Creekside Virtual Communion

Transcript:

Communion
Good morning, Creekside Family.  This is the day the Lord has made.  Let’s rejoice and be glad in it!  As a reminder, Wednesday is our corporate time of prayer and fasting.  If you can, remember to join us as we pray for our World, our Nation, our State, our Counties and cities.  Pray for the people of the world, and those who are your neighbors, to receive the Word of God and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.  Be the one who brings the good news of Jesus Christ to those who surround you.  Let’s be a part of the great harvest of souls that is coming! Pray for our church as we prepare for our new Pastor, whomever that will be. Pray for our new Pastor, even though you don’t know his/her name.  Pray for continued unity as we walk through this time of social distancing AND a new way of delivering the service while the building is closed.  Remember, the BUILDING is closed, by YOU are the church.  Be open to those around you.  GOD IS ON THE MOVE.
Today, I want you to join in a time of communion.  We haven’t had one in a while.  Take a few minutes to gather some things.  If you have crackers of any type, take one and break it into a few pieced. If you don’t have crackers, tear off a portion of a slice of bread.  If you have no bread, it’s OK.  Take something that symbolizes bread as we prepare for communion.  Gather your drink.  I don’t have wine, and I have no grape juice, but I do have some grape kool-aid (don’t judge me, I have grandkids).  If you have nothing to use, take some water.  After all, Jesus turned the water into wine.  Pause this video and gather your things.  Once you have then, return to the video and let’s have communion together.
OK, you’re back!  Place your communion elements near you. Let’s spend a few moments in prayer before we begin.  
Father, we thank You for this time together.  How wonderful are You, that despite the building we gather together in at 3320 Harry Langdon Blvd being closed, we are still able to gather together as a family.  Your family, Father.  So today, together, we are going to partake in communion in a new way.  The medium doesn’t matter to You Father.  It’s the condition of our heart that matters.  So today, we ask that You prepare our hearts to receive the elements.  We pray, Father, that if any sin separates us from You, call it to our remembrance right now so that we can confess it and stand before you clean, washed by the Blood. We praise You, Father.  There is none like You. You are Holy, Righteous, Awesome, and we love You.  Thank You for allowing us to come into Your presence and worship You, the Creator of all Things, the One who holds back the seas in it’s banks, and hung the stars in the heavens, holding them up by nothing more than Your Word.  The One who causes the earth to spin, the sun to shine, the grass to grow, and the birds to sing.  You are the Breath of Life, and today, we give you Glory, Honor and Praise.  You…are our King.  In the Matchless Name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.
Isn’t God good?  That’s right… ALL THE TIME!  If you are alone as we partake of communion, that’s OK. If you can, gather your family together, and let’s begin.  Choose your bread element and lift it up.
Father, we are in the season of Lent.  In just a week, next Sunday, we celebrate Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem with the shouts of joy and praise from Your people.  In just a few short days later, He would be taken into custody, beaten and humiliated, and placed on a cross being sentenced to death.  But before He was, He met with his disciples.  He taught them communion, telling them the bread represented His body.  They did not yet understand it’s symbolism, but through the lens of the past, we do. This bread, being broken and torn from the original piece it came from, symbolizes your body.  It was torn, the flesh stripped from his body as the sharp edges of the whip tore into His flesh.  Your flesh, God.  The lines of the cracker symbolizes the stripes, and we know that by YOUR stripes, we are healed. The holes of our bread or cracker resemble the piercings you received when the crown of thorns was placed on your head, and your side was pierced. It resembles the piercing of your hands and feet.   As we take the bread into ourselves, as we chew it, I remember that Your flesh was crushed and bruised for our transgressions.  Mine, Lord.  Mine, Lord.  What kind of Man would do this for me?  Who would take the beatings, the bruisings, the humiliating, the crushing, the piercings, for a sinner like me?  Only You!  So as we partake of the bread today, we remember the sacrifice You made so that I, and all others who come to know You, can become the children of God.
Let’s partake of the bread.
Lift up the element that symbolizes the wine.  Let’s pray.
Father, today as we take up the element symbolizing the wine, we all recognize that it doesn’t matter what we use.  It’s a SYMBOL of your shed blood.  It’s how we use it, and perceive it.  Today, whatever we are using, we know that it doesn’t matter.  What matters is we recognize the shed blood at Calvary and know that without it, there is no remission of sin.  Today we lift up our voices together, in awe of the One who brings the good news of Salvation.  What a sacrifice You made, Lord, for a sinner like me.  I know where I’ve been. It is humbling to know that even while we were yet sinners, you still loved us and died for us.  Wow…  Even before you hung on the cross, you were sharing your blood with the world.  You were in turmoil in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood.  You shed blood as the soldiers beat you, ripped out your beard, and placed a crown of thorns on your head. You shed blood from the lashes of the whip, as it tore into your flesh, shredding it and leaving it raw.  You shed blood as the cruelly placed a rough board across your shoulder and made you carry it to the place where they would crucify you.  We recognize that you were denied, ignored, accused and abandoned by those You came to save.  Even as you shed your blood when they hung you on the cross, You still loved the two who were crucified with You. The symbolism of life and death, Heaven and Hell,  do not escape us, Lord, as one would meet you in Heaven later that day, and one would leave the earth splitting hell wide open. Even as these things happened, Lord, it humbles me to know that You took upon Yourself my sins.  Not just mine, Lord, but all the sins of those from Adam until the day You were crucified.  Not just those, Lord, but the sins of all who came before me.  And not just those, Lord, but the sins of all those who are afar off.  Those of my children, my children’s children, and my grandchildrens children, and the generations to come. How dark that must have been. You didn’t deserve it Lord, but You were willing to do it… for me. As we partake of the element symbolizing wine, we are humbled to know that Your blood is powerful.  It washes us clean.  Without it, Lord, where would we be?
Partake of the element.
Father, as we continue on with our day, we do not forget Your blessings.  We proclaim the truth.  As we took of the bread, we know that You are still in the healing business. We stand on the Word of promise that by YOUR stripes we are healed.  By partaking of the wine, we know that Your blood is the lens by which God sees us. We thank You today for allowing us to spend time with You.  We bless You Lord, even as You have blessed us.
May the Lord bless you, and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you. May He turn His face to you, and give you peace.
If Jesus doesn’t come before then, we will see you for Wed night Bible study!  Go in peace and the joy of the Lord.