Eat This Bread Drink This Cup
The purpose of this podcast is to help individuals, groups and churches observe the Lord's Supper. The podcast includes a relevant portion of Scripture, brief commentary, prayer, and participation in partaking of the bread and drinking from the cup.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Eat This Bread Drink This Cup
Because You Trusted Me
The communion meditation today comes from the Old Testament, Jeremiah 39: 15-18. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
My hope is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!
Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Because You Trusted Me." I read from Jeremiah 39: 15-18. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
15 The LORD had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison: 16 “Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, 17 but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. 18 Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”
During the time when King Nebuchadnezzar paused his siege of Jerusalem to fight against Pharoah Hophra of Egypt, certain officials of Jerusalem went to King Zedekiah and convinced him that Jeremiah the prophet was a traitor and should die. Jeremiah had been preaching to the people of Jerusalem that they would live if they surrendered to the Babylonians. King Zedekiah agreed with their plan as he appeared powerless to stop them. They lowered Jeremiah into an empty cistern filled with mud and left him there to die. Most likely at the risk of his life, Ebed-melech, an important court official, went urgently to King Zedekiah, and implored him not do an evil thing and let Jeremiah be killed. King Zedekiah sided with Ebed-melech and sent him with thirty men to rescue Jeremiah from the cistern. What Ebed-melech did was a brave and heroic act for he trusted in God more than King Zedekiah, his army, his ally, Pharoah Hophra, the walls of the city, the false prophecies of Judah's priests and prophets, and concern for his own life. In return for his heroic act of faith, God saved Ebed-melech. God said, "I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe." While all the faithless Jews were perishing, God saved a faithful Ethiopian! Just as God saved an Ethiopian court official who trusted in Him and rescued His prophet, God will save all who believe in His Son! Jesus came not only to preach, but He also came to offer His life on a cross to save us. As we assemble to partake of the bread and drink from the cup today, we remember Jesus and His love for us. We also trust in God's promises to us, and they are not unlike what Lord had spoken to Ebed-melech, "I will give you [eternal] life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe." Let us pray.
Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Thank-you, Abba, Father, for your faithfulness in remembering Ebed-melech. Stories like these from the Scriptures strengthen our faith. You show us that You love those who love You. Even more so, Abba, Father, we thank-you for sending Your Son, Jesus, to save us. In Jesus, You loved us before we loved You! As we partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we reaffirm our trust in You and Your promises to us. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.
And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"
Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."
Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!