Communion

A brief overview this week’s topic
It was the first day of training camp. The year was 1961.  Thirty-eight members of the Green Bay Packers football team arrived to start a brand-new season.  The previous season ended horribly for the Packers who squandered a lead to lose the NFL championship to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This was a new season, however, and the players arrived at training camp with great expectations of playing better, smarter and with more effective plays. Their coach, Vince Lombardi, had a different idea.

Author David Marannis recounted that day in his book, When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi:

“He took nothing for granted. He began a tradition of starting from scratch, assuming that the players were blank slates who carried over no knowledge from the year before… He began with the most elemental statement of all. “Gentlemen,” he said, holding a pigskin in his right hand, ‘this is a football.’”

This is an iconic story about the importance of the fundamentals — not just of a sport, but in any endeavor, including our spiritual lives.

Read Isa 46: 8-10; John 1:3-5; Gen 1:1-4; 1 John 4:16

1. What is God calling his people to “remember?” Isa 46:8-10
   • The former things of old.
   • That he is God.
   • The one who can tell us what will happen before it happens.
   • God’s purpose will eventually come to fruition.
   • Other.
2. How does John’s Gospel account begin? John 1:3-5
   • That Jesus is the Creator.
   • Jesus is the source of life.
   • Without Jesus there would be no creation.
   • Life was inherit in Jesus.
   • Jesus is the Light of life taking darkness away.
   • Other
3. What did John and Isaiah borrow from Moses? Genesis 1:1-4
   • They refer to the “beginning,” Creation.
   • There is darkness at the time of Creation.
   • God brings light into the darkness.
   • Other.
4. How did the apostle John come to his conclusion about God? 1 John 4:16
   • He was sure about God’s love for us.
   • He was sure in what he believed about God’s love.
   • God’s essence is love.
   • Abiding in love is abiding in God.
   • Other.

Darkness doesn’t have a source. It happens when the light goes away. Darkness doesn’t come in; the sun goes away. Light exposes that which hides in darkness. In the Bible, usually, darkness has to do with evil, and light has to do with God. God brings the light and gets rid of the darkness. I think you get the idea by now. 

As children of God, he calls us to be that light too. We are not the source of light. We receive the light that comes from God and reflect it to the world. It may be tempting to take credit for shining, but recognizing that we are “reflectors.” That should keep us humble. We realize that God is the source of light and life, and we are entirely dependent on him. How easily we forget this simple truth. Therefore, God’s constant words of “remember” are spread throughout the Bible. So, remember who created you. Remember who God is. Remember what he’s done. 

God’s festivals are events to remember how God acted in the past to save his people, mainly how God delivered Israel out of Egypt. Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and the rest of these feasts are visual, physical, and spiritual reminders to sear into the minds, hearts, and souls throughout the generations, how God dealt with darkness, and how he brought light. 

The Sabbath is a weekly reminder that God is our Creator and our Redeemer. This week at Carmichael, we will celebrate another one of those reminders - Communion. It’s the new Passover, a reminder of how God liberated us from the hands of the devil, like Pharaoh. A reminder of the blood of the lamb on the doorposts that kept them safe that dark night. A reminder of how fast they had to leave, so much so that they had no time to bring leaven with them, thus the unleavened bread. 

In the next couple of days, remember the past. Let’s not dwell on our shortcomings but thank God for bringing light into our darkness. If you haven’t experienced that light yet, consider the darkness that still exists in your life and how God wants to invade every dark crevice of your life and fill it with light. 
 
Apply

1. Remember when you gave your life to Christ. 
2. How do you “abide” in the light of God’s love?
3. What area of darkness in your life do you need to unlock to let God bring his light into?
4. Celebrate one of God’s “remember” this week by participating in Communion on Sabbath. 

Sharing the light of God is to be mere reflectors of his glory. When we remember what God has done, we recognize God’s work in our lives and our dependence on him. This daily, constant exercise would drive us to God to give thanks, confess our sins and repent of our sins. Practicing these spiritual disciplines keeps our “reflector” clean. What do I mean by that? Our lives are like mirrors that receive the light for ourselves and then spread the light to those around us. That’s why the mirror needs to be as clean as possible. A dirty mirror reflects, but imperfectly. In the spiritual life, we will never be a perfect reflection of God. Yet, God invites us to reflect His light on the world.

This week’s GO is more about us remembering what God has done for us, where he has brought us from, and where he is taking us toward. Having this awareness helps us reflect God more clearly. Reflections have no words. It just shows what’s in front of us. Practice a life of confession, repentance, and growth, and you will let your light shine, and people will see your good works. (Matthew 5:16).  

Apply

1. Share with someone your “remembrance” of God’s work in your life.
2. Acknowledge that our “mirror” is never fully clean while at the same time reflecting and sharing the light that you receive from God.
3. Remember to take people to the source of light and not to you, the reflector of light.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”- Genesis 1:1-3

“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.” 1 Corinthians 11:24