Communion Message
(Winter is here)
December 26-27, 1998
Pastor Don Sheley

For I have received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. And after the same manner also He took the cup and when he had supped, saying, "This cup is the New Testament in My blood. This do ye as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do proclaim the Lord's death until He come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthingly shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. So let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the cup.

Many thoughts go through my mind as we come to the closing moments of another year. It's almost over and we are rapidly approaching a new millennium. 371 days and we will be in the year of 2000. Time is on fast track. The days and the moments are precious. When I come to the end of a year I often think of this verse found in Jeremiah; the words of an old prophet. He says the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. I think of the end of the year as the concluding of various matters. We sum up all of our expenditures and complete our financial data and we put the bottom line to another year. Some of us have analyzed goals which we made and we evaluate ourselves in the accomplishment of those goals. Sometimes we have failed miserably. And I think oft times as pastor there are those who, week after week, sometimes month after month, attend the house of God. They share this moment as an observer with us because they've not come to that moment when they've made a personal decision for Christ, and I think of this verse, the harvest is over, fall is past, winter is here and the summer has ended, but what have I done about my spiritual position with God. Paul writes to the Corinthians and says, Behold now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation. And then he writes to the Ephesians and says, Wherefore he sayeth awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. When we come to the communion table this evening, I think the words of the song that we just sang are the words that are so appropriate for our prayer. When we sum up everything, we may not have all of the satisfaction. The writer says, Lord Jesus, I really long to be perfectly whole. I want thee forever to live in my soul but I need You to break down every idol, and to cast out every foe. Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Lord Jesus look down from Your throne in the skies and help me to make a complete sacrifice. I give up myself and whatever I know, now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Lord Jesus, before You I patiently wait, come now and within me a new heart create. To those who have sought You, You've never, never said no. So wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. We may not have accomplished all of our goals, but at least we can say this prayer meaning it from the depths of our hearts and know that between us and almighty God that there is a spiritual fellowship and a forgiveness and a cleansing that comes that makes us ready for His kingdom and for His calling. So I am going to ask you to bow with me this evening as for most of us this will be our last communion of 1998. Most of you know we have some guests this evening, but we always in our church, every Lord's Day, share in communion. And I must tell you that even though years and years we have done this, never has this moment ever lost its preciousness, its meaning to me because it's here we bow in sincerity before God thanking Him for His wonderful love in sending Jesus Christ to us, so that by His death at Calvary's cross we can have cleansing from all of our sins.

Would you kneel with me as we share together the communion please? Lord Jesus, we come to this closing communion of another year. Many of us have knelt almost every Sunday every weekend in worship and we have shared this very sacred and wonderful moment. It's true. We come to the end of a year and for some of us there is satisfaction, for others of us somewhat disappointed. We didn't accomplish all that we wanted to, and for some of us we made some spiritual commitments early this year and somehow they got lost in all of the activities and in all of the pressures. But on this closing evening of this year, Lord Jesus, we seek Your mercy and Your grace. We ask You to forgive us and to cleanse us and to wash us from all of our sin. These elements that we hold in our hands remind us that that's exactly what You want to do. For You said that the bread was Your body, and we know that in Your body You became our substitute. You became sin for us who knew no sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God. So we understand this bread to bespeak Your body given in sacrifice, and this cup tells us that by Your precious blood You cleanse us from all sin. In ancient past the covering for sin was accomplished by the sacrifice of an animal, but when You died on the cross, Lord Jesus, those sacrifices ended and Your sacrifice was sufficient and is sufficient for all mankind. And in the ancient past You laid down a divine law that without the shedding of blood there would be no remission, or forgiveness, of sins. Thus this cup You have said represents the blood of the new covenant. It's a new arrangement. Now because of Calvary, now because You've shed Your precious blood there is cleansing for all of us. Please cleanse us this evening. We need Your forgiveness. We need Your grace and we thank You that these reminders are ever with us. That is exactly what You want to do for us. Thank you dear Jesus. Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup. And Your Word has told us, Lord Jesus, that as often as we do this we proclaim once again the glorious message of the gospel of Your death and Your sacrifice for us. We proclaim that this evening, and thank you for allowing us to be the beneficiaries of this glorious grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's stand and greet the folks that have come to worship with us this evening.