Food!
FOOOOOOOOOD
FOOD is something that we cannot do without and we know that it is also an equally important component of our weekly cell meetings and much joy comes from being able to have meals together afterwards too!
So do you think it is just a Singaporean thing? Because we live in a food haven so we dont have a choice as we havebeen primed and brought up this way? Or do you think it just happens because everyone needs food anyways!
But have you thought about it… actually this whole idea of sharing meals together started way back during Jesus’stime! Food expresses our dependence on God and on other people while meals embody friendship and welcome since it was a practice for them to share food and in that time the act was a sign of a special friendship.
Jesus also showed his people how food was another powerful way of doing mission and community.
Luke 7:34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."'
Let’s take one example from the above accusation that Jesus was charged with. He ate with tax collectors. Tax collectors were collaborators with the Romans (who were oppressing the Jews at that time) and also they were extorting money from them. This meant they were not only betraying the nation, but they were enemies of God. But Jesus sits and eats with his enemies. It’s an amazing expression of grace.
Matt 9:10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.
Then about community, our meetings normally involve food plus we encourage people to share their lives throughout the week during mealtime and this also works with unbelievers as well. But one thing to note is that meals don’t make acommunity. They only simply embody or express it. It is the gospel that creates community. This is what makescommunities “work ” since we know that the gospel is what gives us as a community HOPE! haha and of course more bonding over good FOOOD in heaven!
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines.
This was what Jesus said after he went to eat with Zacchaeusin Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Note that Christ did not simply go to his house to eat and befriend Zacchaeus but it was through the act of choosing to eat with him that he managed to show Zacchaeus acceptance but the chief end of it was to bring him back into the family.
But besides just looking at food and meals let us take a look at the other significant meals they had in the past. (Aim: to lead to talk about Holy Communion)
1. The Passover Meal
Ask the youths what they think the meal is about? Is it a meal that they passed-over therefore like dieting like that?
So what was it about and why was it significant?
Exodus 12:16-27 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
Bitter herbs, unleavened bread and lamb were eaten. The herbs symbolize the bitterness of slavery; the unleavened bread and lamb recall the people’s flight from Egypt.
If you want to give them a better understanding you can get them to read the whole of Exodus 12: 1-29
Okays so perhaps your youths might say eh we no longer participate in this meal anymore! But what is one meal we do participate in every 3rd Sunday of the month? (mostMethodist Churches (adult service) it is 1st Sunday of the month).
2. The Last Supper
Mark 14:22-24 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying,“Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.
Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
On the day before he was crucified, Jesus gathered the Apostles and shared the Passover meal with them. And they were told to continue this rite in remembrance of him.
After Jesus resurrected in Luke 24:30-31 it describes: When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
3. The Lord’s Supper / Holy Communion
So what is Holy Communion? Is there a difference between The Lord’s Supper & Holy Communion ? Can someone describe what happens during Holy Communion? Why do you think we take part in Holy Communion?
The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the last meal Jesus shared with the Apostles before dying on the cross at the same time it recalls the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The term Holy Communion invites us to focus on the self-giving of the Holy God, which makes the sacrament an occasion of grace, and on the holiness of our communion with God and it also expresses the unity of God’s family.At the same time this also anticipates the final fulfilling union of all Christians.
Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
Whenever I think about Jesus inviting all of us sinners to eat at his table now and in the future when he returns I am reminded of how King David invited Mephibosheth to eat with him, someone who was of such low status but he was personally invited to eat with the King always!
2 Sam 9: 8 8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
2 Sam 9: 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
Imagine sitting and eating with the Prime Minister but Jesus is one with infinity more authority.
The meaning of Holy Communion
1. Remembrance (as mentioned earlier)
2. Thanksgiving “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising
God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:46-47a)
3. Proclamation Holy Communion is the sacrament that sustains and nourishes us in our journey of salvation. In a sacrament, God uses tangible, material things as vehicles or instruments of grace. Wesley defines a sacrament, in accord with his Anglican tradition, as “an outward sign of inward
grace, and a means whereby we receive the same” (“Means of Grace,” II.1).
4. Communion First Corinthians 10:17 explains that because there is one bread, we who are
many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”
5. Anticipation We are anticipating the heavenly banquet celebrating God’s victory over sin, evil, and
death (Matthew 22:1-14; Revelation 19:9; 21:1-7)
The Wesleys recognized the power of God available in the Lord’s Supper and urged their followers to draw on that power by frequent participation. The grace available in and through the sacrament was active in conviction, repentance and conversion, forgiveness, and sanctification. John Wesley described the Lord’s Supper as “the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God” (“Sermon on the Mount—Discourse Six,” III.11).
How then should we approach Holy Communion?
Perhaps based on a simple guide suggested by Greg Laurie Daily Devotional we can try to:
First, we should look back. We are to participate in Communion in remembrance of Christ (see verse 19). Though we must be reverent and must be appreciative of what Communion symbolizes, Communion also speaks of intimacy and fellowship. And so we look back. We look back to the cross. We remember what Christ accomplished for us. And we are reminded of His love for us.
Second, we are to look ahead. The Scriptures say to do this "until he comes again" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The first time Jesus came to this earth, He came as the Suffering Servant. The next time, He will come as the Conquering King. Communion is an observance to remind us that Jesus will come again.
Third, Communion is a time to look within. We are to look within and ask the Holy Spirit to show us any areas of our lives that may not be pleasing to God so that sin would not get in the way of our communion with God.
So come to the Communion table in joy. Come in reverence. Come in honesty.
If there is something that isn't right, this is the time to deal with it. Communion is an ideal time to make a commitment or recommitment to Jesus Christ.
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