2025 Orlando Memorial Service

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Short Summary
The discourse centers on the solemn observance of the Lord’s memorial, emphasizing the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice symbolized by the bread and the cup. It highlights Jesus as the perfect, sinless man who gave his life as a ransom for humanity, inviting believers to spiritually partake in his sacrifice through faith, self-examination, and consecration. The memorial serves as both a remembrance of Jesus’ death and a call for believers to emulate his example by living sacrificial lives united in faith and hope for future resurrection and eternal life.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on the Lord’s Memorial

Opening and Purpose of the Memorial Service:
– The service begins with hymn number 208, “Grace and Part,” sung seated, followed by an opening prayer by Brother Bob Goodman.
– The prayer expresses humble gratitude to God for the privilege to honor Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, emphasizing Jesus’ perfect and loving life, his victory over sin and death, and the worldwide brotherhood of believers.
– The memorial is described as a solemn remembrancer, an honor to Jesus, and a gathering of like-minded believers who follow Christ’s example and command to remember His sacrifice.

Historical and Scriptural Context of the Memorial:
– The memorial commemorates the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples in the upper room, where He instituted a new feast replacing the traditional Passover.
– Jesus gave two simple emblems: bread and the cup (fruit of the vine), symbolizing His body and blood given for a ransom for the sins of the world.
– The Greek word for Jesus’ “desire” to partake with His disciples conveys intense longing, underscoring the importance of love, unity, humility (e.g., foot washing), and sacrifice among believers.
– The memorial is kept not as an obligation with penalty but as a privilege to honor Jesus, who lived a perfect, consecrated life to glorify God.
– Jesus’ life serves as the standard for perfect humanity and redemption, as angels could not accomplish this task.

Scriptural Readings Emphasizing the Passover and Jesus’ Role:
Exodus 12:1-14, 24-27 (NASB): Details the original Passover instructions with the unblemished lamb whose blood was placed on doorposts to protect Israel’s firstborn from the plague. This event is a memorial ordinance to be observed forever.
John 6:27-40, 47-58, 63: Jesus teaches that He is the “bread of life” sent from heaven, giving eternal life to those who believe. He emphasizes the necessity of “eating His flesh” and “drinking His blood” symbolically to have life, clarifying that spiritual life comes from the Spirit, not literal flesh.
Isaiah 53:3-7: Prophecies regarding the suffering servant who was despised and pierced for humanity’s sins, bearing griefs and sorrows without protest, like a lamb led to slaughter.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8: Paul urges believers to remove “old leaven” (sin, malice) and celebrate the feast with sincerity and truth, recognizing Christ as the sacrificed Passover lamb.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and 11:23-28: Paul recounts Jesus’ institution of the memorial, the bread as His body, the cup as the new covenant in His blood, and instructs believers to examine themselves before partaking.

Hymn and Reflection on Jesus’ Sacrifice:
– Hymn number 168, “What a Savior,” is sung, praising Jesus’ sacrifice.

Exposition on the Bread (by Brother Stephen Yike):
– Jesus identified Himself as the “living bread” (John 6:33, 51), whose flesh would be given for the life of the world.
– The bread symbolizes Jesus’ perfect human body, given as a ransom to justify and redeem mankind (1 Timothy 2:5-6; John 1:14; 1 John 4:2).
– Jesus alone qualified as the perfect man (Hebrews 7:26) to pay the ransom by laying down His life voluntarily.
– Believers who consecrate themselves partake of the benefits of this sacrifice spiritually, being presented holy and blameless (Colossians 1:21-22; 1 Peter 2:24).
– The breaking of bread symbolizes Jesus’ body broken for us; bread as food provides nourishment spiritually through His teachings, example, and life.
– Daily spiritual nourishment is needed, as symbolized by Jesus being the bread of life (Matthew 6:11; John 6).

Exposition on the Cup (by Brother Larry McClellan):
– The cup represents Jesus’ blood of the new covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:27-28).
– The cup symbolizes Jesus’ life poured out unto death — the ultimate sacrifice.
– The bread and the cup together represent two parts of one sacrifice: the ransom price (bread) and the life poured out (cup).
– Believers participate secondarily by offering their lives in sacrifice with Christ (Romans 6:6; 2 Corinthians 4:8-11).
– Drinking the cup signifies sharing in Christ’s sufferings and dying to self daily (Philippians 3:10; Luke 14:27).
– The memorial primarily commemorates Jesus’ death but also invites believers to “drink” of the cup of sacrifice, suffering, and self-denial.
– The discourse highlights historic and ongoing sacrifices made by Christians for their faith, including suffering, persecution, and loss.
– The cup also symbolizes the shame and ignominy Jesus endured and the believer’s call to follow His example in self-sacrifice.
– Scripture references emphasize the unity of Christ and His followers as one body sharing in sufferings (Hebrews 2:10; Colossians 1:24-26; 1 Peter 4:12-13).
– The discourse concludes with the hope of a future “cup of joy” in the Kingdom, contrasting with the cup of suffering now.

Closing Hymn and Prayers:
– Hymn number 122, “Christ Our Passover,” is sung.
– Prayer on the bread thanks God for Jesus’ perfect sinless life, His willing sacrifice, and asks for spiritual awareness of the emblem’s meaning.
– Prayer on the cup praises God for Jesus’ shed blood, expresses gratitude for His willing endurance of shame and suffering, and asks for worthiness to partake.
– The service closes with hymn number 135, “Near the Cross,” reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice and glory.

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Key Bible Verses Mentioned:

Exodus 12:1-14, 24-27 – Original Passover instructions.
John 6:27-40, 47-58, 63 – Jesus as the bread of life; necessity of eating His flesh/spirit.
Isaiah 53:3-7 – The suffering servant prophecy.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 – Remove old leaven; celebrate with sincerity.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-28 – Institution of the memorial; self-examination.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 – Jesus as the one mediator and ransom.
John 1:14; 1 John 4:2 – The Word made flesh; confessing Jesus in the flesh.
Hebrews 7:26 – Jesus as holy, harmless, undefiled.
Colossians 1:21-22; 1 Peter 2:24 – Reconciliation and living unto righteousness.
Romans 6:6 – Crucified with Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 – Sharing in Christ’s dying and life manifested.
Philippians 3:10 – Fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
Luke 14:27 – Bearing one’s cross to follow Jesus.
Hebrews 2:10 – Jesus perfected through suffering; brethren called brethren.
Colossians 1:24-26 – Filling up afflictions as Christ’s body members.
1 Peter 4:12-13 – Rejoicing in suffering for Christ.
Matthew 26:26-30 – Jesus institutes the bread and cup memorial.

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Summary Conclusion:

This discourse thoroughly explores the spiritual significance of the Lord’s Memorial, highlighting Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death as the ransom for humanity. The bread symbolizes His body given for life, and the cup represents His blood poured out for forgiveness of sins. Believers are invited not only to remember Jesus’ death annually but to partake daily of the spiritual nourishment from His words and example and to share in His sufferings by self-sacrifice and faithfulness. The memorial is a solemn yet joyful occasion recognizing the hope of resurrection, the future Kingdom, and the believer’s calling to live in unity, holiness, and sacrifice, following Christ’s perfect example.

Transcript

As we celebrate our Lord’s memorial, a solemn remembrancer and his honor. Brethren, we’re going to begin our service tonight with the singing of hymn number 208, Grace and Part. We’re going to sing all the verses and remain seated, and then Brother Bob Goodman will open with a word of prayer. Begin our Service, hymn number 208, My Sweetest Darkest Worship.

Our kind and loving heavenly Father, in whom we move and breathe and have our being. Indeed we come to Thee at this time with humble hearts. Dear Father, we are so thankful to be able to rejoice and reflect on this very special privilege, this special invitation to come higher to sacrifice our all that we might be found worthy of a crown, and especially we want to focus in on the gift of Thy dear Son, the perfect light poured out perfectly on behalf of ourselves as well as the world of mankind. We desire, dear Father, that in some small way we may emulate fully the life of Jesus.

What a wonderful life it was. A life that willingly gave its all and did it in love and kindness. Dear Father, it is with a sincere desire that we come to celebrate this simple feast when we reflect on Jesus. Victory over sin, death, and we’re mindful as well, dear Father, of our brethren throughout the world, those who have gone before us in celebrating this memorial earlier in the day and those which will follow.

We desire that we might continue to be a worldwide brotherhood and support and edify one another, and dear Father, we consider that little all of our sacrifices in relationship to the all that Jesus gave. He gave all that he could and he did it willingly and lovingly. Now we pray you would be with us during this meeting, be with our leaders that we might be found worthy of partaking of this simple feast. Dear Father, we ask thy continued blessing on each head bowed here, we ask all these things in Jesus dear name.

Amen.

Thank you for that beautiful prayer, brother Bob.

Brethren, it’s good to be here together this evening. It’s a wonderful thing to be gathered tonight to observe our Lord’s immemorial, and as our Lord gathered His disciples to be with him to observe the Passover nearly two millennia ago, we even now at the end of the age, are following his requests, and we’re gathering to remember him and his sacrifice with those of like precious faith. All of those who have named the name of Christ.

That night in the upper room, our Lord gave them a new feast to celebrate. It was no longer going to be reasonable to celebrate the typical Passover because the fulfillment of the type was about to be accomplished and the death of our Lord, and so a new feast our Lord would establish for them to observe and for us by two simple emblems, the bread and the cup with the fruit of the vine, our Lord Jesus would show his life, given for a ransom and for the sins of the world, and provide our justification. Jesus said that it was with desire that he partake with his disciples, and this Greek word desire was with such an intensity that nothing else could take its place.

He absolutely wanted to be there with them, and he knew that this would be the last chance for them to have any time together intimately where he could express his love for them and his desire that they love one another and not forget to follow his example, that they should do the smallest things for each other, such as washing each other’s feet, and even make the greatest sacrifice for one another, laying down their lives for each other, and tonight we’re going to have scriptures read concerning the Passover type and scriptures that show our Lord and his fulfillment of these pictures, and we’ll also have our fellow servants speak on the bread and the cup, and we, as the body of the Heavenly Father’s ecclesia, will partake of the emblems.

And we keep this memorial of our Lord’s sacrifice in remembrance of his death, not because it’s required. There was no penalty associated with it, but it’s because we want to honor our Lord, and he asked us to keep it so, not just out of obedience, but because we realize it’s a privilege to honor our Lord Jesus, who was so great an example of life lived to honor and glorify the Heavenly Father. He gave so much and set an example of what a consecrated life should be. The record of his life will be used in the kingdom to teach the world of mankind about all that was done on their behalf.

And it will be the standard of what a perfect human being must attain. He was the perfect one chosen to be the sacrifice. He loved mankind. Remember, the angels tried to help. They made things worse.

And there was no one on earth that could do what he did. Proverbs 8, 30 and 31 from the New living translation says, I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence, and how happy I was with the world he created and how I rejoiced with the human family. Oh, how Jesus loved the Heavenly Father, wanting to be part of fulfilling his plan to give all, to save mankind and to bring many sons to glory.

Over the last few months, we’ve taken the time to focus our thoughts on and our understanding of the emblems. So as the Apostle Paul urges us to have our hearts prepared to partake of this solemn feast, this remembrancer, we purge out the old leaven of malice and envy and selfishness and ignominy anything that might be against our family, any of our neighbors or friends, or even our brethren, and I’m sure many of us prayed King David’s prayer that the Lord would forgive our shortcomings and even cleanse us from our secret faults. Paul goes on to tell us in 1 Corinthians 11:28 he says, Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Let a man examine himself.

No one in this room has the right to judge the heart and intentions of a brother or a sister. Let the Lord be the judge always. In the sixth volume, Brother Russell, page 409 talks about examining he says, examine your heart, not your life. He that judges his heart, his motives, his will, his intentions, should always be able to find that it’s true to the Lord, however much his life may come short of his new will. Let each note the weakness and filthiness of his fallen flesh, and seek to cleanse himself, putting off the deeds of the old man and being renewed, change from glory to glory.

Also can we ask ourselves and answer in our hearts truthfully, do I heartily accept the ransom that’s memorialized? Do I consecrate my entire being, my flesh and blood justified through faith in that ransom to the Lord, to be broken with him, to suffer with him, to be dead with him? And if we can answer these questions affirmatively, we clearly are fully discerned Lord’s body and give credit to his meritorious sacrifice, and we may eat, and we should eat, eat and drink ye all of it. For to not observe would be to minimize the request of our Lord Jesus, and the importance of the sacrifice of his life and the value of the precious bloodshed.

So brethren, let us partake with one spirit, one body, and may we glorify our Lord with this simple service. Now we would like to have some scriptures read by our dear brother ernie kinsley.

Exodus 12 verses 1 through 14 reading from the New American Standard Version now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, this month shall be the beginning of months for you. It is to be the first month of the year to you speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, on the 10th of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves according to their Father’s household a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for the lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them, according to what each man should eat. You are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male, a year old.

You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it between the evenings. Moreover, they shall take some of the food, some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and on the lentil of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.

Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roast it with fire, both its head and its legs, along with its entrails and you shall not leave any of it over until morning and whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner, with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments. I am the Lord, and the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you live.

And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. Reading from Exodus 12, verses 24 through 27 and you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever, and when you enter the land which the Lord will give you as he has promised, you shall observe this service.

And when your children say to you, what does this service mean to you? You shall say, it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes, and the people bowed low and worshiped.

Reading From John the sixth chapter, verses 27:40 do not work for the food which perishes but the but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on him the Father God has set his seal. Therefore they said to him, what shall we do so that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered them and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe in him who he has sent. So they said to him, what then do you do for a sign so that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written. He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, truly, truly, I say unto you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to him, lord, always give us this bread.

And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst. But I say to you, you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me, and this is the will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing but raise it up the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who believes the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.

Reading Further, in John 6, verses 47 to 58, and then 63, truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven.

If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever, and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say unto you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

And I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as your fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.

It is the Spirit which gives life the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and our life.

And finally, reading from Isaiah 53, verses 3 through 7 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief from and like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried and yet we ourselves esteemed him, stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities, the chastening for our well being fell upon him and by his scourging we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each one of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon him. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, and yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that is silent before its hearers, so he did not open his mouth.

Now Brother J will continue our scripture reading.

First Corinthians 5:6, 8. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened for Christ. Our Passover also has been sacrificed.

Therefore let’s celebrate the feast not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

And from First Corinthians 10, 16, 17 is the cup of blessing which we bless. Not a sharing in the blood of Christ is the bread which we break, not a sharing in the body of Christ. Since there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf and 1 Corinthians 11:23 28 for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread and and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Philippians 3:10.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Thank you, brethren. We will now sing hymn number 168, what a Savior. We’ll sing all the verses and remain.

Hallelujah. Pro sarin. Be soon seal my garden with this blood. Hallelujah.

Brethren, we now have some remarks on the bread, and we’ve asked Brother Stephen Yike to give us those thoughts. Brother Stephen When Jesus instituted the memorial of his death with his disciples in the upper room, he said, concerning the emblem of the bread, as recorded in Matthew 26:26, take, eat, this is my body. What did Jesus mean by this statement? Earlier in his ministry he had hinted to its meaning when he said, quoting, as was already read earlier From John the sixth chapter, verse 33 and 51, he said, the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. In these verses Jesus made three very important points. First, he identified himself as the bread of God, or the living bread. Secondly, he said that the bread represented his flesh or his body, and third, he stated that he would give his flesh his earthly body for the life of the world.

Thus when he instituted the memorial of his death and said, take, eat, this is my body, Jesus was inviting his disciples in the upper room and us to partake of the benefits represented in the flesh that he would soon give for the life of the entire human race. Now, in the foregoing words From Matthew chapter 26 and John chapter 6, Jesus was in reality speaking in advance of the ransom to be provided by the death of his flesh, his body, which would in due time provide life for Father Adam and for the entire world. This was to be a ransom for all. Paul said in 1st Timothy 2, verses 5 and 6, the apostle John, when writing his gospel account much later, said, as recorded in John chapter 1, verse 14, that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and in First John, chapter 4, verse 2, this same apostle also declares, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.

John realized, having been begotten of the Holy Spirit, the important truth that in order to provide a ransom for Adam and his race, it was necessary that the redeemer be a man, be made flesh. But not only that, he must be a perfect man, an exact corresponding price to Adam before he sinned. Jesus, who Paul said in Hebrews 7:26, was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, was the only human being, the only one of flesh and blood, who met these qualifications as a perfect man. Jesus was not condemned to death as was the rest of the race. However, to provide the ransom price, he had to die.

Thus he voluntarily laid down his perfect human life, his flesh, his earthly body, literally, in order that the opportunity for a restoration of life might be made available to Adam and all his progeny. Now, in God’s plan there was to be an intermediate work before the benefits of the ransom would be available for the world in general. Both the apostles Paul and Peter speak of this aspect of God’s arrangement. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 21 and 22, we read these words of Paul. You that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight.

And in 1st Peter 2:24, the apostle Peter states, concerning Jesus, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. These words of Paul and Peter were spoken to all of those who have given themselves to the Lord in full consecration during this present gospel age, and when we partake of the emblem of the bread of this solemn memorial service, we will be acknowledging by way of remembrance the fact that in advance of the world, we have been given the great privilege of partaking of the benefits of Jesus redemptive sacrifice as shown by the death of his perfect flesh, his body. Thus we have been enabled to offer ourselves in consecration to God and to stand before him, as Paul says, unblamable and unreprovable, and as Peter said, to live unto righteousness by being begotten by God’s Holy Spirit, and remaining in this blessed position for the development of the new creature life, which has begun in us.

We have the hope of sharing with Jesus in the administration of the benefits of his redemptive sacrifice in the kingdom through the rest of the world of mankind, and also in assisting in the blessing and the uplifting of Adam and his race. This understanding should also be a part of our remembrance of Jesus as this symbolic bread of which we partake, and our daily faithfulness in partaking of Him. The bread of life, even unto death, will result in the great privileges we will have in the future beyond the veil to help and assist in blessing all of mankind. Now there’s another important lesson connected to this symbolic bread as represented in Jesus. Bread is food and provides nourishment.

And so when Jesus instituted the memorial supper as recorded and as we read in Matthew 26:26, the account further states that he took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples. You know, in olden times when bread was served at a meal, it was not sliced, as is mostly done today, but was in a loaf. The host would break off pieces of the loaf and give it to his guests to eat. This points out the fact that the bread served at a meal was not just to look at or nor merely just to admire as a decorative item on the table. It was broken in pieces and distributed for the purpose of eating.

It was food nourishment, sustenance in a very literal way. Symbolically speaking, Jesus was that loaf broken and given to us to eat and to appropriate as his disciples. As the Apostle Paul points out in First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 17, the dialogue translation. Now returning to John chapter 6, we find that Jesus emphasized in numerous statements the great importance of eating his flesh, this bread, this food as spiritual nourishment and life giving sustenance, and we’ve already had these verses read, but we’re just going to pick out certain portions of them.

For example, verse 27 says, labor not for the meat or the food which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life. Verses 32 and 33 Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven.

I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall Never hunger. Verse 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and verses 53 through 58 portions of these verses, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, ye have no life in you whoso eateth my flesh hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

For my flesh is meat indeed. He that eateth my flesh dwelleth in me, and I in him. He that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did, eat manna and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

You know, then, to impress upon his disciples the fact that he was not speaking of eating his literal flesh, Jesus says, as was also read earlier, recorded in verse 63, reading from Young’s Literal Translation, the spirit it is that is giving life. The flesh doth not profit anything. The sayings that I speak to you, they are spirit, they are life. Yes, it was the words Jesus spoke, his teachings, the record of his life, his example, his attitude, his character, and everything else which proceeded from his perfect flesh that we see and we understand. That is what constitutes the food, the bread broken for us to eat and be spiritually nourished thereby.

That’s what Jesus meant back in verse 57 when he said, he that eateth me shall live by me, that is, live according to my example and according to my words, and so when we pray, give us this day our daily bread recorded in Matthew 6:11. In addition to its temporal significance, it speaks of our daily need to partake of the spiritual food that we find exemplified in Jesus life, his words, and his example. Symbolically speaking, our Lord is the carcass, the one upon whom we, as the eagles, gather together to feast upon Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37. Dear brethren, as we partake of this annual memorial supper this evening, let us remember, as we partake of the bread, the perfect human life which Jesus gave up in order that we and the entire world might live.

Let us also call to mind the spiritual food, the bread broken for our nourishment, of which we are to partake daily of Jesus words, his teaching, his life, and his example, and finally, Paul wrote, christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. How? With the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, 1 Corinthians 5, 7, 8.

And so may these words encapsulate our symbolic feasting upon Jesus, the bread of life, not just this one night in the year, but each day of our pilgrim journey, even unto the end of our Christian walk, and now we’re going to have brother Larry McClellan give us some comments on the Matthew 26:27.

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and after blessing, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body, and when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you, my Father’s kingdom.

Yes, it appears Jesus drank from the cup. We believe this cup we partake of together this evening represents the shed blood. What Jesus did with what he had. As the scripture says, his soul poured out unto Deda. Primarily, it was his flesh sacrificed.

It was his life given up. Whereas we believe the bread basically represented the ransom price, that is what Jesus had in his perfect soul, the value of that perfect flesh, the value from which we derive justification by faith, which we too can, from a secondary standpoint, have something of value to sacrifice. Present your bodies plural. A living sacrifice. Present your bodies.

A living sacrifice, singular. From the divine standpoint, we suggest two parts of one sacrifice. Like the atonement Day sacrifices were of the bullock and of the Lord’s goat. So we understand that the bread represents what Jesus had and the cup represents what he gave up or what he shed forth. His perfect life sacrifice.

In the New Testament, we believe it presents it as a process that technically began at Jordan and ended Calvary, completed at Calvary. The cup offered primarily memorializes Jesus shed blood, his life poured out unto death. Tonight is primarily to commemorate his death. This do in remembrance of me. But we also believe, as did Brother Russell, that there’s the thought of us, the consecrated, as joining with Jesus as members of his body.

From a secondary viewpoint, pouring out our lives unto death, his life is made manifest in our mortal flesh and we sacrifice something with him secondarily, we are part of Him. That’s why the glorified Jesus told Saul, why persecutest thou me? Did Jesus mean just him personally? No, we were counted as him in this sense, as his body members. As the sin offering showed a joint participation.

As the Lord’s goat and the bullock’s blood commingled on the propitiatory seat, so too the blood, as it says in New American Standard Bible, is a sharing in the blood of Christ is not the cup of blessing which we bless. Notice a sharing in the blood of Christ.

Not the ransom, mind you. That was Jesus alone. But our blood has value as his blood’s virtue flows through ours. Kind of like a blood transfusion. As our dear brother Carl Hagensek used to say, we have no inherent value in our own blood.

The value is all in Jesus blood. 1st Corinthians 10:16. Notice again what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 4:8 to 11, that we are always caring about in the body, the dying of Jesus, so that notice, the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus sake. Notice, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So to me, whereas the bread shows the ransom, the focus here with the cup is more of a picture to me of the sin offering of Jesus and his invitation to the church body members to be poured out unto death with him. We believe it is a very great privilege that we who are consecrated to be buried with him in the likeness of his death, planted with him in death, and are invited to partake of the memorial cup here this evening. Based on our faith in the virtue of his perfect life represented primarily, we believe in the loaf or bread which brings our justification to life with consecration. Again, we have no part in the ransom itself. That was Jesus alone.

He and he alone was the world’s great ransom provider for Adam. To be clear, this memorial is primarily a commemoration of Jesus death. But in a sense the Bible tells us that we are crucified with Jesus from the book of Romans. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man notice, is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Romans 6, 6. Again, notice we are crucified with him. That’s what the Scriptures say. Although the memorial is mainly a remembrancer of Jesus, a memorial of his death primarily, we too, during the Gospel age have been invited to share this cup of pouring out our souls unto death, as he did, similar to our Master, but his death paid the ultimate price under the law. But during his ministry before that, Jesus said he was already drinking of the cup, the cup of suffering, the cup of sacrificing the cup, of pouring out his life, his soul unto death.

I believe that this cup is the same one that we are partaking of tonight. Yes, we believe that the drinking of this cup is what Jesus was referring to when he said, and notice this was after Jordan from the Rotherham version, and Jesus said unto them, the cup which I am to drink, ye shall drink, and with the immersion wherewith notice, I am to Be immersed, shall ye be immersed.

And again recall in the garden of Gethsemane. Remember, Jesus asked his Father, father, if it be possible, take this cup from me, the cup of ignominy and shame, if it be possible, but not my will, but thy will be done. Those of us who have given our all in a consecration to sacrifice, given up our life rights in the kingdom to do the will of God, we are the only ones who have this privilege of partaking of this cup this evening, the cup of suffering. Notice that the Scriptures clearly speak of this joint suffering with Jesus. I believe and would suggest that this evidently referred to his dying process, which in Jesus case led up to the extreme of having his nails driven.

Having nails driven into his hands and feet and then raised up on a wooden cross to be scoffed and mocked for six long hours, exhausted, until he said, it is finished and die. This cup represents the shame and ignominy connected with Jesus daily sacrifices which ultimately brought him to his death. Do we die daily? Paul said, I die daily. Do we sacrifice or suffer?

Do we not die to the hopes, aims and ambitions of this life? Do we not make many sacrifices for our brethren, our family and people in general, as unto him? Do we not sacrifice our human life rights to come back on this earth to be, as it was figuratively spoken, broken to the claims of human life in the kingdom? That’s huge. To be as he was, broken.

Do we not sacrifice our time, sacrifice our talents, sacrifice our influence, our money, the virtue of our physical or mental strength on behalf of our brethren? There are some who have sacrificed great job opportunities or even close family ties because of the truth, its doctrines or its principles. There are some who have even sacrificed their blood, gone to work camps like Siberia, been shot dead, been tortured, labeled as a felon, and many even burned at the stake for the privileges of suffering and sacrificing with him, our beloved Master, for the privilege of drinking of this cup we drink of tonight? Philippians 3:10 says that I might know him and the power of his resurrection, and notice the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death.

Yes, as we studied the example of not only Jesus, but the apostles, recently their lives were poured out unto death. Why? Because I believe they counted it a privilege to drink of this cup that we drink of tonight. Brethren, Jesus said, if you do not bear your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27.

What an incredible privilege to be invited to share these emblems tonight, to share the sufferings of Christ, all because of his meritorious sacrifice. Mainly because of the justification of life that we have received by our faith in the ransom. Let us all watch and pray to be conformed to his image, his example that he gave us, that we might all be faithful unto death and raised in the first resurrection. Let us memorialize his death primarily our dear Redeemer and the privileges secured through his meritorious ransom. Sacrifice.

What an amazing Savior. All these sacrifices, I believe, are part of our joint participation in the sufferings of Christ, the fellowship of his sufferings and in drinking of the symbolic cup that we drink of tonight. These willing sacrifices are demonstrations of your love and your loyalty to Jesus. We suffer with him that we might reign with him if faithful. This is part of bearing our cross, specifically taking a loss or disadvantage in some way because of what we say or make a stand for the truth or because of our lifestyle and practice as a Christian.

Your honesty, your truthfulness, your morality and your non conformity to this present evil world. This is part of what it means to drink this cup tonight. Can you Are you and I willing to drink of the cup that he drank of and be baptized with a baptism that he was being baptized with again? This is all part of our joint participation in the sufferings of Christ in the oneness of Christ that I believe the Apostle Paul teaches about in Hebrews 2:10. For it became him to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Now notice for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. The apostle goes on to tell us in Colossians 1, 24 and 26, that we fill up the afflictions left behind, that we are his body. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of his body, which is the Church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction, not in any lacking of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus human life, but in the totality of the composite Christ’s total human experience. These body members submit themselves to tailor made set of lessons by Jehovah of trials and afflictions that develop Christlikeness that chisel and polish for the purpose God has ultimately intended for them, namely the sympathetic, compassionate and caring priesthood. First Peter 4, 12, 13 and if faithful unto death, our Master said there was another cup.

No, not a cup of suffering like this time, but a cup of joy. Not the memorial cup that Jesus instituted in the beginning of the Gospel age, but one that we find its fulfillment in the mediatorial phase of the kingdom when it will be a cup of joy to the saints of glory, honor and immortality forevermore.

So, dearly beloved, let us all drink this cup of being joint sacrificers in some way now that if faithful, we can drink of the cup of joy in that glorious kingdom someday rejoicing forevermore with our beloved bridegroom, Christ Jesus. Let us memorialize his death, commemorate his heroic sacrifice and all the titanic benefits which primarily his death has secured. Let us all be planted together in the likeness of his death, dying daily that we can be raised in the likeness of his resurrection as his body. Members of the new creation, may we drink of this cup tonight. Sincerity and in truth fully appreciating the commitment we have all made and the basis of Jesus faithful and courageous sacrifice that gave us such a humbling opportunity.

The whole world is waiting. Let’s not let them down. Let’s not let our Father down that has invested so much tender loving care into each of our consecrated lives. Matthew 26:7, and when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Thank our brethren for those beautiful thoughts on the bread and the cup, and now brethren, let us sing hymn number 122, Christ Our Passover, with me.

Dear brethren, we’re going to have a scriptural reading once again quoting Matthew 26:26, and as they were eating, Jesus took bread and he blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body. That was a King James version of the Bible. Brethren, at this time we’re going to offer prayer on the bread.

Let us pray. Our dear, most kind and gracious loving heavenly Father, O giver of every good and perfect gift. Lord, be in the most holy and blessed name. Dear Father, again we’re focused and let our spiritual focus this evening in the days ahead beyond what great price was paid by our Lord Jesus for redemption from sin and death, for the world of mankind and leading way, and said he was faithful and gathering together his people in his name according to His Father’s plans and purposes, that there will be a kingdom of peace, love and joy, safety. No more death, no more rumors of war.

All these things would pass away and man will have an opportunity to live in a restored perfect earth forever. That’s what this breaking of the bread accomplished in our Lord’s life, and so again we’re thankful that he could come down to this earth being holy, harmless unto your father, suffering from sinners, laying down his life willingly on the cross, despising the shame, the ignominy and all these things he endured on behalf of all the world, mankind and on your behalf that he’s going to be yoked fellows together, one with another, with our dear Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. So this unleavened bread, free of sin. What a beautiful picture of the offering of our Lord and the teachings in the Scriptures for us to develop and that we might in our own way again have a spiritual focus on being yoked fellows together, one with another, with our dear Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

So we ask a blessing on this bread and have us all be fully aware of what these emblems represent. We thank thee for all things and pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Reading from Matthew 26 verses 27 and 28 from the RVIC and he took a cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all out of it, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many unto remission of sins.

Let us ask a blessing on the cup.

Our gracious loving Heavenly Father, we raise our voice in honor and praise to thee for all your many blessings and especially for the gift of your only begotten son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you and we pray your divine blessing on this cup, the symbol of the fruit of the vine being Jesus precious blood. Dear Father, we’re so grateful that your son was willing to go through the shame and disgrace to pour his life out on our behalf. We are so thankful for his example, his dedication to you and to your love that we desire to follow in his footsteps. Dear Father, help us to be worthy to participate in this cup.

Help us to handle the trials and testings to prove ourselves worthy to be poured out as our Redeemer was. Father, we pray and thank you for your will along this line, along this symbol, and we ask all this in Jesus precious name. Amen.

It Matthew 26:30 and when they sung a hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives. Brethren, we’re going to sing hymn number 135 near the cross. We’ll sing all the verses and that’ll conclude our service and our memorial service. The lord’s memorial his remembrance 135Jesus me in the Cross in the cross my glory ever till thy rest of soul shall find rest beyond the river in the cross Save the cross with my glory.

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