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Good morning, everyone. Welcome. It's good to see you all. Glad
to hear all that buzzing going on. You act like you're glad
to see each other. That's always a blessing. Welcome to Bay Presbyterian
Church and this Lord's Day service of worship. Want to welcome those
who are here in person, those of you who are joining us online.
We are delighted to have you and please let us know, those
of you who are joining online, whether you're watching live
or whether you get this later, if there's any way that we can
be of help to you or minister to you in some way, please feel
free to contact us by way of email. or phone call or however
you'd like to. We'll even take care of your
pigeons. Just let us know how we can be of help to you. But
welcome one and all. We are looking forward to celebrating
the Lord's Supper today and glad to be able to do it in this nicely
decorated sanctuary. Thank you to all of you who helped
do that last week and get everything in place. It's wonderful. If
you are visiting with us and we have not yet had the privilege
of receiving from you a record of your attendance, we'd love
for you to fill out one of those welcome cards that you should
find in a little pocket on the back of a chair near you and
let us know, or otherwise, if you have an interest in joining
the church. As a matter of fact, just this morning we have had
someone join with us on Reaffirmation of Faith, Joe Widener. Joe, stand
up so everybody can see you. Hey, Joe's been around here longer
than I have. We're just making it official
today. He's been a part of our church family for a long time,
but I did want to make something of that, and he'll get me back
later, so that's okay. You know, my grandmother, before
she married, was a whitener, and it's a German word which
used to be widener, so we're probably kin. I'm sorry to have
to tell him that in front of everybody, but, you know, the
Lord is gracious. We don't get to pick our relatives.
Anyway, do wanna mention those things. Let's see, number of
announcements, wanna get through them quickly. If you're interested
in placing a poinsettia this Christmas season, you have an
insert in your bulletin, your folder there that will allow
you to do that. Otherwise, this week, ladies, remember that you
will not have a Bible study here at the church at 10 o'clock on
Wednesday. Instead, there is the Christmas
luncheon at 11.30. And there may or may not be spaces
available. If you are interested in going,
see Rachel. And at the very least, we can
get you on a waiting list so that you will have something
ready if it becomes available. But otherwise, those who have
signed up, remember that's this Wednesday at 1130 at the old
Florida Chophouse. Remember, we will not have a
Thursday evening study until after the first of the year.
We'll be picking up with that on January the 9th. Do want to
remind you about the annual Bay Christmas dinner coming up on
Friday the 13th. Not this coming Friday, but the
one following. It's a lucky day. My grandmother
was born on the 13th. I don't want to hear those grumps.
I'm just kidding. We will meet together here for
a wonderful meal and a wonderful musical program. and would love
to have you come. But we do need you to sign up.
And so there's a sign-up sheet on a clipboard on a music stand
near the front door over there. If you could sign up, let us
know you're coming. Or otherwise, at least contact
the office and somehow inform us that you plan to attend on
the 13th of December at 6 PM. Then on that following Sunday,
the 15th, we'll go Christmas caroling. And that will all begin
at 3 PM. So please look forward to that
with us. I do want to point out we still
don't have our video screens. Anticipate that work on the reworking
of that system will begin on December the 9th. So hopefully
that following Sunday, we'll have them up and working. But
in the meantime, remember, as we sing our songs, you have sheets
in your folder with the lyrics, or you can utilize the hymn number
that's there. If you'd really like to hold
a hymnal and look at the music and use that, that information
is available in your worship folder. Oh, you know, I had a
dean of students at seminary. He was a football coach. In fact,
Archie Manning was one of his football players in Mendenhall,
Mississippi. And Gerald Morgan would get up
every once in a while, and he would say, all right, we need
to have a coaches chat. And he would tell us something
that we didn't necessarily want to hear, but we needed to. This
is just a little housekeeping item. Please try your best not
to put containers with liquid in them in our trash cans, especially
this one back here. Our cleaning lady does such a
wonderful job, but when there's liquid in there, it tends to
go places where it shouldn't. So just please help us with that.
Was that all right? I didn't scold you or anything,
did I? Didn't mean to. I may be a guilty one myself.
We just all need to be careful, and please try not to do that.
One other thing, looking forward to going to two morning worship
services beginning the first Sunday in January. Remember,
we'll have 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. service in the morning,
and then a little later toward the second Sunday in January,
we'll be having a 6 p.m. service, as we have had in recent
years, which will run through March. This creates a need for
more greeters. If you're available to be a greeter
for any of those services, particularly the 11 a.m. and the 6 p.m. services, if you would please
see Carl Hemm and let him know that you're available to do that,
we would be grateful. All you gotta have is a smiling
face and maybe hand out a bulletin or just tell somebody you're
glad to see them, and we would love to plug you into that ministry.
Those are the things I have. I really hope I'm not overlooking
anything. Except. There is something. There is
something. I didn't see it listed, but I just wanted to remind folks
that are in the choir, Tuesday at 6 p.m. right here. It's our
Christmas practice. We start our Christmas practices.
So if you are new to the choir, come and join. It's a perfect
time to jump on board. And former choir members, I was
going to say older choir members, but former choir members, just
a reminder that this Tuesday at 6 p.m. 6 PM Tuesday, choir
practice. Thank you. How in the world could
I have overlooked that? I don't know. Thank you. I hope
I'm not overlooking anything else, any other announcements.
I do remember one. Today is my wife Kathy's birthday,
and she's with her mother at the nursing home in Danville,
Virginia. So honey, happy birthday. This tie is the closest thing
I have to the colors of the University of Virginia. And being a Western
Carolina grad myself, I wear it today in honor of my wife,
for whom I am so very grateful and thankful on her birthday.
So happy birthday, sweetie. And thank you for indulging me.
And so today is the first Sunday of Advent. And we have Pete and
Carol Roberts who have graciously agreed to read for us the lesson
today and to light that first Advent candle. I'm gonna ask
them to come up at this time. Lighting a candle is a simple
yet profound act. It is a testimony to the power
of light over darkness. Even the light of one candle
can reveal our faces as we stand near the candle. As we light
the candle, we begin our journey to Christmas, a day of joy and
celebration. The first candle on the Advent
wreath is called the Prophecy Candle. It opens the period that
anticipates Christmas and remembers those who first spoke the promise
of the coming Christ child. Our scripture reading is from
Matthew 1 verses 18 through 24. This is how the birth of Jesus
Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to
be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found
to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph,
her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose
her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared
to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, Do not be afraid
to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in
her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his
people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what
the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin shall be
with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call
him Immanuel. which means God with us. When
Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded
him and took Mary home as his wife. And in light of the good news
of the coming of the beloved son of God, let's prepare our
hearts and minds for worship. You. Good morning, church family. I'm reading the call to worship.
It's in the inside cover of your bulletin. It's Hebrews 10. We have been sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. But when Christ had offered for
all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of God. I will remember their sins and
their lawless deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of
these, there is no longer any offering for sin. O come, O come, Emmanuel. Stand
with me if you're able and let's sing. O come, O come, Emmanuel, and
ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the
Son of God appear. ♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel
♪ ♪ O come, thou day-spring, come and cheer ♪ ♪ Our spirit
by thy hand ♪ ♪ And death the jail for to flight
♪ ♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪ ♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel
♪ O come, thou wisdom from on high,
and order all things far and nigh. To us the path of knowledge
show, and cause us Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come
to thee, O Israel. O come, Desire of nations, bind
all peoples in one heart and mind. With every strife and war,
O cease, when all the world defend. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father,
we do rejoice at the coming of your beloved Son, that unspeakable
gift that the Lord Christ is, by whose blood we are cleansed
of every sin and united together in faith to Him and with all
of those who have gone before us into glory. Oh, Father, please
accept our worship as we offer it to you in the name of the
Lord Jesus, who alone is worthy. Please grant to us that blessing
of peace and joy which comes from knowing Him. even in the
midst of life's sorrows and trials. Grant that our eyes will be open
to the majesty and glory of Jesus Christ, that in trusting in Him
we may find a life fulfilled, and that we may have an eternity
before us to look forward to in anticipation of that. we offer
you our praise and thanksgiving, all in the name of Jesus, who
taught us to pray, saying, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. and lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. You may be seated. This is the reading of the Word
of God. 1 Corinthians 10, 14 through
22. Therefore, my beloved, flee from
idolatry. I speak as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say.
The cup of the blessing that we bless, is it not a participation
in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it
not a participation 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. Consider the people of
Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices
participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food
offered to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything?
No. I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons
and not to God. I do not want you to be participants
with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the
Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table
of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the
Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? And now we'll ask our ushers
to come forward as we worship the Lord by offering to him tithes
and gifts. And let's bow together in prayer.
O most gracious Father, you who have shown yourself to be the
most generous of all have given selflessly and so we pray, O
Lord, for that same spirit to abide within us. that we might
not only give of our means, but that we would do so cheerfully
and in thanksgiving, out of gratitude for all that you've done for
us. And so, our gracious Father, we pray that you will accept
these offerings as we give them. In the name of the Lord Jesus,
in whose name we pray, amen. Later in the service, we will
be partaking of the Lord's Supper or communion. And it may seem
a little different that as we celebrate the birth that we're
also celebrating the last supper before his death. But you know,
that's the reason that he came. And this is a beautiful hymn
written in the 1980s, which enables us to think on the reason that this
perfect child came into this world for you and me. Listen
carefully to these words and be blessed by them. Gathered round your table on
this holy morn, viewing Bethlehem's stable, we rejoice yet grieve,
joy to see you lying in your manger bed. Weep to see you dying in our sinful stead. Prince of glory gracing, heaven,
our time begun. now for us embracing death as
son of man by your birth so lowly by your love so true by your
cross most holy lord we worship Bethlehem's incarnation, Calvary's
bitter cross, wrought for us, salvation by your pain, your
loss. Now we fall before you. ♪ In this holy place ♪ ♪ Prostrate
we adore you ♪ ♪ For your gift of grace ♪ ♪ With profound dazed
wonder ♪ ♪ We your body take ♪ ♪ Late in homey nature ♪ For our sake, hushed in adoration,
we approach the cop. Bethlehem's pure oblation, freely
offered up. Christmas babe so tender, Lamb
who bore our blame. How shall sinners render praises
to your name? To your own good pleasure, in
the lives we pray. In your ransom treasure reign
forever king. Would you stand please and say. And sing the name above all names
as he reigns king of our lives. Jesus, Jesus, name above all
names, beautiful Savior, glorious Lord, Emmanuel. God is with us, blessed Redeemer,
living Word. Jesus, name above all names,
beautiful Savior, glorious Lord. You may be seated. Thank you, Gordon Carroll, so
much. As we go to the Lord in prayer, just reminding you, as
always, you have that sheet in your worship folder with a lot
of prayer requests on there. There are individuals and ministries
to be lifting up. Yesterday we had a memorial service
here for Dr. Don Hardin, his family gathered.
His wife Phyllis, however, is ill and unable to attend her
husband's memorial service. So if you would please remember
Phil Hardin, I know that she would be grateful as her family
would be as well. In addition, I was told just
before the service, Richard, I believe you said 600 meals
were served, Thanksgiving meals at the Cafe of Life, and they
ran out. There were a great many who were
in need there, so just keep the Cafe of Life as one of those
ministries that we pray for, as well as a whole host of others.
And I know there are lots of things on our hearts today, so
let me give you just a moment to pray silently, and then we'll
continue to pray as I lead us. Let's bow our heads and pray. Almighty, everlasting God, our
Father, we do come into your presence acknowledging The Lord
Jesus and our need of him, as we speak of Emmanuel, how can
we even begin to comprehend that our God is with us? Especially
when we acknowledge our sin and guilt, that guilt which is real,
not merely something felt, but something actual. As your word
declares that all have sinned and fallen short of your glory,
our consciences bear that out. in addition to the objective
truth of your word. And even creation has a way of
telling us that things are out of sorts. Please forgive us. Please be merciful to us and
gracious as we confess our sin that we may find you as you've
promised to be faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and
to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. As we realize the Lord Jesus
by his coming, by his perfect life, his atoning death on the
cross, his glorious resurrection and ascension, and now enthronement,
where he is seated at your right hand, interceding for us. Oh,
Father, may we truly look unto Jesus as we anticipate the reading
and preaching of your word and the celebration of that supper
which Jesus gave us. Grant, oh God, that we may Listen
and participate and do all things by faith, thanking you for your
beloved son. Please, Father, provide for those
who are in need today. We pray for healing for Phyllis
Harden. We pray for comfort for her and
for her family. We pray for a host of others
in our congregation who are in need of healing and restoration,
and we pray that you will provide for them. We ask you to please
bless those ministries that are undertaking to proclaim the gospel
and minister in the love of the Lord Jesus. We thank you for
the Cafe of Life and we pray that that ministry will not lack
for resources in the serving of those in need in our community.
And Lord, we pray that the gospel of Jesus will continue to go
forth in the world locally and to the furthest reaches that
you may be glorified. Oh, Father, please grant to us
that minister of your Holy Spirit, wherein, as your word is read and preached,
that that same spirit who inspired the word will drive it home,
that he will minister to our hearts in just the way needed.
Bless Dr. Poland as he comes to minister,
as we're so grateful for he and Jean and for their family, and
ask your blessing upon them. Bless your servant as he stands
behind this sacred desk, that the words he proclaims may be
your words, that you may be glorified, knowing that your word never
returns to you void. And so we commit all to you in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Doctor? Good morning, everybody, and
happy Thanksgiving. If your Bibles to First Corinthians
chapter 11, and we will begin there, as Pastor Patrick said
in the church calendar, today is Kathy's birthday. And so we
must attend to that. In fact, because of the importance
of that, among the staff, a great search was made. Was there somebody
else born and raised in Virginia? Could there be one? And they
went through one after another, and like David at the end, the
least came forward and said, I was born in Virginia. And so
I am preaching this morning. Well, this morning, I want to
preach on the origin and meaning of the Lord's Supper as practiced
in the PCA church, and also celebrate this important meal together
as a fellowship. It's actually, for me, a difficult
passage to preach, because there's the weight of what is signified
here, but at the same time, the joy of what it seals unto us. So let's read 1 Corinthians 11,
and we'll go from 23 to 29. For I received from the Lord
what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night
when he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks,
he broke it. And he 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 supper, saying, this cup is 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 the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until
he comes. 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. Grass withers and the flowers
fade, but this, the word of God by his decree, will stand forever. Lord Jesus, this morning we both
study and participate in the supper you initiated and instructed. We were slaves to sin, and now
we are redeemed. We were lost, and you searched
for, pursued, and rescued us. We were spiritually hungry, and
you fed us. We were doomed to an eternity
separated from you, and you tore the curtain that separated us
from you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for it
is in your name that we pray, amen. Well, you know the history. The Israelites were enslaved
for 430 long years, generation upon generation enslaved. They suffered horrific oppression,
literally worked to death. To keep order and compel the
Hebrew slaves to do what was ordered, sometimes a leather
collar was placed around their neck and one slave tied to another
by rope in a long line. Others were compelled to do whatever
was asked of them by having a large metal fish hook pulled through
their cheek and tied by rope to one another. Amos spoke of
this very type of bondage as a slave in chapter four and verse
two. The Lord God has sworn by his
holiness that behold, the days are coming upon you when they
shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fish
hooks. But, but, An individual could
be purchased out of the slave line, set free by paying a price,
by being redeemed. The biblical root of the word
redeemed has this very meaning. 1 Peter 1 and verse 19 says,
you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you
from your forefathers with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect. Sin is like that fishhook and
collar, isn't it? Like all crimes, sin requires
justice. Someone must pay the price for
the crimes committed. In the case of sin, the penalty
is one. Death. Justice must be served. Hebrews 9.22 says, indeed, under
the law, almost everything is purified with blood. And without
the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. We just sang a bit ago, O come,
O come, Emmanuel, and I was captured again by the words and ransom
captive Israel. We are, of course, the new Israel. And later, order all things far
and nigh to the path of knowledge show. and cause us in her ways
to go. That almost summarizes the book
of Proverbs, doesn't it? Wisdom is metaphorically viewed
as a woman who comes to us. It is this notion of justice
and redemption that is the underlying basis for the Passover feast. The Israelites had been enslaved
by the Egyptians, as we said, for four centuries. God had heard
their cry, and he sends Moses as the emerging nation's leader
and spokesperson. Moses pleads with Pharaoh to
free the Hebrews, but Pharaoh refuses. He stubbornly refuses
God's plan. And isn't that, by the way, exactly
how sin works? Despite one mighty God display
after another, Still, Pharaoh's heart is so hard, again, just
like sin, that he refuses to grant the Hebrews freedom. In
one final judgment on the Egyptian gods and on Pharaoh, God decrees
in Exodus 12 that he will take the life of every firstborn except
those who demonstrate obedience and belief in him by painting
the horizontal lintel and doorposts of the door of their house with
the blood of a sacrificed lamb. It escapes most people's attention,
but the horizontal lintel and doorpost foreshadows the cross
upon which Christ's blood would also be painted. Blood is a mark
that the cost of sin has been paid by the sacrifice of a spotless
and unblemished lamb to atone for sin. It marked and set apart
those who believed and obeyed God's instructions and would
live from those who did not trust God and would die. Celebrating
the Lord's Supper is one of only two sacraments in the Reformed
church. Why? Because that's the only
two that scripture specifies. The sacraments of baptism and
the Lord's Supper are signs of leaving one life and entering
another and very different life through regeneration by the Holy
Spirit. It is in this manner that sacraments
are, as John Calvin defined it, earthly signs and seals which
outwardly make visible a promise of God to his covenant people
in order to encourage, reassure, and strengthen them. The Westminster
Confession of Faith defines them as signs and seals of the covenant
of grace. The Westminster Larger Catechism
question 162, and I'm sure you know it, explains that a sacrament is
a holy ordinance instituted by Christ and his church to signify,
seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant
of grace the benefits of his mediation, to strengthen and
increase their faith and all other graces, to oblige them
to obedience, to testify and cherish their love and communion
one with another, and to distinguish them from those that are without. That is on the outside. In preparation
for this sermon, I used a variety of research resources, but want
to particularly acknowledge one by John Sitzma entitled, Meeting
Jesus at the Feast, Israel's Feasts and Gospel. Remember,
as he points out, and we all know, that Jesus took common
understandings and the cultural norms of his time and the knowledge
of the Old Testament that the Jews had and wove together new
understandings that pointed to him as the anointed Messiah,
sent by God as the incarnation of his promise. In this manner,
Jesus took the meaning and substance of the well-known Passover feast,
remember, they had been celebrating it since the Exodus, and reappropriated,
or better, extended it as a symbol of his sacrifice of love, of
atonement, and of redemption of us. The Jewish Seder meal,
or Passover meal, was instituted as a commemorative feast celebrating
and remembering the exodus from Egyptian slavery. It was a heavily
symbolic drama of grace and redemption by God toward his people. Passover
you see meant life or death. If Israel genuinely trusted God,
they would have to learn to live by the word of God and by the
sacrificed blood of the, who knows, hundreds of thousands,
millions of lambs sacrificed. If they failed to mark their
doors with the blood of the sacrificed lamb, their firstborn died. If they were protected by the
blood covering their doors, they lived. The actual Passover meal
provided rich symbols, remembrances of what God wanted all of Israel
throughout all history to remember. The bitter herbs recalled the
bitter oppression of 430 years of Egyptian slavery The unleavened bread recalls
a new beginning and a food staple without which they could not
live. But the central focus of the
feast was the lamb, a male lamb without blemish that would be
sacrificed and its blood splashed on the altar, symbolically covering
over or washing away the people's sin. The Hebrew word for Passover
is Pesha, from an Egyptian word Pesh, a word that means a god
who spreads his wings over his people to protect and save them.
This same word and meaning is used in Isaiah 31, verse 5, like
birds hovering overhead The Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem. He will shield and deliver it.
He will pass over it and will rescue it. To start the feast,
male lambs, carefully inspected by the priests and declared blemish-free,
were lined up at the temple. And at a precise time, the throats
of the lambs were slit. and the blood caught in basins
to be poured at the base of the altar, while the great halal,
Hebrew for praise prayer, which was all of Psalms 113 through
118, were sung, followed by the people chanting in response,
hallelujah, meaning praise the Lord. These lambs, after passing
inspection by the priests, were put on public display for the
public to see several days before their sacrifice. And at 9 a.m.,
the lamb was led to the altar and, the word used in Hebrew,
staked out to await its slaughter. Around 3 p.m., the lamb was slain. Remember those times. In addition
to specific food items, the seder, or order of service, involved
four cups of wine. The first one, the opening blessing,
or kedush, involved the cup of blessing. I will take you out
of Egypt. The second cup of wine was the
cup of wrath. I will save you from. The third
cup, taken after the meal, was the cup of redemption or blessing. I will redeem you, drunk while
singing the halal psalms, the psalms of praise and gratitude
for redemption. And finally, the fourth cup,
the cup of the kingdom, I will take you as a nation. Ray Vanderlaan has pointed out
the richness of how God used these symbols. As one example,
in Jesus's time, the negotiation of a marriage was sealed by a
cup of wine. The prospective groom's father
would negotiate a bride price with the father's bride. I'm
still paying it. When an agreement was reached,
the groom's father would pour a cup of wine and he would hand
it to his son. And the son would take the cup
and hand it to his prospective bride and say, I offer you this
cup, my life for you. Will you accept my life? The
wine represented his blood, his life. Do you see the parallels? Jesus comes to earth as the groom,
seeking his bride, the church. He offers the third cup of wine,
representing his blood, the cup of redemption and of blessing
to us, his bride, and says, I offer my very life to you. Will you
spiritually marry me? What you may have never considered
is this. When you take the cup offered
in the Lord's Supper, something we will do together in a moment,
you are accepting his offer of marriage. You're saying, in effect,
I realize your great sacrifice and what you did for me, and
I accept your proposal. I give my life to you in return. Jesus reenacts this and literally
becomes the Passover feast in the New Testament. The Apostle
John in chapter one in verse 29 foreshadowed all of this in
a way nobody understood at the time with the words, behold,
the Lamb of God, who did what? Takes away the sin of the world.
Remember that the Passover lamb had to be inspected and declared
without blemish. In like fashion, Jesus was examined
and questioned by the Jewish and Roman authorities. The final
Pharisee verdict was recorded in Matthew chapter 22 and verses
34 through 46. They found no fault in him. No
one could say a word in reply. And from that day on, no one
dared ask him any more questions. The final Roman verdict was recorded
in John 18. Pilate pronounces him innocent,
saying, there is no basis for a charge against this man. The
final God verdict occurred immediately after Christ's death. The temple
curtain was torn from top to bottom. An earthquake occurred
and the dead rose from the graves, Matthew records. As the Roman
centurion exclaimed as all this was happening, surely he was
the son of God. These parallels and symbolism
between the Passover and the Lord's Supper become deeper and
richer. Jesus was nailed on the cross
at 9 a.m. just as the sacrificial lambs
were being staked out for slaughter to atone for the sins of the
people. He died at about 3 p.m. at the same time as the sacrificial
lambs were being slaughtered as the priest offered the standard
liturgical proclamation. Are you ready for this? What
the priest said as they slit the throat. It is finished. just as Christ would proclaim,
it is finished as he died on the cross. Go back to that Passover
meal that night in the upper room. The third cup, the cup
of redemption or blessing, becomes the central focus of the meal. The normal practice during the
Passover meal was to pass the cup for all to drink. But suddenly,
and completely out of the norm, Jesus abruptly changes the liturgy. He takes the unleavened bread,
dipping it into the cup and said, take, this is my body. Moments later, he passed the
cup and said, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured
out for many. This is so momentous that Matthew,
Mark, and Luke all record this in their gospels. The apostles
immediately understood an important undertone of what was happening,
for they knew, they knew their Hebrew Bible. Jesus was saying,
my shed blood initiates the new covenant you have heard about,
that Jeremiah prophesied about in chapter 31. For this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, declares the Lord. I will put my law within them.
I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they
shall be my people. And no longer shall each one
teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, know the Lord,
for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest,
declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sins no more. But what about the meaning
of the elements, the bread and the wine? All Reformed theologians
reject the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, the idea
that the bread and the wine literally become Christ's body and blood. Scripture doesn't say that. And
the idea that the supper is a sacrifice. They also reject the Lutheran
doctrine of consubstantiation, the sacramental union in which
Christ is said to be in, with, and under the elements. In Reformed
theology, we believe what Scripture says. that Christ is spiritually
present in his divine nature. We do not believe that the bread
is the actual body of the Lord. We do not believe that the cup
is the actual blood. Rather, they are symbols, just
as Jesus used them, of his spiritual body and blood present with us. Christ taught his disciples that
he was the Passover lamb who would be sacrificed to save his
people from their sins and death. He taught that his broken body
and his spilled blood were the atoning sacrifice once for all,
not over and over sacrificed as in a mass. Christ also made
clear that the Passover was now replaced, or maybe a better way
to say it was, is enlarged to become the Lord's Supper. We
celebrate this sacrament. We celebrate this sacrament in
order to, number one, remember Christ's sacrifice that delivered
us from sin and death. Number two, to be a sign and
a seal of what Christ did for us in our place. Thirdly, to
remember that Christ has done for us what we could not do ourselves,
that we are completely and totally dependent upon God to save us
from sin. Fourthly, we remember that we
received new life from him. And lastly, through this sacrament,
we seal our hearts and our minds to union with Jesus. And since
he now lives in us, we have been crucified in the world, to the
world, to sin, and we inherit eternal life with Christ. So the Lord's Supper is a powerful
way to make visible to us the truth of God's word and the reality
of the gospel and all its promises. So what were the lessons that
God was teaching his people? And here you can fill in your
bulletins. What was he teaching through
the Passover as pointers to the coming redemption and atonement
that his son would bring? Well, the first is grace. It
was by God's grace that the firstborns of obedient Israelites could
be saved from death. It illustrated that redemption
from sin is not and cannot be based on the efforts of those
who are in bondage to sin, us, but only by the substitutionary
price paid by another. The second lesson is atonement. Atonement means literally a covering
with blood. God provided a spotless lamb,
his very own son, whose blood would be spilled to cover our
sins. You can probably guess the third
one. It's justification. Passover was, in fact, the very
enactment of the truth of justification by faith. Justification means
we are declared not guilty of our sins when covered by the
blood of the Lamb. And the last lesson, praise God,
is adoption. In the New Testament, the Apostle
John says, to all who received him, to those who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Paul's
in agreement in Romans 8. He says, you received the Spirit
of Sonship. The Spirit testifies with our
spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then
we are heirs, joint heirs of God and with Christ. So I want to summarize the Lord's
Supper this way. I want no one to misunderstand
the significance of what we are about to do. The Lord's Supperment
is a sacrament of the Church. Jesus Christ is truly, though
spiritually, present and received. We celebrate the Lord's Supper
because it is spiritual nourishment and because it conveys the benefits
of the death and resurrection of Christ to believers who approach
this table by faith. So this is a meal for believers
only. The Apostle Paul makes clear
in 1 Corinthians 11, 27 to 31, a portion of which we read, that
we should come prepared for this sacrament. Proper preparation
involves this. That's why you all know, that's
why this church does exactly what we should do. You have advanced
notice of the Lord's Supper. You know that it will occur the
first Sunday of every month until the Lord returns. Till the end
of time as we understand it, it will be happening. What are
we to do? Examine our lives and ask forgiveness
for any unconfessed sin in our lives before we partake of the
elements. Examine ourselves to see that
we have understood the unselfish and atoning nature of Christ's
death for us. Thirdly, given the above, we
imitate Christ in putting to death our sinful, selfish selves
in order to serve others. So to summarize what we've learned,
every time we take the Lord's Supper, we celebrate that we
too have been delivered, not from Egyptian slavery. That one
would be easy. but from the much worse slavery
and bondage of sin. Jesus died for us that our sins
would be forgiven, our lives transformed so that we would
live as children of God. These elements of bread and wine
are symbolic of the elements of life, of food and drink. Unless you eat and drink, you
will die. and you take food and drink into
yourself and into your inmost being. Receiving the communion
elements is taking the symbolic representation of the broken
body and shed blood of Jesus into our inmost being, receiving
Jesus who died for our forgiveness and transformation. We depend
upon these elements for our very life. We depend, that is to say,
upon Jesus for our very life. So understanding what Christ
has done, I ask you the question of how you will respond. You
have been given, you and I have been given new life, freed from
slavery and redeemed from your crimes. You have been declared
not guilty of treason and rebellion against the God who created you. How now shall you live your life? May God grant us a deeper and
deeper understanding of this mystery and sacrament to the
sanctification of our souls. Lord, what more can we say but
thank you and to turn our lives over to your spiritual guidance
and direction. Thank you for forgiveness, Lord.
Thank you for redemption. Lord, we accept your marriage
proposal. For it is in the atoning work
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, that we live and
breathe and have our very being. Amen. Patience is a virtue, and one
I'm still learning, obviously. You have heard the Lord's Supper
called the communion or Eucharist, which is simply Greek for thanksgiving. An apt name for our response
to what Christ did for us. It is a covenantal meal, signifying
God's initiative as a sign or covenant of his grace. What we
are about to share is blood and juice that serve as symbolic
signs of Christ's body and blood. But at the same time, visible
signs that Christ is spiritually present here with us. This meal
is in the Greek a koinonia, a fellowship or communion. It is a meal for
all that are in the body of Christ. Consider, who are we that like
Noah and his family, we find ourselves on an arc of salvation,
escaping the judgment of God? Who are we that like Israel of
old, the angel of death should pass over us? And who are we
that Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of this world, should take on
human flesh and suffer and die for you and me? Almighty God,
as we now prepare to celebrate this meal that you have prepared
for us, this bread and this cup are tangible and visible signs
and reminders of the supreme sacrifice of your son for our
sin, his body broken and his blood shed for us and our salvation. Lord, you call all to account.
With shame, Lord, we now confess the sins we have committed against
you in word, thought, and deed. We rightly deserve your condemnation. We turn from our sins and are
truly sorry for them. They are a burden we cannot bear.
Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father, for the sake of your
Son, Jesus Christ. So Lord, as we meditate on the
realities of our sin and our salvation in the quiet for a
few moments, we ask for your help in fully confessing our
sins as we prepare to solemnly partake of the bread and the
blood of your Son. Lord, forgive us all that is
past. Enable us to serve you in newness
of life, to your honor and glory, and fill us afresh with your
Holy Spirit. We pray this in Jesus' name,
amen. This sacred time at the Lord's
table is meant only for those who have been born again. That
is, those who have placed all their hope on the death and resurrection
of Christ and who are walking faithfully with the Lord. This is a serious matter. The
Apostle Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 11, whoever eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty
concerning the body and blood of the Lamb. Now what not one
of us is spotless. but we have confessed our sin,
and we covenant to turn in a different direction, Holy Spirit helping
us. This table is not for those who
are free from sin, but for those who are humble of heart and contrite
in spirit, God invites to this supper all sinners who confess
utter dependence upon him for pardon and cleansing based solely
on the sacrifice of Christ and who seek by the power of the
Spirit to crucify their old natures and to continue to follow Christ.
Examine your heart and mind to determine whether or not you
should partake of this meal. If you are not yet a committed
believer, please refrain from partaking until you come to faith
in Christ and then, at the appropriate time, joyfully partake along
with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord, the bread that
we are about to eat is symbolic of the human flesh you took on
and dwelt, sinless among us. And when you were sacrificed,
crucified, you bore our sins in your body on the cross that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness. And by your
wounds, we are healed. You took our place and paid a
price we could never pay. Seal this promise to our hearts
as we eat the bread representative of your body broken for us. The Lord Jesus on the night in
which he was betrayed instituted the sacrament of his body and
blood called the Lord's Supper to be observed in his church
up to the end of the world, again, for the purpose of the perpetual
remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in death, the sealing
of his benefits to believers, for spiritual nourishment and
growth in him, for further commitment in and to all duties to which
we owe God and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with
him and with each other as members of his mystical body. So if the
elders would come forward. And so the Lord Jesus, on the
night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Please take the bread and hold
it until all are served, and we will partake together as a
fellowship. you You. Let us eat together. And as we have heard so wonderfully
proclaimed, this salvation that we now commemorate is indeed
by grace through the atonement of our Lord Jesus so that we
are declared righteous on the basis of our faith in him alone
and therefore justified and adopted into his forever family. And
so I remind you that the cup is a symbol of the new covenant
in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which has been shed for
us And so that as we partake of it by faith, we are reminded
that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness
of sins. But oh, Christian, there is forgiveness,
because blood has been shed. Bless his name. the the so so so in remembrance of him. And let's pray. Most gracious
father and our God, we thank you. Oh, Lord, as we have celebrated
this supper, remembering all that Christ has done and yet
in anticipation of what we shall yet get to do, we thank you and
give you praise through Christ our Lord. And let's stand together and
sing as the disciples did on that evening when they sang a
hymn before they went to the Mount of Olives. Come, thou long-expected
Jesus. Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
good to set thy people free. ♪ Of our fears and sins release
us ♪ ♪ Let us find our rest in Thee ♪ ♪ Israel, strength and
consolation ♪ ♪ Hope of all, the earth of God ♪ ♪ Dear desire
of all ♪ ♪ Born by people to deliver ♪ ♪
Born a child and yet a king ♪ ♪ Born to reign in us forever ♪
♪ Now thy gracious kingdom bring ♪ ♪ By thine own eternal Spirit
♪ ♪ Full in all the lives of the world ♪ By thy laws, the
fish and parrot, praise us to thy glory. Before Pastor Greg pronounces
the benediction, I just want to remind you, if you have anything
you would like to pray about this morning, if I could ask
Rachel and some of our elders and others, perhaps, to be available
here at the front or at our doorways, and you can share that prayer
request, and we'll pray for you today. May God bless you. In a moment, I will pronounce
the benediction. But before I do, I remind us
all that when we leave this place, we go out into our mission field
marked, covered over by the blood of Christ, redeemed by his sacrifice,
and commanded to point others to the way of salvation. Now
may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and
may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. And all
of God's people together said, amen. Yeah.
The Cup of Christ
Series Messiah: Concert of the Ages
| Sermon ID | 12124175995879 |
| Duration | 1:21:04 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 |
| Language | English |
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