Category: Communion

This week I have been thinking about the plaque on the wall behind me and the verse on it. As we can see it comes from John 14:6. It says…

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”

As I have thought about this verse I reflected on how Jesus really is the Way. As I pondered four things came to mind.

1. Jesus is the way to pardon

1 John 1:9 – But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Because of Adam’s fall all mankind is affected by sin. It permeates our world and our lives. Each of us becomes accountable for our own sin.

The good news is that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for our sin. He alone is the way to pardon through repentance and faith in Him.

No one else is all the world can pardon us but Jesus. Jesus is the way to pardon.

2. Jesus is the way to purity

1 John 1:7 – But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Jesus Christ is the way to purity of heart. His shed blood on the cross was done so we could be reconciled to God.

Jesus left the glories of heaven knowing full well His mission. It was to come and seek and save the lost as Luke 19:10 tells us.

Jesus’ blood covers all of our sins. In fact, it washes them away. Not just some sins, but all sins.

3. Jesus is the way to peace

John 14:27 – I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

The world like never before is lacking peace. At every turn we hear of wars, terrorism, mass shootings, hatred, separation, drug abuse and more.

People seek for peace in many ways. Some through family, some through possessions, some through education, some through wrong relationships.

Jesus is the only way to true and lasting peace deep in our souls. When we turn our lives over to Him, He promises to give us a peace that is not of this world. It tells us in Philippians 4:7.

We need the peace of heaven in this life. The only place to get is from Jesus.

4. Jesus is the way to power

Philippians 4:13 – For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Many in this world seek power for their own good and own glory. They want to rule and lead others. They want to build their own kingdoms.

Christians however seek a power that comes from on high. They seek the power not for their own glory, but for God’s glory.

As Christians we want the power Jesus to live lives that overcome this world. We also seek power to help those around us and to share our faith with others. It is a selfless power we want.

Jesus is the way to power. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit who empowers us from on high. The first step is to trust Jesus.

Closing

So today as we take time to stop and remember Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Let us remember. Jesus is the way to pardon, the way to purity, the way to peace and the way to power.

Let us pray.

Today for communion I want to look at a wonderful passage from Romans 8. In most Bibles it is titled, “Nothing can separate us from God’s love”.

As I read through the passage, I am overcome by God’s love for us all and how secure we are in His hands.

Romans 8:31-39

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In this passage we see three amazing things.

1. No-one can be against us

Verse 31 says, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

What a great statement. God is on our side. He is for us. Nothing or no-one can be against us who comes close to His love, His power, His protection. He did not even spare His Son to make this possible. We are His and He is ours.

2. No-one can condemn us

Verses 33-34 – 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

God has given us right standing with Him because our faith in Christ. Christ’s death of the cross paid the price for our sin. And now Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. Jesus is also seated in heaven pleading for us. He is on our side. He is in our corner. If God says we are right with Him, no-one in all creation can argue against us.

3. No-one can separate us from God

Verse 35 asks the question, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?” Verse 38 answers the question, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.”

Calamity, troubles, strife, angels, demons, fears, worries, not even the powers of hell. Nothing in all creation can separate us. We are His and He is ours. We are safely held in the palm of His hands.

Today as we take communion and remember what Christ has done for us. Let us remember these three wonderful truths from Romans 8 – no-one can be against us, no-one can condemn us, and no-one separate us from God’s love.

Let us pray.

For communion today I want a wonderful passage from Romans 5. In this passage we will see some great truths the Bible says we have if we trust Christ for our salvation.

Romans 5:1-11
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
8 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

In this passage we see some wonderful truths.

We have peace with God – no longer do we have to wonder if we are right with God. We have peace with Him. The Bible calls Jesus the prince of peace and He gives it to us. As the we know it is a peace that is not of this world.

We have undeserved privilege – because of Christ’s death for us we have new standing with God. Hebrews tells us that we can boldly come into His presence. And as God’s children, we will share in His glory.

We have God’s love in our hearts – the reading tells us that God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God’s love.

We have a Saviour who gave all for us – At the right time Jesus came and did what only He could do. No-one else in all history could die for us. Jesus as the perfect sacrifice purchased our salvation.

We have no condemnation – we are right with God because of Christ’s shed blood. We are now free from condemnation and the wrath of God. God does not condemn us.

We have a new relationship with God – our friendship with God has been restored by the death of Jesus. We were enemies, but now we are God’s friends.

These 6 six things are some of what Christ has done for us. His death on the cross for us gives us peace with God, we have our sins forgiven, we are no longer condemned and facing God’s wrath, and we are now friends with God.

Let us pray.

In the NLT the heading for this passage is the “Righteousness of God through faith”.

Romans 3:21-26
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

As we know in the OT times people were made right with God through faith and various ritual sacrifices. They would sacrifice an animal to cover their sin and temporarily make them right with God.

In our times since Christ, we are made right with God through faith. Faith in what Jesus has done for us in His death on the cross.

Today’s text tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory in the way we live in verse 23. Verse 24 tells us that we are now free from the penalty of our sins. And verse 25 tells us that we are right with God when we believe in Jesus.

I really like that God tells is there is an issue – our sin. Then He tells us our sin is dealt with – in the death of Jesus. And finally we are right with God – because of our faith and trust in Jesus.

If you are in Christ – meaning you believe He is the Son of God who died on the cross for your sin, you have confessed your sin, and you have invited Christ to be you Lord and Saviour – you are saved, forgiven and set free.

You can take communion today assured that you are right with God. You can remember the sacrifice of Jesus for your sin. You can be assured that you will spend eternity with Him.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith is yours through Christ!

Let us give thanks for the bread and the cup.