Sovereign Grace Bible Church
These are the sermons and teachings of Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Biggsville, Illinois. We exist to fulfill the Great Commission through the Great Commandment within Gospel Community.
Sovereign Grace Bible Church
Baptism & The Lord's Supper: Christ's Sacred Ordinances
Why did Jesus only institute two ordinances for His church? What's the deeper significance of baptism and communion beyond mere religious ritual? In this illuminating episode, we unpack the profound meaning and purpose behind these sacred practices that have sustained Christian faith for millennia.
Baptism stands as Christianity's initiation ordinance—not a means of salvation but a powerful declaration that we've died to our old self and risen to new life in Christ. We explore the biblical pattern of repentance preceding baptism and why this public testimony matters. Far from being a spiritual achievement that earns special status, baptism symbolizes our equality under Christ, declaring to the world "I am Christ's and Christ is mine."
The Lord's Supper serves as our ordinance of remembrance, addressing our human tendency to forget the gospel amid life's distractions. We examine why proper heart preparation matters when approaching communion, debunking both casual indifference and paralyzing anxiety that can surround this practice. The bread and cup weren't randomly chosen—they visually demonstrate how Christ nourishes our souls just as physical food sustains our bodies.
These ordinances offer rich benefits: keeping the gospel in focus, deepening our intimacy with Christ, building church unity, and reminding us that our hope isn't in this world but in Christ's return. They're not empty traditions but God's gifts to help finite, forgetful humans grasp eternal truths through tangible means.
In today's consumer culture, we risk treating these sacred symbols as mere obligations. Instead, discover how these practices can become meaningful expressions of our relationship with Christ and His church. Let baptism and communion become what they were designed to be—celebrations that sustain our faith journey by repeatedly turning our attention to Christ's perfect work rather than our imperfect efforts.
Good morning. We are in week 13 of 14 on doctrine and it's a beautiful thing that we've gone through, as we've learned about God, the Father, god the Son, god the Spirit, the Trinity. We've learned about five weeks worth of salvation. This is our third week now in learning about the church. What are the essentials of the church? We began with church membership and discipline led to biblical elders and deacons, and now we are at baptism and the Lord's Supper and you'll hear words like or ordinances, and all of those words are just seeking to properly show us that these are signs and symbols. They are institutions upon which we, as Christians, are to invest ourselves into because our Lord has commanded it. A sacrament just means a religious rite of some kind. It's a ritual, it's a tradition and an ordinance is similar to that. Now, baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two sacraments or ordinances in the scriptures from the New Testament, and I remember the first time I studied this with middle school boys about a decade ago and I remember some of the boys looking at me and saying there's only two, and they were confused and really what happened was one of them was a little bit like me and had a competitive edge to himself and he was wondering why there wasn't like a stair stepper here, like you had your beginner ones, and then you had, like your middle class, ordinances, and then you had, like, your upper class. Like you, you're the mature Christian that is allowed to do these ones. And I resonated with that when I first was a Christian as well, of why is there not more? Why are there only two? And so today we will cover why there are only two and what the importance, the significance of both of them are, and who should participate in them and when.
Speaker 1:So we begin with baptism. In Acts, chapter 2, verses 37 through 41. It says now, when they heard this, that was the preaching of Peter at Pentecost. When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord, our God, calls to himself. And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying Save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
Speaker 1:Baptism was not new at this time. Actually, it was instituted primarily for those that were not Jewish who wished to renounce their other religious affiliations and wished to become Jews in heart and mind, and so, as a part of that, one of the rules for becoming that was you had to be baptized, and in that you were showing that you were cleansing yourself of all that was before and fully committed to what was ahead, as a Jew in heart and mind. Peter now adds an important caveat, though it is not just to be baptized. He says repent and be baptized. So we see that there is now a requirement before baptism, and this is why it's so important that we don't just flippantly baptize whoever wants to be baptized at any point in time. You'll see many churches that do the spontaneous baptisms, and they just got people running down the aisle and everyone coming, and those are a lot of the people I end up counseling later on, years down the road, and they say I got baptized when I was 16, and I had no idea what I was doing. No one talked to me, no one asked me any questions. So that's why, as a loving congregation community, our job is to come around those that say I wish to be baptized and to say the first step is to repent. Those who are in Christ Jesus, those who have been saved, those are the people that are baptized. Now. It says every one of you be baptized. So we repent, and then we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Speaker 1:There is much symbolism in baptism. One of the main things, though, is that we are showing that we have been cleansed, through Jesus Christ, of our sins, of everything that taints our lives, and that in that we come up new. In Romans, chapter 6, verse 4, you have a slide for that as well it talks about that we too might walk in newness of life. In the beginning of that verse, it says we were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death. So baptism is not only this sign and symbol that I am cleansed, but also that I have died and have been made a whole new person.
Speaker 1:Paul uses this language in many different places. He says it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me In the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul is constantly communicating this. I strive mightily through the power of Christ that's working mightily in me. Yet not I, but through Christ in me.
Speaker 1:And so there is this strange paradox of the Christian life where everything that is good in our lives, every time we use self-control, every time we love our neighbor as ourselves, every time we love God, the credit doesn't go to us. It goes to him who laid his life down first. You see, the kingdom of God is the upside down kingdom. Jesus said if you wish to be first, you will be last, and those who are last will be first, the meaning here being everyone is equal in the kingdom of God because we are all under Christ. There's no ranks, there's no tier system. You're not a Christian for 50 years and then people are like that is a level three Christian. They've been baptized at least four times. I know they have you and I have no prestige. The only prestige goes to Christ.
Speaker 1:And so in baptism we are renouncing our old life. We are saying I used to live for myself. I used to live for my selfish desires. I used to desire the things of this world only and always, and now I desire Christ above all else. Now, that's not perfect. You and I, we fail daily still, and if you forget that, just go read Romans 7. And you can empathize with Paul. If there was a super Christian, he was the one who says who will save me from this body of death? The good things I want to do, I do not do, and the bad things I don't want to do, I do. So. Baptism is not this moment of extra sanctification where we are baptized and you come up and you're like yes, now I can say no to sex, drugs and rock and roll. I can do it. It doesn't work like that.
Speaker 1:This is simply a symbol. It is a sign Similar to when you get married, you get a ring on your finger. This actually, in and of itself, does not constitute a marriage. Anyone can put a wedding ring on and walk around and pretend like I'm married for whatever reason, and pretend like I'm married for whatever reason. But for those who are actually married, this sign, this symbol, represents what's already happened that no one else could see In a similar way.
Speaker 1:Baptism shows the world, it testifies I have been made one with Christ. I have been made one with Christ. I have died to my sinful ways and I now wish to live for the one who saved me. So in this we are proclaiming I am a Christian to the world, in the same way that at a wedding ceremony they say kiss the bride and there's music and hoopla and pictures on Facebook and everyone goes nuts. In a much greater way, baptism celebrates this newness of life.
Speaker 1:In the middle of Romans, chapter 6, verse 4, we see the in order that right. So we were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. So that defines for us what newness of life means, because a very trendy concept right now is that Christianity is all the don't judge me. Thou shalt not judge Christianity of the world, and that is not true at all. In fact, if you read 1 Corinthians, paul will talk about I don't judge the people outside the church. They're outside the church, of course. They're going to do whatever they're going to do. My job is to judge those inside the church, and we talked about that.
Speaker 1:With church membership and discipline, there is a need for accountability. If you have an accountability partner for working out, you can talk to that person and say keep me accountable. If you walk up to the grocery store and see little Susie and say, keep me accountable to go to the gym this week, she probably won't do it. Why? She's not your workout buddy, she doesn't know you that well. She is not an intimate, committed community with you.
Speaker 1:You and I walk in newness of life. What does that mean? It means that our old self has died away, and now I am on a completely different trajectory. My goals in life before I was saved the age of 19 or 20, were completely different than what they look like now. I used to think that I would be some big shot running something, and now all I wish is to somehow, with pitiful hands, be faithful with the little bit that God has given me. That feels like it's too much. It is a very, very different life that I live now, and yet I am only able to do that because of the work of Christ dying for my sins, the spirit living within me.
Speaker 1:So baptism. What should we understand about it? Number one it is not necessary for salvation. Right, you don't have to be baptized in order to be saved. Actually, number two there it's just necessary for obedience, because it's a command to be baptized. And so we do not tremble and hope that we can be baptized in time before we're saved, so that we can make sure we get to heaven. Like signing the final papers on a deed If you don't get there to the courthouse and sign it, it's not official. That's not true. Jesus said in John, chapter 3, that the Spirit comes. No one knows what it looks like or when it happens, and yet you can see the results. On the other side, baptism is a sign of our union with Christ in his death and life, meaning that we are united with him in that, in a similar way that in marriage. My wife is always representing me and I am always representing her, which is why, if we're around her friends, I can very easily embarrass her, and if she's around my friends I do have some of those, I will have, you know she can also embarrass me because we are one, we are united.
Speaker 1:Another thing about baptism here, our last two points. It reminds believers that they share in Christ's victory over sin and death. This is a necessary point. I think oftentimes we can go through emotions so quickly that we don't realize the importance or the gravitas of a situation. When we engage in baptism, when we baptize someone, when you are baptized, in that moment everyone around you is reminded yes, christ already paid, christ already won, christ already paid, christ already won. The victory has been accomplished and this baptism is proof of it, because, while I will still sin post-baptism, every one of those sins is already paid for. And this baptism is a reminder to me and to everyone around me that I am not who I was and I will not have to pay for the terrible aspects of my life, because there's a savior who did Last one.
Speaker 1:About baptism, it's an outward symbol of being inwardly washed clean from our sins, or the forgiveness of our sins. And so when we are baptized, what we are saying is God has already cleansed me on the inside. I've already been washed white as snow, my sins have already been forgiven. But I want to tell you about it. I want to proclaim to the world that I am Christ's and Christ is mine. There are two ordinances. The first is baptism, and the question would be well again, why are there two? And effectively, I want you to think of it this way Baptism is the initiation ordinance, it is the gateway to the church.
Speaker 1:Those who become members of the church are baptized. You see the order here they were repenting, they were baptized and then they were added to the church. So they become members in that moment and you never have to be baptized again. I know a lot of people can be like I'm not sure about, like one is good One and done Now.
Speaker 1:From there we now have the Lord's Supper, or communion as it is also known, and that is the ordinance of remembrance, because you and I I don't know if you know this or not we are forgetful creatures, and I'm not talking about forgetting your keys, I'm talking about daily forgetting the gospel. Because you and I, we fail, and what do we do? We identify ourselves with our failure. Or worse, we succeed, and what do we do? We identify ourselves with our success. Did you see me? I didn't yell at that person. I'm so proud of myself. We oftentimes can fall into the ditch on either side of the road, of being proud or being depressed, of being puffed up or of being anxious. The middle of the road is only there when we learn to balance properly, which only happens as we renew our mind in the gospel daily.
Speaker 1:But the Lord's Supper is special because it is the only institution upon which Christ has said do this in remembrance of me. What does the Lord's supper do? It represents and reminds us of Christ's body and blood that's given for us, the great sacrifice given for us. It celebrates all that Christ is and all he has accomplished for his people is and all he has accomplished for his people. It testifies to our union and communion with Christ and, most importantly perhaps, it nourishes our souls, and that's a step that you and I probably haven't heard too much about communion or the Lord's Supper.
Speaker 1:I don't know about your first experience, my first experience partaking in communion. I was a child who was definitely not saved and it seemed as though it was like the smallest snack time that had ever existed, where everyone had to be quiet, and I am here to tell you that, as an eight-year-old, that is a downer on all fronts, all fronts. No one explained to me the significance of the Lord's Supper, the symbolism, the meaning, the magnitude. So if you can turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians, chapter 11, and if not, you have a slide that has those verses already highlighted for you. Verses 23 through 29 is what we'll be explaining.
Speaker 1:To go through verse by verse to understand the Lord's Supper. Paul has just got done rebuking the Corinthians because they have gone to communion in the wrong heart posture, which I am guilty of. I have gone to the Lord's Supper and I have taken it in a way that's unworthy. I have gone while there's still hatred in my heart. I have gone while there are still sins that I have not confessed, that I've kept secret. I have gone while I am not reconciled to those that are in my life. There is an absolute need for us to understand, and that's what Paul's doing here. He corrects and now he's giving understanding.
Speaker 1:What is the Lord's Supper supposed to look like? Verse 23,. This is God's holy word. Paul says he broke it and said this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. You see, number one, paul had already delivered this to the church and most conservative theologians will agree that 1 Corinthians was probably the first letter written, from a chronological standpoint, in your New Testament. So this was written before the gospels were written.
Speaker 1:So we see that there's an account, a verbal account, that goes throughout the churches at this time of this institution. It did not need to be put on paper for people to know the priority of it. So he's already given them this information, but he's reminding them because that's what you and I need. You know that lying is wrong, but when you reminding them because that's what you and I need, you know that lying is wrong but when you get caught in a lie, you need a Christian brother or sister to remind you. God says to not lie, to tell the truth. He is reminding them of this truth and that is a patient love that we each need for each other is to daily, regularly, weekly, remind each other of this truth of Scripture.
Speaker 1:Now we see that he also gives us context. He says that the Lord Jesus on the night which he was betrayed, when he was betrayed. So we see, the context is again that as Jesus is on his way to the cross, as he is about to be given over, in that singular moment, he decides to give himself and he takes bread and he gives thanks. Again. I want you to think about if you were in the same situation. You know that one of your closest companions is about to betray you and you will die a brutal death, an embarrassing death upon which all of the sins that you've never committed will be piled onto you and you will pay a debt unfathomable. In that moment would your heart posture be? You know what I should do? I should give to these guys who are about to abandon me. I should remind them of the sacrifice I'm about to give them. Give for them? Mine wouldn't.
Speaker 1:And yet Christ is above all. He gives thanks for the bread and he breaks it and says this is my body, which is for you again, symbolic. We don't read that literally and say thus bread is body, right, this is symbolic. We do this in remembrance. He breaks the bread and says 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, saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
Speaker 1:A couple of things here. Number one we see as often as you drink it. So there's not a prescription of do this weekly, do this monthly, do this yearly, or else there is freedom for a church to decide how often they will partake in communion. We also see very important words. Right after this is the cup. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. You see, the first covenant was given to Moses in blood, but it was animals' blood and it had to be renewed regularly. It was never enough. And yet Christ is saying the new covenant is in my blood, my perfect, unending blood. And as he does that, he's pointing back to the Old Testament, where they especially in Ezekiel 36, pointed to the future and said there will be a new covenant, a new relationship with God, where he will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. He will make his spirit to live within you. He will cause you to obey his word. Jesus says that all rests on one thing my blood. The new covenant is what you and I get to live in, and it was paid at a great, great price. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
Speaker 1:So the purpose of communion of the Lord's Supper is to be reminded. You see, I for years had the wrong notion that the Lord's Supper was some sort of action for a Sunday morning that I needed to accomplish. Right, we'll get to the part of inspection in a second. But I understood you need to have some serious quiet time, you need to pray, you'd be confessing your sins and then you can partake in communion. And so there was this really front-loaded view of communion. It was like make sure you're pure in heart, make sure that you got these things down, and then, okay, take communion and we're done. We did it and, my friends, it should be the opposite. There should be a moment in the beginning we'll talk about that in a second of introspection, where we take a moment and put our lives before Christ and sometimes, honestly, you and I are terrible at discerning our hearts. So we kind of got to say, like the Casting Crown song here's my heart, lord, I don't know, but purify me, help me, Cleanse me, make me new.
Speaker 1:This is supposed to be in remembrance and it's supposed to be in thanksgiving. So the question for you and I today is when we partake in Lord's Supper, are those the primary characteristics? Are we remembering Christ's great sacrifice? Are we being thankful and joyful in our hearts for all that he's done, or are we really really focused on ourselves, or on the fact that we might be late to lunch or that person I'm still upset with. Do this in remembrance of me.
Speaker 1:Verse 26 says For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Christianity is the only religion upon which we proclaim the death of our Savior proudly and repeatedly. No one else has a suffering Savior. No one else has a Christ that was sacrificed. Why would we want to proclaim the death of Christ? Very simply because it is the only way that people will be saved. So in communion, in the Lord's Supper, we have a gospel moment. You see, the old theologians of the day used to say that communion is what separates. It signifies the separation of those who are in the church and those who are out. You and I are to be living lives that proclaim the Lord's death, but there is a unique way in which the Lord's Supper proclaims it.
Speaker 1:Now, verses 27 through 29 talk about the manner in which we should approach. Verse 27 says whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Blood of the Lord. The word unworthy there means like an inappropriate manner. It'd be a lot of the idea of if you went to.
Speaker 1:We went to the FCA gala or whatever the Fellowship of Christian Athletes gala and in the memo they said dress professionally, suit and tie that kind of stuff. Dress professionally, suit and tie that kind of stuff. And if you know me at all, I was like would jeans and a nice shirt work? It's going to be hot. Can I wear shorts? I'm going to get dress shorts. There we go. That'll be the middle ground. I'll get dress shorts and we'll be fine. The answer was no. And if I had gone and what I wanted to go in, which would have been like a gym clothes outfit, because that's the best outfit, everyone knows that I would have been inappropriate in that because it was all fancy. There was steak and servers and round tables and you know, you're at a fancy restaurant place when there's more plates and silverware than you know what to do with. You're like, look at that. And you're like I got three cups, four spoons, three knives, I don't know man, I don't know. I'm going to give him all his extra stuff back. He gave me too much. It would have been inappropriate for me to have been in gym clothes when we're next to this very fancy couple who are prestigious and in their all decked out outfit.
Speaker 1:In a similar way, there are very inappropriate ways to partake in the Lord's Supper, and then there's a result. Because of that, there's a consequence. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. What that means from the Greek text is the idea of trampling on honor. So think of it this way If I remember the other day actually, this is great I remember the other day I went to, I was in public I opened the door for a lady.
Speaker 1:This has happened multiple times the last couple of years. Actually, I opened the other day. Actually, this is great. I remember the other day I went to, I was in public, I opened the door for a lady. This has happened multiple times the last couple of years. Actually, I opened the door for a lady and I was like go ahead, and the person said no and I was like okay, and so I just closed the door behind me and I went through. There was an honor. I was trying to bestow, but we live in 2025. So, trying to bestow, but we live in 2025. So the 12th commandment is thou shalt not open a door for a lady. There was a, there was.
Speaker 1:There was this moment, though, where I was seeking to honor and respect right? Not that I'm building myself up like you know, pastor Dan opens doors for ladies, like but there was a moment, and what happened? It was trampled over. Or the other day, months ago, I met a man for the first time. I held my hand out and it was the first time this has ever happened Held my hand out and said I'm Dan, nice to meet you. And the person looked at my hand, said uh-huh, and I just held my hand out. I was like all right, sounds good. Good to meet you.
Speaker 1:There's a moment where we can understand that aspect of there's honor, and then there's dishonor, and the biggest problem that you and I have is that we're more shocked by somebody that would refuse to shake someone's hand than we are by the fact that we come to the Lord's table and have unconfessed sin. You see, the Lord opens his table graciously to us and says Come and eat. I am everything that you need, I have everything that you want. Come to the table, leave everything behind and just look at me, and we are like the 21st century of coming to eat supper with the president and playing a video game on our iPhone at supper. We don't even make eye contact, we don't pay attention, we're just there to sit Because we have to or it's expected.
Speaker 1:My fear is that many of us partake in the Lord's Supper in the same way. We just do it because it's expected. My fear is that many of us partake in the Lord's Supper in the same way. We just do it because it's expected. Or if I don't do it, people are going to notice that I didn't do it this week and they're gonna be like I think there's something wrong with the Kents. Neither of them took it this week.
Speaker 1:Am I more afraid of the perception of people or of the honor of my God? Am I more worried about the temporary aspects of this life or the eternal realities with my Christ? Communion is this sobering, grounding reminder. My life's not about last week, my life's not about next week. My life is about what happens after this life. And in the meantime I had better steward what God gives me for eternity and not for myself.
Speaker 1:There is an inappropriate way to observe communion, the Lord's Supper. So what should we do? Verse 28, let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Now, here is what we're not saying. Here's what God's not saying. What you should do before you partake in communion is anxiously try to think of every sin you possibly committed this last week. Confess every single one of them as quickly and as emphatically as possible, and if you think you may have forgotten one or forgot one, don't take communion. If you're worried that something's off, don't do it. That's not what we're saying. That's not what God's word is saying.
Speaker 1:You and I, especially in this day and age, can tend to fly into one side or the other where we think I didn't send that much this last week, I did pretty good. Or the other where we think I didn't send that much this last week, I did pretty good. Or we go the other side where we just think again and again and again there's got to be more. I know I've done something wrong. I feel guilty without even having done anything. I remember there was a moment where I, as a third second grader, was in class and somebody had stolen the teacher's whatever, and the teacher demanded that somebody confess or everyone was going to be punished, and she just laid it on us, just like. That was my special thing, and I remember I felt so guilty for something I didn't do that I took full responsibility for it, just so everyone else could go play. And she asked me where's the thing? And I said I don't know, I got rid of it, but I just felt so guilty that it was better for me to deal with the consequence of that than to sit through her telling me one more time how disappointed she was in all of us. It's like nope, I can't handle that. I am a people pleaser and you will kill me. We will all die. This is not going to happen.
Speaker 1:In a similar sense, you and I can be in this room partaking in the Lord's Supper, go to inspect ourselves and instead of freely, openly saying okay, I know I did this wrong and this wrong, for sure, there's probably other things, and then doing openly, saying okay, I know I did this wrong and this wrong, for sure, there's probably other things, and then doing a generalized Lord, I am sorry, please help me, make me new, wash me clean of these things, help me to come to you in holiness right now, because I am not, instead of doing that, we will sit there in trepidation and just destroy ourselves, saying nope, I did something else. I know I did something else. Nope, I need to worry about this. I need to control the situation. You are not in control. Confess whatever you know. And if you still are worried, do something blanket, because here's the great news. If you still are worried, do something blanket, because here's the great news If you remembered every single thing you had done this last week and confessed it all perfectly, the Bible would still look at you and say you don't know how to pray.
Speaker 1:So that's why the Holy Spirit prays for you. You cannot accomplish a perfect prayer before communion. You cannot accomplish a perfect confession before communion. So in our finiteness, we hold what we can and trust that the Lord is greater than our fears, our failures and our finiteness. Verse 29 says For anyone who drinks, eats and drinks without discerning, the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This judgment can range in many different ways, but the idea being very simply that when you and I are partaking in the Lord's communion, we come in an unworthy manner that is properly judged, possibly in that moment and, if you're in Christ, possibly onto Christ for all eternity, but that should give us not only a freedom, but also a holy fear of saying Lord, please keep me from adding more sin onto Christ in the moment where I'm supposed to be remembering what he's done.
Speaker 1:There should be this renewing, cleansing moment in the Lord's Supper. In Matthew, chapter 26, verses 26 through 29, jesus says, after blessing the bread and breaking it, take and eat. This is my body. And took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. In verse 29, he says I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. Dear friends, communion is not this temporary, like little band-aid between here and heaven. It is the beginning of what the early church used to call a love feast that will go on for all eternity but will be perfect one day.
Speaker 1:The early church was very intentional in gathering together in fellowship and community whenever they partook of the Lord's communion, and you and I need to have this same mindset. It's very easy to come on a Sunday morning for consumer mindset ideals. Be like man, I'm going to get here, okay, here, okay, service starts at 10. I'll get here at 9 55 hopefully, damn, won't preach too long and we'll get out of here at 11 15 and get to lunch early and then I can get the rest of my day on and got church out of the way. We did it success. Church is not like going to the gym, okay, it's not like clocking in and out of work. The church is a community, it's a family, it's a fellowship. You should desire to spend time with your family. You should desire to stay and to eat and to worship with those who one day in eternity you will worship with forever. That should be one of the greatest desires.
Speaker 1:On your last slide, there you'll see the benefits of the Lord's Supper. Number one it helps keep the gospel in focus because you and I, we got blurry vision and can very easily fall into that works righteousness, mindset. All right, I woke up, I'm going to do better today than yesterday. You're like well, part of that's good, but if you don't plug into the power source, you got nothing. You're about as productive as a hamster on a hamster wheel. You ain't going nowhere. Number two it brings greater intimacy to our relationship with Christ. This is something that you should really try to focus on, because we have lost this in the 21st century is that you are to have an intimate relationship with Christ, not an like obligation relationship, not a oh man. Okay, got to make sure I read my Bible today and I say three prayers and go to church. And okay, we did it. Check the box Now. God can't be mad at me. No, my friends, god already isn't mad at you if you're in Christ. God already isn't mad at you if you're in Christ. He only loves you and he only desires for you to grow in your desire for him.
Speaker 1:Communion, the Lord's Supper, is a beautiful moment where we get to kind of realign. Think of it almost like if you're married, like an anniversary. Right, an anniversary you have. This special time aside Reminds me yes, you and me, we're together, we're one, we're in this. I love you. It's all good If you have a lot of children small children you can oftentimes get to the moment where you guys are more like patrollers that control the situation and you forget this intimate love that's supposed to be between the two of you. But that can happen, just naturally. You go to retirement age and you're busy over here doing your stuff and they're busy over there doing their stuff and you kind of just reconvene every now and then. All right, let's get on the same page what's happening in your life? It's like our life one life.
Speaker 1:Communion is this intimate moment where we get to realign and say, oh yeah, god really does love me so much that he died for me. Number three it provides us a unique opportunity to give thanks and praise to God. We should be doing that every day anyways, but there is something nice in us, for us, in our weakness, to have a moment that's specifically set aside for that. It renews our public confession of Christ as Lord and Savior. Every time we partake in that we are testifying, we're confessing to the world. I and Christ are one. It's non-negotiable. No separation.
Speaker 1:It builds unity within the church by doing two things. Primarily, it realigns our view to Christ and not to ourselves or others, because you and I are great at either looking way too much at ourselves or way too much at others and what they're doing wrong. Instead, it says no, no, no. We all are wrong. The only one right is him. And it promotes the reconciliation of relationships where you and I are required to reconcile with each other before partaking. It reminds us of Christ's perfect work and it spiritually refreshes us.
Speaker 1:One of the most important things about communion is that Christ used bread and wine on purpose, so that we would realize that, just as bread and wine will nourish your body, fill you, satisfy you, give you what you need, christ is the only thing that fills and satisfies and nourishes your soul. It helps us put sin to death, as we have a regular moment where we're reminded to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. It helps us grow in humility and love, as we're reminded of Christ's humble love for us. It increases our faith and assurance of salvation and it confirms our eternal hope in Christ and not in this world, firms our eternal hope in Christ and not in this world.
Speaker 1:My dear friends, I don't want you to be looking at baptism or the Lord's Supper as just these things that happen to exist, but rather kind of like. If you're teaching young children about baptism, you might use a doll, right? You might use that so you can keep their attention, so that you can show it to them in a way that they'll be able to visualize and hold on to. In a very similar sense, you and I are the toddler, and God has been kind and said you're going to need some sort of physical representation here because you're going to lose it. And so he's given us baptism in the Lord's Supper so that we can feel the bread and think, yes, he did give his body. And we can drink the cup and say, yes, he did pour out his blood for me and it is enough to forgive every sin I've committed. Hold on to that, because if you don't, you will be the most miserable Christian you know. Don't do that. God wishes for so much more for you than that. Enjoy baptism and the Lord's Supper as he has designed.
Speaker 1:Let us pray, father.
Speaker 1:We come before you and we ask that you would bless the preaching of your word, that you would help us to look at baptism and the Lord's Supper with eyes that see the truth, that see the celebration that each of these are. Lord, help us to be thankful and grateful in our hearts. Help us to not wander but to pull each other in tightly and to be a united body of believers. Help us to not worry about the world's systems or metrics or values, but to worry primarily and purposefully about what you desire, about what you delight in. Thank you for your perfect work on the cross. Thank you that all we have to do is believe. Believe in you, that you did die for our sins, that we do need a Savior and that the only Savior is Jesus Christ. Help us to love you with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind and with all of our strength. May we be a church that the world looks into, and they say, those people are characterized by love. In Jesus name, we pray Amen.
