The Lord's Supper | 2025
- The Lord's Supper | Sunday February 9, 2025
- The Lord’s Supper | June 29 2025
- The Lord’s Supper | Sunday October 12, 2025
- The Lord’s Supper | Sunday February 22, 2026
- The Lord's Supper | Sunday May 24th, 2026
The Lord's Supper | Sunday February 9, 2025
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
(25) 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.”
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
As believers we have been called to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We take time to remember the bread which represents the body of Jesus. He is fully God and fully man, and lived a perfectly righteous life. In His body, Jesus walked in a full obedience to God the Father. By fulfilling the law Jesus completed His perfect righteousness. We also remember the cup which is the new covenant in His blood. Jesus took our sin and offered His blood as the perfect sacrifice for sin. When we come to take the Lord’s Supper we are proclaiming His death, but notice that is not the end of the verse. We proclaim His death until He comes. There is a future element to the Lord’s supper that even Jesus is anticipating and eagerly waiting for.
Luke 22:14-18 ESV
(14) And when the hour came, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.
(15) And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
(16) For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
(17) And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
(18) For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
Jesus had longed for and had a deep desire to celebrate the Passover with His disciples and point out to them what it really was about. He was ready to give the perfect payment for sin. Yet in the shadow of the cross, notice His promise not to eat of the Passover meal, the Lord’s supper again until... it is fulfilled in the Kingdom. Jesus declared “It is finished,” on the cross. He perfectly paid for sin, and yet the effects of what He had done were just starting to be unveiled. So as we proclaim His death we cannot ignore the fulfillment Jesus is anticipating in the kingdom. It is so important He is waiting to drink grape juice/ wine until He is in the Kingdom. As great as the Lord’s supper is now, Jesus says something even better is coming.
Matthew 26:29 Wuest
(29) And I am saying to you, I will positively not from now on drink of this product of the vine until that day when I drink it new in quality with you in the kingdom of My Father.
Jesus calls the feast He is looking forward to in the kingdom new, which also carries the idea of being superior in quality. He desires to be reunited with His disciples and in larger degree the church. He is waiting to be united to His bride. The Lord’s Supper will be fulfilled at the wedding feast in the Kingdom.
Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
(6) Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
(7) Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready;
(8) it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
This describes the moment when we as the church are married and united to Jesus our groom. 2 Corinthians 11:2 says we are betrothed to Jesus. In John 14 we studied Jesus’ marriage proposal to us. The wedding is described in verse 7. The church is raptured out before the tribulation on earth. We are in heaven with our groom. Jesus has purified us as His bride and we are left wearing our righteous deeds, the eternal rewards of the church. This is not the end though, after the wedding ceremony is a giant reception.
Revelation 19:9 & 11 ESV
(9) And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
(11) Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
Revelation 20:1-2 & 6 ESV
(1) Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
(2) And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
(6) Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Then come the reception where Jesus comes back as conquering King to this earth and establishes His perfect Kingdom. Satan is bound for a 1,000 years. We in the church will reign with Him. It is in this kingdom as we are in resurrected bodies reigning with Jesus that we will celebrate our marriage to Him. It is an amazing wedding reception! This is the fulfillment of the Lord’s Supper. Isaiah even described this feast.
Isaiah 25:6-9 ESV
(6) On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
(7) And He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
(8) He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
(9) It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
It is hard to imagine how amazing this feast will be. When Jesus said He will celebrate the Lord’s Supper with us His bride, and it would be new in quality He is not exaggerating. It is powerful now to remember the bread and the cup, His perfect body and the payment of His blood. Think about this feast, in the Kingdom, with our groom. Jesus reigning on earth sitting at a massive banquet table, reaches for the bread and says “ this is My body” then He reaches for the cup and says “this is My blood of the covenant.” We will celebrate and worship Him for what He has done. And what is truly amazing is that we will be with Him. This is the moment Jesus has been waiting for. When He is with His people. The Passover meal itself points to this moment. During a Passover meal, also called a Seder, four cups were to be drunk each one connected to 1 of 4 specific promises.
Exodus 6:6-7 ESV
(6) Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
(7) I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
God promised Israel to 1. Bring them out of Egypt, 2. Deliver them from their slavery, 3. Redeem them. The last promise is that God would take Israel to be His people. To be in perfect fellowship with Israel. This is fulfilled in the kingdom. When Israel returns to God and Jesus reigns as their King. We do not know for sure what cup Jesus took to celebrate the Lords’ Supper, but many wonder if it was the third and He is waiting to take the fourth. Waiting until His wedding reception with His bride, when Israel will be united to Him as His people. It is the fourth promise that is waiting to be completely fulfilled.
The fourth promise is fulfilled when Israel comes back into fellowship with God, when they are walking as His people. It will be an amazing thing to be a part of.
Romans 11:11-15 NLT
(11) Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But He wanted His own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.
(12) Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.
(13) I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,
(14) for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.
(15) For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!
Israel has not been replaced. They have not sinned to the point of being abandoned. Their rejection opened the door for us in the gentile church to receive salvation. When they come back to God and walk in fellowship with Him in the Kingdom it is going to be amazing! It means life from the dead. The church and Israel walking in resurrected bodies under one king Jesus. Jesus alone can bring this unity.
Ephesians 1:9-10 ESV
(9) making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ
(10) as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.
It is God’s purpose to elevate Jesus. In His perfect timing and according to His perfect plan all things will be united in Jesus. This goes well beyond a unity of Israel and the Church but that unity cannot be left out. Jesus is the perfect sin payment. His body showed His perfect life and verified His blood that was offered. This payment is what enables Jesus to unite all things. We are gathered here to remember what He has done. We will still be gathered in the Millennium, in His kingdom to continue to celebrate and worship what He has done. He deserves all praise and worship.
Revelation 5:9-10 ESV
(9) And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
(10) and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
The Lord’s Supper proclaims Jesus’ death. We are proclaiming the perfect payment for sin that made Jesus worthy to unite all things. He ransomed us, by His blood which could be accepted because of His body. He made us His people and we will reign in His kingdom with Him. So let’s proclaim His death that accomplished so much as we wait for the perfect fulfillment when at our wedding reception we will feast with our husband, Jesus, with Isreal in His amazing kingdom.
We believe in Open communion- If you are a believer here today you are welcome to take communion with us. It is Jesus’ table not ours.
If you are not a believer, meaning you have never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, this is not for you. Please believe in Him.
We are going to have a time of reflection
Take this time to confess any sins God convicts you of. His blood is the ransom payment that gave us new life, but we do not always act like we have new life. This is why we need to confess our sins and walk fresh with Him. We also need to be careful to not let Godly conviction lead to self-condemnation. No one is worthy of Him we are accepted by the blood of the Lamb.
His body and His blood, secured our redemption. Take time to mediate on what Jesus accomplished and mediate on when it will be fulfilled in the kingdom. It is not about us, but about what He did. We do this in remembrance of Him, proclaiming His death until He returns.
After the time of reflection, I will lead us as will all partake of the elements together.
(The crackers are gluten free)
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
The Bread Represents the Body- It speaks of who Jesus Is- Fully God, Fully man
Pray-
Eat the Bread
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV
(25) 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.”
The Cup represents the Blood- His blood paid the penalty for our sin
Pray-
Drink the Cup
1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Matthew 26:29 ESV
(29) I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
The Lord’s Supper | June 29 2025
God knows who we are as people. He knows our limitations and how prone we are to forget things. History emphasizes how many mistakes are repeated with each new generation. One group learns a lesson and the next forgets it. God knew this and built in reminders for us to keep us anchored on His truth. The Lord’s Supper is meant to remind us of the body and blood of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
(25) 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.”
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
God instructed the church to celebrate the Lords supper so that we would remember Jesus’ body and Jesus’ blood. In the scope of our lives and all human history it is amazing that we could forget what the perfect life of Jesus and then His sacrificed blood accomplished, yet we do forget all the time.
Ephesians 2:11-13 ESV
(11) Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—
(12) remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Paul is encouraging the church to remember where we came from. He wants us to remember what salvation and our hope is truly based on. We were not born into the promises of salvation by coming from the right nation. We were separated from God’s promises. We had no hope and were without God in the world. So often we can forget that each one of us was lost and headed to hell. We show that we forget by not have a love and grace for nonbelievers, and by subtly changing what saved us. Pride slips in so quickly and now our hope and promise of salvation is based on us. Something we did right or continue to do. A free gift is now used to control people. We forget the body and the blood. We have been brough near through the blood. It is through Jesus. God wanted Israel to be reminded of this fact. The Day of Atonement showed the need for a blood payment for sin. The commands forbidding eating of blood showed how blood needed to be honored. Leviticus has so many reminders pointing forward to Jesus.
Leviticus 17:11 ESV
(11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Israel was to be eagerly looking forward to the perfect blood payment. It is through blood that atonement can be made. These commands were not pointless but meant to be reminders throughout each generation. The Jews were to be eagerly anticipating the perfect blood payment. This is what made Jesus’ teaching in John 6 so shocking.
John 6:53-56 ESV
(53) So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
(54) Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
(55) For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
(56) Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Jesus’ words are shocking enough in our culture, let alone to a Jew. Throughout the Old Testament Israel would walk away from God’s commands, even going so far to forget how to celebrate the feast of booths (Neh 8:14). Then after the exile Israel doubled down on following the law, and became the rule followers we see during Jesus’ time. The Jews knew drinking blood was forbidden. They missed the heart of what Jesus taught. They were focused on the earthly, and not the true reality found in Jesus. He just declared that He is the perfect Messiah that has come to give the blood payment. To have eternal life you have to accept (eat) His body and His blood. He is the payment for Sin. We can struggle with why does Jesus teach such an important truth in such inflammatory, difficult language? This tough language only comes after He tries to teach the same truth in much simpler terms repeatedly.
John 6:28-29 ESV
(28) Then they said to Him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
This is the real struggle, we want something to do. If Jesus would have given them a new law, they would have been thrilled. If He would have given them a list of steps you had to do in a certain order to be saved they would have set out immediately to follow them in exacting detail. Yet Jesus did none of those things. Instead He taught something even more offensive then drinking His blood.
(29) Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
Salvation, doing the works of God is found when we believe in Him.
John 6:35-36; 40; 47 ESV
(35) Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.
(36) But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
(40) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
(47) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
He repeats the same truth so many ways. He is the messiah. Eternal life is found by believing in, looking on, or coming to Jesus. Jesus is not changing language to be confusing but to show that it is about Him and accepting the blood payment He would give. The crowd kept rejecting this message so then He said you must eat His body and drink His blood. This is the same truth. Salvation is found by accepting His perfect life and the perfect blood payment it enabled Him to give.
The Jews struggled with this and so do we. We love to make rules and get lost in details that do not matter. Jesus is offering Himself; He is the truth all the law pointed to and we do not want Him. At this point the Jews had expanded on and formulized God’s truth. One example is at the Day of atonement, Lev 16:6 says Aaron would make atonement for Himself and “for his house.” So, the Rabbis deducted that the High priest had to be married to fulfill His role on the Day of Atonement. This led to a problem if the High Preist’s wife were to die. So, they would appoint a stand in bride to be ready, just in case the High Priests’ wife died. Other Rabbis saw how ridiculous this was, and wondered how many stand in brides would be needed. All this shows how the God’s truth was missed. Instead of focusing on the need for a perfect blood payment for our sins, we are appointing stand in brides. Humanity loves to practice rituals and detailed religion instead of a personal relationship with a loving God.
Isaiah 58:1-5 NLT
(1) “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell My people Israel of their sins!
(2) Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about Me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask Me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near Me.
(3) ‘We have fasted before You!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t You impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and You don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell You why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
(4) What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with Me.
(5) You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?
Israel looked very religious from the outside. There was a lot of ceremony and even regular fasting practiced. They wanted to show God what they could give up for Him and what living for God cost them. God was not impressed with any of this. These religious ceremonies and fasting were for themselves. It did not please Him. We are never accepted or grow close to God by our works, effort, or what it cost us.
Isaiah 58:6-10 ESV
(6) “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
(7) Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
(8) Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
(9) Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
(10) if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
God wanted a heart relationship with His people. This relationship would be reflected though how they lived. He wanted them to reflect Him in each aspect of their life. To walk in a justice for the oppressed and to care for the needy. This did not replace one human effort with another. God wanted a relationship that showed through obedience. It is living out His truth that leads to a fellowship and closeness. Then they could call to Him and He would answer. Jesus’s blood payment was accepted because of the obedient body it came from, not because the ritual was perfectly followed.
Hebrews 10:5-10 ESV
(5) Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said, “Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body have You prepared for Me;
(6) in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no pleasure.
(7) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book.’”
(8) When He said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
(9) then He added, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
(10) And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Jesus knew that rituals and sacrifices is not what God desired. It is easy to forget as we study Leviticus that God took no pleasure in these offerings. They were a reminder of sin. Jesus walked in a perfect obedience which came from a heart lead relationship.
His blood payment was accepted because of the obedient body it came from. The High Priest could not have followed the law close enough to give a satisfying payment for sin. Jesus lived a perfect life and secured righteousness. His blood then could be accepted to pay for our sin. This is what we are called to remember as we celebrate the Lord’s supper. We have eternal life because we have believed (eaten) the body and blood of Jesus. We have trusted that Jesus lived a perfect life and so could give the perfect payment for sin.
Eating of these elements today does not save. We are remembering Jesus’ body and His blood. I want to encourage us not to get lost in details that take our focus off what we are to remember today. Church history is full of debates about the Lord’s Supper. These range from who is allowed to take it, what it does, who should be prevented from taking it, how it should be taken, on and on it goes. Today let us remember the perfectly obedient body of Jesus and the blood payment it allowed Him to offer. As we remember these amazing truths let us walk in a heart relationship with our amazing savior. Let us guard our hearts from making this into a ritual but remember all Jesus accomplished.
We believe in Open communion- If you are a believer here today you are welcome to take communion with us. All believers are apart of the body of Christ and are to remember what He has done.
If you are not a believer, meaning you have never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, this is not for you. Please believe in Him.
We are going to have a time of reflection
Take this time to confess any sins God convicts you of. His perfect body enabled His blood to be the ransom payment that gave us new life, but we do not always act like we have new life. This is why we need to confess our sins and walk fresh with Him. We also need to be careful to not let Godly conviction lead to self-condemnation. No one is worthy of Him we are accepted by the blood of the Lamb.
His body and His blood, secured our redemption. Take time to mediate on what Jesus accomplished. It is not about us, but about what He did. We do this in remembrance of Him, proclaiming His death until He returns.
After the time of reflection, I will lead us as will all partake of the elements together. (The crackers are gluten free)
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
The Bread Represents the Body- It speaks of who Jesus Is- Fully God, Fully man
Perfectly Obedient to the father
Pray-
Eat the Bread
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV
(25) 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.”
The Cup represents the Blood- His blood paid the penalty for our sin
Pray-
Drink the Cup
1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Revelation 12:9-12 ESV
(9) And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
(10) And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
(11) And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
(12) Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
The Lord’s Supper | Sunday October 12, 2025
Today we gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We have been studying in Leviticus all the ceremonies and reminders God left Israel to keep them focused on Him. It is very fitting then for us to gather as a body of believers to be reminded of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus both through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. As we partake in communion God wanted us to be drawn to what Jesus’ perfect life in His body allowed Him to accomplish with His blood. He was righteous so His blood could be the perfect payment for sin. Then as we celebrate baptism we are reminded how the Holy Spirit takes each believer and immerses us, identifies us, into Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. We died to our sin in Him and are raised to new life in Him. Everything hinges on the cross without it there is no blood and if there is no blood then nothing to be identified in. This is why we have been called to consistently remember Him and proclaim His death.
1 Corinthians 11:23-31 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
(25) 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.”
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
I am thankful that God knows we have a bad memory and put things in place to help us. The Lord’s supper is to help us remember Him and proclaim, announce His death. It is amazing to think that we could forget what Christ has done. Yet, Israel serves as a warning of how easy it is to forget the amazing work of God. One of the reasons we are prone to forget what Christ has done, is that we have minimized what the cross accomplished. Jesus is often reduced to a moral teacher, who showed us love through His sacrifice. His death on the cross is not elevated to the perfect payment for sin that enabled Him to offer life, put all things into submission to His will, and bring true restoration. The book of revelation almost does not happen because no one is found worthy, of opening the scroll that describes how all things will be brought to completion.
Revelation 5:4-6 ESV
(4) and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
(5) And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
(6) And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
No one on heaven or earth was worthy of bringing God’s will for all of creation to completion. There are myriads of perfect angels in the throne room, so having no sin does not make someone worthy. Jesus is the creator and all things have been made through Him and for Him (Col 1:16), yet this did not make Him worthy. He is worthy because of His life, death on the cross, and resurrection. He conquered death so now He can open the scroll.
Revelation 5:9-10 ESV
(9) And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
(10) and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Jesus is worthy because of the cross. He was slain and His blood is the perfect payment for sin. Through His blood salvation can be offered to all. Through His blood we are brought into His kingdom. Through His blood we become His priest and have direct access to God. Through His blood we will reign on earth with Him. The last two weeks we have studied the Jubilee, the tremendous release, liberty and freedom that happens when the Jubilee horn is blown. Jesus is worthy to declare the real Jubilee, the restoration of all things, because of what His worthy blood accomplished. Jesus claims in Luke 4:21 to fulfill the promises in Isaiah 61.
Isaiah 61:1-2; 4-7; 11 ESV
(1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
(2) to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
(4) They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
(5) Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
(6) but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
(7) Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
(11) For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
Jesus is the only one who is worthy to bring in the real Jubilee and proclaim liberty and freedom. It will be a time of restoration that is far reaching. Israel and her cities will be rebuilt and she will have a glory and power among the nations. God’s people both Israel and us as the church will be called priests of God. Instead of sin and rebellion, the world will sprout righteousness and praise. The cross accomplished so much more than just our individual salvation; it enables Jesus to restore all things that are wrong on this earth. He not only declares jubilee in our life, but a jubilee for the nations and a jubilee for this world! His blood enables everlasting joy! The jubilee is a restoration and freedom from the corruption of sin that has cost humanity so much since the garden.
Genesis 3:17-19 ESV
(17) And to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
(18) thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
(19) By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
God gave Adam an amazing inheritance in the garden of Eden. Humanity was the only thing created in God’s image, and we were given the privilege to subdue and have dominion over God’s creation. We were to rule this world and walk with God. Then Adam willful rejected God’s plan. This world was cursed along with Adam and Eve. Food did not sprout naturally but thorns and thistles instead. Growing food now required painful toil. Each sabbatical year and year of Jubilee God lifted this curse on nature temporarily for the fields to produce naturally for His people. It served as a reminder of the inheritance that was lost in the garden and as a promise of the future restoration. Right now we live with a cursed world.
Romans 8:18-23 ESV
(18) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
(19) For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
(20) For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
(21) that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
(22) For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
(23) And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The word consider means to logically work out a math problem, and calculate an answer. Paul has spent time dwelling on and giving careful thought comparing this life now and its suffering to the one that is to come. He did this math as he sat in jails cells hurting from the beatings he just received. He arrived at the conclusion that the glory awaiting for us is far greater. Even this physical earth, nature is eagerly longing for believers true glory to be revealed. When we are restored and have put on our resurrected bodies, this earth will finally be free from its curse. The freedom of the Jubilee even releases this earth “from its bondage to corruption.” Amos 9:13 tells us that the guys getting the fields ready to plant will be slowed down because the harvesters aren’t done yet, there is so much.
The body and blood of Jesus accomplished far more then we think. It offers us a hope that this life with all its trials, sufferings, and curses is not permeant. If this earth is eagerly longing for the day that we will be with Jesus how much more should we be longing for that day.
Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV
(27) And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
(28) so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
We are called to remember Jesus’ finished work on the cross today, as we come to the Lords table. As we remember when He came to bear our sins it should draw us to when He will appear a second time. The more we stand in awe over the blood of Jesus the more excited we will become for all He accomplished!
Revelation 21:1-5 ESV
(1) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
(2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
(3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
(4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
(5) And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
The blood of Jesus enabled Him to make all things new, to declare the Jubilee. Death, mourning, crying and pain all to be done away with. We are restored to an inheritance with Him. We will dwell with this amazing savior forever!
2 Peter 3:13-14 ESV
(13) But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
(14) Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
If this is the future that we are to be eagerly excited about then today should show that. If we are excited about an upcoming trip we might read about where we are going, buy the supplies we need and even get our bags packed up. If we are excited about what the blood of Jesus accomplished then we should be zealous, eager, take pains, make every effort, to be blemish free. To live a life of peace, as we aim to draw close to and know the one who is coming back for us. I don’t want to meet a stranger on that day and I trust that you do not either. Let us draw near to Him, to remember what He has done! Let us focus on the perfect obedient body of Jesus and then the perfect payment of His blood which accomplishes so much, the true Jubilee.
We believe in Open communion- If you are a believer here today you are welcome to take communion with us. It is Jesus’ table not ours.
If you are not a believer, meaning you have never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, this is not for you. Please believe in Him.
We are going to have a time of reflection
Take this time to confess any sins God convicts you of. His blood is what gives us this amazing future, but we do not always act like we have this future ahead of us. This is why we need to confess our sins and walk fresh with Him. We also need to be careful to not let Godly conviction lead to self-condemnation. No one is worthy of Him we are accepted by the blood of the Lamb.
His body and His blood, secured our redemption. Take time to mediate on the grandeur of what Jesus accomplished and do the math comparing this world to what lies ahead. Our current suffering, and this sin cursed world is going to be restored at the Jubilee. Let us remember Him as we look forward to His return.
After the time of reflection, I will lead us as will all partake of the elements together.
(The crackers are gluten free)
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
The Bread Represents the Body- It speaks of who Jesus Is-
Fully God, Fully man
Perfectly Obedient to the father
Pray-
Eat the Bread
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV
(25) 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.”
The Cup represents the Blood- His blood paid the penalty for our sin
Pray-
Drink the Cup
1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Revelation 22:16-17; 20 ESV
(16) “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
(17) The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
(20) He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The Lord’s Supper | Sunday February 22, 2026
Each time we take the Lord’s Supper we study it and focus on what we are about to remember and participate in. God’s Word is living and active and as we approach these amazing truths He has something fresh for us. At the Lord’s Supper we are called to remember Jesus and focus on who He is and what He accomplished. Jesus sharing the Lord’s Supper with His disciples is recorded in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and
1 Corinthians 11. In these accounts are so many amazing details that draw us to Jesus.
Luke 22:14-20 ESV
(14) And when the hour came, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.
(15) And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
(16) For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
(17) And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
(18) For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
(19) And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
(20) And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
When Jesus takes the cup He passes it around for the disciples to divide so each one can have a part of it. The bread is not as easily shared though, it has to be broken in order to be distributed to each one at the table. Jesus makes the point that the bread is His body given, bestowed, granted to us. This small detail of the bread being broken is repeated in all the other accounts. Jesus is giving His body to us, and it had to be broken in order for this to be accomplished. This breaking though is not purely physical, scripture is very clear that none of Jesus’ bones could be broken on the cross. As the soldiers broke the legs of the thieves on the other crosses to expediate death, they treated Jesus differently.
John 19:33-36 ESV
(33) But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
(34) But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
(35) He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.
(36) For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”
In the Old Testament the sacrificial animals had to be perfect with no broken bones. For Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice He had to fulfill the same qualifications. The soldiers confirmed death by piercing His side. This kept His bones from being broken, the word is literally shattered. John says this was to fulfill Psalm 34. This Psalm helps us understand the kind of brokenness Jesus did experience in His body and the brokenness He did not experience.
Psalm 34:17-22 ESV
(17) When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
(18) The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
(19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
(20) He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
(21) Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
(22) The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
In this Psalm David makes prophetic statements that are fulfilled in Jesus. None of Jesus’ bones were broken on the cross but His heart was. The same Hebrew word is used in verses 18 and 20, the only difference is the object breaking. Jesus experienced true broken heartedness as He suffered on the cross. He was abandoned and had to become sin. God promises to be near to righteous Jesus and promises to deliver Him in His brokenness. When we are broken hearted, we have no strength or ability to rely on ourselves. True brokenness means to be so beaten down by life and suffering that we can only rely on God. Jesus experienced this on the cross. In a full obedience and brokenness, He kept entrusting Himself to God the Father.
1 Peter 2:23-24 ESV
(23) When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.
(24) He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
Instead of defending Himself for relying on His own power Jesus was willing to entrust, hand Himself over to God. In His body, He bore or sins which means to offer up as a sacrifice. He accepted a full brokenness of heart so that our sins could be paid for. This brokenness made the offering of His blood acceptable.
Psalm 51:17 ESV
(17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Every offering, outside of Jesus, that has ever been given for sin has always fallen short of paying the price. We could not follow any ritual closely enough to deal with anyone else’s sin let alone our own. This is what makes the bread, the broken body of Jesus so amazing. He had a broken and contrite heart in front of God and fully relied on Him. He had to become sin, and was spiritually separated from God the Father. He had to trust that the Father would accept the payment of the blood. If the Father is unjust in that moment then Jesus is left in sin. In His brokenness He trusted. Just as David declared in Psalm 51, God did not despise the broken contrite heart of Jesus. Jesus could not offer the blood if it did not come from His broken obedient body.
Hebrews 10:5-7; 10 ESV
(5) Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for Me;
(6) in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no pleasure.
(7) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book.’”(10) And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
This was not something that Jesus could give without taking on full humanity. His body was prepared for Him. He lived a perfect life of obedience, and was fully righteous. He came to do the Fathers will. Without this prepared body then He has no blood to offer. We are made righteous, fully sanctified because of His perfect obedience. Just as He broke the bread of the Lord’s Supper so He could share it. He had to become broken hearted in order for us to partake of Him.
1 Corinthians 10:15-17 ESV
(15) I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
(16) The cup of 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?
(17) Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
As we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are to realize that there is one cup that is shared and one bread that has been broken. This is not talking about the specific method of how we take communion. We are recognizing that as believers we have koinonia, fellowship, intimacy with Jesus’ body and blood. He broke His body so that we could become apart of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27 ESV
(27) Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Referring to the church as the body of Christ can seem cliché and we can miss what a tremendous truth it is. Jesus broke the bread and shared it with His disciples. He was willing to break His body and share with us His perfect righteousness. When we are saved, we are brought into a full intimate fellowship with the perfect broken body of Jesus. This is what we are called to remember today. His broken body that was given for us.
Often we try and hide our brokenness. We are so prone to rely on ourselves and what we can do. The world speaks of brokenness as something that gets in the way or stops us. Instead the Word presents brokenness as the very thing that draws us to a reliance on trusting in God. We can trust Jesus with our brokenness because He knows what it is like.
Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV
(14) Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
(15) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
(16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
We should take such comfort in the fact that Jesus has fully experienced what it is to be a weak human. He knows the sting of the betrayal of a friend. He knows what it is to struggle to trust in God’s will for His life. He knows what exhaustion and weakness feels like. He can completely sympathize with us because He walked in a weak frail body and relied on God for each step. He can teach us how to trust because He had to trust. We can draw near with confidence to His grace, because He knows the help we need.
Psalm 147:3-5 ESV
(3) He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
(4) He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names.
(5) Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.
It is really hard for us to hold the truths of verse 3 and 4 in tension with each other. God is all powerful and determines how many stars there are. Astronomers keep finding new galaxies and stars and He named them all. This same God promises to heal the brokenhearted. To be present and caring to us in our hurts. He is abundant in power and ever present to bind our wounds. Jesus combines these truths in such an amazing way. Full deity and full humanity perfectly united. His power is displayed in His willingness to be broken for us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
(21) For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus was willing to become sin and give us His righteousness. He brought the perfect offering of His blood and it was accepted because of the righteous broken contrite heart it came from. He was willing to be broken for us. So that we could partake and have fellowship in His body. This is our amazing savior that we are called to remember. This is our gracious savior that we can draw close to in our own brokenness. He was willing to fully experience the brokenness sin causes so that we would not have to for all eternity. Through Him we can have new life, and healing.
We believe in Open communion- If you are a believer here today you are welcome to take communion with us. All believers are a part of the body of Christ. Jesus had one body that He was willing to break so that we could all partake. We should not limit the fellowship that He secured.
If you are not a believer, meaning you have never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, this is not for you. You are not a part of the body of Christ yet. Please believe in Him. You can do that right where you are by trusting who He is and what He has done for you on the cross.
We are going to have a time of reflection
Take this time to confess any sins God convicts you of. We have been given Jesus perfect righteousness secured in His body. As we sin, we are not undoing His righteousness. Yet we are breaking our fellowship with Him. This is why we need to confess our sins and walk fresh with Him. We also need to be careful to not let Godly conviction lead to self-condemnation.
No one is worthy of Him we are accepted because of the body and the blood of Jesus. Take time to mediate on the brokenness that Jesus was willing to accept so that we could be restored to Him.
After the time of reflection, I will lead us as will all partake of the elements together.
(The crackers are gluten free)
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
The Bread Represents the Body- It speaks of who Jesus Is-
Fully God, Fully man
Perfectly Obedient to the father
Broken for us
Pray-
Eat the Bread
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV
(25) 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.”
The Cup represents the Blood- His blood paid the penalty for our sin
Pray-
Drink the Cup
1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Isaiah 61:1-2 ESV
(1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
(2) to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
The Lord's Supper | Sunday May 24th, 2026
Matthew 26:26-30 ESV
(26) Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
(27) And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,
(28) for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
(29) I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.”
(30) And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
The cup and the bread were not foreign to the disciples. Every year at the Passover meal, these elements would be shared with each other. The Jews had developed many traditions and had a very regular order to the Passover meal. Eventually the Passover meal became known as The Sedar, which means order. Jesus took something that the disciples were familiar with and had practiced since childhood and showed them what it really was about. Jesus was the Passover lamb, and He was going to offer His body (the bread) and His blood (the cup) as the perfect offering for sins. All the years of remembrance of the Passover were actually pointing forward to Jesus. At the end of the meal, they sang a hymn before they went out. Mark 14:26 records the same detail. It is amazing to realize that Jesus was singing a Hymn before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Luke 22:41-44 ESV
(41) And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,
(42) saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
(43) And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him.
(44) And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Jesus was under so much pressure and agony of what the cross entailed that His sweat became blood. It is a rare condition called hematidrosis and is caused by “extreme physical or emotional stress.” The physical pain and torture were not the primary focus. Jesus knew that to pay for sin, He had to become sin. Yet, shortly before this agony, He was singing. Part of the traditional order of the meal was to sing Psalms 113-118. These Psalms are called the Hallel Psalms because they express praise to God. Hallel means praise. These Psalms were also used at the other major feasts. Psalms 113-114 were sung during the Passover meal. Psalms 115-118 were sung at the Passover meal’s conclusion.
This means that Psalms 115-118 were the Hymn that Jesus sang just before His agony in the garden and His suffering on the cross. Just as the familiar Passover meal took on new meaning through Jesus, these Psalms gain incredible depth with this context in mind.
Psalm 115:1-18 ESV
(1) Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!
(2) Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
(3) Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.
(4) Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
(5) They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
(6) They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
(7) They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.
(8) Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
(9) O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
(10) O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
(11) You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
(12) The LORD has remembered us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron;
(13) He will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great.
(14) May the LORD give you increase, you and your children!
(15) May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth!
(16) The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
(17) The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence.
(18) But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!
Jesus is singing praise to God the Father and giving His name glory for how loving and unwaveringly faithful He is. These words now meant more than ever. Jesus was going to entrust Himself fully to God the Father, and trust in His faithfulness. As He sang to trust the Lord, He was about to tangibly trust the Lord with His own life. He had to trust that God would remember him and accept the offering He was about to give for sin.
The Psalmist reminds us that the dead do not praise the Lord; the time to rejoice and praise Him is when we are alive. Yet, verse 18 points forward to the hope that those who fear God will be able to praise the Lord forever. It is a hint at the resurrection and the eternal life we can enjoy because of Jesus. As Jesus sang that the dead do not praise the Lord, He was preparing to go to the cross and give hope and life to that truth.
Psalm 116:1-19 ESV
(1) I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
(2) Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.
(3) The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
(4) Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
(5) Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.
(6) The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me.
(7) Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
(8) For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;
(9) I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
(10) I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”;
(11) I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”
(12) What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?
(13) I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,
(14) I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.
(15) Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
(16) O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. (17) I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. (18) I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people,(19) in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
The psalmist who wrote Psalm 116 was going through a time of great distress. He felt like death was surrounding him and that there would be no escape. In this dire situation, he cried out to God, and God delivered him. God showed the psalmist grace and mercy by preserving his life. The Psalmist could continue to walk with God in the land of the living. As Jesus sang this hymn, He was very aware that His outcome would be different. God would still be gracious and merciful, and yet Jesus was going to die.
All believers deaths are precious in God’s sight, and yet Jesus’ death was uniquely valuable and weighty. The Father knew how costly it was and all that it would accomplish. For Jesus to be the one who could truly lift up the cup of salvation, the cup of His blood, the cup that we celebrate today, He first had to drink the cup of God’s wrath.
Psalm 75:8 ESV
(8) For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
The cup of wrath is what Jesus prayed for the Father to remove from Him. This is the cup that had to be fully drunk. Jesus had to fully pay for our sins and accept all the judgment and punishment that they deserve. He was willing to accept the cup of wrath, so now He can lift up the cup of salvation and offer it to us.
Psalm 117:1-2 ESV
(1) Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples!
(2) For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!
God will never waver in showing steadfast love or being faithful. His plans and promises are as fresh and secure today as they were on the day they were made. Jesus sang of a time when all nations will praise the Lord. This will happen when Jesus reigns as King! For this future day to happen, He first must be willing to suffer on the cross and pay for sins. As He contemplated what was in front of Him, Jesus kept singing of God’s love and faithfulness. He surrounded Himself in this truth.
Psalm 118:1-8 ESV
(1) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!
(2) Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
(3) Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
(4) Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
(5) Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.
(6) The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
(7) The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
(8) It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
Jesus used the truth of the Word to anchor Himself. He was about to experience the worst humiliation, pain, mockery, and sin that man could do. He drew back to the promise that God was with Him. We are to have this same confidence.
Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
(5) Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
(6) So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
He has promised never to leave or forsake us. He will be our helper! This is not a cliché platitude. It is a promise that Jesus had to fully rely on, and we can as well.
Psalm 118:9-22 ESV
(9) It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
(10) All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
(11) They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! (12) They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
(13) I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
(14) The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.
(15) Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
(16) the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
(17) I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.
(18) The LORD has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.
(19) Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
(20) This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
(21) I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
(22) The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Jesus was not going to remain dead. He defeated death by paying for sin and resurrecting from the grave. He has become salvation for us. He is the stone that the builders rejected. His own people, Israel, rejected Him and yet He is the cornerstone. Salvation is built on Him. Jesus was singing the truth about His rejection as it was happening. He saw the eternal and was willing to be rejected to become the cornerstone.
Psalm 118:23-29 ESV
(23) This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
(24) This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
(25) Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!
(26) Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.
(27) The LORD is God, and He has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
(28) You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.
(29) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!
In the midst of all the darkness and sin during the arrest and crucifixion, Jesus was the light shining. In His joy about God’s light, the psalmist declares to bind up the sacrifice to the horns of the altar.
This verse is so amazing because it does not fit what we know about the sacrificial system. Throughout the law, the animal sacrifice was never bound to the horns of the altar. The animal would be killed, and its blood would be splashed on the horns of the altar, and the animal would be cut up and arranged on the altar. Never bound to it (Lev 4:4-10). Yet, there was one sacrifice that was bound on the altar in the Old Testament.
Genesis 22:7-9 ESV
(7) And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
(8) Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
(9) When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Isaac was alive and was bound on the altar as the sacrificial offering. Abraham trusted that God would provide for Himself a lamb. No human could ever be the one to provide that offering for sin. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb. Jesus is the sacrifice that was bound to the cross. It is truly amazing to realize that Jesus was singing, “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!” as He prepared to be bound to the cross. He willingly laid down His life out of a love for the Father (John 14:31), out of a love for the church (Ephesians 5:25), and out of God’s love for the entire world (John 3:16). As we gather to remember this amazing sacrifice, let us praise God with the psalmist: “This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23
We believe in Open communion- If you are a believer here today, you are welcome to take communion with us. All believers are a part of the body of Christ. We should not limit the fellowship that He secured.
If you are not a believer, meaning you have never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, this is not for you. You need His sacrifice. Please believe in Him.
You can do that right where you are by trusting who He is and what He has done for you on the cross. We are going to have a time of reflection
Take this time to confess any sins God convicts you of. We have been given Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. He is the offering. As we sin, we are not undoing what He accomplished through His offering. Yet we are breaking our fellowship with Him. This is why we need to confess our sins and walk fresh with Him. We also need to be careful to not let Godly conviction lead to self-condemnation.
No one is worthy of Him we are accepted because of the body and the blood of Jesus. Take time to meditate on the truths that Jesus sang shortly before the cross. He was willing to trust God, the faithful Father. He was willing to drink the cup of wrath so that it could become the cup of salvation. He was willing to be rejected to be the cornerstone. He was willing to be the perfect offering and be bound to the cross. What a wonderful savior we have! After the time of reflection, I will lead us as we all partake of the elements together. (The crackers are gluten-free.)
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
(23) 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,
(24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
The Bread Represents the Body: it speaks of who Jesus Is- Fully God, fully man, perfectly obedient to the Father, and broken for us
1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV
(25) 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.”
The Cup represents the Blood: the cup of wrath that has become the cup of salvation because of the blood.
1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV
(26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Mark 14:26 ESV
(26) And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Psalm 118:26; 29 ESV
(26) Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.
(29) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!