We live in a violent and uncertain world. It’s virtually impossible to pick up the paper or turn on the radio without being confronted with some fresh atrocity or outbreak of unrest. War and terrorism are no longer things which just happen in distant places, but have the ability to touch us and our loved ones, personally. There are times when we feel like crying out like the prophet Jeremiah, “We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.” (Jeremiah 8:15, NIV)

In addition to the issues which affect our world and our society, many of us face more personal troubles. Some of us, or our loved ones, have serious health problems. Sometimes we wonder where the money is going to come from to pay the bills. Even more distressing are the problems we have getting along with other people, especially people we deeply care about.

We also face temptations which assault us daily. Some of these are caused by our own desires. Or, temptation might take the form of peer-pressure to do what we know is wrong.

The pressure from the burdens, anxieties and trials of life can be overwhelming. It is easy to get discouraged and cry out, “Why?!”

One of the reasons we assemble together each week is to remember that what we see around us and the trials we experience are not the whole story. We gather to remember what Jesus has done. Whenever we get discouraged or start to lose hope, we can put things into their proper perspective by looking at Jesus. Hebrews 12, verses 2 through 4 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.” (NIV)

Jesus went through more trouble, rejection and pain than any of us will ever have to encounter. Why did He endure it? What enabled Him to endure it? What enabled Him to scorn the shame? It was because He was looking beyond the temptation, beyond the betrayal, beyond the suffering, beyond the shame, beyond the cross to the joy that was waiting for Him. Jesus died a terrible death, in terrible circumstances, but that was not the end of the story. On the third day He rose from the dead and entered into joy.

The remarkable thing is that Jesus offers His followers the opportunity to share in His joy. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can look beyond our anxieties, our fears, our trials and our suffering to see what is really important. In Him we find the strength to not only endure but to triumph over our circumstances. But this is not all. In Christ, we can not only look forward to sharing in His joy, He has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment on what is to come. Isn’t it interesting that one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy? We can have joy in the midst of whatever troubles or problems we are experiencing, and this joy is only a small foretaste of the joy that shall be ours, with Christ, in eternity.

Each week we come together to eat a small piece of bread which reminds us Christ’s broken body. We drink a cup of juice to remind us of His blood which was shed for us. These are reminders, not only of His suffering, but also of the joy which lies beyond the suffering. He has given these reminders to us so that we will not grow weary or lose heart. They help us to take our eyes off our troubles and to fix our gaze on Him. There is a hymn which reminds us to, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.” (The Heavenly Vision, Helen H. Lemmel, 1922.)

But this assumes that we are in Christ. We cannot experience the joy of Christ until we, first, submit our lives to Him. If you are not in Christ; if you do not know him, then these emblems are not for you. If you would like to make them yours; if you would like to become a Christian; if you would like to know how you can experience the joy which is found in Christ, then please talk to one of us later and we will be glad to explain the process to you.

As we partake of the emblems this morning, let us fix our eyes on Jesus once again. Let us remember that He endured and overcame. Let us remember that in Him we also can endure, and let us rejoice in the hope that Christ gives us.

Let’s pray.

Luke records that just prior to His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus ate a meal with His disciples. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”” (Luke 22:19-20 NIV)

We’ve read and heard those words so many times that we tend to gloss over them and miss the meaning. What did Jesus mean when He called the cup a ‘new covenant’? What is a covenant? Another word for ‘covenant’ is ‘testament.’ Our Bible is divided into two sections which we call the Old and New Testaments. We call them that because they describe the two major covenants which have defined God’s relationship with mankind. Jesus called the covenant He was instituting ‘new’ because it supersedes the covenant which God had established with the Jewish people. But what is a covenant? A covenant is usually defined as a binding agreement between parties with stipulations and promises.

Who are the parties in the new covenant? God is one of them, we are the other. In order to bring the covenant into effect, Jesus Christ acted as the mediator between us and God.

What are the stipulations of the new covenant? In other words, what are the parties obligated to do? Reams could, and have, been written in answer to this question. In summary, our obligation is to answer God’s call and to accept Jesus as our Lord and Christ. For His part, God has obligated Himself to redeem us from the penalty of sin. He did this through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

What are the promises in the new covenant? It is interesting to note that in the new covenant, the promises are all on God’s side. We cannot promise Him anything, for aside from our self, which belongs to Him anyway, we have nothing we can give. Very briefly, among the things which God promises in the new covenant are, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, eternal life, a kingdom, participation in the divine nature and a new heaven and earth.

This whole process is summarized in Hebrews 9:15 where it says, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (NIV)

So far, I’ve talked about the new covenant in terms of a contract. While it is mind-blowing that God would bind or obligate Himself to do anything for us, there is much more involved in the biblical concept of covenant than just entering into a contract. When someone initiates a covenant, he has the best interests of the other party in mind. Not only is the covenant in the best interests of the other party, but if the other party is in danger of defaulting or breaking the covenant, he will extend whatever help is possible to help the other party keep the covenant. The Old Testament uses a Hebrew word hesed to express this. It is usually translated by words such as ‘faithfulness’ or ‘loving-kindness.’ When the Old Testament talks about God’s love or faithfulness, it often refers to God’s actions which are designed to help His people keep the covenant they have entered into with Him.

The concept of hesed is carried over into the New Testament. It shows up in the words mercy and grace. When we read of God’s mercy, when we speak of God’s grace, we are really talking about what He is doing to help us either come into covenant relationship, or keep covenant with Him.

Today we’re here to remember what Jesus has done for us. In the verse with which I began this talk, Jesus gave the bread and cup to His disciples as a memorial. Each week we eat the bread, we drink the cup to remember that Jesus gave His life so we can enter into a covenant relationship with God. These emblems not only remind us of what Jesus has done, they are also part of God’s mercy and grace to us. In helping us to remember, they also help us to renew and keep the covenant.

Let’s pray.

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us probably have a little trouble with authority. The truth is that we have a tendency to resent it. We’re an independent lot and we don’t like somebody telling us what to do. We like to be in charge and, quite frankly, we like to think that we know more and better than the other guy.

Resentment of authority can affect all sorts of areas in our lives. Take home life. One reason teenagers sometimes have trouble living by the standards of the household is that they don’t want to acknowledge the authority their parents have just because they are parents. The New Testament instructs wives to be submissive to their husbands, and husbands to be submissive to their wives. Why do we sometimes have trouble with this concept of submission? Part of it is that we don’t want to acknowledge the other person’s authority.

Resentment of authority can land us in trouble with the law, too. It may be a relatively subtle thing, such as grumbling about the speed limit or some other traffic regulation which cramps our style. Then, if we decide the regulation doesn’t apply to us, we increase the amount of our ticket by venting on the policeman who pulled us over. A lot of us find ourselves muttering under our breath at tax time, as well.

Resentment of authority can also make life miserable at work, both for us and the boss. In extreme cases it can lead to losing a job.

Most importantly, resentment of authority has a spiritual impact. You’ve all heard of the Great Commission. That’s the name we give to Jesus’ command to his disciples to preach the gospel throughout the world. It is interesting to me that Jesus bases his command on his authority. He said, “All authority… has been given to me. Therefore go…” (Matthew 28:18-19 NIV) If we resent authority, we may do what Jesus said, but we won’t be happy while we’re doing it.

But there is something which can make all the difference in the world. It’s that little, four-letter word called love. When we really love someone we are willing to cheerfully do all kinds of things for them that we would otherwise resent. The next time we find ourselves resenting what our parents, our spouse or our boss asks us to do, it would be good for us ask whether we love them as we should.

This is especially true in regard to Jesus. If we resent doing what he’s told us to do, we need to take another look at our love. We have no reason to resent him. In fact, quite the opposite. The Apostle John reminds us, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 NIV) Every time we find ourselves resenting something Jesus has told us to do, we need to remember that he loves us. With him love is not just a word, he showed his love for us by giving us his life. Is it asking too much to love him back? In view of what he’s done, is cheerful obedience too much to ask in return? Jesus told his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:13-14 NIV)

Each week we participate in a memorial to remind us of Jesus’ love. We eat a small piece of bread which reminds us of his body which he sacrificed for us. We drink a cup of grape-juice which reminds us that it is Jesus’ blood which cleanses us from our sins. As we remember Jesus’ love for us, let’s ask ourselves how much we love him in return. Let’s place ourselves under his authority once again.

Let’s pray.