Christ commanded us to observe two ordinances.
Believer’s Baptism and Lord’s Supper.
Baptism is an outward display of an inward decision to
follow Christ. Baptism is symbolic in that going under the
water reminds us of Christ’s death and coming up is a
reminder of His resurrection.
In a similar way the Lord’s Supper is representative of
Christ’s body being pierced for our transgression and His
blood being poured out on the cross at Calvary.
This morning I wanted to dedicate our service to the
examination of what the Scriptures say about the Lord’s
Supper and then observe it corporately.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe the implementation
of the Lord’s Supper by Christ.
Paul also describes it in his first letter to the church at
Corinth.
I’d like to read each account out loud as a starting point.
As I read I want you to listen and look for similarities as
well as differences.
Matthew 26:26-30
Mark 14:22-26
Luke 22:14-20
I Corinthians 11:23-28
I noticed 5 attitudes that we should exhibit as we observe
the Lord’s Supper.
The first one is;
Prayerful – in every description of the event, Christ
broke the bread and gave thanks, He also gave thanks
before drinking the wine. That’s why we pray before we
take each of the elements. Jesus modeled the
importance of prayer throughout His ministry. He would
often get up early in the morning and go out by Himself
to pray. As we observe the Lord’s Supper we should be in
a spirit of prayer. Our prayer ought to express our
thankfulness to God for His incredible plan for our
redemption through His Son Jesus Christ.
You probably noticed the phrases after a blessing or after
giving thanks. Jesus modeled a prayerful attitude at that
first Lord’s Supper.
The next attitude is
Worshipful – Matthew and Mark both include the fact
that at the close of the observance they sang a hymn
together.
They likely sang one of the Psalms that they were all
familiar with.
Hymns point us to God and His attributes. When we sing
them as a group as part of worship it prepares us to hear
from the Lord. Jesus led them in a song as they closed
out their time together in the upper room before they
went out to the Mount of Olives.
This morning, as we always do, we will close out our time
with a song. Music is powerful and sticks with us
throughout the day and even into the week.
The next attitude is
Thoughtful – Luke and Paul both document Christ urging
His disciples to “Do this in remembrance of Me”
Jesus wanted His disciples to have a tangible reminder of
what Christ was about to do. Bread and wine were
staples in their diet so they would always be able to
participate and observe this ordinance.
Jesus was about to be beaten and then crucified for sins
He didn’t commit. He went to the cross to forgive our
sin. Matthew mentions this in his account. He mentions
that Christ’s blood was poured out for many for
forgiveness of sins. That was His purpose.
We must be thoughtful of His sacrifice.
Lord’s Supper shouldn’t be an afterthought.
It shouldn’t be something we do out of duty or obligation.
When we observe it we should remember Christ’s pain
and everything He went through on our behalf.
The next attitude is
Faithful – Paul in I Corinthians 11:26 writes this…
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the
cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
By eating the bread and drinking the cup we are
proclaiming that Jesus died. It’s also a reminder that
God promised that Jesus would come back one day.
We must be faithful to also proclaim His death and
resurrection to the world we live in. Jesus’ last words to
His disciples was to go into all the world and make
disciples.
We are faithful when we observe the Lord’s Supper and
tell others about His death and resurrection.
The final attitude is
Mindful – Paul tells the church that a man must examine
himself before partaking in the Lord’s Supper.
I mentioned earlier that we must not take the Lord’s
Supper in a flippant or dutiful manner.
We must examine our heart and see if we have any
unconfessed sin. The Lord will help us identify areas we
need to repent from and forgive us.
If we come too often to the table it may become routine
and we may fail to examine our hearts.
Every time we come to the table we should be mindful of
what we have done and be gracious to forgive those who
have wronged us. Lord’s Supper is a wonderful time to
seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance and ask Him to search our
heart like king David did.
Let’s take just a few minutes to examine our hearts
before we observe the Lord’s Supper this morning.