SERMON - DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE

Do This

In

Remembrance

 

 

Jesus Christ instituted Christians remembering His sacrifice for our salvation in a manner that we know take, almost, for granted. The painful crucifixion suffered by our Savior as He underwent excruciating pain and rejection was known to Him even as He gave us His instruction at the Last Supper.

 

The death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion was no accident. This was God’s plan for the redemption of us from the wages of sin. Even the Old Testament has some 2,000 plus verses that foretold of this event and its purpose.

 

Isaiah 53:  ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
 the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  

 

The love exhibited by our Savior is absolutely astounding. How He could have calmly, and with a great deal of loving concern, appear and grant us a way to show our love is wondrous indeed.

 

1 Corinthians 11: ²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵In 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." ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

 

It is sad that some religious denominations skew even the basest act of total love that was shown to all mankind at the Last Supper. He gave explicit meaning as He broke the bread and then, after sharing it with His apostles, also instructed that the wine He had blessed was representative of His Blood and asked that it be drunk “In remembrance of Me.” I say “sad” as some supposed Christian denominations withhold the wine from their congregations only having everyone partake in the bread.

 

As Jesus spoke He did not say, or even intimate, that His body and blood would undergo  metamorphoses and become the actual body and blood as His explicit Words are, “In remembrance,” which is saying, ‘this is done to remember Me.’

 

We must be ever aware of all the things, events that occurred during the actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As He hung from the cross He exhibited ‘forgiveness,’ He exhibited loneliness, and extreme power.

 

Luke 22: ³⁴Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

 

That is forgiveness!

 

Matthew 27: ⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

 

That is loneliness!

 

Matthew 27: ⁵⁰And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.

That is power!

All of these events are to be remembered as we partake of the rite of celebrating our deliverance and when we take part in this remembrance we must do so in a most worshipful manner. We must put all thoughts other than those of Him, out of our minds and center only on Him and what He did for us on that most memorable day.

1 Corinthians 11: ²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

If the partaking of this memorial act is not, or cannot, be performed with a pure and worshipful heart then it is best to abstain from the partaking thereof. In partaking in other than a most worshipful manner the risk is eternal damnation.

Now I have often prayed and asked God to show me, as a Pastor, and one who edifies His Word, how to partake of doing this rite absent a crowd of worshipers. His answer to me, deep in my heart was,

Matthew 18: ²⁰For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

So, as the 2 or 3 ask Him to be with them and enter into worship; break bread, eat it, then pour wine, and drink it.

The bread should be unleavened and the wine derived from grapes of the vine.

To properly remember Christ is to offer thanks to God the Father for the bread and wine to be consumed in remembrance of Jesus Christ.

 As you partake you must remember just who you are in worship of, the wondrous gift He gave you and all that was gone through to give you this gift. This is a most serious matter, one not to be taken lightly and performed with reverence, adoration, and love for Him.

When God authored the Bible, His Word, He was aware that there would be times when His children would not be able to fellowship in groups of many. He is all knowing and tells us that 2 gathered in His name, was enough to constitute a ‘church.’ In conducting a ‘church service,’ all you need to is to reverently invite Him into your gathering and know that He is there with you and act accordingly. The purpose of meeting is to offer praise and worship of Him and supplicate after offering praise and worship.

Now, on another note I would like to tell you something I neglected to in my sermons on worship. In my exuberance I often miss points I would like to touch on that God has told me to edify on.

I told you of my worship as I walk nightly. First I ask forgiveness after confessing my sins of the day. I then worship and at the end of my walk I say prayers of supplication. Then, after doing all that I do to prepare for and get into bed, I lie there and enter into worship again.

I have spoken to many other Pastors as I had thought this questionable as I often fell asleep as I worshiped. To my happiness I learned that they too were doing the same thing and their happiness was proof enough to tell me, God hears my worship and grants me rest with Him on my mind and in my heart.

If you are in His presence, in praise and worship, and are true in your Christianity, I am certain, with no shadow of a doubt; He hears you and will smile at your love and thoughtfulness in allowing Him to share your day.

(Closing prayer)

Almighty God, Father and Creator of us all, please hear us as we praise You and worship You. You are our God and we wish to do Your will in a manner most pleasing to You.

Father, You sent Your Son to earth, allowed Him to be sacrificed to take the sins of true believers away as evidence of Your love for Your children. You allowed man to be able to be saved by believing in Him and obeying Your Word. Lord, our gratitude for this overwhelms us and brings sadness, for His crucifixion, as well as rejoicing to our hearts. You are a most wondrous God and it is to You we bow and to no other.

We remember our Lord, Jesus Christ, as we partake of the bread and wine just as He bade us to do at the Last Supper. 

Father, thank You for this opportunity to come before You and show our love.

Lord we ask that You bless and protect our military, our elected officials, our judges, police officers and any charged with the protection of our country. We also ask that You show mercy to those oppressed by people that strive to satisfy their own earthly needs and turn a blind eye to You and Your ways.

We pray these things in the name of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever,

Amen, amen and amen.

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Pastor Lee S Gliddon Jr
God's Word Christian Ministry
Conservative Patriot http://conpats.blogspot.com