SERIES BUILDER
Dining with the Lord
Recapturing the power and purpose of Communion
Lee Eclov |  Printer view |
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"My friend Nick sent me and Joe a long, thoughtful letter which spoke to something I had not considered. He said that many of the disciples died for their beliefs. Had they known it to be a lie, they would have backed down in the face of death.
"Some time went by, and I prayed again. 'God, you know I've taken that in and considered it and I value it. But you know my heart, and you know I'm still struggling. I need more, and my heart is open.'
"A day or two later, I was cleaning my shelves with a rag and a five-gallon bucket of water. I took the bucket of dirty water out and dumped it. Then I put it under the spigot. With about two gallons of water in it, I saw something shiny in the water. I scooped it out, and behold, there was a pristine, plain, shiny gold cross earring. I had never seen it before and haven't seen it since. I couldn't believe it …
"More time went by. I knew that I would not ask any more from God on this matter—that the ball was totally in my court at this time. At Christmas, I was at the bookstore, looking for a present. I turned around to find the Christian shelf behind me. I pulled a book, The Case for Christ, and bought it. The book was written for me, I think. It answered the questions I've had all along about Christianity and gave dignity to our desire to know these answers. Then I read the Gospels … and the floods came rushing in!
"And it hasn't stopped. I believe Jesus forgives us no matter what we have done, loves us right where we are …
"This is the God I believe in, and that I surrender my life to."
Tricia hungered for God, and God drew Tricia to Jesus. She came to Jesus and believed in him, and Jesus gave her eternal life.
Lee Eclov, "Bread of Life," PreachingToday.com
Sermon Two
Title: The Covenant Cup
Subtitle: Rejoicing over a marriage made in heaven
Text: Mark 14:22–25
Subject: How Communion is a time of covenant reflection and renewal
Purpose: To recapture the covenant significance of our time at the Lord's Table
Relevance: It's easy to lose sight of the covenant element of Communion. The bread and wine remind us that God created a New Covenant in Christ that sets us free from our unfaithfulness to the Old Covenant. Our time at the Lord's Table also renews our hope that one day we will celebrate the wedding together of bride (the church) and Groom (Christ)—the day when the covenant will reach its ultimate goal of true community between God and mankind.
Big Idea: Communion allows us the opportunity to refresh our covenant love and renew our hope in Christ.
Sermon Strategy
Introduction
• Illustration: Marriage Is a One-sided Covenant [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• There are three moments in every wedding I never get used to: When they each make their vows to the other, when I get to say, "I pronounce you husband and wife," and when I introduce them for the first time by their new covenant name.
• A wedding is love wrapped in a covenant.
God's love is always wrapped in a covenant.
• We often talk about having a relationship with God, but relationships in our world are pretty casual things.
-Illustration: The Disposable Nature of Relationships [see Illustrations and Quotations
below]
• According to the Bible, no one ever has a relationship with God without being in a covenant with God.
• You can't just be casual friends with God; you can't just "move in."
• We can be in a covenant-wrapped, loving relationship with God; we can be married!
• God made a covenant with the nation of Israel 1,500 years before Christ.
-Exodus 19:3–8
• God vowed to make Israel his "treasured possession," blessing them in every way; Israel vowed to keep all God's laws in return.
• Both God and Israel said, "I do."
• At its core, a covenant is a binding promise of faithful love.
• In a covenant with God, nothing is more important than faithfulness; the one thing the Old Covenant could not do, though, was make people faithful.
• God was married to a wife—Israel—who turned out to be chronically unfaithful.
Because his people couldn't keep their covenant with him, God promised a New Covenant.
• Because of Israel's unfaithfulness, God had to make a New Covenant.
-Jeremiah 31:31–34
• Instead of writing his commands on tablets of stone, God impressed them on the hearts of his people.
• While the first covenant was sabotaged by sin, this covenant would have a "sin-fix" built into it.
• If unfaithfulness was forgiven, God could have a covenant relationship with his people.
• The secret to the New Covenant is that it isn't just an exchange of vows; it is a person who binds God and his people together.
-Isaiah 42:1–9
• The covenant is the Servant, for both Jew and Gentile.
Jesus Christ is how God wrapped his love in a New Covenant.
• Hebrews 8:6–7
• Jesus is the reason why the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant.
• The essential idea of God's covenant doesn't change: "I will be their God, and they will be my people."
• The New Covenant solves our faithfulness failure, and it solves it through Jesus.
• Death was the only means to dealing with unfaithfulness.
• By dying in our place, Jesus made it possible for God and his people to be in covenant-wrapped love with one another.
-Illustration: Christ Suffered for Us [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• When we put our faith in Christ as our Savior, he performs those New Covenant requirements that we studied; he writes God's law on our hearts and provides a blood baptism to cleanse us from our sins.
• Thanks to those miracles, God now counts us as faithful!
At the Lord's Table, we celebrate our covenant of love with God.
• It is absolutely essential that Christians remember Jesus has given us a covenant relationship with God; that is why we come to the Lord's Table.
• Mark 14:22–25
• The Communion service is a sign and a seal.
• The bread and wine are signs that remind us of Christ's death and the forgiveness and life he has brought us.
• The bread and wine are signs that remind us of the nourishing, cleansing, and joyous nature of our relationship with God through Christ.
• The bread and wine are signs that remind us we are the beloved bride.
• Communion is also an opportunity for Jesus to press the signet or seal of his love into the soft wax of our hearts, leaving a permanent impression.
• If we listen to Jesus when we come to this table, we will receive an inward assurance—a deep confidence—that we are loved, and God's promises can be trusted.
-Illustration: Being Certain of God's Love [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
Conclusion
• We also have a part in this covenant; we, too, must refresh our commitment to our beloved Lord.
• At this table, we have the time to specifically think about how we can better warm our love for Christ—how we can refresh our covenant.
-Illustration: Puritan Thought on Communion [see Illustrations and Quotations below]
• According to Matthew 26:29, Communion is like a unique anniversary dinner; at the Lord's Table, we remember when Jesus brought us into a covenant of love with God.
• At this table, we're also like an engaged couple, counting down the months until our wedding dinner.
• We come to the Lord's Table to refresh our sense of love for God and his love for us, and to renew our hope that all the waiting will be worth it.
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