FAMILY DEVOTIONAL
Every now and again we are forced by an outside force to slow down. Weather days can come with some frustrations and anxiety, but they also offer us the gift of time with family. My prayer for each of you is that you are drinking up the blessings of this cold spell. Use this time intentionally. Have a good conversation. Watch a good movie together. Open God’s word together. Even though we aren’t able to meet together this morning, it is our hope that the people of Southwest will study and worship all across Austin in their homes this morning. Please use this devotion as a tool to lead your family in God’s word this morning.
Open with prayer: Prayer isn’t just about submitting our petitions to God. While that is often a big part of it, thanksgiving is just as important. How can we lift each other up in prayer as we begin? What needs can we offer to the Lord? In what ways can we thank the Lord for his provision? Ask each person to list one petition and one praise.
One of the things we create space for each week in our gathered worship time is communion. We don’t just view it as important, but as central to our service. We often refer to it as the pinnacle of our service, the thing that everything points to and prepares us for.
Questions:
•What is your first memory of participating in communion?
•Who taught you about its meaning and importance?
•How do you prepare your heart for communion each week?
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are forced to remember the past, celebrate the present, and rest in the hope of the future.
Remembering the past: In this passage, the Apostle Paul is passing on a teaching given by Jesus. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22) we read the account of the “last supper,” aptly named because it was the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before the cross. They were celebrating a meal that God instituted during the Exodus (you can read about the first Passover meal in Exodus 12) that will serve as a reminder of His hand in their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Each year they gather and remember. Each year they pause and thank God. In this last meal, Jesus takes something they’ve done for generations and explains that God’s final and complete deliverance of mankind will come through him. It will come through his sacrifice on the cross. Each week as we partake in communion, we remember the body of Jesus broken for us, his blood shed for us. We are reminded that all our sins were paid for in one grand act. We remember how his sacrifice impacts us personally.
Question: How does knowing that you are forgiven and freed from sin allow you to live more freely for Christ today?
Celebrating the Present: In the Lord’s Supper we celebrate the removal of all barriers between us and God. In Hebrews 10:19-23 we are reminded that because of the cross we are freed to “…draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” We don’t have to wait until we die to dwell in his presence, we are gifted that right today. God isn’t distant, but personal. In fact, he’s so available to us that he resides in us in the Holy Spirit.
Question: Ponder for a second the truth that you have direct, unfettered access to the creator of the universe. In what ways does that provide you peace and comfort?
Hope of the future: In verse 26, Paul explains that when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” In communion, we look forward to Jesus’ return and the perfection of heaven. In Revelation 21 we are given a glimpse of what eternity with God will look like; no pain, no crying, no death, no mourning…all of that falls away in the presence of God. In the Lord’s Supper we loudly proclaim that Jesus is victorious. Satan has been conquered and the Lord’s kingdom will reign.
Question: In what ways does the reminder of Jesus' victory over Satan and sin allow you put your life’s events into proper perspective?
Do: Take a few minutes to gather bread and juice to observe communion. Exactly what kind of bread and juice you use isn’t all that important. They serve as emblems, reminders of the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed for you. Once you have gathered the emblems, offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for his goodness and love. As you hand out the bread and juice, say, “The body of Christ broken for you. The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Nominate someone to close this time with prayer.
Open with prayer: Prayer isn’t just about submitting our petitions to God. While that is often a big part of it, thanksgiving is just as important. How can we lift each other up in prayer as we begin? What needs can we offer to the Lord? In what ways can we thank the Lord for his provision? Ask each person to list one petition and one praise.
One of the things we create space for each week in our gathered worship time is communion. We don’t just view it as important, but as central to our service. We often refer to it as the pinnacle of our service, the thing that everything points to and prepares us for.
Questions:
•What is your first memory of participating in communion?
•Who taught you about its meaning and importance?
•How do you prepare your heart for communion each week?
Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are forced to remember the past, celebrate the present, and rest in the hope of the future.
Remembering the past: In this passage, the Apostle Paul is passing on a teaching given by Jesus. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22) we read the account of the “last supper,” aptly named because it was the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before the cross. They were celebrating a meal that God instituted during the Exodus (you can read about the first Passover meal in Exodus 12) that will serve as a reminder of His hand in their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Each year they gather and remember. Each year they pause and thank God. In this last meal, Jesus takes something they’ve done for generations and explains that God’s final and complete deliverance of mankind will come through him. It will come through his sacrifice on the cross. Each week as we partake in communion, we remember the body of Jesus broken for us, his blood shed for us. We are reminded that all our sins were paid for in one grand act. We remember how his sacrifice impacts us personally.
Question: How does knowing that you are forgiven and freed from sin allow you to live more freely for Christ today?
Celebrating the Present: In the Lord’s Supper we celebrate the removal of all barriers between us and God. In Hebrews 10:19-23 we are reminded that because of the cross we are freed to “…draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” We don’t have to wait until we die to dwell in his presence, we are gifted that right today. God isn’t distant, but personal. In fact, he’s so available to us that he resides in us in the Holy Spirit.
Question: Ponder for a second the truth that you have direct, unfettered access to the creator of the universe. In what ways does that provide you peace and comfort?
Hope of the future: In verse 26, Paul explains that when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” In communion, we look forward to Jesus’ return and the perfection of heaven. In Revelation 21 we are given a glimpse of what eternity with God will look like; no pain, no crying, no death, no mourning…all of that falls away in the presence of God. In the Lord’s Supper we loudly proclaim that Jesus is victorious. Satan has been conquered and the Lord’s kingdom will reign.
Question: In what ways does the reminder of Jesus' victory over Satan and sin allow you put your life’s events into proper perspective?
Do: Take a few minutes to gather bread and juice to observe communion. Exactly what kind of bread and juice you use isn’t all that important. They serve as emblems, reminders of the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed for you. Once you have gathered the emblems, offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for his goodness and love. As you hand out the bread and juice, say, “The body of Christ broken for you. The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Nominate someone to close this time with prayer.