Remembering the Cross: Communion and the Weight of Sin

Aug 02, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Kingdom Belongs to the Lord Who Rules

The psalmist declares God’s ultimate authority over all nations, not as a distant ruler but as one intimately involved with the afflicted. His kingdom transcends political powers and cultural shifts, anchored in His faithfulness to hear the cries of the broken. This truth reshapes how we view global chaos and personal struggles. When nations rage or hearts falter, the cross proves God’s rule is both sovereign and sacrificial. His throne is established not through force but through Christ’s finished work. [10:53]

“The kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:28, NKJV)

Reflection: Where do you most need to trust God’s rule today—in global conflicts or private anxieties? How does Christ’s cross affirm His authority over both?

Day 2: A Cracker and Cup: Nothing or Everything

What seems insignificant—a wafer, a sip of juice—becomes sacred when seen through the lens of remembrance. These elements are not rituals but tangible echoes of a love that bore infinite cost. To dismiss them as trivial is to miss the weight they carry: Christ’s body broken, His blood poured out. Yet to receive them with awe is to touch the mystery of redemption. They collapse time, making the cross’s sacrifice present and personal. [26:02]

“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” (Luke 22:19, NKJV)

Reflection: When has communion felt routine to you? What would it look like to approach it today as if holding “everything” in your hands?

Day 3: The Awful Load We Too Lightly Carry

Sin is not a minor offense but an unbearable weight that required God Himself to shoulder it. The cross reveals sin’s true cost: divine agony endured to cancel a debt no human could pay. To minimize sin is to cheapen grace. Yet in Christ’s wounds, we see both the horror of our rebellion and the depth of His rescue. The load He bore becomes our liberation. [24:21]

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

Reflection: What specific sin have you been rationalizing lately? How does picturing Christ straining under its weight change your view of it?

Day 4: Look to the Wounded Lamb and Live

The hymn’s plea—“Mark that sacrifice”—invites us to stare unflinchingly at Calvary’s violence. There, the “Lord’s Anointed” becomes the target of wrath meant for us. His wounds are not symbols but entry points for grace. To look away is to risk forgetting what love cost; to gaze deeply is to find life reborn. The cross is both mirror and window—revealing our guilt and God’s remedy. [24:56]

“He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)

Reflection: What aspect of Christ’s suffering most arrests your attention? How does that detail speak to your deepest need?

Day 5: Proclaiming His Death Until He Comes

The Lord’s Supper is more than memory—it is a defiant declaration. Each crumb and drop shouts, “Death could not hold Him!” To partake is to join a global chorus testifying that the Crucified One now reigns. This meal is both comfort and commission: we mourn our sin yet march as hope-bearers. Every observance rehearses eternity’s feast where the Lamb receives His due. [26:20]

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26, ESV)

Reflection: How could your daily choices—not just communion Sundays—proclaim Christ’s victory? What one action this week would declare, “He is worth everything”?

Sermon Summary

The Lord’s Day is set before God’s people as one of the Lord’s gifts, a day to cease from regular weekly stuff and give attention to him. The day is not treated as empty religious routine, but as mercy from God, a time to learn of him, worship him, and be reminded that ordinary life is not ultimate.

The call to serve at the Sterling Marketplace fun fair puts that same Lord’s Day concern into practical form. The church has an open door before hundreds of children and families, and that opportunity can be lost if no one steps up. The work is simple, but the aim is not small: getting out the word and having an impact for the church.

Psalm 22 is held out as a Christ-centered, messianic psalm. The earlier portion anticipates the crucifixion, while verses 22 through 28 move into praise after affliction. The afflicted one cries, and God does not despise him, abhor him, or hide his face from him. God hears him, and that answered cry becomes praise “in the midst of the assembly.”

The text widens from Israel to the ends of the world. The poor eat and are satisfied. Those who seek the Lord praise him. All the families of the nations worship before him because “the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he rules over the nations.” The cross, then, is not a defeat outside God’s rule, but the very place where the Lord’s kingdom purpose is moving forward.

Christ is then set before the mind’s eye as the Lamb who for sinners was wounded. The sacrifice appointed bears the awful load, and that load is sin. Sin is not light, though people often treat it as if there should be no implications, no repercussions, no consequences. The cross gives the true estimate of sin’s weight and evil.

God became man and died for that sin. Christ paid the penalty that sin deserves, even the least little sin. He willingly, gladly, decidedly, voluntarily took that sin upon himself when he was nailed to the cross. The bread and the cup are small things in the hand, but they are a great deal if seen rightly: his body was broken, his blood was shed, and the Lord commanded remembrance of him.

Key Takeaways

1. The Lord’s Day trains attention [08:00] The Lord’s Day is not merely time off from work, but a gift that redirects desire. God gives a day to cease from regular weekly stuff because the heart easily gets scattered by lesser things. The day calls God’s people to learn of him and worship him with attention that ordinary busyness often steals. [08:00]
2. Open doors can be lost [09:29] The community opportunity at the fun fair shows that service often comes in ordinary, easily overlooked forms. A booth, a conversation, and a willingness to step in can become means of getting out the word. The opportunity also carries a sober edge: neglect can close a door that God’s providence has placed in front of the church. [09:29]
3. The cross weighs sin rightly [24:41] Sin looks small when judged by convenience, feeling, or comparison with others. The cross tells the truth: sin required the death of the God-man. The believer learns the greatness of the evil not by minimizing guilt, but by looking at the One who was stricken, smitten, and afflicted. [24:41]
4. Christ bore the awful load [26:20] The broken body and shed blood of Christ are not abstract religious ideas. They declare that the Son of God took the penalty that sin deserved, willingly and voluntarily. The Lord’s table presses remembrance into the senses so that the soul does not drift into treating mercy as a small thing. [26:20]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[08:00] - The Lord’s Day as a Gift
[08:19] - Sterling Marketplace Fun Fair Opportunity
[09:47] - Psalm 22 and the Crucified Christ
[10:53] - The Kingdom Belongs to the Lord
[11:13] - Singing Psalm 22 Together
[14:02] - Behold Our Creator and Crucified God
[21:20] - Preparing for the Lord’s Table
[24:07] - Mark the Wounded Lamb
[24:41] - Seeing Sin Too Lightly
[24:56] - The Cross Reveals Sin’s Weight
[25:40] - Bread and Cup in Remembrance
[26:53] - Giving Thanks for Christ’s Sacrifice
[27:16] - A True Estimate of Guilt

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 22:22-28
“I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard. My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations.” [10:02]

Isaiah 53:4-5
“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

Observation questions

In Psalm 22:22-28, what groups of people are called to praise the Lord, and how does the passage widen from Israel to the nations? [10:44]
According to Psalm 22:24, what does the text say God did not do to the afflicted one, and what did He do when the afflicted one cried out?
In Isaiah 53:4-5, what words are used to describe what the suffering one bore, and what was the reason given for his wounds and bruises? [24:16]
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, what are believers commanded to do with the bread and the cup, and what do those actions proclaim? [25:40]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 22 says, “the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.” How does that help explain the cross, not as a defeat, but as part of God’s ruling purpose in the world? [10:53]
Psalm 22 moves from affliction to praise in the assembly. What does that suggest about the outcome of the suffering of Christ and the place of gathered worship in responding to it? [09:47]
Isaiah 53 and the Lord’s Table both press the truth that Christ bore sin itself. Why is it important to say that sin is not a small matter, even when people are tempted to treat it lightly? [24:56]
The bread and cup are small in the hand, but they speak of a very great reality. How does remembering Christ through ordinary elements guard the heart from drifting into a casual view of his sacrifice? [26:08]

Application questions

The Lord’s Day is a gift for ceasing from regular weekly stuff and giving attention to God. What most often scatters attention on that day, and what might help make it more truly a day for learning of him and worshiping him? [07:45]
Open doors for service can be ordinary and easy to overlook. What kinds of simple opportunities to help, welcome, or speak a good word are present right now, and what usually keeps a person from stepping into them? [09:29]
Sin is often treated as if there should be no real consequences. Where is there a tendency to think too lightly about sin right now: in speech, private thought, relationships, use of time, or something else? [24:24]
The cross gives a true estimate of guilt. When there is honest looking at Christ crucified, does that produce mainly shame, gratitude, relief, worship, or something else? Why? [27:36]
Christ willingly and voluntarily took the awful load of sin upon himself. What does it do to the heart to remember that he was not forced into this, but gave himself for sinners gladly and decisively? [25:19]
“Do this in remembrance of Me” is a command meant to keep mercy from becoming a small thing. What practices help keep Christ’s death fresh in mind during the week, not only during gathered worship? [26:18]
Psalm 22 says that the poor shall eat and be satisfied and that the ends of the world shall turn to the Lord. How might that shape prayer for people nearby and far away who still need to hear of Christ? [10:34]

Sermon Clips

54s

#WeightOfSin

“``We think of sin too lightly. We wanna get a good glimpse of the weight of sin, the greatness of the evil. Look to the cross. God became man, died for that sin, to pay the penalty for that sin, to do for us what we deserve, what our what our sin deserves, even the least one, the least little sin. And he willingly, gladly, decidedly, voluntarily took that sin upon himself when he was nailed to the cross.”

38s

#StopTakingSinLightly

“We tend to think of sin too lightly, don't we? We think we can sin with impunity. We think we can do whatever we want and shouldn't really be that big of a deal that there shouldn't be any kind of, implications or repercussions or consequences, etcetera, etcetera. We think of sin too lightly. We wanna get a good glimpse of the weight of sin, the greatness of the evil. Look to the cross.”

53s

#DoThisInRemembrance

“God became man, died for that sin, to pay the penalty for that sin, to do for us what we deserve, what our what our sin deserves, even the least one, the least little sin. And he willingly, gladly, decidedly, voluntarily took that sin upon himself when he was nailed to the cross. It is that that we commemorate this morning. The Lord told us to do this. He told us to eat this bread and drink this cup, this wine, this juice in remembrance of him, in remembrance of what he has done.”

54s

#GlimpseTheCost

“We wanna get a good glimpse of the weight of sin, the greatness of the evil. Look to the cross. God became man, died for that sin, to pay the penalty for that sin, to do for us what we deserve, what our what our sin deserves, even the least one, the least little sin. And he willingly, gladly, decidedly, voluntarily took that sin upon himself when he was nailed to the cross. It is that that we commemorate this morning.”

52s

#SeeOurSinTruth

“He took upon himself the evilness of our sin, and we we think of it too lightly. Oh, this morning, as we look upon him who was stricken and smitten and afflicted, dying on that tree, May we there may we there get a true estimate of our guilt. May we there, looking there, see the nature of that sin rightly. Thank you, father, also for these elements that we can partake of that remind us of his work. Bless them as we partake of them, we pray, and we ask this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.”

44s

#BlessTheElements

44s

#LookToTheCross

“Look to the cross. God became man, died for that sin, to pay the penalty for that sin, to do for us what we deserve, what our what our sin deserves, even the least one, the least little sin. And he willingly, gladly, decidedly, voluntarily took that sin upon himself when he was nailed to the cross. It is that that we commemorate this morning.”

60s

#BlessAndRemember

“Let's ask God's blessing upon them. Father, we are grateful today for our savior and his sacrifice for us. He took upon himself the evilness of our sin, and we we think of it too lightly. Oh, this morning, as we look upon him who was stricken and smitten and afflicted, dying on that tree, May we there may we there get a true estimate of our guilt. May we there, looking there, see the nature of that sin rightly. Thank you, father, also for these elements that we can partake of that remind us of his work. Bless them as we partake of them, we pray, and we ask this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.”

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Faith Baptist Church of Sterling This sermon · AI assistant

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