A “Photo Finish” Communion

Pastor Gene Friberg; Trinity Bible Church; 11/26/06

Introduction:

A few winters ago a singing group call "The Resurrection" was scheduled to sing at a local church.  Everyone was excited about the concert and looked forward to the event.  The congregation was disappointed when a big snowstorm postponed the group's performance. 

To let everyone know about the cancellation, the pastor changed the sign outside to read, "The Resurrection is postponed."

*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!* http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

When dealing with theological issues, it’s always a challenge to come up with illustrations that inform and convince but not confuse!

Today, I will use photo albums to help explain communion’s value to us and my prayer is that you will discover some new facet of the Lord’s Supper that will cause thanksgiving to flow from your heart to the One that purchased you with His blood.

I. Ponder The Past. 1 Cor 11:23-25

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,  "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."  NKJV

A. The Old.

Do you have any old photo albums? 

What is in them?  Grandparents, extended family, vacation photos…

What is the value in keeping these books?

When we look at them, we are preserving a piece of our own personal history and can pass it on to future generations in our family.

B. Communion. Acts 10:43; Col 1:12-14

What is the value of celebrating communion?

One value is we regularly look back to a time in history; a time that was paramount in shaping who we are now and who we are yet to be.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor. 11 about an event.  It happens to be the most important event in human history.  This event and this Person is Whom all the Old Testament prophesied about. 

Acts 10:43 "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."  NASU

Col 1:12-14 Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.  NKJV

Western historians may differ with me about this, but they are speaking from a secular perspective.  They might cite the Magna Carta, the defeat of the Spanish armada, or the victory of the colonies during the Revolutionary War.  These and others events shaped who we are as a people, but the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ influences not only Western civilization but all peoples everywhere for all time!

So, every communion is an opportunity for us to consider the past and the great work of God in Christ on our behalf.

II. Pray For The Present 1 Cor 10:15-17

I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.   NKJV

A. The New.

Isn’t a photo album a wonderful tool?

If you took a missions trip or family vacation and you wanted to explain to others what you did and saw, what would you do?  Bring out the photo album!

If someone missed an event like a wedding or anniversary celebration, one can bring out a photo album with recent pictures in it and show what happened.

*Missions trip to Mexico.

B. Communion. Matt 26:27-29 

Have you ever communion referred to as Eucharist? 

What do you suppose that word means?  It means thanksgiving.

Greek lexicon: “Eucharist embodies the highest act of thanksgiving for the greatest benefit received from God, the sacrifice of Jesus.  It is the grateful acknowledgement of past mercies as distinguished from the earnest seeking of the future.”

Matt 26:27-29  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  NKJV

At communion, we are to consider this great gift of salvation, get our hearts right by confession of known sin, and be thankful there is mercy from God for forgiveness!

III. Promise For The Future. 1 Cor 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.  NKJV

A. The Future.

What would you suppose is the advantage to an empty photo album?  How about that future event like a vacation or wedding?  You already know about it and are planning what pictures you would like to capture for future memories.

B. Communion. 1 John 3:2-3

There is a future event coming that will change all human existence for all eternity.  It is called the return of the Lord Jesus.

Communion, as one of its priorities, points us toward that day.  Some of what will happen then we already are told about in the Bible, much of it we will have to “wait and see”.   Are we going to ride horses?  Are we going to see angels, do they have wings and harps?  Maybe you have lots of questions you have been waiting to ask.

But really, the hope of going to heaven is to make us live in such a way as to be ready for it every day.

1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  NKJV

Conclusion:

The Lord Jesus gave us two symbols of what happened that day on the cross.  Those symbols are the bread and the cup; they represent His body and blood.

As we take up these symbols again today, let us make use them to give full attention to what He accomplished for us in His death and resurrection. 

Let us take time to ponder the past, pray for the present, and consider again the promise of the future and be ready every day for the return of Jesus!  

(For further study)

Eucharistic Eu'cha·ris'tic or Eu'cha·ris'ti·cal adj.

[Middle English eukarist, from Old French eucariste, from Late Latin eucharistia, from Greek eukharistiā, from eukharistos, grateful, thankful : eu-, eu- + kharizesthai, to show favor (from kharis, grace).]

Eucharist (yū'kərĭst) [Gr.,=thanksgiving], Christian sacrament that repeats the action of Jesus at his last supper with his disciples, when he gave them bread, saying, “This is my body,” and wine, saying, “This is my blood.” (Mat. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Cor. 11.) Partaking is called communion. For Roman Catholics the sacrament is a bloodless reenactment of the crucifixion and therefore an act of sacrifice, but Protestant Christians reject the idea of the Eucharist as sacrifice. The performance is called the Eucharistic liturgy; the Roman and Anglo-Catholic liturgy is the Mass. The official Roman Catholic explanation of the change taking place in the sacrament, called transubstantiation, is that the substances of bread and wine are turned miraculously into the substance of Christ himself, the elements changed retaining only the appearance, taste, etc. (the accidents) of bread and wine. Catholic doctrine holds that the Godhead is indivisible so every particle or drop thus changed is wholly identical in substance with the divinity, body, and blood of the Crucified Savior. The views of the Orthodox Eastern Church are similar. The Anglican Church has not formally defined the sacrament. In receiving communion the Christian attains union with Jesus, and all who partake are mystically united. Traditionally in the Mass (but not in Eastern liturgies of the Roman Catholic Church) others than the celebrant received the Host only, a practice that arose from the difficulty of transport and storage of wine, and perhaps also because wine is more easily spilled and dropped than bread. In this communion in one kind the believer was held to receive the same divine whole as the celebrant, who receives both kinds at the altar. Communion in two kinds was restored in the Roman Catholic Church in the liturgical renewal proclaimed at the Second Vatican Council. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches set conditions for the reception of communion, which is a sign of membership; to be “in communion with” means mutual recognition of membership in the true church. Devotion to the Eucharist (the Blessed Sacrament) is important in the Roman Catholic Church. The object of the cult of the Blessed Sacrament is the Host reserved in churches (see benediction and Corpus Christi). Every leader of the Protestant Reformation attacked the traditional teaching of the Eucharist. For the communion services in many Protestant churches, see Lord's Supper.