Holy Communion Reading

I was up past midnight on Saturday night, yes, on the eve of Palm Sunday 2018, writing this reading to introduce holy communion for the Sunday morning worship services. I hope God embraces you with these very personal words given to me. 

Holy Communion Introduction — Palm Sunday 2018 

Reader 1: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be Loved fully — yes, to be Loved so fully — as to never need to fear the rejection of people again.

Reader 2: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be satisfied completely — yes, to be satisfied so completely — as to never experience emptiness again in our never-dying souls. 

Reader 1: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be totally identified — yes, to be so totally identified with Him — as to never be deceived by anyone again concerning the priceless value of who we are in His eyes.

Reader 2: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be so wondrously strengthened — yes, to be so very wondrously strengthened —  as to never worry about our own weakness ever again, because His strength is made perfect in our limitations. 

Reader 1: To accept the invitation to the communion table of our Lord Jesus is to be so gloriously filled to overflowing by His Presence — as to never deny another day in our lives, that “Christ in us is surely the Hope of glory”, yes, the hope of His glory flows forever to us and through us.

Pastor: Let us come to the table, accepting in these sacred moments a renewed and a right relationship with The One called Wonderful — yes, let us come to the table — to love more intricately and to know more intimately — the One called Jesus The Nazarene. 

Let us come...

with holy hearts to remember, 

with whole-hearts to recommit, 

with broken-hearts to repent, even with tender-hearts to be reclaimed. 

As we accept His invitation to receive these elements of communion that represent Jesus Himself — the bread — His broken body, and the cup — His poured-out Blood, we recall the 7-word-prayer of Benediction that Jesus, The Son, prayed to The Father in His High Priestly Prayer— the words are recorded in John, chapter 17 and verse 26 — “that I Myself May be in them.”

If you have turned from all sin  — or if you will now turn from all sin — and turn totally to Him, you are invited to come to the communion table of our Lord... beginning now. Jesus says: “Come, you will surely not be rejected!” 

Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus!” Rev. 22:20

Grateful