COMMUNION What are the benefits

COMMUNION BENEFITS Jesus said, “this is my blood, given and shed for you for the remission of sins.” As we take communion, we are assured that our sins are ______.

COMMUNION BENEFITS (2) Jesus said “this is my blood of the new covenant.” The covenant was made when God said to Abraham, “I will be your God, and the God of your descendants.” Because we are united to Jesus, we are one of those descendants. God is our God. But why is it called NEW covenant?

BENEFITS OF COMMUNION (2) Hebrews 8:8-12, quoting Jeremiah 31:31-35: (Jeremiah had written this prophecy around 600 BC): “The days are coming when I will make a NEW covenant with the house of Israel … I will put my laws into their minds … and I will be their God, and they shall be my people … and I will remember their sins no more.” Jesus fulfilled this when he said, “This is the NEW covenant” (covenant is agreement)

BENEFITS OF COMMUNION (3) Hebrews 9:18 and 22: Even the old covenant was established by blood … Moses sprinkled the book and the people with blood, saying “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you …. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” That’s why Jesus said, this is my BLOOD of the new covenant.

THE GUARANTEE In order to guarantee the NEW covenant between God and us, Jesus shed his _____. When I take communion, I take the blood that guarantees the new _______. When I drink it, I am connecting with the results of Christ’s death, which has forgiven all my ____.

BENEFITS OF COMMUNION (4) 1 Corinthians 10:16 says, “The body that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” By taking communion, we are in union with _____. That is one reason we call it “communion.”

BENEFITS OF COMMUNION (5) : 1 Corinthians 10:17 says, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” When we take communion, we are in union with all other ______. That is another reason we call it “communion.”

BENEFITS OF COMMUNION (6) 1 Corinthians 10:18: “Consider the people of Israel --- are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?” In the Old Testament, the people ate the animal sacrifices, and that is how they shared in its benefits. For us, Jesus is the sacrifice. By eating, we share the benefits when we eat the ____ and drink the ____.

COMMON QUESTIONS The wine – some people cannot drink alcohol, so it is OK to use wine with no alcohol. The bread --- some use bread with no yeast, because that is what the people of Israel used on Passover night. It is also OK to use bread with yeast. You can use small pieces, or use a loaf and tear off pieces.

HOW TO PREPARE 1 Corinthians 11:27-31. “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the lord. Let a person examine himself, and then eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

BEING PREPARED We ask ourselves: Do I believe I am a sinner? Am I will to say I am sorry for my sins? Do I believe Jesus words, “my blood is given and shed FOR YOU for the forgiveness of sins?”

HOW TO PREPARE (2) Luther sums it up this way: He is truly worthy and well prepared, who has faith in these words, “given and shed FOR YOU for the forgiveness of sins.” (Luther Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar, last paragraph)

CLOSING PRAYER Dear God, Thank you that your promises are guaranteed to me by the blood of Christ. Thank you that in taking communion, I am getting the guarantee of your promises.