Simeon Meets His Deliverer

In Jerusalem lived a righteous and devout man by the name of Simeon. His name meant God Receiver. He knew the prophesies of the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets and was expecting a Messiah, a deliverer. Simeon was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit visited him and informed him he would not see death before he witnessed the coming of Christ, the Lord. It was about a week after the birth of Jesus and as custom, the child was being taken to the temple to fulfill the customs of the law. When Simeon saw the child, he took Jesus in his arms and as it is written in the second chapter of Luke stated “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. How those words must have echoed in Mary’s memory as she saw her son hanging from a cross. As his side was pierce, she probably felt it pierce her very soul. She had raised her son, followed his ministry, then, witness her miraculous son beaten and hung on a cross, ridiculed, and his clothes gambled for. Through this, he had forgiven those who had crucified him, encouraged a thief on the cross next to him, sacrificed himself for the sins of the world and then took time to encourage his mother by asking John to watch over her in his absence. Not one detail missed. From the beginning of creation, God knew that man given the gift of free will would choose to sin and would need a savior. From the beginning, the Law and the Prophets proclaimed there would be a Messiah who would deliver them from sin. That he would be a perfect sacrifice for us and would come back from the dead to redeem us from our sin. We come together during communion to remember and give praise to God who provides us in our sinfulness a way into his Holy Presence. We take and eat the bread to remember his beaten body and the juice to remember his shed blood. Please pray with me.

The LORD'S Supper is the Gospel

This is a great part of our worship. This is when, on a weekly basis, we proclaim the Gospel. No matter what the message is, we take time to proclaim of the Kingdom to come. That Jesus, God in flesh, came to give up HIS life as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could be made righteous by Him and have the promise that we could be in the presence of God when that Kingdom comes when Jesus returns. It is that Gospel that separates Christianity from all other religions. We do not claw our way to God by what we do, but he comes down to us. It is not what we do for God, but what God has done for us. Jesus, on the last evening he had with his disciples, took on the character of a servant, washed their feet. And then as Paul writes in the first letter to the Corinthians, The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. You proclaim the good news, the Gospel. That though we were sinners, Christ died for us. Tim Keller said, “this is the Gospel, You are more sinful then you ever believed, and you are more loved than you can ever hope. We live in a broken world, and it is not getting any better. And that is why the good news is so important. That no matter what happens, we know there is a Kingdom to come that not even death can keep us from if we have made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. We will be taken into his presence and enjoy eternity with him. That is some good news. If you have accepted Jesus as Lord, would you join me in remembering the Gospel in this time of Communion.