Thursday Thought – December 15, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

The Lord’s Supper has at least four purposes.

We remember what the Lord has done for us. We are so prone to forget. We get caught up in the activity and stress of life. Our hectic schedules give little time to focus on the Lord and His grace. Regularly coming to the Lord’s Table guards against our tendency to forget His grace and love.

We proclaim the importance of what Jesus has done for us. We proclaim it to ourselves as an act of recommitment to Him. We proclaim it to other believers so that they will be reminded of what Christ has done for them. We proclaim it to nonbelievers who are in the assembly with us. It is not music, peaceful quietness, or friendship that brings us to the assembly, it is the Lord’s death that brings us.

We examine our lives and are drawn to repentance. “A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks the cup.” (1 Cor. 11:28) The reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus to bring us forgiveness causes us to look deeply into our own heart and allow Him to cleanse us of the sin we find there.

We reaffirm and proclaim our unity with other believers. A few verses later Paul says we are to “recognize the Lord’s body” when we partake. We remember Him and His sacrifice, but we also remember His earthly body, the church. As we partake together we remember that we are joined by His great sacrifice to all others who have received Him.

His, by Grace, Steve