All right, take your Bibles if you would, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
1 Corinthians chapter 11.
If you would put a thumb there and then turn with me over to 1 Peter chapter 1.
So if you want to mark 1 Corinthians 11 and then go over to 1 Peter chapter 1.
If you don't have a Bible, there should be one there in your pew back.
You may have an app on your phone you can use or look on with someone next to you.
1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Peter 1.
As you're turning to these two passages, I'd like to talk to you about the subject of communion or the Lord's Supper.
Those terms can be used interchangeably.
Communion, the Lord's Supper, both represent this time of honoring and recognizing and remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
And this harkens back to the Passover.
If you read back in the Old Testament, you would understand what we're talking about when we say the Passover.
This became a great Jewish tradition for the Hebrew people, remembering back what God did in rescuing them from His judgment.
So where does this Lord's Supper come from or the communion come from?
We read about it in the book of Exodus, this Passover feast when God's people, the Israelite people, were trapped in the nation of Egypt.
And he would not let them go.
And God sent judgment after judgment upon the Egyptian people because of Pharaoh's resistance to let them go.
And finally, he allowed the death angel to pass over all the households.
And the firstborn son in each household would die.
And so it was a terrible thing.
But he rescued his people from that judgment by telling them to swipe the top and the doorposts of their households with the blood of a sacrificial lamb.
And that, when the death angel passed over, when he saw that blood on the doorpost, he would not take the life of the firstborn son in that house.
So a very dark moment, a very tragic moment, but something that would pave the way for how important blood sacrifice is in paying the penalty for sin.
You see, sin is a huge deal in God's eyes.
We like to gloss it over.
We like to try to act like it's not really as bad as it is.
And yet sin not only separates us from God, it causes irreparable harm to us, those we care about, and then people we may not even ever realize are affected by sin.
So God does not tolerate sin.
Sin must be paid for.
A price must be paid.
And of course, this blood of these sacrificial lambs that was painted on the doorpost was a type, a representation of what would come when Jesus Christ, called the Lamb of God, became a sacrificial lamb himself.
For all people of all time.
And his blood is what is necessary to cleanse us.
And so when God then sees the blood of his son that has washed our sins away, then he says, you're safe.
You're forgiven.
You don't have to pay that terrible penalty for sin.
So that's where we get this idea of the Passover.
And then I'd love to go to 1 Corinthians 11 here.
Because what the question we need to ask or the understanding that we need to come to is the final Passover then became the first communion.
So as Jesus sat in the upper room, we read about it in Luke 22.
He sat there in the upper room before his crucifixion and his disciples are there and they're gathered and they take the Passover together.
He is then paving the way for this transition from the Passover to communion.
So we no longer have to recognize as the Hebrew people did.
And there's nothing wrong with having a Passover feast.
But now we are under a different commandment of now taking communion together.
Well, why do we call it communion?
Because that word represents not only the community of believers, but being in a spirit of communion, communing with the Lord himself as we recognize and remember his great sacrifice that happened for us.
So this Passover, this communion, Lord's Supper are all tied together inextricably.
So let's go to 1 Corinthians 11 now.
1 Corinthians 11, and we'll read down at the end of the passage in verse 23.
For I received from the Lord, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, and he says,
I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.
On the night when Jesus was betrayed, the Lord Jesus 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.
Verse 25.
In the same way also he took the cup after supper and said,
This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
What a powerful thing to proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
That is our instruction.
All throughout Scripture from Matthew 28 and Mark 16, and all throughout the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament,
God's people have always been commanded to proclaim him, to proclaim God to the nations.
We are not just to keep our faith silent.
We are to proclaim it.
Proclaiming is the same word in Scripture as preaching.
And that's not just a job for the pastor.
That's a job for all of us to preach this gospel, this good news of the Lord's sacrificial death,
not just for us that are sitting in these pews, but for everyone, everywhere.
So, when we proclaim his death, what are we doing?
We are bringing it back to the gospel.
We're bringing it back to the good news.
My friend Dan Curry preached last week all about the gospel,
how we are supposed to be proud of this gospel, this good news that God has given to us, free gift from him.
We did nothing to earn it.
And we are supposed to let it change us.
Live it out.
How do we do that?
We live the actual gospel.
So, how do you do that?
How do you live the gospel?
Well, you remember the truth that you did nothing to earn God's goodness and favor.
You did nothing to earn Jesus dying on the cross, rising from the dead, and offering forgiveness to you.
And you take that truth, and you remind yourself of it every day, and you live that way.
That I have done nothing to earn God's favor, so I'm not going to make anybody else do anything to earn mine.
I'm going to forgive freely.
I'm going to show love freely.
And I'm going to tell everybody about this saving message that Jesus revealed to me.
That's how we live the gospel.
You live it very practically.
You live it with your family.
Live it with your spouse.
Live it with yourself.
Reminding yourself and those around you daily of the power of the gospel.
Now, guess what?
You're going to fail at that.
We're going to go back to our old way of thinking, and we're not going to let the gospel affect how we think and how we act at times.
But this is one of the biggest reasons why I believe Jesus told the church, and Paul repeated this instruction to the church, to stop and remind ourselves.
He said, do this in remembrance of me.
So stop and remember just what Jesus did and the impact that that has on our life and our relationships.
So the Lord's Supper represents our new life in Christ.
And we could remind ourselves of that every day, every week, every month.
But we are going to stop as a church and make sure we intentionally remind ourselves of that at the Lord's Supper, at communion.
Last time we observed the Lord's Supper, I preached on how the Lord's Supper, the communion time, is supposed to be a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice.
And that's absolutely true.
That's spelled out in Scripture in black and white.
But if you take it a step further, it's also a new beginning.
Every time that you remember His body and His blood, it's not just a traditional religious rite that we stop and we feel fuzzy inside and we feel solemn and we feel sober and we just think,
Oh, I feel holy in this moment.
I believe that, unfortunately, that's what this kind of religious rite has become for a lot of man-made religions out there.
It's just become an escape from the world around us.
And you get into a holy moment like this and it makes you feel better about everything.
But there's some reality missing there.
There's some reality missing because there's truth missing.
Because we worship a real God.
We worship a real risen Savior who really hears us when we pray.
Who really works actively in our lives.
And so stopping to remember Him re-centers us on a very real power.
And it reminds us of the new life and new beginning we have in Jesus Christ.
So, the Lord's Supper represents our new life in Christ.
Let's go now to 1 Peter chapter 1.
As we think of how Jesus' death represents our life.
What a contrast there.
Jesus died so we could live.
That's how it's always been.
Because of the evil of sin, something has had to die so something else could live.
Now, 1 Peter chapter 1.
Let's look.
Let's start in verse 13.
Before we get there, I want to share a quote with you.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a great theologian from Germany.
A pastor.
God used him powerfully during a very troubled time in Germany.
And look at this that he wrote.
The cross of Jesus is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life.
Which we understand that Jesus certainly lived and His followers try to live.
So, this cross of Jesus is not the terrible end to this otherwise God-fearing and happy life.
Instead, it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ.
You understand what he said there?
So, the cross of Jesus is not this symbol of defeat.
Even though that's what they hung Him on.
That's what He suffered on.
That's what He bled on.
And that's what He died on.
So, you would think that that would be the end of it.
As I'm sure the devils rejoiced.
The demons threw a party.
Darkness seemed like it had won the day.
But we knew.
Looking back.
And those who believed Him, followed Him truly, knew that His moment was not over.
The grave could not hold Him.
And Jesus arose powerfully from the dead and proved that He is God.
That we can trust Him.
And so, the cross is not a symbol of defeat.
It's not the end of the story.
It's not the end of your story or mine.
It meets us at the beginning of our relationship, our communion with Jesus Christ.
So, when we stop and we think about His body, we think about His blood, we're not thinking of defeat.
We're not thinking of the tragic end to the story.
We're thinking of the beginning.
The sacrifice that allowed us to have communion.
Allowed us to have communion with God.
Allowed us to have communion with one another.
Allowed us to have communion and real relationship with Jesus Christ.
So, we can say rightly that communion is a new beginning.
Now, you're going to understand why I highlighted the B and the E right there.
We're going to get into a few different B's this morning.
But a communion is a new beginning for us.
So, let's look now at 1 Peter 1 and verse 13.
Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Did you catch that?
With your minds ready for action, be sober-minded.
And then in verse 14.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance.
But as the one who called you is holy, you are also to be holy in all your conduct.
Because it is written, be holy because I am holy.
If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one's work,
you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers.
For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life, inherited from your fathers,
not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but he was revealed in these last times for you.
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.
Man, don't put your faith and hope in anything else.
It will let you down.
But put your faith and hope in God.
Verse 22.
Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth,
so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other,
from a pure heart, love one another constantly.
Because you have been born again.
Not of perishable seed, like the rest of us are, but of imperishable.
That's what happens when we are born again.
Through the living and enduring word of God.
It means born into a life that cannot die.
For all flesh is like grass.
Everything else dies.
All the glory like a flower of the grass.
The grass withers.
The flower fades or falls.
But the word of the Lord endures forever.
And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.
And is still being proclaimed to you.
And by you.
So, let's dive into this text.
And I pray that it impacts you as it has for me.
I want to give you this line from this quote from John Newton.
And we know it in this very powerful song here.
Well, I'm not sure why it's not showing up.
And I apologize for that.
Here we go.
There we are.
See this up here?
Y'all know this because you've sung Amazing Grace many times.
But have you ever stopped to think about this verse here?
Of this part of this song?
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.
Grace has brought me safe thus far.
And grace will lead me home.
Now, the first B.
And I'm going to tie these two together in just a moment.
But the first B, B-E, word, that I want to draw your attention to here.
Was back in 1 Peter chapter 1 again that we just read in verse 13.
Be sober.
So if you're going to write something down in the notes section of your bulletin,
write down number one, be sober.
These are our instructions when it comes to proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.
This communion time when we stop and we recenter ourselves on the death, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We are commanded here to be sober.
What does that look like?
It looks like relying on grace.
Relying on grace.
Do you see what it says in the next part right after?
Be sober minded.
Verse 13.
Set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Do you understand that John Newton caught a glimpse of that when he wrote this great hymn that's probably lasted longer than any other hymn that people have written?
Any other gospel song, amazing grace kind of is at the top of that pile, isn't it?
And he said, grace has brought me safe this far through all the dangers, all the toils, all the snares, and grace will lead me home.
What does that mean?
It wasn't you.
It wasn't me that brought us safely through these dangers, toils, and snares.
It was only by God's grace.
Well, that sobers us up a little bit.
We're completely reliant and dependent on God's grace.
It's not your money.
It's not your retirement.
It's not your skills, your brain power, your expertise, your experience.
None of that will get you safely home.
It's only by God's grace.
So that line is so powerful when we sing it.
Grace has brought me safely this far, and grace will lead me home.
That makes our minds sober.
That kills pride.
That kills ego.
It's not me.
It's God.
Anything good you see in me is God working through me.
It's not me.
I don't deserve the pat on the back.
Jesus deserves the praise.
So being sober-minded means relying on grace.
Being sober-minded also means being ready for action.
Did you catch that line in verse 13 at the very beginning there?
With your minds ready for action, be sober-minded.
So that's what it looks like to be sober is to be ready for action.
You know what I think of when I think of this being ready for action?
I think of back in Judges chapter 7 when Gideon was trying to get an army together to go fight the Midianites.
And he knew that all their soldiers combined had no chance against this mighty Midianite army that was oppressing them.
And so God told him he had too many soldiers.
And he said, you've got to weed these guys down here.
And he told them to get down by the river and he told them to drink out of the water.
And he said, watch how they do it.
The guys that get down there and they set down their weapons and they just all in on drinking the water because they're thirsty,
that's not the guys you're going to be able to fight with.
The guys that stay ready for action, that's the guys that you can take into battle with you.
Now God knew that he wouldn't even need those soldiers because they wouldn't raise their spears or raise their swords one time in battle.
God was going to win the victory without anyone lifting a finger.
He had the whole plan with the jars and the torches and the trumpets.
God knew how it was going to work.
But he wanted to make that point to Gideon that as this new leader of this army,
and Gideon was the most unlikely candidate for that,
but he says the new leader for this army,
you've got to find the guys who are sober minded,
whose minds are ready for action.
They understand what the task at hand is,
and they're ready to go.
It means they've set aside themselves.
They've set aside their preferences.
They've set aside their passions.
And they've substituted the Lord's in their place.
I am sober minded,
understanding how important this mission is,
understanding that my life has been given a meaning that it never had before,
understanding that all the goals that I personally have
must fall under the umbrella of Almighty God
because his ways are greater than mine.
His goals are greater than mine.
So mine must come underneath his.
My mind must stay ready for action.
So be sober.
And then 1 Peter chapter 1,
we read it just a moment ago,
minds ready for action,
sober minded,
and setting our hope completely on God's grace.
Number two, be smart.
Be smart.
As we're prepared to take the Lord's Supper,
as we leave this place and go on about our daily lives,
be sober,
but be smart.
Well, where do we find that in the Scriptures?
We find that back in verse 14.
As obedient children,
do not be conformed to the desires of your former,
what's that word?
Ignorance.
I say this frequently because the Bible just doesn't hold back, you know.
I didn't write it.
The Lord put it in there.
The desires of your former ignorance.
Because he knows that in our flesh,
in our sinful desires,
we are ignorant.
We're dummies.
So he said,
don't go back to that way of thinking.
That's not smart.
Be smart.
Be obedient children,
and don't go back to the desires
of that ignorant way of thinking.
That's going to lead you where you don't want to go.
Ephesians chapter 4
sheds a little more light on this.
Verse 22,
down through verse 24,
put off your old self,
which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires.
That's that ignorant way of thinking.
To be made new
in the attitude of your minds.
You understand
how the Lord's Supper,
how communion is a new beginning?
It makes us new.
Because every day,
we have to perform this exercise.
Put off the old self.
Because we recognize
it's corrupted
by our old, deceitful, ignorant desires.
And then we're made new
in this new attitude of our minds.
Romans chapter 12 calls that
changing the way you think,
and then putting on the new self
created to be like God
in true righteousness.
Skipped ahead.
So,
that's how we be smart.
We go to God
every day
and say,
God,
make me new.
Help me put off
my old desires.
The ignorance
that's gonna lead me
away from your wisdom,
from your knowledge,
from your understanding.
Read all about that
in Proverbs.
James.
If any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask it from God.
That's James.
All throughout the Bible,
we read that our wisdom
is found in Jesus
because apart from him,
we're ignorant.
We're not smart.
So,
God says,
be smart
as you're being
sober.
So,
be sober,
be smart,
and then the last one,
be sincere.
Be sincere.
Back in 1 Peter 1.
Verse 22,
1 Peter 1.
Would you look there with me?
Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth,
we're being sober-minded,
trying to be smart,
don't go back after
those ignorant desires.
So,
you've purified yourselves
by your obedience
to the truth.
What does it say?
Show sincere,
brotherly love
for each other
from a pure heart.
That's what we're
commanded to do.
Show sincere,
brotherly love
for each other.
1 Timothy 1
and verse 5
says this,
the goal of our instruction,
you want to know
why we do this up here?
Why we do the Sunday school classes?
Why we do the d-groups?
Why I'm preaching
on Sunday mornings?
The goal of all this instruction
is that love
comes from a pure heart,
a good conscience,
and a sincere faith.
If that does not
describe you,
and if that does not
describe me,
then we've got to go back
and be more sober-minded.
We've got to go back
and be smart
about our old desires
that's pulling us away
from this,
and then we've got to
check our own hearts
and say,
am I sincere?
Am I sincerely
loving God
and loving my fellow
brother or sister?
Not just the ones
you're blood related to,
but the ones
in the family of God,
the neighbors all around you
in your community,
the people that God
brings across your path
every day,
the people on the other side
of the keyboard online,
are you showing
a sincere love
from a pure heart,
good conscience,
and sincere faith?
1 John 3.18
says it this way,
little children,
I love how he calls us
little children,
just kind of humbles us
a little bit.
Remember,
it kills off that ego
and pride,
just in case you think
you're all that.
John's reminding us
that we're little children
in God's eyes.
He's our father.
We're little children.
We need to take
this instruction from him.
He says,
let us not love
in word or in speech,
but in action
and in truth.
What is that?
That's sincerity.
That's being sincere.
I don't just tell you
I love you.
I don't just tell you
I'll pray for you.
Don't raise your hand
because it would
just kill the vibe
in here, okay?
But how many times
have we said
we'll pray for somebody
and then never did?
Again,
don't raise your hand.
I've gotten in the habit
of trying to do it
on the spot
right then,
whether I stop
and pray with the person
or just pray in my mind
as I walk away
because I'm thinking
I may not remember
this tomorrow.
I might write myself
a note
and forget to look at it.
But there is a difference
in loving someone
in word
and in speech
and loving them
in action
and in truth.
Be sincere.
As we take communion,
as we gather
for the Lord's Supper,
let it be
from a sincere heart.
Not just for show,
not just because
that's the tradition
that we're used to,
but we're sincerely
reminding ourselves
that Jesus gave his life
so we could have life.
So,
Charles Deems
was an old-time
Methodist pastor
who led one of the largest
and most effective churches
in New York City
many, many years ago.
I found this quote by him
and I wanted to share it
with you today.
He said,
the Lord's Supper
has been greatly instrumental
in keeping his cause,
Jesus' cause,
alive.
It's the voice
of all believers
preaching the Lord's death
till he comes.
That's what Jesus
told us to do.
He who believes
that the Lord
did come
and die for us
and will come again
and take us to himself
will not hesitate
to regard
this last request
of our Lord
and Savior.
Do you understand
the whole point
of this?
The Lord's Supper
is to continue
to proclaim
and preach
the Lord's death
until he comes again.
Someday,
we'll trade in
the Lord's Supper
for the marriage supper
of the Lamb.
We'll all gather in heaven
around a great big feast
and we won't have
to do this anymore.
But until that day,
we gather,
we stop,
we remember,
and we proclaim
the Lord's death.
It's a new beginning
for us.
Every time.
You might have walked in here
laden down with baggage.
You might have walked in here
with all kinds of baggage
in your heart
and in your mind.
I invite you
to lay it down
at the cross.
Remind yourself
of the broken body
and the shed blood
of Jesus Christ
and lay that down.
Let him take it.
Cast your burden on him
because he cares for you.
That's what the Lord's Supper
is there to do.
It's a new beginning
of proclaiming
the Lord's death.
We don't just proclaim it
to those who have never heard.
We proclaim it
to ourselves.
We proclaim it
to our families.
And we remind ourselves
to be sober,
be smart,
be sincere
as we proclaim
the Lord's death.
Would you bow in prayer with me?
God, I pray right now
that you would speak
to our minds.
Our minds
are the devil's playground.
He gets in there
when we lower our guard
and messes us around.
I pray that you would
speak to our flesh.
That we would be smart
and not go back
to those desires
that lead us
away from you.
The lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes,
the pride of life
that you warn us about.
I pray that we would be sincere.
That this regular reminder
as we gather to do this
four times a year
would take us back
to that day on the cross
when you held nothing back.
When you gave up everything
so I could stand up here
and preach
so your people
could gather in this place,
sing your songs of praise,
fellowship with one another,
lift up your name,
remind ourselves
of your sacrifice.
Take us back there, Lord,
and let the sincere love
that you showed to us
bear that same kind
of sincere love
within us.
The people we know
would see a difference.
It's in Jesus' name
we ask these things.
Would you keep your heads
bowed in an attitude of prayer?
I'm going to have the deacons
come join me up front
to distribute the elements
of the Lord's Supper
in just a moment.
As they begin to make
their way up front,
let me ask you this question.
Is there anybody here
who would say,
I know beyond a shadow of doubt
that Jesus is my Savior.
I remember the day
when I placed my faith in Him
and He forgave me
and made me His child.
If that's you,
would you just testify to that
and signify that
by slipping your hand up
and say, yes, that's me.
I know I'm a child of God.
Thank you.
You can put your hand down.
Is there anybody
who would say,
I couldn't raise my hand
a moment ago
because I'm not sure?
I've got questions.
I've got concerns
and I'm not sure
that I could raise my hand
and say,
I know I'm a child of God.
Would you slip your hand up
and I'll just pray for you?
Everyone's heads are bowed.
While we have a moment of privacy,
I'd love to pray for you.
Thank you.
How many of you would say,
God's working on me
about something I've heard
in the message today
or something entirely different,
but God's working on me right now
in this moment
of reminder,
of remembering,
of a new beginning.
I'm asking Jesus
to help me with some things
that are on my heart right now.
Would you slip your hand up
and I'll pray for you?
Thank you.
Thank you, God.
I pray for those
that lifted their hands.
I pray that you would
be powerfully moving
in their hearts right now, God.
Through your spirit,
give them wisdom.
Give them clarity.
Give them understanding
of what they need to do,
the steps they need to take,
but then help them
to remember
who they are
as your child.
Remind them of that, God,
how much you value them,
how much you love them.
And as they take these elements
in just a moment,
let it be a new beginning
with Jesus
that you want it to be.
It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.