Volume 2022: Edition 10
Food for thought: Why do we take Communion?
Hello everyone, and welcome back. We appreciate you coming back for the update this week and month as we continue to grow and study His word.
Though Passover and Easter have ended, we are going to dig into what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is and why we take communion during Passover.
The Feast of Unleavened bread is a festival for Israelites that begins with the Passover memorial and lasts seven days. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is an interchangeable name for the seven-day holiday. The unleavened bread was to remind them of their haste during their Exodus from Egypt. The Unleavened Bread is also symbolic of taking in the pure word of God over leavened bread which contains yeast and is symbolic of sin and the impure influences of the world and the influence of Egypt on the Israelites. Passover, in addition to the Unleavened bread, is to remind us of the deliverance of the Israelites out of bondage and slavery in Egypt.
This holiday was established through God's instruction to Moses and to the Israelites to slaughter an unblemished lamb and paint its blood over their doorways and windows to keep the last plague from entering their homes; death would pass them over, hence why it is called Passover. That night they would quickly eat a meal of unleavened bread and wait for the morning and the word of their Exodus.
"Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ 'So, the people bowed their heads and worshiped. "
(Exodus:12:21-27)
So why do we take communion during Passover/ The Feast of Unleavened Bread? We do this based on the instruction of Jesus on the night that he was betrayed which happened during Passover. Jesus and His disciples had the last supper to celebrate Passover and to commemorate His death through the covenant of Communion and the washing of His disciples' feet. During Communion, the unleavened bread represents the body of Christ and our acceptance of Him and His word into our lives, much as it also symbolizes the pure word of God and our refusal of the ways of the world. The wine in communion represents the blood of Christ that was shed for us on the cross to pay for our sins and save us from the chains of sin and a future of eternal death, much like the blood of the lambs the Israelites would paint over their doorways so that death would Passover them.
"Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”
He said to him, “You have said it.” And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
(Matthew 26:17-30)
The word communion means: "the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level"
So, Communion, which is connected to Passover/ the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is a reminder of the price for our salvation and a chance for us to rededicate ourselves to the Lord. It doesn't have to be taken only during Passover, or only sometimes in church, but we can remember it every day because every day he gives us the chance to receive His salvation and His word. Just some food for thought...
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Upcoming Events:
Special Prayers:
Continue praying for Conrad Sack and the Sack Family for healing and patience
Pray for Gizelle for healing and comfort
Pray for Aliyah, Monica, and Gloria for guidance and healing
Pray for the people of Ukraine that the Lord be with them
Pray for the continued healing of our church.
Weekly Devotional: You are on the Path
You are on the path of God's choosing. There is no randomness to your life. Here and now compromise the coordinates of your daily life. Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived. They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place. They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space. They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present.
Every moment is alive with Christ's glorious Presence, to those whose hearts are intimately connected with Him. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Him, you will find that you simply have no time for worry. Thus, you are freed to let the Holy Spirit direct your steps, enabling you to walk along the path of Peace.
Young, S. (2n.d.). Jesus calling: Enjoying peace in his presence: Devotions for every day of the year. Integrity Publishers.
"And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?"
(Luke 12:25-26)
"To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace."
(Luke 1:79)
Verse of the Week:
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"
(Psalm 73:26)
Communal Outreach:
Please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com , call (970)405-3053, or connect with us on the Wix-app if you have any interest in the following...
Float Committee for Berthoud Days and the Berthoud Christmas Parade
Rebooting Youth Group
Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com or call (970)405-3053
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