We had a ‘good’ service today.
A reflective time, with space for thinking and meditating.
Jim did an awesome rendition of “There is a Green Hill” with Eliot playing the tune “House of the Rising Sun”…..Jim is a senior man, and not in the best of health, but he sung this so well, a real moving moment.
We remembered Jesus together during communion, and I painted the picture of our spiritual heritage…coming as it does from the Israelite people. In particular I spoke about the Last Supper, and how Jesus transformed the Passover into what we now call communion. I bought a big loaf of flat bread, and a bottle of wine….and shared this
Passover is the oldest and most important religious festival in Judaism, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and his creation of the Israelite people. This feast was what Jesus and His disciples were celebrating during the last supper.
It was on that fateful night when Judas betrayed Jesus, that after Judas had left the room, Jesus transformed Passover into what we celebrate today, communion.
Communion today is very special as we realize that our spiritual heritage goes right back to the people of Israel, to that time that God rescued his people from slavery….today we celebrate communion on good Friday.
The primary symbol of Passover is the matzo, a flat, unleavened “bread” which recalls the hurriedly-baked bread that the Israelites ate after their hasty departure from Egypt.
The leader would have prepared the bread in three parts….he took the second part of the bread and broke it, saying that it represented the pain and affliction of the people.
When Jesus had the last Passover with his disciples, he took the second piece of bread and said this is my body, broken for you…Jesus took upon Himself the pain and affliction of his people.
Let us take this bread and eat it and remember the pain and affliction Christ took on Himself for us.
(Families help children)
At the Passover there were four cups of wine.
Freedom, Deliverance, Redemption, and Thanksgiving
The third cup represented the redemption of Gods people who would come through the promised Messiah.
It was during the third cup that Jesus held the cup up and said, this is my blood shed for you….He is the Messiah the Israelites were looking for, He is our Messiah, our Saviour…the one we are looking forward to seeing again…which is why we say that we celebrate this until He comes…
(explain grape juice, family friendly, please help your children)
Afterwards my wife had prepared a stack of hot cross buns with butter…it was nice to relfect with people afterwards and to remember what this day is all about, the most important day in our Christian calender.