“The What of Worship, Part 3” (Ready to Worship S11E7)

March 6, 2020

Ready to Worship Season 11, Episode 7 for Friday, March 6, 2020

This season on Ready to Worship, we are investigating worship. We are asking and answering the questions of an investigative reporter – who, what, when, where, why, and how. Again, this week, we are asking the question of WHAT. In the first two installments asking the WHAT question, we noticed what the word worship means (to kiss towards) and what part of speech the word worship is (a verb). In this week’s study, we are going to begin to examine what we are to do in worship. As you know, there are five acts of worship to examine in all. In examining the specific acts of worship, it makes sense to begin with the Lord’s Supper. After all, the Lord’s Supper is central to why we come together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). As you know, this memorial feast was instituted by our Lord on the night of His betrayal. Paul wrote, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:23-25). On betrayal night, one memorial feast, the Passover, was passing away. Another memorial feast, the Lord’s Supper, was beginning. The final Passover lamb, Christ, was being offered (1 Cor. 5:7). The blood of bulls and goats was being replaced once and far all by the blood of the Lamb of God (Heb. 10:1-4). Using two of the elements that had been used in observing the Passover – unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, Jesús instituted His memorial Supper. Instead of commemorating deliverance from the bondage of Egypt like the Passover, the Lord’s Supper commemorates deliverance from the bondage of sin. Furthermore, instead of a yearly observance like the Passover, the Lord’s Supper is a weekly observance (Ex. 12:14-28; Acts 20:7). As you know, the Passover was observed until Christ, the true Lamb, came the first time and was slain. The Lord’s Supper will be observed until Christ comes again (1 Cor. 11:26). The Passover was to be observed by God’s people (Hebrews, circumcised servants – Ex. 12:43-49). In like manner, the Lord’s Supper is for Christians. Although we do not practice closed communion, the Lord’s Supper is for those who have been baptized for the remission of sins (1 Cor. 1:2; 11:2, 26, 32). Just as the Passover looked in various directions (especially backwards and forwards), so does the Lord’s Supper. When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we look backward in commemoration (1 Cor. 11:24-25), forward in anticipation (1 Cor. 11:26), inward in examination (1 Cor. 11:28), outward in proclamation (1 Cor. 11:26), upward in adoration (1 Cor. 11:24), and downward in humiliation (1 Cor. 11:29, 31). If we will follow these simple steps, then what we do in observing the Lord’s Supper will be what it needs to be. As we get ready to worship this week, let’s focus on what we are doing in each of the acts of worship. This week, let’s pay special attention to the Lord’s Supper.