Introduction: Bishop John Spong of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey was in the news again a few weeks ago. He has been saying that 2000 year old Christianity is too out of date for our generation, and that we should change it. He says that people no longer can believe in an actual incarnation, a virgin birth, and a blood sacrifice for sins. But here we come to the very heart of Christianity. The blood sacrifice for our sins IS Christianity, not just a part of it. If you give up the death of Jesus on the cross to pay for your sins, you have given up Christianity for a different religion. Today we will celebrate the Lord's Supper, which is a memorial of Jesus' death. Let's find out what it means.

I. The Lord's Supper is the New Testament embodiment of what the Church already did 1500 years before Jesus was born.

A. The Passover prefigured the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 5:7 and Exodus 12).

1. The lamb was killed.
2. The lamb's blood protected from the angel of death.
3. The people ate the lamb together.
4. This Passover feast was ordained as a perpetual ordinance in the OT church.

B. The manna and the water from the rock prefigured the Lord's Supper
(See I Corinthians 10:1-4; Exodus 16:4, 15 and 17:5-6).

1. Jesus is our bread from Heaven (John 6:30-35).
2. Jesus is the water the gives life (John 4:10-14).

II. Jesus Instituted the Lord's Supper, and explained it (Matthew 26:26-28).

A. "This is my body," of the bread.
B. "This is my blood," of the wine.
C. There are three views of what he meant:

1. Trans-substantiation -- the elements actually become His flesh and blood
2. Con-substantiation -- Jesus actual body and blood are intermingled with the bread and wine.
3. Metaphor -- the bread and wine are symbols, and Jesus' actual body and blood are not there. But we nevertheless feed on Him in a spiritual way through faith.

III. The Apostle Paul tells us that there are requirements for those who would partake of the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:18-34):

A. Come together in peace and love.
B. Come as a person who is able to discern the Lord's body and blood: a mature believer.

Conclusion: The Lord's Supper is a memorial of the death of Jesus. We discern his body and blood. We remember that He died for us on the cross, to make an atonement for our sins, to save us from the angel of death that will pass over the world on Judgment Day. It is not for children too young to understand. It is for mature believers who know what they are doing, and who have come together in peace and love.