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00:00:00 today's scripture reading is taken from The Book of Matthew 26: 17- 29 on the first day of the Festival of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked where do you want me want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover he replied go into the city to a certain men and tell him the teacher says my appointed time is near I'm going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house so the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover when evening came Jesus was reclining at the table
00:00:45 with the 12 and while they were eating he said truly I tell you one of you will betray me they were very sad and began to say to him one after the other surely you don't mean me Lord Jesus replied the one who has dipped his hand into the bow with me will betray me the son of man will go just as it is written about him but woe to that man who betrays the son of man it would be better for him if he had not been born then Judas the one who would betray him said surely you don't mean me Rabbi Jesus answered you have
00:01:25 said so 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 then he took a cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying drink from it all of you this is my blood of the Covenant which is poured out for many for the Forgiveness of sins I tell you I will not drink from this fruit of the wine from now on until that day when I drink it KN with you in my father's Kingdom this is the Lord's word thank you very much uh Jamie for
00:02:07 reading the word of God to us good morning church it's good to be in the house of the Lord uh just to give you a heads up all right these are the forthcoming sermons all right next week Dr Peter is going to uh preach on Judas and Peter the difference between regret and repentance and the following two weeks Arnold is going to take us on two-part series uh on food deception and the will of God very interesting title so be sure right to stay tune now we are continuing our study on the gospel of Matthew and we have come
00:02:44 to the portion that talks about our Lord's very last Passover meal on earth now this is a huge deal because as you will see Jesus last meal with his disciples is filled with symbolism and meaning is also the origin of the Lord's Supper as we know it today which marks the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament on this night Jesus will establish the New Covenant the promise that those who turned to him in faith would receive forgiveness of sin because of his death and Resurrection it was the night of the
00:03:26 very first Holy Communion the Holy Communion today still unites Christians from all over the world it's my hope that today's sermon will help us give us a renewed sense of reverence and gratitude whenever we come to partake of the Lord's supper now before I continue let's commit a time to the Lord in prayer let us pray dear heavenly father we thank you for your word which is so precious to us we pray Lord that you illumin our hearts and our minds as we go through this portion of scripture may your word not return to
00:04:06 you void but accomplish all that you purpose for we ask all this in Jesus name amen now the past two years I've attended many funerals just last week we buried my mother-in-law Cynthia's Mom after her long better with Parkinson's disease and demential we were able to bring her home from hospital she received pallative care to ease her sufferings but it was still very heart-wrenching to watch as life sips away from her undoubtedly there was a mix of emotion among or in the family but perhaps the most profound
00:04:50 feeling that we all felt was a sense of helplessness death comes and we have absolutely no control no one knows when death would come knocking on the door and suddenly no one can determine when his or her life will be taken away but this is not the case for Jesus listen to what he say in John chapter 10 the reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again no one takes it from me but I lay it down of my own accord I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up
00:05:34 again now it would be a mistake to think that Jesus was a victim of circumstances Beyond his control although the Romans and Jews all had a part to play Jesus had complete control over the events leading up to his death several times in the gospel we read phrases like my time has not yet come or his hour is not here yet that's because Jesus was was going about his ministry according to the timetable that God had given him he knew he would die because that was God's divine plan for him Jesus says in
00:06:11 Matthew 20:28 son of man did not come to be served but to serve and what and to give his ransom for many he knew every detail of his death now by the time we come to our text here in Matthew it says in verse 18 his appointed time is near as we begin our story note that in less than 24 hours Jesus will be crucified but there's still many things that he has yet to accomplish and one of these is celebrating the Passover feast with its disciples now today's sermon will take a very simple outline the context of the
00:06:56 Lord's Supper the meaning of the Lord's supper and the practice of the Lord's supper now the account of the Lord's Supper is told in varying details in all four gospels now when you read the 11 verses that Jamie has just done okay you might get the sense or the impression that it was a rather short meal perhaps lasting just a couple of hours but if you take all the four gospels into account you realize that the meal actually lasts quite a long time for instance the Apostle John devot quoted no less than five chapters to
00:07:32 record the teachings of Jesus to his disciples on that night so at times I'll be re relying on other gospel passages to try to give you a more complete picture of what happened that evening in the upper room we are not sure of the chronology of each of the things that took place there but we know based on all the four accounts that all happened during the spend of that Passover evening so first okay the context of the Lord's Supper The Story begins as we read on the first day of the Festival of unle
00:08:12 bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover he replied go into the city to a certain man and tell him the teacher says my appointed time is near I'm going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house so the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover now although not mentioned here Luke accounts as you can see in the bottom all right tells us that Jesus actually sent two disciples Peter and
00:08:47 John as the advanced party to prepare the Lord's supper or actually the Passover they were to look for a man carrying a jar of water no name was given it was all quite mysterious and secretive what you see in those days it was the job of the women to carry water therefore this man with a water jar would stand out from the crowd and be easily identified as the target person now Jesus had obviously pre-arranged everything but why the secret SE well the answer is Judas in last week's sermon as uh you
00:09:25 know given by edian we had already covered how Judas had agreed to sell Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver Jesus being God himself already knew that he also knew that the chief priests and Elders of the temple had plotted to arrest him in secret the upper room where he would be celebrating the Passover privately with his disciples would have been the ideal time and place to arrest him so Jesus planned all this in advance in order to avoid that because his time had not come yet coming but not come but
00:10:03 not here yet so going back to Matthew's account of the Passover meal we see some high drama unfolding that gives us some insight into the hypocrisy of Judas Jesus said while they were eating truly I tell you one of you will betray me know if you are watching this you know as a drama I know this is where the music says you know that statement must have come as a shock to the disciples and brought silence to the room i' imagine that any celebratory mood that the disciples had was suddenly turned into a very somber
00:10:41 mood they all seem puzzled because at this point none of the other disciples knew that Jesus uh that Judas had sold out Jesus there must have been some murmuring and unease the disciples apart from Judas were so saddened by jesus' accusation that they even began to question their own Hearts their own loyalty to him each took turn to ask Jesus surely you don't mean me Lord in other versions surely not I Lord to blend in and play the part Judas also pretended and asked surely you don't mean me Rabbi not Lord
00:11:23 Rabbi while the rest of the disciples were genuinely remorseful Judas was masterfully covering his tracks here was a man who ate slept and traveled with Jesus for the last 3 and a half years he must have preached healed and do everything the rest of the disciples did the Bible even tells us that he was the treasur a position of trust and integrity yet no one suspected him it is instructed for us to look at John's enounter to give us a bit more detail John tells us that at the urging of Peter he went to ask Jesus to
00:12:03 identify who the traitor was we pick it up in John 13:23 leaning back against Jesus he asked him Lord who is it Jesus answered it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish then dipping the piece of bread he gave it to Judas the son of Simon is carried as soon as Judas took the bread Satan entered into him so Jesus told him what you about to do do quickly but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him since Judas had charge of the money some thought Jesus was
00:12:50 telling him to buy what was needed for the festival or to give something to the poor as soon as Judas had taken the bread he went out and it was not so from John's account we know Judas did not stay for the entire Passover meal in all probability Jesus had dismissed him before he instituted the Lord's Supper you see Judas was outside the kingdom of God he had no part to play in the Holy Communion now this painting showing is a a very old painting right that shows Judas uh kissing okay uh Jesus to identify him to the Temple's
00:13:37 Army when he sold him out uh this painting I think is called the kiss of Judah now the religious leaders came to arrest him okay all right uh because of what Judas did here is the grave lessoned and warning to us Judas had all the appearance of an apostle but he turned out to be an apostate instead Judas preferred to serve his own agenda rather than to serve God so what's the difference between him and the rest of the disciples you might ask well to find out make sure you are here next week to listen to Dr Peter's
00:14:16 sermon okay but suffice to say it's the heart it's the heart's issue as imperfect as the rest of the disciples were they loved Jesus Judas did not love Jesus as soon as Jesus did not fit his purpose he sold him out remember Jesus said not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter into the kingdom of God now the Passover feast was a very important event to the Jews is a memorial to celebrate how God through his servant Moses delivered them out of slavery in the land of Egypt many of us will be familiar with
00:14:59 the story story of The Exodus there Pharaoh had refused to let the Hebrew slaves go until God had inflicted the 10 plages on the Egyptians it's the 10th plate which brought death to every first born in the land that finally caused pharaoh to relent and allow the Hebrews to live on that last night in Egypt God instructed the Hebrews that they they would slaughter a lamb less than a year old with without spot or blemish and to have his blood painted on the sides both sides of the door post as well as the
00:15:36 lanel the top of the door now when the angel of death came to kill the first born of every family including man and animal when he sees the blood of the Lamb painted on the doorpost he would pass over them he would pass over that family and they will be sped hence the name Passover God himself in instituted the Passover flee as a yearly Memorial so that his Deliverance would forever be branded in the consciousness of the Jewish Nation from generation to generation now since none of us are Jews and I think both of us have never
00:16:15 partake in a Passover meal before I'd like to give us a little insight on what it would be like to celebrate the Passover feast on that day and the next seven days the Feast of the unli bread there are to be no e East to be found in the house East or Liv as the Bible calls it right must be scrupulously removed from the house that you're are living in now East is what causes bread to rise you know to give it that fluffy you know soft feeling that uh we eat okay when we eat bread but there are two reasons why
00:16:52 all right they the Jews were supposed to eat UNL bread there's a practical one and a symbolic one in Exodus 12:29 all right it says with the D the Israelites had brought from Egypt they baked loaves of unle bread though was without East because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves when they left Egypt they were living in a hurry all right as they had to move out in haste they simply had no time for the door to rise and were instructed to make bread without liven
00:17:30 but more importantly as we know later in the Mosaic law liven has come to symbolize the pervasive influence of sin and Corruption liven spreads and depicts influence and that's why Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 166 take heed and Beware of the living of the Pharisees and the seduces he was telling his disciples do not be influenced by the Pharisees and the Sadducees so here in fact God is saying to the Israelites that they are not to take any of the corrupt and evil practices of Egypt with
00:18:07 them when they depart now the entire Passover meal consists of a series of observances right that is called the S the Seda is the Hebrew word for order all right as in you know one after another coming in order sequence food with special meaning would be eaten very much like you know the Chinese dur Lunar New Year okay know we have things like uh fish usang you know and tangerines to mean something but somehow the Chinese only attaches symbols of health wealth and Fortune okay to the meanings by contrast the Jews this was a
00:18:46 sober reminder of their cruel history in Egypt and God's Deliverance so basically the Passover meal would consist of the following it would begin with a prayer of Thanksgiving given by the head of the household in this case it will be Jesus who hates the family of disciples this would be followed by drinking the first cup of wine called the cup of blessing there would all together be four cups of wine that the entire table would share right everybody actually drinks from the same Cup right so this
00:19:18 was her pre-o days after the first cup they would be washing of hands not only because they eat with their hands but it has a symbolic significance of ceremon ceremonial cleansing you know right and Holiness okay so this is supposed to be a holy Festival it's reasonable to assume that since it's still near the beginning of the meal that this might have been the time when Jesus rose to wash the feet of his disciples as recorded in John's gospel Jesus was teaching them a very precious lesson on humility now after the washing they
00:19:56 would partake of bitter herbs right you can see there uh usually made up of parsley or horse radish or coriander and they would dip it in salt water before they eat it now the salt water is used to represent the tears the Hebrews shed during the time of the enslavement in Egypt and also The Parting of the Red Sea as they were pursued by their enemies now the next cause would be an Epal made out of Dipping flat bread into a sweet paste made from fruits nuts and spices the paste is meant to symbolize
00:20:30 the clay the mortar and the bricks all right that the Hebrews were using when they were you know laboring under the hot sun building the cities of Egypt this is followed by the singing of hymns called the Halal in which we get the word hallelujah specifically they will sing Psalm 113 to 118 okay these Psalms will be sing throughout various intervals during the course of the entire meal the second cup which is called the cup of judgment will be drunk just before they come to the main meal okay the main cause of the evening would be
00:21:11 the rose lamb that had been slaughtered earlier that afternoon in the temple and this symbolism is perhaps the most significant the lamb chosen must be less than a year old and without spot and blemish to signifies his innocence the message to the Hebrew was simply this to be delivered from judgment and the wrath of God requires death and the shedding of blood the death can be that of an innocent substitute and the lamb that was sacrificed would represent the substitute that will bear the punishment
00:21:47 on your behalf after the main cause is over there will be the drinking of the third cup of wine called the cup of redemption followed by more singing the Passover meal would conclude with the fourth cup called the cup of praise and then finally the closing prayer now all this is to celebrate how God had delivered them out of Egypt in the story of The Exodus The Exodus story is a bigger picture is a picture right of a larger story that spans the entire Bible Egypt represents our def position in a place of darkness and bondage to
00:22:26 sin judgment would come upon the land for his idolatry and Rebellion against God as exemplified by Pharaoh's hardened heart and the sacrificial lamb with his shed blood painted on the sides of the door is God's only provision by which to escape death you can say that the story of The Exodus is a presentation of the Gospel in the Old Testament but no lamb has ever satisfied God no matter how spotless it may be Jesus had chosen the perfect setting to tell his disciples that he is the Passover Lamb that will be sacrificed
00:23:09 soon to pay for the penalty of their sins so it is not by accident that Jesus chose this occasion to Institute the Lord's Supper as a remembrance of his death this was part of his plan and Jesus was using the Passover and Infuse it right infusing it with a new meaning when he instruc the Lord's Supper on this Passover night the old Covenant that entails the observance of the mosaic laws the sacrificial system the sacrificial system the temple worship the holy days the festivals all that would come to an end this is the
00:23:50 end of all the rituals all the observances all the sacrifices on the Altos and the end of the priesthood and the end of the holy of holies Jesus death on the cross as the real Ultimate and final Passover Lamb would bring an end to the old Covenant and Usher in the New Covenant which brings us to the second point the meaning of the Lord's Supper 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 then he took a cup and when he had
00:24:35 given thanks he gave it to them saying drink from it all of you this is my blood of the Covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin so at some point during the meal Jesus Took a piece of bread and introduced it as a new emblem this is my body and Luke right in the account of Luke he add the phrase given for you do this in remembrance of Me Jesus is saying that this is representative of his body which is going to be given up as a sacrifice for your sins so every time we eat of the
00:25:16 bread we have to remember his death now we know that bread provides sustenance and is needed for our physical strength and survival Jesus says in John 6:35 I'm the bread of life whoever comes to me will never go hungry by remembering Jesus bodily sacrifice on the cross we continue to draw spiritual strength for our Christian Journey just as the bread right the unle bread was sustenance for the Egyptians as they begin their Journey so as we look back at the cross and how Jesus Christ gave his body as a sacrif I for
00:25:59 our sins we draw spiritual strength for our Christian Journey excuse me yeah just get a sip of water now this does not miraculously turn into the physical body of Jesus Christ as some mainstream Roman Catholics would have us believe the Roman Catholics call it sub transubstantiation right and takes a literal interpretation right of uh Jesus words so that they believe that when the priest blessed the elements the bread would somehow be transformed into the actual body and the wine the actual blood of Jesus
00:26:52 Christ now respectfully I have to say that this is a bizarre claim that would have made us cannibals wouldn't it Jesus also says he is the vine yet we do not expect to pick grapes from his hair Jesus also was the door the rock the Cornerstone the shepherd the head of the body all these are about metaphors symbols which Jesus had used to illustrate a deeper spiritual meaning now the Roman Catholics will often use John 653 to justify their belief you know as you can read that Jesus said to them very truly I say to
00:27:32 you unless you eat the Flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you but Jesus was only using physical Concepts like eating and drinking to teach spiritual truth just as consuming physical food and drink sustains our physical bodies so our spiritual lives saved is saved and built up by spiritually receiving him by grace through faith eating Jesus flesh and drinking his blood are symbols of fully and completely receiving him into our lives now the Lutheran believe in something called consubstantiation and
00:28:12 basically says that instead of the physical body and blood we are consuming the spiritual body and blood in the elements now I again I don't want to take their claims likely or sound dismissive but I don't believe that there is any biblical basis for that now here's another way that the Lord's supper's meaning has been twisted and I'll be honest you know this really gets under my skin the pastor of the largest church in Singapore wrote this book sometime recently in 2019 okay his congregation is the largest the biggest in each your
00:28:53 way to life and health unlocking the power of the Holy Communion the author wrote and I quote let me tell you why I preach so strongly about the Holy Communion and why I partake of the Holy Communion every day let me tell you why the Holy Communion is ingrained as part of the DNA of our church and why I believe it is more powerful than any medicine any medical procedure any antibiotics and any chemotherapy used to heal our bodies I suppose he also meant our vaccine our covid-19 vaccine let me tell you why I believe
00:29:29 that the Holy Communion is the proverbial Fountain of Youth mankind has been searching for for generations and why I believe every time we take it we are causing our youth to be renewed like the eagles now what Joseph Prince teaches in this book I must say is utter rubbish brothers and sisters when you are sick yes please by all means pray but please also go and see a doctor now don't don't get me wrong I believe that partaking the Holy Communion is the most Most Blessed experience that we can have it does
00:30:07 impart spiritual blessings but the blessing is the complete forgiveness of sin for those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ through the holy spir spirit indwelling in us the blessing continues to come in the form of Joy gratitude and strength that all believers should have whenever we remember remember the Hefty price that Jesus Christ paid on our behalf now it is important that we understand that Jesus death must involve the shedding of blood blood symbolizes life when drained out of the body and
00:30:48 results in death often a violent and painful death in the Old Testament whenever God made a promise or a covenant with his people he always seals it with blood as he did in Exodus 24 after giving the law to the people which is part of the old Covenant Moses took half of the blood and put it in bows and the other half he Splash it against the altar then he took the book of the Covenant and read it to the people they responded we will do everything the Lord has said and we will obey the old Covenant was rectified and sealed by
00:31:28 Blood that's how serious the significance was blood was also God's ordained means of effecting atonement for the life of the creature is in the blood according to Leviticus and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourself on the altar it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life therefore in the old Covenant atonement for sin was made by sacrificing an animal's life life as substitution for one's own life by the same token here as the Lord Jesus was instituting the Lord's Supper Jesus is
00:32:08 now saying that his blood is used to rectify or seal the New Covenant now as Baptists our stand is that the Lord's Supper is a memorial listen to what Paul says all right in First Corinthians okay Paul who had a direct Revelation from Jesus made it very very clear okay when he said do this in remembrance of me and as we partake there is also the element of forthtelling and proclaiming the Lord's death so we remember and we proclaim the Lord's death whenever we come to the Lord's table for I receive from the Lord that
00:32:51 which I also passed onto 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 okay we must not over complicate matters and make the Bible say something it does not now that's not to say that the Lord's Supper is any less solemn or important or beneficial just because we call it a memorial as a memorial the Lord's Supper should actively help to stir up one's mind and to meditate upon
00:33:29 the person of our Lord Jesus Christ we must approach it in the right way as we as we come to the last Point okay now the practice of the Lord's Supper how should we observe the Lord's Supper first let's talk about frequency nowhere in the Bible is it stipulated how regular how regularly we are to partake of the Lord's Supper some rendering in the First Corinthian text that we've just read says as often as you take it or whenever you eat or drink but how often is often or too little well some Evangelical chooses
00:34:10 some Evangelical churches choose to do it Weekly right because the ordinance is for the spiritual good of the people and that's good others like us the Baptist we do it once a month so that the practice does not easily lose its significance and become ritualistic whatever it is this should not be a divisive issue and we should exercise Grace no matter what the decision is more important is the issue of attitude okay and for that we want to look inward we look backward and we look forward Paul exalts right in the
00:34:52 Corinthian text for all believers to examine ourselves before we eat and drink everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup for those who eat and drink without Discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves examining ourselves require that we bear our hearts and our souls to God and ensure that we are not harboring any sins in our life now this doesn't mean that God expects us to be perfect and good enough before we come to the table we come not based on our own Merit
00:35:33 but based on the finished work of Our Lord on the cross but we are expected to have a healthy dose of self-doubt just like the disciples at the Passover who said is it I Lord that kind of humility and not trusting self is what is required here and we are not to eat and drink without Discerning the body of Christ what is the body of Christ brothers and sisters it's the church the Lord's table is to be a communal table where we come together just as the Passover meal is a meal that is shared within the Jewish
00:36:12 Family the Lord's table is a communion meal that we as a spe spiritual family come together to share so it's not something that we partake alone at home Paul was scoring the Corinthian church for coming to the table with a spirit of division a spirit of selfishness a spirit of indulgence of drunkenness thoughtlessness and carelessness they are disrespecting the body of Christ when they did that so when we come let us be sure that we do not harble those kind of negative Spirit when we come let's come together with a
00:36:56 spirit of submission a Spirit of service one for another the second point is to look backward okay now this is where I think we really struggle today because the concept of death and sin have been sanitized in our culture today we don't have to kill for our food so we don't see very much of death most of us do not bury our date you know nimana kind of takes care of that very cleanly and efficiently as mentioned before with modern medicine we were able to give the best plative care to my mother-in-law
00:37:37 before she passed on we have almost been desensitized to the abhorrence of death we don't like to talk about it and we have kind of put it to the peripherals of our life and it's only when death come unexpectedly you know close to home that we suddenly snap back into its reality I shared earlier that Cynthia's mom passed away recently she and her sisters were all at my late mother-in-law's house yesterday to plan on how they were to dispose of her belongings now seeing and touching you know her
00:38:15 clothes immediately brought back memories to her of the love and the good times that she had with her mother naturally the tears came to all the sisters as their hearts were stirred with emotions and forness for their late Mom I think that's how the Lord's table should work we should never come to the table without having our hearts stirred by deeply reflecting on what Jesus has done for us do you know that death is not natural that was not God's original plan the Passover and the Lord's Supple
00:38:55 have the theme of death running through it his narratives the night when death swept through the darkness over the land of Egypt I can just imagine you know in the silence how Eerie it was you know to listen to all the veiling and the crying as the angel of death passed through them and then can you imagine right when they were sacrificing on Passover there the animals in the temple with tens of thousands of sheeps had to be slaughtered and slayed and the blood drained out that would be a blood bath you know and the rivers would
00:39:31 have been red you see the shedding of blood is a very graphic depiction right of the seriousness the the the abhorrence of sin and death and of course crucifixion on the cross that is one of the most painful if not the most painful capital punishment that men have devised so by remembering all these things you know we get a sense of what we have been delivered from and that's the whole point of the Lord's Supper so when we come to the Lord's table we need to Envision the cross and tell ourselves that should have been me up
00:40:25 there you know so the symbol of the Cross right should be our focal point when we come to the Lord's table we should always remember that instead of Jesus we should have been up there but see the symbol of the core of cross is not just negative it is also a glorious symbol it is also a glorious symbol of hope that those who put their faith in Jesus Christ can be delivered from Death can be delivered not physical death but more importantly spiritual death the Bible tells us that those who do not have Christ they await a far more
00:41:11 terrible fate not unlike what Jesus said of Judas who betrayed him that it would have been better if he had not been born the Fate is Hell Eternal separation from the presence of a just and merciful god so as we come we have to remember that this is what we have been delivered from and finally when we come to the Lord's table we have to look forward look at verse 29 it says I tell you I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in my father's
00:41:55 Kingdom that's a marvelous thought in taking the Lord's Supper we have the Blessed promise that one day we will be sitting at the table with Jesus and with all the saints that have gone before us we will be sitting at the table physically in his presence just as real and tangible as the next person sitting to you okay next to you it's going to be you know what we have today in the Lord's Supple is just a for foraste right of what we would experience in heaven you know if you go to a restaurant right you have the
00:42:33 appetizer before you eat the main meal so every time when we come to the Lord's Supper all right is is like the appetizer all right giving us wetting our appetite and giving us a foraste of the real thing that is going to come John the Apostle described in Revelations 19 and the angel said to me write this blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb this are the true words of God perhaps this uh what we're going to experience right is best described Right In this passage from Isaiah on this
00:43:11 mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich foods for All Peoples a banquet of aged wine the best meats and the finance of wines on this mountain he will destroy the stoud that enfolds all peoples the sheet that covers all nations he will swallow up death Forever The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces he will remove his people's disgrace from all the Earth the Lord has spoken that's a description of Heaven that there will be no more death No More Tears no more Sorrows no more
00:43:49 sufferings that came as a result of sin all things will become new do you long for that day when we can see Jesus again now in a few moments we will sing a song of response and as we partake of the Lord's Supper okay let us remember what we have just heard let us examine our lives right and focus our minds and attention on the cross let us pray dear heavenly father we thank you for your word which so richly tells us of your salvation plan for men we are so grateful for your son who for the love of his people emptied
00:44:48 himself shed his blood and died on the cross for our sins forgive us when we have come to your table C ously or and in or in an unworthy manner even as we prepare to come to your table again may your Holy Spirit help us to search our hearts may we be honest with you regards to our sin and be assured of your forgiveness when we confess them may you seal in our hearts with the Blessed hope we have in Jesus that one day we will meet our savior faith face to face and as a family enjoy the Heavenly Supple
00:45:33 feast in his precious name we pray amen now we will sing the song of response and I'll pass the time off to Our Song leader and I want you to meditate on the words and prepare our hearts as we come to the Lord's table Church may I invite you to rise As we sing the response [Music] song I take the bread of life BR for all my your body crucified to make me whole again I will recall the [Music] C pour out in sacrifice to trade this [Music] sin for your New Covenant [Music] hallelu I live my life in
00:47:18 [Music] remance hallelu [Music] your promise I won't [Music] foret Sal RO with fear and trembling your way born as my own as Christ is formed in me [Music] hallelu I live my life [Music] INE [Music] hallelu your promise I want for If Ever I should lose my way if ever I deny your grace remind me of the price you paid hallelu [Music] Church please take a seat as we come to the Lord's table let's get the elements ready in a few moments I ask all all of us to Bow our heads and spend some time meditating confessing our sins to
00:49:37 God and to dwell on the cross on what Jesus Christ has done for us now I'm going to say a prayer and then we will partake of the [Music] elements let us bow our heads and do some self-examination [Music] [Music] let us pray dear heavenly father we thank you Lord for hey having instituted the Lord's Supper an ordinance to help us to remember what our Lord Jesus Christ has so richly blessed us that in his death oh Lord he suffered unspeakable pain and in this death oh Lord he purchased for us forgiveness of sin
00:51:28 and salvation so rich and free Lord we confess that we don't always come to the table worthily we are often distracted in our lives that we don't spend enough time to meditate on what you have done for us Lord as we come to the elements and partake of it we ask oh Lord that you will stir our hearts and impress upon us what Jesus Christ has done may we not take this ordinance lightly and that every time we come oh Lord our spiritual life may be renewed with strength that hence forth oh Lord we would live transformed
00:52:25 lives and to offer Our Lives as a Living Sacrifice and to walk according to your will for we ask all this in Jesus name amen 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 and when he had given thanks he broke it and he said this is my body which is for you given for you do this in remembrance of me let us partake of the bread together [Music] and in the same way he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Covenant in my
00:53:34 blood do this as often as you drink it and in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you also proclaim the Lord's death until he comes let us drink the cup together let us pray dear heavenly father we thank you oh Lord for your blessing and we look forward oh Lord to the day when we will all meet Jesus face to face and we pray Lord that our Lives May indeed proclaim the realities of Jesus and that more will come to faith in him but we ask all this in Jesus name amen CH would you rise As we sing
00:54:36 continue to sing the [Music] song you've been so so good to me you've been so so good to me oh to came where I would be if not for you if not for you you'll be so so good to me you've been so so good to me to where I it's not for you it's not for you as as is from the as as is from the W Grace has car [Applause] me until I see you face to face until at last I wanton my r you might me are nothing fin [Music] hallelu [Music] hallelu [Music] hallelu live [Music] let's bow our heads as we pray and receive the
00:56:40 benediction dear heavenly father we thank you for the privilege of worshiping you today Lord as we meditate on what we have heard from your word we pray that you help us to apply in in our lives and we pray oh Lord that you may stir in our hearts oh lord for those who have not yet come to Faith that they will do business with you today that they will not wait Lord that they will come forth to repent of their sins and put their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ if there's any belongs to you who has been convicted by the
00:57:35 spirit and you want to put your trust in Jesus Christ today I urge you to seek out the elders or someone in this church so that the they can pray for you and for the rest of us if the spirit has convicted you and you need to pray with someone because you have a burden in your heart or there's an aspect in your life that you need to put right with God I also urge you to seek prayer with one of the elders and if you are not comfortable praying with the elders and if you are a lady you want to prefer to pray with a
00:58:42 lady I will ask that you know you seek out somebody like phis or ply and they will come and pray with you now receive the benediction now to to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen the service is now over
