Supper has a little bit of a better ring than Lord's Dinner.

Nevertheless, a lot of traditions will use this term, Lord's Supper.

Um, Eucharist is another term that you may have heard or are familiar with.

Um this is the earliest official term by instituted by the church, and it comes from uh a Greek word that means Thanksgiving.

So when Jesus gives thanks for the bread or he gives thanks for the cup, um you get this whole Thanksgiving idea, so they decided to name that Thanksgiving.

Um the Eucharist was central, and we'll talk more about this as we go along, but it was central in early church worship and even in some traditions today.

You probably could go to an Episcopalian church down the street, and you'll see our brothers and sisters there have their sanctuary set up to where the lectern or the pulpit or whatever their proper term for it is is off to the side, and then in the central, at center focus is the table.

So worship culminates at the table, at the Eucharist, right?

A lot of mainline Protestant tradition would have the pulpit right in the center because there's such emphasis on preaching the word of God.

No, nobody's right or wrong here.

It's just a little bit more of what emphasis people place on uh the Acts himself.

So again, Eucharist central in early church worship and in current traditions, worship kind of culminates at the table in a lot of those traditions.

For our time today and for our church, we refer to it as communion.

Um again, the literal meaning from the Greek is in common, so you can see the stretch there.

Um but the English renderings would be fellowship or participation.

Uh, in 1 Corinthians, we see that word participation in some of our translations.

Maybe ringing in your ears right now is the verse in Acts where it says, and having all the believers having all things in common.

Okay, that's where we get that communion language from.

Communion was probably um sort of introduced later on in church history, most likely in the Church of England, they would coin the phrase holy communion.

So uh that's kind of where we get that terminology from.

Not a bad start so far, right?

Easy stuff, nothing nothing crazy here.

Uh let's talk about uh some origin.

Let's talk a little bit about the origin of communion.

And for that, we will read Luke chapter 22.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

So if you have your Biblias available, Luke chapter 22 14.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

Verse number 14 is where we'll pick up our reading today.

Word of the Lord says this when the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table.

Jesus said, I've been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.

For I tell you now that I won't eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.

Then he said, Take this and share it among yourselves.

For I will not drink wine again until the kingdom of God has come.

Then he took bread and gave thanks to God for it.

Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

After supper, after dinner, he took another cup of wine and said, This cup is the new covenant between God and his people, an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me.

Dun dun dun.

So our origin comes from the Last Supper, right?

And all of the Synoptic Gospels have some form, some version of this retelling.

And by Synoptic, we mean Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

John is kind of out there on an island, quite literally doing his own thing, but we'll we'll we'll include him in today's uh message.

But yeah, Synoptic Gospels have this, and this is still debated, but it's all in there, uh, that this takes place at some sort of Passover celebration, or at least within we know, the during the festival of unleavened bread.

Okay.

Uh also 1 Corinthians is really the only other reference that we have explicitly to this act when Paul talks about it, and again, we'll read that a little bit.

So that's kind of that's kind of the origin, the Bible.

Who likes to eat?

Who likes to eat with other people?

Okay, who likes to eat by themselves?

Okay.

Um so other than the Bible, the origin obviously is from meals.

Meals are important, they're important communal activities, and that is no less the case than in the Hebrew culture as well, and so much so that God actually instituted feasts for his people.

There are several feast and banquet types of things that took on that took place uh in Israelite culture.

We have tabernacles, the feast of trumpets, the feast of weeks, uh, and ultimately Passover, which again is most likely what where we get this idea of communion.

Quick Exodus recall, I'm sure most of you are familiar, but if you're not, Passover stems from when Israel, or not Israel yet, but the Hebrew people are trying to leave, and Pharaoh won't let them leave.

And so God says, okay, well, I'm gonna do a bunch of really scary things, and he's Pharaoh still won't let them leave.

And so God says, okay, I'm gonna take the firstborn son of everybody uh around here.

And God says, but I'm going to provide a provision for my people.

And so their job is to slay a lamb, take the blood of the lamb, put it on the doorpost, and the angel of death, talk about having that title on your business card.

The angel of death would come by, and when he would see the blood on the doorpost, he would pass over the house with the blood.

You know, we even sang about it sort of symbolically, we sing about that now.

On the doorframe of my life is the blood of Jesus Christ, right?

Uh today was that was in the song today.

So that's the Passover, and the Jews would celebrate this on an annual basis, and it was ultimately, as Christians viewed it, fulfilled in uh the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

And so um the communion, the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, is sort of that new iteration of a Passover meal.

Tracking with me on that.

Jesus is the Lamb.

Uh His blood covers uh the doorposts of our lives.

There's salvific imagery not only in what happened in the Old Testament, but now what is happening in our lives as well.

Again, this is during the time of unleavened bread, unleavened just meaning without yeast.

So it's basically a pure piece of bread.

Uh, you'll often see, you know, beware of the yeast of the Sadducees and Pharisees.

Paul talks about a little bit of yeast in the church spoiling the whole loaf, you know.

So this terminology is used just to point to the pureness or the purity of Christ.

Amen?

Um what are we missing here?

I think that's pretty much it for that.

So we've got terminology, we've got origin.

Oh, by the way, aren't you kind of thankful that Jesus didn't in uh introduce the Lord's Supper as like you have to eat the meat of a lamb and drink the blood?

I mean, logistically speaking, that would have been really tough for us, uh, especially here at the museum, you know, cooking up lamb in the back.

So really thankful, really thankful for the whole bread component, God.

Let's talk iterations, shall we?

Acts chapter two.

Uh Acts chapter two is where we're I only have one bookmarker in my Bible.

Verse number 46.

It says this they worshiped together at the temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity, all the while praising God and enjoying the good will of all the people.

And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Um this starts as just normal meals.

Uh and in Jude, if you read Jude, he'll call them love feasts or agape feasts.

And these take place on Sundays.

Now, traditionally, worship by the Jewish people would be on Saturdays, their Sabbath.

Um, but when Jesus conquers death, it becomes Resurrection Sunday.

And so that's when the Jew and Gentile community form into the Christian community, those who believe in Jesus, and they begin to worship on Sundays.

And during Sundays, they share a meal together or the uh Agape meals.

So there are some sacrificial undertones here to this, because everyone would bring something to the meal to share with one another.

And so this is sort of like a free will, a fulfillment of a free will offering that meet we may see in the Old Testament.

Um, it is the ancient potluck.

Yes, you're absolutely right.

That's why we continue uh to carry on that tradition uh in some shape, way, or form.

Also, uh after the, well, not after the meal, it was a component of the meal, so maybe towards the end of the meal, and it was usually late at night, but they would have the Lord's Supper portion of this.

So it was normal eating, you know, having a good time, and then there would be sort of this consecrated moment where they would remember the act of Jesus and sort of replay what happened at the Last Supper with bread and wine.

Um, again, the bread and wine.

There are sacrificial undertones here as well, because in the Old Testament, that was one of the sacrifices that were to be brought before God was bread and wine.

So everything kind of culminating together here in this new covenant.

There's nothing really in the Bible that stands alone, like it's all a part of the story of God.

And so it's so cool that we get to be included in that as well.

Uh after the feast, uh it started to become probably well, first and second century would they would probably carry this on, and so towards the end of that, it became a little bit more ritualistic in nature, and so you would have some sort of formalized section within a church service, and it probably mirrors or resembles a little bit closer to what we do today, right?

It's in a service, it's part of the ordained minister or bishop at that junction's uh opportunity or idea, or sorry, did they part of the ordained bishop's uh job description to administer that, and there's usually some liturgy involved in it as well.

So this was most likely in a response to what was happening at the time where the Roman people or the Roman society would look at the Christians and go, you guys are actually atheists because you don't sacrifice to anybody.

A lot of times when we think of sacrifice, we think strictly Jewish because that's really what we know about it, I guess, as believers.

But in the ancient world, this was a common practice to sacrifice to other gods.

But since Christians realized, like, no, Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice, there's no more sacrifices that need to be made, uh, they weren't sacrificing anything.

And so, in response to that, it's been proposed that they created this sort of uh institutionalized or a little bit more ritualistic to show, hey, we're we're legitimate, you know, this is this is a real thing, this is a real deal.

Uh also could be just sort of an invitation for people to come check out uh what's going on.

Tracking with me on that?

Okay, great.

Uh let's talk now about um some interpretations into the good stuff.

Uh John chapter 6 is where we will read just a couple verses.

John 6 · chapter mention

Verse number 53.

So Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.

But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

And I will raise that person at the last day.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

There's debated interpretations of this text and debated interpretations of what we actually do when we take communion.

So we'll cover a few of those.

Uh one interpretation is what's known as transubstantiation.

And somebody asked me, is that a real word?

I said, it absolutely is.

And this was most likely popularized by one of the early church fathers, Justin Martyr.

And basically, it's an idea that the elements that you are taking are supernaturally transformed into the body and blood of Jesus.

Um, some of our Catholic brothers and sisters, you may hear them say talk about real presence, right, is in the elements when you take communion or take the Eucharist.

Now, uh Justin Martyr was a um, he was definitely rebutting the idea that there were cannibalistic uh activity happening within the church.

You know, this would even go against scripture.

Um, but he was saying that no, this we're gonna take this in more of a literal sense and believe that when Jesus says, take eat this is my body, and when John writes down uh this very interesting phrase when Jesus says, You have to eat my flesh and drink my blood, that there's there's something supernaturally happening there to the elements, okay?

Another interpretation of that would be consubstantiation and um sorry substantiation, whatever.

You get it.

Um this was uh probably made more popular by one of the fathers of the Reformation, which was uh Martin Luther.

And he would say that con or with, there's more uh there's a spiritual sense in which the elements sort of become part of um Christ's body and Christ's blood as well.

So again, it's almost as if the bread and the wine like coexists with the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ in more of a spiritual sense, okay?

Something that the interpretation, and this isn't an exhaustive list by any means, but these are probably the most uh popular ones or the ones most uh carried by most, is just the symbolic uh presence of Jesus' body and blood.

This would be probably more so where we lean uh as a church, but uh a lot of times when we say Sym symbolism or symbolic, our brains can kind of check out and go, okay, well, it's not really that important, right?

It's just a symbol, uh, it just it just kind of means something else.

But if we think about it, we don't necessarily look at anything else in our lives as that's symbolic is not important.

A stop sign is just a symbol, right?

It's colors and words, and it but it represents something very important.

Because if you don't stop at a stop sign, not only could you cause harm to yourself, you could be causing some serious danger to other people around you, right?

It's the World Cup.

Things are happening uh with some of the countries that uh we celebrate on the pitch.

Uh and for those who don't watch soccer, that is the field.

Um but to say when Dom's walking around with his Germany jersey, or Caleb's walking around in his Argentina jersey, or when Vinny's walking around in his Brazil jersey, if either if any of those teams were to win, um you wouldn't say to that person, well, you didn't win, right?

They're they're showing a union with their favorite team.

More importantly, they're showing a union with their country.

They're symbolizing via the jersey that they are a part of this.

And so um they may get very upset with you if you say, Well, you didn't really win.

It was the it was the team that won, right?

That would not go over well.

So, but it's just symbolic of of who they're who they're identifying with as their country of origin.

They're proud to be a part of that, right?

Same thing with with communion.

Even if you were to lean more so on the, well, this is this is a symbol, it has weight.

It has it has real meaning, it has real substance to it as well.

Okay, we talked about interpretation, but now let's talk a little bit about uh some application.

Um 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

Well, I'll get to that in a second.

I think three words to keep in mind is uh illustration, demonstration, and participation.

So whenever we're doing this as a family together as a body of believers, it's good to kind of remember uh these phrases.

We're illustrating uh something significant, we're demonstrating it, and then we're participating it.

So let's go to the scriptures uh to see what I'm talking about.

First Corinthians chapter 11, and then we will start in verse number 23.

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

It says, For I pass on to you, this is Paul speaking to the church in Corinth, what I received from the Lord himself.

On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.

And then he broke it in pieces and said, This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way he took the cup of wine after supper, dinner, saying, This cup is the new covenant between God and his people, an agreement confirmed with my blood.

Do this in remembrance of me.

As often as you drink it.

For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again.

So anyone who eats his bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

That's why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you're eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself.

That's why many of you are weak and sick, and some have even died.

I don't know what to do with verse number 30, so ask Vinny about it anyway.

Illustration, demonstration, participation.

So we are showing something that I even hate to use the term spiritual reality because there's a very tangible reality to being adopted into the kingdom of God.

But we're illustrating something for our senses to be able to call back to what Jesus actually did for us in the first place.

So when we do this, we're we're seeing it, we're taking it, we're drinking it, real bread, real juice or real wine, because Jesus was a real person and he did the real act of dying on the cross for us.

The demonstration part I think is important because Jesus doesn't have to die on the cross like week after week after week after week, or month after month after month after month.

So this communion is a way to demonstrate what actually took place as well.

So we're seeing it, but we're, but we're also able to demonstrate it, the act of it happening in a sense.

And then I think participation is key because there are a number of scriptures that Jesus talks about, even when his disciples are coming up, like, hey, can I sit on your right?

Can I sit on your left?

And he's like, Are you, you know, you're gonna have to drink the bitter cup of suffering if you want to do this?

You know, Jesus talks about, hey, if you want the glory, you're gonna have to go through the trial as well.

So I think there's a there's a participation element we're identifying with that.

Um, some sub points to this is it's remembrance of Christ.

That seems obvious, but in our in our hectic lives and even sometimes our hec hectic Sundays, uh, we need to pause and stop and just remember the finished work of Christ in our lives.

Um it's some traditions would say this is an impartation of grace, okay?

I don't want to get in trouble here.

This is an impartation of grace.

So almost as if you are ingesting and digesting God's grace for you.

I appreciate the imagery there.

However, I may not go as far as to say that because I I believe that via the Holy Spirit, grace is always available to us, okay?

So, but I do appreciate the imagery of it because it is important when we are taking communion to recognize that.

To really come in and going, because a lot of times we think, well, I sinned, I'm not worthy to take this.

Well, join the club.

Like, you know what I mean?

That's that's part of the sacrifice, that's part of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is that we are able to come boldly before the throne of grace and receive that grace.

So it is a reminder of God's grace.

And even in the moment, it may be good to tell God, Lord, I need to receive your grace here in this moment right now.

I know how my week went, you know, I know where where my mind's been.

Um I need your grace, Lord.

And so that that tangible illustration can help us connect the dots there.

It's a remembrance of union, it's a remembrance of the the union with Christ.

Christ lives within us, we live within Christ, right?

It's a remember of union with one another.

This is this is huge.

It's not just for the individual.

We often talk about our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

And while I understand what that means, no, we are a body of believers, and so when we're taking communion, we're understanding the significance that Christ died to create a new people, and and that is us.

Also, this is the really cool part to me.

It's the union from past, present, and future churches.

I mean, not only were the people who walk with Jesus on a daily basis, participate this, participate with this in the in the early church, but you know, even a couple hundred years ago, just think about people were doing this here in this city, you know, and we're doing the same exact act that they're doing.

And then people who come behind us are going to be doing the same exact thing that the Lord instituted some thousands of years ago.

I think for me, uh that's a really cool facet of it.

There's also some eschatological emphasis, and in other words, there is some uh last days or end times sort of emphasis to this.

You know, Jesus even speaking himself, hey, I'm not gonna do something of this nature until the kingdom comes into fulfillment.

But what we're doing is we're we're almost illustrating that kingdom coming into uh fulfillment as well.

Um so really cool.

The marriage supper of the lamb and revelation, like this is all happening around the table with one another, like cheers in with Jesus.

That sounds pretty cool, you know.

So um let's talk a little bit about some cautions and uh some conditions.

So for that, we'll just jump back here at First Corinthians 10 and 16.

When we bless the cup of the Lord's table, aren't we sharing in the blood of Christ?

And when we break bread, aren't we sharing in the body of Christ?

And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.

Think about the people of Israel.

Weren't they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar?

I'm gonna go on here in 19.

It says, What am I trying to say?

Well, tell me, Paul, I'm saying that food offered to idols has some significance or that idols are real gods?

No, not at all.

I'm saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God.

And I don't want you to participate with demons.

Um there's a distinction here, not a division.

So we would say that only a believer should participate uh in this practice.

And the reason a believer should participate in this practice is because through the power of the Holy Spirit, a believer is able to comprehend the significance of what we are practicing.

Jesus condescended.

He left his throne in heaven.

God of the universe left his throne in heaven, became Jesus.

Lived with humanity.

Was tempted and tried more than you or I could ever imagine.

Yes, he was loved by many, but he was also hated.

He was weird.

Um in in Paul's day, you know, he's he's kind of talking to this, you know, you can't be worshiping demons, worshiping Jesus, uh or eating eating meals that have been sacrificed to demons and then sitting at the Lord's table.

It may not be entirely applicable to our modern day reality, but it's like, hey, I've got my strip club Saturdays and then I got church on Sundays.

Like this duality of life.

Like I can participate in both, and I can everything's everything's kosher with both.

Like, no, he's saying, hey, choose.

Choose which way you're you're gonna live.

And so I think that duality is more so what we can kind of think of.

We're honoring the Lord's table by doing that.

Uh he's he's also Paul's also addressing like this division or this classism that's happening uh within the early church.

Some of the people, it seems, were rushing to get to church or to get to their meal so that they could hurry up and eat because they were starving.

And Paul's like, hey, you guys, don't you have food at home?

Like, can't you can't you eat at home and wait?

Because what was happening was people who were poor who actually didn't have enough to eat were coming there and going, hey guys, I kind of need some of this, you know.

I'm I I need some sustenance through throughout the day.

And so he's kind of talking to that.

I think you know that could be the case maybe in some scenarios, but I think mainly for us, uh, it's just to realize that uh we do this together.

We we do this as a way to unify and a way to identify as one body uh with one another.

If you are having something in your home, however, just wait till everybody shows up to do it.

Uh the biggest thing really is to approach this uh with honor and not casually or not in a cavalier manner or in an indifferent manner, I think would be a good term for that.

Like let's approach this with reverence and with honor.

Uh the communions we we talked, or the components, I guess we talked about a little bit already.

It's real bread because it represents a real body that was broken.

It's a real cup, it's it's really happening in the moment because that cup represents the blood that ratified a new covenant.

So anytime in the scripture we see there being a covenant made by God, it's ratified by blood.

And so the holy blood of Jesus is eternal ratification for our new covenant with Him.

As far as uh some procedures uh go, I think examination unification and anticipation.

Again, sometimes we can get caught up in like examining, and yes, we should examine like where am I have I sinned?

Of course I've sinned, I need to confess my sin.

But more so, how am I approaching this moment?

Is it casual?

Is it indifferent?

Is it just going through the motions, or do I really approach it with the significance and the weight that it holds?

Uh unification, obviously being united with Christ and united with one another.

And then the anticipation, anticipation, do this in remembrance of me.

We're we're declaring the Lord's death until he comes again.

So we're gonna actually take communion together.

Uh, but before we do that, uh we are going to take a few moments for examination.

And there's gonna be a song that plays um in the house, and then the lyrics will be on the screen.

So you can sit and read the lyrics, you can read your the scriptures, maybe go to one of the accounts in the gospels or read here in 1 Corinthians uh chapter 11.

Uh obviously pray.

If you want to come up here and kneel before the Lord, you're welcome to do that.

Don't open your elements just yet, uh, but let's sit and uh let's have some time for examination and contemplation and we'll come back and take communion together.

This is communion take it after that you will for his blood has power still by his wounds we shall be here.

This is communion.

Before we open the elements, if you wouldn't mind standing, and if you didn't get any, would you just lift up your hand?

We got some down here at the front.

One right here.

Keep them closed for a second.

We got one in the middle here.

Yes.

We're gonna wait.

Alright.

Now trade with somebody next to you as a sign of unity.

If somebody refuses you, don't get offended.

I get it.

It's a little non-traditional for us.

Let's go ahead and open up the bread before we take it.

I'll read the.

On the night our Lord was betrayed before he went to the cross, he took the bread in a manner like this.

He gave thanks for it, broke it, and said, This is my body.

Given for you, do this in remembrance of me.

Let's take the bread together, church.

Opening up the cup.

In the same way, he took the cup and blessed it.

This is the new cup.

This is the cup of the new covenant.

It's confirmed with my blood.

Poured out for you, for me.

Do this in remembrance of him, church.

Let's take the cup together.

Lord God, thank you for your son.

Thank you for the once and for all sacrifice for all sin.

Thank you, God, that today we get to be reminded.

We get to illustrate, demonstrate, and participate in the good news that Christ came to save sinners.

Not only that, but we're a part of a new family.

There's a new kingdom coming to earth.

We have been given a new spirit to reside in us, to guide us, comfort us, direct us.

We thank you that we can even approach you, Lord, because of what Christ did.

May we never forget.

May every time we do this act together, we realize that we are eternally unified with the holy God of the universe.

So Lord, we praise your name today.

May as we walk out of here this week, we remember that we carry you with us, Lord.

You are the light of the world, and that light can shine forth through us.

Hey, if you need healing for anything right now, would you just lift up physical healing?

If you need physical healing right now.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for these people, your children, God, who need healing in their bodies.

We ask for healing in Jesus' name.

We believe that by the power of your son, this is possible.

And so we come together unified in faith, believing for healing, physical healing in the bodies of these dear members of our congregation.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Church, so grateful you were here with us today.

Hope this was helpful.

Um we have our food drive.

Don't forget to bring your items in next week so we can distribute that, go beyond our four walls and do something in the name of Jesus.

Um, but yeah, let me pray a blessing over you.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May He make His face to shine upon you and give you His favor.

May He lift his countenance upon you and give you His peace.

Go in the name of Jesus.

We love you.

We'll see you next week.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.