Eat This Bread Drink This Cup
The purpose of this podcast is to help individuals, groups and churches observe the Lord's Supper. The podcast includes a relevant portion of Scripture, brief commentary, prayer, and participation in partaking of the bread and drinking from the cup.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Eat This Bread Drink This Cup
Together with Our Lord
Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The meditation today comes from the Old Testament, Genesis 14: 17-20. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
My hope is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!
Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Together with Our Lord." I read from Genesis 14: 17-20. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
17 After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing:
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High,
who has defeated your enemies for you.”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.
Living in the Promised Land has had its fair share of challenges for Abraham and his family. With 318 trained men from his household, Abram defeats the armies of King Kedorlaomer and his allies and recovers all the goods that have been taken, his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. Melchizedek, king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, correctly assesses the situation and gives God Most High the glory for blessing Abram and defeating his enemies. To celebrate the victory, Melchizedek meets Abram with bread and wine and Abram gives to Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he has recovered. From the Scriptures, we learn this brief account has great significance on many theological levels. King David, the psalmist (Psalms 110: 4), writes, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” The author of Hebrews quotes this prophecy in his masterful discourse showing the superiority of Jesus Christ as our high priest. Despite all of this, there was one small part of this account I found so endearing as I read the Scriptures this past week; it was when Melchizedek met Abram with bread and wine to celebrate his victory. I am reminded that our high priest, Jesus, met with the faithful in the upper room to share bread and wine with them. He told them they would be victorious because He was going to defeat their enemies, sin and death, by offering His life on the cross. From the Shaveh Valley to the upper room in Jerusalem to our meeting place today, we assemble to break bread and drink wine together and remember our great high priest, Jesus, who died and now lives. Let us pray.
Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Thank-you, Abba, Father, for being present with us this morning as we break bread to remember Your Son, Jesus. As brothers and sisters, we feel one with each other and with You as we remember and honor Your Son, Jesus. We are thankful that He has won the victory, and we are saved! In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.
And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"
Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."
Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!