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The episodes are the weekly sermons from 922 Ministries (St. Peter and The CORE) of Appleton, Wisconsin.
When I was younger, in grades five through eight in Columbus, Ohio, when I was growing up, one of the ways that our younger members could get plugged into service to volunteer for worship was to be an acolyte. Some of you are saying, well, what was that? An acolyte was someone who, at church, before worship, at the end of worship, would come into the front of church, and we would light the can candles, like the bells would ring, and there would be two of us, and we would light the candles on both sides of the altar. You lit the candles from the top down, start with Jesus and go down, and at the end of the service, when the bells were rung again, we'd come back up and we extinguish them one at a time, bottoms up.
And yes, we did wear some fancy outfits and robes. And I pray there are no pictures of me back in that day.
And I bring that up not to embarrass myself, but to highlight. One of the things that we got to do was on communion Sundays, not just light the candles that were regularly on the altar, the three on each side, but there was an intermission time where we would come back up and we would light the candle that was on the altar, one candle each, on one on each side, just like the ones we have up here. And on communion Sundays, we would light them right before communion was celebrated, the same place where the wine was set and the bread for that meal was laid out. We lit those candles on that altar each and every time communion was celebrated. And then we go back and return to our seats, which are dead center, right in the front of church.
The church I grew up in had three aisles, not four. And the two acolytes got to sit front and center right there, right in front of church. Couldn't get in trouble and mess around. But we also got a first row seat to watching communion each and every time it took place.
And we would join in the singing of the communion song that was played, and we would watch. We'd watch all the different groups of people come up, and we'd look and watch and see which ones would kneel because they could, and which ones would stay standing because maybe their bodies weren't able. We wait and watch for our friends as we got older. We got confirmed in 8th grade. And when we were, like, in 6th grade and 7th grade, and then building up to 8th grade, we knew some of the people who'd come up there, and I won't lie, we kind of liked watching to see them come up there and how they took communion, everyone takes it a little bit differently.
And to be honest, we probably didn't really truly appreciate what we were watching with each and every table that came forward and each and every person that knelt down with what was celebrated on a regular basis every other week, every month, I'd been taught the things that communion was. My pastors did a great job of highlighting the biblical truths of what's going on in this meal. But I probably didn't have a real appreciation for the significance of the moment because I don't think we talk about communion like we're going to talk about it today on a normal basis. I think, sadly, sometimes we live in a world where there are different teachings about communion. And we as pastors want you to understand what it truly is.
We dig into the scripture and we pour over, we talk to you about the greek words and what's actually taking place so that you can understand it and have head knowledge of it, so much so that we do a disservice to the heart impact of it. And maybe because we don't talk about it oftentimes in a sermon or beyond confirmation class, and because we celebrate it on such a regular basis, we lose an appreciation for it that literally on a regular basis, each and every time it is celebrated, and has been celebrated since Jesus instituted it, a miracle is taking place. Like Jesus performed many miracles during the course of his earthly ministry. The last five weeks, we have focused on the supernatural, beyond human things that Jesus and only God can do. Walking on water, calming storms with a word, raising the dead, healing the sick, feeding thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish, taking a demon out of a young girl like Jesus can, and did so many amazing things, miracles, things only God can do.
And the truth is, he's still performing a miracle on a regular basis today for you and for me, for his church in this meal.
And my goal for you today is, yes, to remind you of what it is, but not so that you have a head knowledge of it, that you can understand what is going on theologically, but so that maybe every time going forward, you have a new appreciation for it. That when we celebrate this meal as members of God's family and our church family, that miracle that is happening in that moment for you will be something that you'll appreciate even more, and every time after.
And so today, that's my goal. Like to highlight the two miracles that are taking place in this meal. The miracle number one, seeing what it is, and then miracle number two of what it gives. Because when you can understand those things, what it is and what it gives. You'll have more than a head knowledge.
You'll have a heart appreciation for the amazing love of our God, who during Holy Week gave his life so that we might have life. All that Jesus can do, and he wants for you to have still today. So we're going to journey to Monday, Thursday in the upper room. Palm Sunday. That first Holy Week has already happened.
Jesus entered to shouts of praise and hosanna. Teaching Tuesday and teaching moments in the temple have taken place. There's quiet Wednesday where Jesus is not much in public. There's one day he's not much in public in the temple. Maybe he's spending time with his disciples, some teachable moments there.
We don't hear much about it. And then Thursday, we know he's getting ready to has his disciples assist him in preparing to celebrate the Passover. And that's important in understanding this meal, because the celebration of the Passover would allow us to understand what was on the table. The Passover was a celebration that the Jews, from the time they were delivered from their slavery in Egypt, were to celebrate each and every year. God commanded it.
God called them to it. That celebration was a ritual. It had specific words and specific elements and specific things that were a part of it. And I bring that up because it helps us a understand what the miracle is. And as we hear the words understand, the disciples would have known very clearly this was something new.
Like the celebration of the Passover, for a jewish family, would have been a format that was followed, passed on from generation after generation. There were different parts where they ate different foods that were part of the meal that God commanded them to eat, specific words that were spoken at specific times. It's not like our holiday meals, like we oftentimes will have the same food, but sometimes we'll have something different. We might not always eat at the same time. Like the Passover was very specific, very detailed.
It was an orderly thing. It was a religious, ceremonial aspect of worship. And if someone would deviate from that, in the middle of it, eyes would have been opened, jaws would have been dropped, but it would have been noticed. And God inspired one of the people who was present in that room to record the words as they're there celebrating the Passover, as they're eating this meal. While they were eating, Matthew tells us this.
Jesus took bread, would have been the unleavened bread that was a part of their Passover celebrations. He took bread and he gave it to his disciples, passed it out, saying to them take and eat. This is my body. Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you. This is my blood.
Like on this table were bread and wine. On this table were the things that represented and were part of the celebration of their delivery from slavery in Egypt, the victory of God. But instead of celebrating that past, Jesus, now in the present, gives them something new. When he breaks the bread and he raises up and blesses the cup and gives thanks for it, he distributes it and says, this is my body. This is my blood.
Like linguistic experts would not argue the very clear reality of Jesus'words, what Jesus is saying.
And as you look at them, in reality, it's only something that Jesus can do.
Like Pastor Tim does not have miraculous powers that can change water into wine, like Jesus did miraculously once, but Jesus did in can. And so in these words, Jesus, to his disciples, would have left no doubt about what he was saying and what he was giving his body and his very blood, literally, his body that was present in that room, in that moment, his heart that was beating, his very blood through it. He was giving them his body and blood and told them to do it in remembrance of him. Now, it's interesting, something that Christians have held onto for thousands of years, celebrated millions of times across the millennia, like the significance of it, the importance of it is only recorded three times on the pages of the new Testament, like it's recorded in Matthew's gospel, written to jewish believers and maybe some unbelievers to try and help them connect the dots that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Jesus can and is the savior.
Luke recorded it. His audience was Gentiles, people who were hearing the word of Christ, who maybe came into contact with the knowledge of Jesus and his gospel. He wanted them to know the truth. So the two gospels that record it record fairly similar accounts. And then there's the apostle Paul's account, because some people might say, well, it's one thing to make a claim, even though Matthew was an eyewitness, a first century literal hearer of Jesus, words like maybe, just maybe, he didn't quite hear it clearly, maybe he didn't understand it.
And so the apostle Paul's words that God inspired him to write remind us that, no, this just wasn't a one time thing. This was something that the christian church, for decades now, by this time, had been celebrating and had been taught about, very specifically what it is, the miracle that it is. The apostle Paul, as he's talking to Corinthian Christians who had some dysfunctional moments. One of their dysfunctions was their celebration of the Lord's supper. They were receiving it in an unworthy way.
They were practicing it in a careless way. And the apostle Paul wanted to clarify that. He does address that in the words after this. But before he gets to that, he reminds them of why receiving it properly is so important, because what you're receiving in it is God at work, a miracle. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.
Paul was not there. He didn't hear it firsthand. But Jesus himself trained the apostle Paul. He taught him the things he longed for him to know. He appeared to him on that road to Damascus and later trained him firsthand.
So the one who was there and the one who instituted is the one who taught Paul exactly what was going on. And Paul passed it on. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, 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. In 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. Like the apostle Paul's words to the Corinthian, Christians echo the words that Matthew records, inspired by God, of his firsthand eyewitness experience in that upper room which reveal this truth according to the scriptures, the truths that God longs for us to know, every word of God, that is true. God does not lie. And so if you look at those words, here's what God wants you to remember and hold on to. What's taking place in this meal is a miracle.
What it is is a miracle. It can be nothing other than a miracle, because it is Christ's body and blood.
Christ's body and blood under, with, and in the bread and the wine. I'm going to talk about those three terms for just a second. But miracle number one is biblical. It's jesus'own words about what Jesus says this is. And, my friends, Jesus can, because he's God.
And Jesus did give up his body and blood for you and me because it was the only solution. That's who this is. That's who it is that's giving this meal. And his words are truth.
And here's why it's so important to understand that this is a miracle. Because over the course of time, since Jesus instituted it, since the early church and christian church spread and grew, there have been many people who have said Jesus can't like there are some who would say, I believe in Jesus. I know what he did on all the miracles that he accomplished. But 40 days after he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven. He is now there.
So Jesus can't be literally here and there.
And then there are others who reason and logic would say, it's bread and wine. It can't be flesh and blood. You can go to the doctor's office, the emergency room later, and have them examine the contents of your stomach after receiving the Lord's supper. They're not going to find literal flesh or someone else's blood.
And so it can't be that they would say, but that's not what Jesus said. Jesus said it is. And there are some who would argue, like, that's cannibalism. The early Christians were accused of that. Know that the under, with and in is so important to it because it's supernatural, it's miraculous.
Like it's limiting God. To say that God can't, in a supernatural, miraculous way in this meal, work for you and for you and for you. For my grandpa when he was alive, and for my great grandparents and for the early disciples, to say he can't is to say that God is a liar, that he does not speak truth.
No, my friends, miracle number one. The Bible says, jesus'own words tell us that for the disciples in that room, for the Corinthians, many years later, Paul would say, and for you and for me, as we gather on a regular basis, Jesus can give us his very body and blood under, with and in the bread and wine. Those phrases are about 500 plus years old. They're prepositional phrases that the christian church during the time of the Reformation used to try and remind ourselves to highlight for us the miraculous thing that is taking place, that it literally is his body and blood under, which emphasizes the supernatural nature of it. You can't see it.
It's under. It's not visible, it's under. But in a supernatural way beyond nature. The body and blood of Jesus Christ is present under. Then you have the preposition with it reminds us of the teaching of the Lord's supper.
That is, the real presence. With emphasizes the real bread and wine are still present. There are some who believe and teach that the bread and wine miraculously change into the body and blood of Jesus and are no longer bread and wine. Jesus said, take and eat. There's literal bread.
This is my body. Body and blood in a supernatural way. All four things are really present. That's the with it's under. They're all together received in this meal when it's consecrated, distributed and received, and in which combines the two together, emphasizes the close union and real presence of the body and blood of Christ.
And the bread and wine, it's all in there.
And I just think how much more I would have appreciated what I was seeing on a regular basis sitting in that front row, that each person who was receiving that bread and that wine on that day was literally receiving in a supernatural way, a miraculous way, the body and blood of Christ.
Because isn't that so often what Christians struggle with in their life of faith?
Like, has there ever been a time in your life when you just wish I had God here with me right now? If only I could have God here right now to literally speak to me and to assure me that my sins are forgiven. Like, if I could have the presence of God in my life, I know I can make it through the difficulties of my life like brothers and sisters. That's what makes miracle number one such an amazing thing. What it is so meaningful and significant beyond the head knowledge of the teaching knowledge, it is the body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine, which makes miracle number two just as equally important.
Like, if it wasn't miraculous enough that Christ's body and blood is present in this meal, miracle number two is so important because it's about you.
Like personally, you like what it is is one thing, but what it gives you you is so significant, which is why you need to remember Jesus very words of miracle number two. Let's go back to the passage to reemphasize it. One Corinthians eleven. Remember these words, Jesus words. The apostle Paul's just repeating him.
This is my body, which is for you. You not big church. While it is for all of God's people, literally, personally, you like we sang before my Jesus, your personal savior, gives you his body and blood in this meal. You.
And as long as you're breathing this side of heaven, receiving jesus'body and blood offers you the needed blessings that all of us have. Because I don't know about you. While Jesus can and did live a perfect life, while Jesus can pay the price that needed to be paid, you and I can't.
Like, Jesus had to give up his life, had to shed his blood, had to breathe his last so that you and I might be forgiven. Which is why receiving his body and blood is so significant. Why it's for you personally matters so much because of Jesus'words in this meal. It's my body. It's my blood.
It's for you, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Like, we're born into this life sinful. In baptism, God makes us his child. But it doesn't clear the slate of our sinful nature.
It rears its ugly head over and over and over again. Jesus Christ paid the price in full. But you and I are sinful human beings who are constantly in need of the blessings that God gives, the reminders of what Jesus did. And in this meal, Jesus offers and gives to you his very body and blood, which means you receive the very blessings that his body and blood on the cross were shed for forgiveness, forgiveness of all your sins.
And that's game changing in a world where Christians wrestle with so much guilt.
Like, have you wrestled with guilt over that sin that you committed 20 years ago and ever wondered if you can be forgiven for that?
Maybe you had a real humdinger of a week, and everyone in your house is royally mad at you, and you wonder if what you did was forgivable or week after week, we live in this world, and we try and we try, but we fall and we fail, and we're ashamed. Like guilt and shame and doubt. We're their ugly head in the lives of Christians. And you know why in this meal, it's such a blessing that it's for you. Because God wants you to know that where guilt and shame and doubt are present, grace.
And Jesus can and will trumpet and Jesus can and does in this meal offer and give you and me forgiveness for our sins. The victory won for us on the cross, the blessings that brings in this meal, he wants you to hear your sins are forgiven. Forgiven. So when you come up here and you feel guilt, God wants you to go feeling free. And when you have doubts, he wants to take them all away and remind you that you are at peace with God.
And when you are ashamed, remember that in this meal, he wants to give you and connect you personally to him. He is not ashamed of you, but he's proud that you are a brother and sister of his in Christ. And when you wonder if he can be there or knows or cares, in this meal, he wants you to know he is right here. You have received him. He's your savior.
He's my savior.
And that is such an amazing miracle that in this meal, he gives us his body and blood, and he literally gives us the blessings of his victory of that first holy week. Like, look at Peter's words of what happened on Holy week, that body that we receive in this meal was what bore our sins. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. Like all those sins, all that guilt, all that shame, he bore it. He carried it.
That body of his endured all of it, the very pain of hell, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. It changes who we are spiritually. By his wounds. You have been healed. Like know in this meal you have been made holy.
He bore it in his body, you have been made holy. You have been healed, as the apostle Paul said in Ephesians, and that blood that you receive in him, we have redemption through his blood. The blood shed on the cross redeemed you and me. The price has been paid. Guilt has been overwhelmed by God's grace.
We have redemption, we have been forgiven, and our identity has been changed. Those who were once far away, we can't have a relationship with God without Jesus. But we've been brought near by the blood of Christ. Like the Lord's supper reminds you that you have been stamped with the identity of God. You receive his very body and blood, and you know what makes you holy because he bore your wounds and has healed you, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, payment for sin on the cross.
And you are his. You are a child of God like. As you receive this meal, the amazing miracle of the blessings God gives to you seals and reinforces that your identity is a wholly redeemed child of God, bought with the blood and body of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. And that you and I get that as a miracle, a gift of God in this meal.
If I was to go back and tell the younger version of myself some things, yes, buying Apple would have been one of them.
I probably would have told myself, don't do that stupid thing on that day. That's not good. And I definitely would tell them, don't underestimate, underappreciate what you are getting to see each and every time you are in church. And the Lord's supper is celebrated, like Jesus himself is present, his very body and blood is being received, what it is, and each and every person who is receiving it. This is what I'm giving.
It's for them, for the forgiveness of their sins.
I can't think of any greater way to start Holy Week than to celebrate the miracle that took place that night, the miracle that it was for the Corinthian Christians and has been for Christians ever since and will continue to be until the day Jesus returns his very body and blood shed for you for the forgiveness that he won on the cross.
So may God bless you as you maybe have a new appreciation for it. Maybe it'll cause you to weep, maybe it cause you to smile today. But I pray most of all, it cause you to leave going that you know you are at peace with God. You are forgiven by God. Your God lives in you, and your God loves you.
You are wholly redeemed, child of God, bought with the blood of Jesus. And may God keep reminding us of that until the day we celebrate it again when we celebrate with our savior in heaven. I tell you, I will not drink from the fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you and my father's kingdom. This meal reminds us of what he did in the present. It gives us the victory that he won.
And one day in the future, we will celebrate with him in heaven because of who he is and what he did and because of who we are as a result of his work.