This morning as I was tying my shoes I noticed

something that I had never really paid attention to. I

always put my left shoe on first, all the time and it
never fails. This has become my routine. And it got me
thinking how many times do we come here every Sunday
and just go through the motions of partaking in the
Lord’s table? It sometimes becomes routine, something
we just do. But if you take some time to think of it
the significance of taking the Lords table is paramount
in Christian lives. As I was thinking about these
things I thought it would be important to go through
the significance of the Lords table one more time.

THE MEANING OF THE SUPPER

A. IT IS A MEMORIAL...
1. Note Paul's account as given by the Lord
Himself - 1Co 11:
23-25
a. We eat the bread in memory of His body
b. We drink the cup (fruit of the vine) in
memory of His blood
2. We therefore commemorate the death of Jesus on
the cross - Mt
26:28
a. Whose death make the new covenant possible
- He 9:16
b. Whose blood was shed for the remission of
sins - Ep 1:7
-- As the Passover was a memorial commemorating
Israel's
deliverance from Egypt through the blood of
the lambs on the
door post, so the Supper is a memorial of our
Lord's death who
makes our deliverance from the bondage of sin
possible

B. IT IS A PROCLAMATION...
1. We proclaim our faith in the efficacy of the
Lord's death
- 1Co 11:26a
a. That His death was indeed for our sins
b. If we don't believe He died for our sins,
why keep the
 Supper?
2. We also proclaim our faith in the Lord's
return - 1Co 11:26b
a. For it is to be done "till He comes"
b. If we don't believe He is coming, then why
keep the Supper?
-- Thus the Lord's Supper looks forward as well
as backward, and
will ever be observed by His disciples who
trust in His
redemption and anticipate His return!

TO BE DONE WITH SELF-EXAMINATION...

1. Such as reflecting upon one's spiritual
condition - 1Co 11:28
2. Are we living in a manner that shows
appreciation for His
sacrifice?
a. By accepting the grace of God in our lives?
- cf. 2Co 5:18-
6:1
b. By living for Jesus who died for us? - cf.
2Co 5:14-15; Ga
2:20
3. Or are we by willful sinning, guilty of
having:
a. "trampled the Son of God underfoot"?
b. "counted the blood by which [we were]
sanctified a common
thing"?
c. "insulted the Spirit of grace"? - cf. He
10:26-29
4. Do we, by refusing to repent of our sins,
"crucify again for
themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an
shame"? - cf. He
6:4-6
-- In one sense, the Supper is a very private
matter between a
Christian and his or her God; a time to
reflect on the past and
to resolve for the future
Part 2

Mark 12:41-44 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw
how the people put money into the treasury. And many who
were rich put in much. 42
Then one poor widow came and
threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43
So He called
His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to
you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who
have given to the treasury; 44
"for they all put in out of their
abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had,
her whole livelihood.

Jesus used this opportunity to teach His disciples and us about the
proper attitude about giving. Jesus pointed out how the rich were
giving out of their abundance, but this poor widow had given all
that she had because of her giving spirit and the trust she had in
God. Even though she had not given much money, Jesus said that
she had given more that the rich had because she freely gave all
she had even though she was poor. This is the same word that is
used to describe what Jesus did for you and I.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became
poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

When it came to giving, this lady had the same attitude that Christ
did with His life. Now let’s take a closer look at the value of her
gift
The widow only gave 2 mites. This was the smallest Jewish coin
there was and two of them together was only worth about half a
cent. The common wage during the first century was denarius a
day, which is worth about 46 cents today. This means that a normal
days wages was approximately 100 time more than what she had
and that was all she had to live on. Yet she was willing to give it
all to God and to begin again. She understood what sacrificial
giving was all about.

Because of her attitude, she raised the value of those two mites
beyond what everyone else had given. The significance was not
in what she gave, but in what she did not keep. Jesus is teaching
us that no gift is to small if it given with the right heart. It also
important to see that no matter how poor a person is, they are never
to poor that they can’t give to God. It certainly didn’t keep the poor
widow who looked poor and was poor. Instead, she gave just as we
are commanded to give today.

Please understand that God doesn’t expect us to give more than we

are able, He simply tells us to give as we prosper.

1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of the week let each one of
you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that
there be no collections when I come.
 However, God does expect us to be good stewards of what we
have. If we are careful with our money, time and talent that God
has given us, we will be able to give more.

Giving to God is a privilege that we can all enjoy in one way or

another. Jesus said that even a cup of cold water given in His name
shall receive its reward. When we don’t give as we should, not
only do we rob God, we rob ourselves of the privilege of giving!
Jesus said that is better to give than it is to receive.

Just as Jesus watched the givers of the temple, He is watching how

we give as well. He is not looking at the amount we are giving, He
is looking at our heart and knows whether or not we have a giving
spirit and if we are giving as we should. We may hide our feelings
from our brothers and sisters in Christ, but God knows whether
you are giving out of your abundance or whether you are giving
him your leftovers.