[Biblemat] A) THE LORD'S SUPPER

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Thursday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my files:

THE LORD'S SUPPER

     We are creatures of habit.  We generally like some sort of
routine or pattern where we can know what to expect and when it is coming.  
There have been many afternoons that I
have driven home from the building and not remembered mak-
ing any turns or stops; I had just done them out of habit and
not out of concentration.  Scary?  Not half as much as when
we do that with the Lord's Supper.

     We must be careful that in all of our half-hearted daily
routines that we do not just "go through the motions" in our
worship.  Some have been Christians for several years and
some are relatively new babes in Christ, but we must all have
the same attitude and the same spirit of genuineness that the
apostles had the first time they ever celebrated the memorial
of our Savior's death.

     The Lord's Supper Involves A Look Backward: -- On the
night of His betrayal, Jesus celebrated the Feast of the Pass-
over with the twelve, divided the bread and the cup, and said,
"do this in remembrance of Me" (Lk. 22:19).  It is a memorial
feast in which we replay the scenes of Calvary and take our
minds back to the cross where ruthless men drove nails through the hands and 
feet of the Son of God.  Don't forget
to look back.

     The Lord's Supper Involves A look Within: -- "Therefore
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an un-
worthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of
the Lord.  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Cor. 11:27,28).  The church
in Corinth made a mockery of the Lord's Supper by turning it
into a giant feast and social function.  Paul warned them that
they were not properly discerning the body and the blood and 
that whoever did not partake in a worthy manner were as guilt-y of sin as 
those who nailed Jesus to the cross.  Don't forget
to look in.

     The Lord's Supper Involves A Look Forward: -- Paul said
in the same letter, "for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, 
you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes"
(1 Cor. 11:26).  Just as the rainbow was a sign of the coven-
ant between God and man, our partaking of the Lord's Supper demonstrates our 
faith in Him that He will keep His
promise and come again to take us home.  Remember to keep
looking ahead.

     Let us share in this memorial feast and show reverence to
the Father for providing us freedom from the bondage of sin
and to the Son for subjecting Himself on our behalf.  ----------
Bubba Garner via Gospel Power, Vol. 14, No. 36, Sept. 9, 2007   </HTML>
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