HOLY COMMUNION SUNDAY-DO THIS IN REMEMBERANCE OF ME

Sunday Sept. 14th, 2025.

The ordinances symbolize the faith and obedience of the people of God.

·       Ordinances do not transmit grace or serving as a means of grace.

·       The ordinances are opportunities for their recipients to express their obedience to Christ,

The city ordinances are city orders that must be followed by every citizen in that city. The word ordinance is first mentioned.

Exodus 12:14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

·       Then Jesus as the foundation and author of the church established the ordinances that the church must observe,

Holy Communion: Matt 26:26–28 Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’”

Holy communion-Background and meaning of the Lord’s table

This ordinance is rooted in the Jewish culture.

·       The Old Testament does not only tell us about the faithfulness of God but also it symbolically reveals the New Testament/new covenant.

·       It mirrors the New Testament, and it prepares us for the ultimate covenant and fellowship with our maker.

The night before his death, it was the time of the Passover meal that the Israelites observed in memory of their deliverance from the Egyptians and how he “passed over” their households. [Passover or seder meal]. in Exodus 12

There was the cup that followed the meal {Third cup} It was a cup of redemption-To remind them that they were redeemed from slavery. Luke 22:20

Do you remember the cup appearing in Gethsemane?

·       The ram came up and saved Isaack from being offered as a sacrifice.

Gen 22:13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

·       The lamb was slaughtered, and the Israelites were saved.

Exodus 12:” The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread.” [Put the blood on the doorsteps]

·       On the day of atonement, the Israelites always took a Goat that was sent away in the wilderness to take away the sins of the people.

Leviticus 16:22 “The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.”

·       In Revelation, Jesus is pictured as a slain lamb.

Rev 5:6 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.

TTHE CHURCH MUST NOTE THAT THESE PRACTICES HAD TO CONTINUE, EVER SINCE. THEY HAD TO DO IT MULTIPLE TIME IN A PERIOD OVER THOUSADS OF YEARS. THE GREATNESS OF THE SACRIFICE WAS INDICATED BY THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS OFFERED ON THE ALTAR. SOLOMON OFFERED THOUSANDS, BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH.

Jesus erased all that, he became one single sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:1-18 Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. ⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,    but a body you prepared for me;⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings    you were not pleased.⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—    I have come to do your will, my God.’”^[a]

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them    after that time, says the Lord.I will put my laws in their hearts,    and I will write them on their minds.”^[b]

¹⁷ Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts    I will remember no more.”^[c]

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

I Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy  and to walk humbly[a] with your God. Have shown you oh man what is required of the Lord….to live humbly before the Lord.

•        On this day of Passover, it was a tradition to share a meal together in remembrance of God’s deliverance for his people from slavery and how he saved their first born in Egypt.

The elements only represent the body and blood of Jesus. They are symbolic

John 6:54-56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.

It is a physical demonstration of what has already happened in spirit.

·     We do not worship the bread and wine,

Neither is Jesus and the Holy spirit in the blood and water-They are symbols of our faith, and the church need to be very careful not to worship bread and water because that will be idol worship.

·     We do not get baptized or take the sacrament to be saved or to be forgiven

1.     They testify to salvation that is already experienced in the name of Jesus through the Holy Spirit by faith.

1 Corinthians 11:25-26 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.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Transubstantiation

The bread and the wine do not transform into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. [Transubstantiation], some believe that the invisible substance does change into the body and blood of Jesus and that there’s fresh sacrifice with each communion bringing forgiveness of sins-That is the wrong doctrine.

We are only saved by grace through faith.

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

·       Call alter call, to join the body of Christ before the communion.

Who SHOULD participate?

•        Only believers should partake in the Holy Communion.

•        In the early church, only baptized believers in proper relationship to Christ could participate in this ordinance, which was celebrated weekly.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

•        The only instances we see the Holy communion being shared is by believers only.

Holy Communion is not an evangelistic ordinance-

We cannot give people the communion to join the family [they join the family of Christ first]

All believers should partaker regularly.

Mathew 26: 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

·       It is not limited to church membership but to membership in the body of Christ-You may not be a member of this church but being born again qualifies you as a member of the body of Christ.

Take the table sincerely / do not be casual/do not take it for granted.

1 Corinthians 11:20-22  So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry, and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in?

There is stern warning about taking the Holy Communion casually, sicknesses, weakness, and even death.

1 Corinthians 11:28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.

Why OBSERVE the ordinances?

the ordinances reminds us of the new covenant.

·       You are reminding yourselves of the new covenant of grace that was sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Matt 26:26–28 Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’”

Jere 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

It matters to remember the covenant because you will know that in the new covenant it is grace that works.

v There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

v You will remember that he came to give life and give it in abundance/fullness. John 10:10

v You will remember Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.John 14:27

v “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. John 14:1.

We observe the ordinances to accomplish righteousness-obedience.

Matthew 3:15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

WHAT DID JESUS MEAN BY DO THIS IN REMEMBERANCE OF ME?

1 Corinthians 11:25-26 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.”

v What did he mean?

v How did he want us to remember him?

v Did he want us just to remember him or to remind ourselves of him.

v Did he know that remembering him will remind us who we are?

·       We want to remember his birth, by the power of the Holy Spirit-It will consistently remind us the creating power of the Holy spirit that we so need in our broken life.

·       We want to remember how he grew up favored of God and man.

·       How he zealously stood for the gospel. “My father’s house shall not be called a den of thieves”

·       How he was responsible as a son- “Son this is your mother; mother this is your son”.

·       A great leader he was-he grew the ministry from nothing to 2billion followers.

·       We want to remember him, healing the sick, feeding the poor, raising the dead, and forgiving adulterers.

·       We want to remember him telling Nathanael If you believe you will do greater things than these.

·       Walking on the water and calming the sea, giving hope and strength to nervous followers. Lifting the faith of the faithless.

·       We want to always remember him saying,” And lo, I will be with you always”

·       We want to remember him saying , and these miracles will follow you….

·       We want to remember him saying,” I’m not leaving you like orphans, I will ask the father, and he will see and you the Holy Spirit”

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, 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.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Matthew 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.