Food Helps Us Remember: Communion and Repentance

Devotional

Day 1: Crust, Filling, and the Memory of Grace

The Lord’s Supper anchors believers to the cross through tangible elements, much like the way pumpkin pie’s aroma transports one to a grandmother’s kitchen. Jesus chose bread and juice not as abstract symbols but as sensory anchors to his sacrifice. Every crumb and sip stirs remembrance of his broken body and shed blood. This meal is not passive ritual but active participation in the story of redemption. Just as food locks memories into our minds, communion etches the gospel deeper into our hearts. [28:41]

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24, NIV)

Reflection: What ordinary item or meal unexpectedly stirs your gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice? How might you let that memory deepen your worship this week?

Day 2: Shaking the Fat Off Corn Dogs and False Assurance

Salvation is not a nebulous evolution but a decisive moment, like shaking grease off a corn dog to pretend it’s healthy. Jesus demands clarity: either we belong to him or we don’t. The Lord’s Supper is only for those who’ve surrendered to Christ, not for those clinging to religious routines. Self-examination cuts through pretension, asking when—not if—we turned from sin to trust him. [32:42]

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:18, NIV)

Reflection: Can you pinpoint the moment Jesus became your Savior? If not, what holds you back from settling that question today?

Day 3: Firework Debris and Unrepentant Sparks

Taking communion while harboring unconfessed sin is like ignoring firework debris littering your yard—it’s visible disobedience. Paul warns against flippant participation, urging believers to “examine themselves.” Just as fireworks leave traces, unrepentance leaves marks on the soul. Communion invites us to sweep clean our hearts before remembering Christ’s sacrifice. [38:13]

“Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28, NIV)

Reflection: What unresolved sin or attitude might be scattering debris in your relationship with Jesus? How will you address it before taking the next step?

Day 4: The Sandlot Haze and Public Proclamation

The Lord’s Supper is a communal act, like neighbors sharing fireworks under a hazy sky. Eating and drinking together declares, “I belong to Jesus,” just as the Sandlot’s nostalgia binds friends. This meal isn’t private piety but a church-wide testimony: Christ’s death is our shared hope. Every crumb and sip echoes the gospel to those beside us. [46:18]

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26, NIV)

Reflection: How does taking communion alongside others strengthen your resolve to live as Christ’s witness? What might outsiders learn about Jesus by watching your participation?

Day 5: New Covenant Whipped Cream and Eternal Certainty

The cup’s sweetness points beyond itself—like whipped cream on pie, it’s a glimpse of the new covenant’s richness. Jesus’ blood doesn’t merely cover sin; it erases it, securing an unshakable future. Each sip is a taste of eternity, a promise that the feast of salvation has only begun. [45:35]

“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.’” (1 Corinthians 11:25, NIV)

Reflection: What doubt or fear about your eternal security might Jesus want to replace with the certainty of his covenant today?

Sermon Summary

Paul sets the church at Corinth back at the table where Jesus broke bread and lifted a cup, and he keeps repeating the same line that carries the weight of the moment: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus ties memory to a meal. The bread and the cup become the handle the church can grab so the gospel does not slip away from daily life. Food helps people remember things, so Jesus put the cross and the resurrection on the table where ordinary people eat and drink, so ordinary hearts would not forget what grace cost.

The bread and the cup then press a prior question. The Table is not for just anybody. The new covenant sets a prerequisite. A person must be right with God to come, which means a person must belong to Christ. The call is concrete. Has Jesus actually made a person right with God, and when did that happen. A slow slide into faith gets called what it is, baloney. Scripture shows a decisive move from not-following to following, like stepping into a covenant in marriage. Salvation is not proximity to church things. Salvation is union with Christ.

Sin sets the problem. None are good. All are separated. No one can fix it. Jesus steps in. Jesus climbs onto a cross, absorbs the wrath due sin, dies, and rises. His right standing can be credited to sinners by repentance and faith. Romans 10 says that confessing Jesus as Lord and believing God raised him from the dead brings salvation. This is the doorway to the Table.

The bread preaches that the Word became flesh and that his body was broken so sinners could be made right with God. The cup preaches that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness and that the new covenant blood does not just cover sin for a time but removes it. The elements tell the truth about what only Jesus could do.

Paul then slows everyone down. Eating and drinking can get common and turn flippant. The church must examine itself. To take the Supper with a hard heart, to remember the gospel and then run headlong into unrepentant sin, is to mock God. The invitation is to confess, to open the hand and let go of what clings. And when the church eats and drinks with faith and repentance, the act becomes a proclamation. Every bite and sip says out loud in the room, “I belong to Jesus,” and it keeps saying it until he comes.

Key Takeaways

1. Food trains gospel remembrance [26:38] Food lodges memory in the body, and Jesus uses bread and cup to lodge the cross and resurrection where people cannot miss them. The Table is not a new idea but a wise means to make grace unforgettable. The elements take doctrine off the shelf and put it in the hand, so gratitude is not theoretical. Regular eating and drinking form a holy habit of remembering. [26:38]
2. Salvation is a covenant decision [33:36] Grace initiates, but response is real and traceable. Scripture shows people moving from not-following to following, not drifting into discipleship by osmosis. Like marriage, salvation names a before and an after, a clear entering into covenant with Christ. A churchgoer can be near sacred things and still be outside the covenant. [33:36]
3. The Supper demands examined lives [37:49] Paul warns against eating and drinking in an unworthy manner, which is more than bad manners. It is treating the cross as common while clinging to unrepentant sin. Self-examination is mercy, not misery, because confession clears the way for honest communion. The Table invites soft hearts, not perfect records. [37:49]
4. Christ’s body and blood secure forgiveness [36:43] The bread proclaims the incarnate obedience of Jesus and his body broken for sinners. The cup proclaims the new covenant where blood does not cover sin for a season but removes it. Wrath is absorbed, righteousness is credited, and reconciliation is granted by faith. Forgiveness rests on what Jesus accomplished, not on human effort. [36:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:40] - Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
[25:47] - Prayer to hear and obey
[26:38] - Food helps us remember
[30:02] - What the Supper remembers
[30:45] - Prerequisite: right with Jesus
[32:42] - No nebulous conversion, baloney
[33:36] - Salvation as covenant decision
[34:48] - Jesus steps in to save
[35:15] - Confess and believe to be saved
[36:43] - Bread and cup explained
[37:49] - Examine yourself before the Table
[40:46] - Quiet moment for confession
[43:40] - Take and eat the bread
[46:03] - Proclaim the Lord’s death

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (ESV)
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 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.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Observation questions

What two actions does Jesus repeatedly tie to the command “Do this in remembrance of me” in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25?
According to the sermon, what is the prerequisite for participating in the Lord’s Supper? [31:07]
What does Paul warn against in 1 Corinthians 11:27-28 regarding how believers approach the Table?
How does the sermon describe the difference between the old covenant sacrifices and the new covenant established by Jesus’ blood? [45:35]

Interpretation questions

Why does Paul emphasize the need for self-examination before taking the Lord’s Supper? What does treating the Supper “flippantly” reveal about a person’s heart? [38:13]
The sermon compares salvation to a marriage covenant. How does this analogy clarify the difference between “proximity to church things” and genuine union with Christ? [33:36]
What does it mean for the bread and cup to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26)? How do these elements “speak” even after the meal is over?
Why might Jesus use physical elements like bread and wine to help believers remember spiritual truths? How does this connect to human nature? [26:38]

Application questions

What practical steps could you take before participating in the Lord’s Supper to ensure your heart is prepared to remember Christ’s sacrifice? [40:46]
If someone asked you, “When did Jesus make you right with God?” how would you answer? What specific moment or season marked your decisive commitment to follow Him? [32:12]
Is there a habit, relationship, or attitude you’ve been “clinging to” that conflicts with your public proclamation of belonging to Jesus at the Table? How could you release it this week? [39:26]
How might regularly reflecting on the cost of grace (through communion or other means) reshape your daily gratitude and obedience? [30:02]
The sermon states, “Salvation is not proximity to church things.” In what ways have you confused religious activity with genuine faith? How can you pursue union with Christ instead of mere familiarity with Christian practices?
When you eat the bread and drink the cup, what specific truth about Jesus’ work (e.g., forgiveness, resurrection, covenant) do you most need to remember right now? How will you dwell on that truth this month?

Sermon Clips

60s

#ChooseToFollow

“Go throughout the gospels when Jesus began calling disciples. They weren't his followers. He extended an invitation and then they were. Paul on the road of Damascus was breathing murders against the church and he wasn't a follower. And then Jesus showed up, extended an invitation, and what happened? He he became a follower of Christ. I told the person that that shared that with me, I said, when did you get married? He said, what do mean? I said, when did you get married? They gave me this date. I said, oh, so you're telling me that there wasn't just this nebulous point in time where you just started hanging out with this person, and then one morning you woke up and you're like, oh, can you believe we're married? I didn't even know. Like, it's crazy. It just happened overnight. We didn't even know it happened. I said, what happened? You were not in covenant with them, and then you made a decision to become in covenant relationship with them forever. Welcome to salvation.”

70s

#JesusStepsIn

“``We need somebody to do it for us. We need somebody that is perfect to do what we can't do for ourselves and to fix our sin problem. And here is the beautiful thing about why I get to stand here this morning. Jesus stepped in. Jesus steps into the story. Jesus voluntarily crawls onto a cross for you and for me. Jesus absorbs the wrath of God against sin according to second Corinthians five verse 17. Jesus dies, yet three days later, Jesus rises. And in doing so, he secures forgiveness for sinners. Man, this is the prerequisite to the Lord's Supper. That his right standing with God can be applied to my account and to your account by faith. We acknowledge that our relationship with God is broken. And the only way that it is fixed is through repentance and faith in Jesus.”

52s

#BloodSecuresForgiveness

“this small little piece of bread here is a reminder for us that Jesus came in human flesh according to John chapter one verse 14. That he lived the life that you and I could not live. He died the death that we deserved to die and his body was broken for the forgiveness of our sins so that we could be made right with God. In just a moment, we're gonna drink this small cup of juice, and we're gonna remember what the author of Hebrews said in Hebrews nine verse 22, that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. That before the cross, it was just the shedding of the blood of animals over and over and over to cover sin. But because of the cross, our sin can actually be removed. And then when God sees you, he sees the blood of Jesus.”

51s

#ExamineYourself

“Paul's reminding us as we head into this that this is a really big deal. That this can be done so frequently that it's done flippantly. That it can be so common that we forget the serious nature of what we are doing, that we don't want to take the cross lightly. I mean, that we get to remember that God came out of heaven for our sake and died in our place to secure an eternity for each one of us. Like, we shouldn't take that lightly. And so Paul says, hey, before you do this, make sure you examine yourself. And don't do this in an unworthy manner. He actually goes on to say that some people were drinking judgment on themselves. People were dying because they were doing this in an unworthy manner. Why? Because they were mocking the gospel.”

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Food Helps Us Remember: Communion and Repentance

Devotional

Day 1: Crust, Filling, and the Memory of Grace

Day 2: Shaking the Fat Off Corn Dogs and False Assurance

Day 3: Firework Debris and Unrepentant Sparks

Day 4: The Sandlot Haze and Public Proclamation

Day 5: New Covenant Whipped Cream and Eternal Certainty

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Food Helps Us Remember: Communion and Repentance

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