1. Communion
Power of Communion
Recognizing Jesus' Real Presence in the Lord's Supper
Memorization Verses:
Certainly not just eating and drinking do Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has
these things, but the words written here: exactly what they say: "forgiveness of sins."
"Given and shed for you for the forgiveness
of sins." These words, along with the bodily
eating and drinking, are the main thing in the

2. LSB 634 His very blood for sinners shed.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/d/e/a/de 5 We dare not ask how this can be,
atjcol.htm But simply hold the mystery
1 The death of Jesus Christ, our Lord, And trust this word where life begins;
We celebrate with one accord; "Given and shed for all your sins."
It is our comfort in distress, 6 They who this word do not believe,
Our heart's sweet joy and happiness. This food unworthily receive,
2 He blotted out with His own blood Salvation here will never find--
The judgment that against us stood; May we this warning keep in mind!
For us He full atonement made, 7 But blest is each believing guest
And all our debt He fully paid. Who in these promises finds rest;
3 That this forever true shall be For Jesus shall in love remain
He gives a solemn guarantee: With all who here His grace obtain.
In this His holy Supper here 8 Help us sincerely to believe
We taste His love so sweet, so near. That we may worthily receive
4 His Word proclaims and we believe. Your Supper and in You find rest.
That in this Supper we receive Amen! They who believe are blest.
His very body, as He said,

3. Game

4. Pray: 23 Yet he gave a command 29 They ate till they were
PRAYER to the skies above gorged—
and opened the doors of the he had given them what they
• Given and heavens; craved.
24 he rained down manna for the 30 But before they turned from
shed people to eat, what they craved,
• Words together he gave them the grain of even while the food was still
heaven. in their mouths,
• Forgiveness, 25 Human beings ate the bread of …
38 Yet he was merciful;
Life, Salvation angels;
he sent them all the food they he forgave their iniquities
• Righteousness could eat. and did not destroy them.
• Blessing 26 He let loose the east wind Time after time he restrained his
anger
from the heavens
P raise and by his power made the and did not stir up his full
R epentance south wind blow. wrath.
39 He remembered that they
A ppreciation 27 He rained meat down on them
were but flesh,
Y ou like dust,
a passing breeze that does not
birds like sand on the
E veryone seashore. return.
R esolve 28 He made them come down
inside their camp,
all around their tents.

5.  LSB 621
 Let all mortal flesh keep silence
 2 King of kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav'nly food.

6. “Where is God? Where is He?” someone behind
me asked. ..
For more than half an hour the child in the noose
stayed there, struggling between life and death,
dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had
to look him full in the face. He was still alive
when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still
red, his eyes were not yet glazed.
Behind me, I heard the same man asking:
“Where is God now?”
And I heard a voice within me answer him:
“Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on
this gallows. . . .”

7.  The world, other religions, and the evil
reality of pain, suffering, despair, grief
and the Accuser himself want to remind
us that:
 Rituals mean nothing, they are merely
symbols that can snap in two in the storm
 Our faith is wishful thinking, or worship
but a pipe dream
 Our actions are fruitless, our efforts are
without merit
 We are hypocritical, irrational, blind,
boring, simple, arrogant, bigoted,
unprofitable, inefficient, and insulting.
 Why, then does God “remember” us in
Communion: a simple meal of bread and
wine?...what power exists?

8.  God participates in our communion with Him by:
 Bringing the “body of Christ” together with a
meal to have fellowship with the “body of Christ”
as we are actively bringing to remembrance the
reality of the “body of Christ”.
 ….Huh?
 God‟s sharing of Himself is not contingent on
time/space. His history is not our history, his
time/space, not ours. Therefore all three truths co-
exist:
1. “so in Christ we, though many, form one body,
and each member belongs to all the others.”
Rom. 12:5 (1 Cor. 10:17)
2. “is not the bread that we break a participation in
the body of Christ?” 1 Cor. 10:16
3. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

9.  The power of Communion resides in
the following:
1. Bringing about an active redemption
to individuals who are resurrected
spiritual (cross/conversion) and
physically (last day) because of
Christ‟s own death and victory.
2. Bringing broken and cantankerous
people together, despite diversities
and cultural practices, customs and
languages, politics and education, to
a cohesive whole in the supper.
3. The bringing to active remembrance
that God does hear his people, that he
loves them, and has already secured
salvation for them.

10.  The Hebrew mind is different than the western mind
 Right “thinking” vs. Right “action”

12.  To the Jewish mind, the
understanding of God is not
achieved by referring to a Greek
way to timeless qualities of
Supreme Being, to ideas of
goodness and perfection, but
rather by sensing the living acts
of His concern, to His dynamic
attentiveness to man. We speak
not of His goodness in general
but of His compassion for the
individual man in a particular
situation"

13.  To try to distill the
Bible, which is bursting
with life, drama, and
tension, to a series of
principles would be like
trying to reduce a living
person to a diagram

14.  "For he hath not despised nor abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath
he hid his face from him; but when he
cried unto him, he heard." (Psalm 22:24)
 "The LORD also will be a refuge for the
oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
 And they that know thy name will put
their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast
not forsaken them that seek thee." (Psalm
9:9-10)
 "I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy:
for thou hast considered my trouble; thou
hast known my soul in adversities;"
(Psalm 31:7)
 "Who remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;" (Psalm
 136:23)

15.  To Remember (zakar) is not an intellectual or theoretical
pursuit, nor is it a separate event from its source (that
which you are remembering), instead:
 To remember is to bring to completion
 To remember is to keep it existing
 To remember is to continue the reality of it (one event,
continual benefits and atmosphere)
 To remember is to DO SOMETHING (living for the event
or to keep it mind while working everyday).
 Just as God remembers the Israelites continually
 in the midst of suffering,
 in protection from the angel of death,
 in the proclamation of true living and right teaching,
 So also, we remember Him in the Lord‟s supper
continually:
 Proclaiming the reality of Christ‟s death once for sins
 Recognizing the Body of Christ which is both for us, in
us, and is us
 The active unity and doing of true living and right
teaching

16. This can be especially important to us as recovering alcoholics. We have felt in the past,
and sometimes even now, estranged from the fellowship of believers, and of our local churches.
Perhaps we feel especially unworthy of that fellowship. Perhaps some of our more manifest past
sins involved other church members or hurt them (for which we may owe some future amends).
Or perhaps we can not help comparing our lack of Christian life with someone else‟s obviously
exemplary life and character—with the result that we become filled with self-hatred and loathing,
and begin to be plagued by an accusing conscience.It is just then that we must realize that
communion is open to all who confess their
penitence and in faith look for the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins that is here offered.
God does not open Holy Communion up to only those who have reached a certain level of
sanctified life. He says, “Take, drink, ye all..”, yes, all of you! Come! God does not „grade‟
sinfulness (as you and I sometimes do). Very few of us could say that we ever felt “better” than
those “others” who come to the Lord‟s Table. Rather, we have felt that we were the “worst” who
came (if we did come) because we could not lick our alcoholism and kept repeating the same
sinful behaviors over and over, and over again. But we must remember that all come for
forgiveness. All are equally in need in God‟s sight. All come for the same assurance and the
strengthening necessary to fight against sin (which is indeed the “disease” that infects us all)

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18.  •How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?
 •How can forgiveness, life, and salvation be obtained through the bodily
eating and drinking?
 •Does everyone who eats and drinks the Sacrament also receive forgiveness,
life, and salvation?
•______________________________
 SS Given and shed
Say Mean Matter
 M Words together
 T Forgiveness, Life, Salvation Key phrases Own words Answer the
 W Righteousness questions/
Personal
 Th Blessing
application

19.  Certainly not just eating and drinking
do these things, but the words written
here: "Given and shed for you for the
forgiveness of sins." These words,
along with the bodily eating and
drinking, are the main thing in the
Sacrament. Whoever believes these
words has exactly what they say:
"forgiveness of sins."
 •

20.  Not simply the eating and drinking, mysteries in our holy religion, to
but the words of Christ together with exercise our faith, and raise our
His body and blood under the bread profoundest adoration of Your divine
and wine are the way through which majesty. You did not ordain them to
these blessings are given. encourage a bold arrogance in us to
 "We do not claim this of bread and search into the depths of Your
wine-since in itself bread is bread-but incomprehensible nature. Your
of that bread and wine which are presence in the elements of the bread
Christ's body and blood and with and wine, by the influences of Your
which the words are coupled. These Spirit, and by the application of Your
and no other, we say, are the treasure merits to the soul of the truly
through which forgiveness is penitent, shall be sufficient for me to
obtained" (Large Catechism V 28). adore Your love, to revere Your
Sacrament, and come to Your table.
 Christ's words of promise have put
O blessed Jesus, I beg the assistance
these gifts into the Sacrament, and
of Your grace, and a happy
the believer receives them there
communion between You and my
through faith.
soul. Amen. (Johann Gerhard, 1582-
 • 1637).
 Pray: O Lord, You ordained

21.  Forgiveness, life, and salvation are
truly offered to all who eat the Lord's
body and blood in the Sacrament, but
only through faith can we receive the
blessings offered there.
 Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who has
believed that what the Lord has said to
her will be accomplished.
 Luke 11:27-28 "Blessed is the mother
who gave you birth and nursed you."
He replied: "Blessed rather are those
who hear the word of God and obey it."
 •

22.  Note: To "keep" or "obey" God's
Word of promise is to believe or trust
it. "For in the Gospel a righteousness
from God is revealed, a righteousness
that is by faith from first to last, just
as it is written: 'The righteous will live
by faith'" (Rom. 1:17).
 1 Cor. 10:3-5 They all ate the same
spiritual food and drank the same
spiritual drink; for they drank from the
spiritual rock that accompanied them,
and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless,
God was not pleased with most of them;
their bodies were scattered over the
desert.
 •

23.  Bible narrative: There was a blessing in
touching Jesus or being touched by Him,
and faith received it (Matt. 9:20-22, 27-
29).
 •
 Pray: I thank You, Lord God
Almighty, for the wondrous gift which
You bestow on me in the Holy Supper.
And I beg Your mercy that You would
cause it to strengthen my faith toward
You, to make me abound more and
more in true holiness and in fervent
love toward my neighbor: through
Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.
Amen. (Zorn).

24. LSB 623 Rejoicing in our unity,
Proclaim Your love until You come
 1 Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray To bring Your scattered loved ones
That we may feast on You today; home.
Beneath these forms of bread and wine  5 Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray:
Enrich us with Your grace divine. O keep us steadfast till that day
 2 Give us, who share this wondrous When each may be Your welcomed
food, guest
Your body broken and Your blood, In heaven's high and holy feast.
The grateful peace of sins forgiv'n,
The certain joys of heirs of heav'n.
 3 By faith Your Word has made us bold
To seize the gift of love retold;
All that You are we here receive,
And all we are to You we give.
 4 One bread, one cup, one body, we,

25. Certainly not just eating and drinking do receives them there through faith.
these things, but the words written here: Forgiveness, life, and salvation are truly
"Given and shed for you for the forgiveness offered to all who eat the Lord's body and
of sins." These words, along with the bodilyblood in the Sacrament, but only through
eating and drinking, are the main thing in faith can we receive the blessings offered
the Sacrament. Whoever believes these there.
words has exactly what they say: Note: To "keep" or "obey" God's Word of
"forgiveness of sins." promise is to believe or trust it. "For in the
Not simply the eating and drinking, but the Gospel a righteousness from God is
words of Christ together with His body and revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
blood under the bread and wine are the way from first to last, just as it is written: 'The
through which these blessings are given. righteous will live by faith'" (Rom. 1:17).
"We do not claim this of bread and wine- •
since in itself bread is bread-but of that
bread and wine which are Christ's body and
blood and with which the words are
coupled. These and no other, we say, are the
treasure through which forgiveness is
obtained" (Large Catechism V 28).
Christ's words of promise have put these
gifts into the Sacrament, and the believer

26.  How to Receive
Communion
Worthily