Communion Message
(The great fabric of history)
May 13-14, 2000
Pastor Donald Sheley

For I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. And in the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will 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.

I'm going to ask you to kneel just for a moment as I talk with you. Would you do that please? You know sometimes we have a tendency to look at life in isolation, that is, we've come to church this morning and this is a moment in a week of a year of a life. But I want you to see the communion service today from a historical perspective. Because Paul says that each time you and I shared together the cup and the bread we do something very, very profound; something I think is intensely important in our Christian faith, and that is we tell again the story of the cross - the death of Jesus Christ. So what we're doing is not something isolated on a Sunday morning, March the 14th, the year 2000. We are adding our witness to a fabric of testimony of the Christian faith that has gone on for 2000 years. For one could not look back on history and find one single week in 2000 years were somewhere in this world people knelt in a sanctuary of worship or a place of fellowship and honored Christ in taking the supper.

What you and I are doing is something that's been done for 2000 years, and by our kneeling here, by our sharing in this cup and this bread, we are continuing to witness to the world of 2000 years ago Jesus Christ died for all mankind. And the power of the cross, the power of the gospel, goes on day after day, week after week, and we kneel today and say it is true. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, because of His death there for me I am a witness, a historical witness, to the power of the gospel. Jesus has transformed my life and He has transferred me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His Son, and I kneel on this beautiful Sunday giving witness and planting my witness in the great fabric of history that Jesus is my Savior too.

What a moment. And to think in the context of 2000 years of history where millions, and millions, and millions, and millions have shared this experience. What a proof, what a historical proclamation that our faith is not built on a myth, but it's built upon the facts of history. Jesus Christ was born. He lived a sinless life. He died on a cross. They placed Him in a tomb. He came out of that tomb, and He ascended back into heaven. That's our faith, and that's historical facts and we witness to it today.

Lord Jesus I take the elements with my family, our friends, our guests, and by our participation we tell once again it's true - Jesus, You redeem sinners because You redeemed me. Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup. And to You, Lord Jesus, we give all praise. We exult You. We honor You. We love You. We praise You from the depths of our heart, and everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet one another, shall we?