The Treehouse Ep10: In Remembrance of Me (BFB May 4)

For the last several weeks we've been talking about how important it is to remember that God is faithful. When we feel discouraged or afraid, we can remember all the amazing things God has done in the past. And when God does something great for us, we can make reminders so we don't forget.

Today, we're going to talk about one more thing that helps us remember. We call it "communion". Communion at church is when we pass around the plates with little pieces of bread (sometimes they're more like crackers), and tiny cups of grape juice. You may have noticed that only some people take the bread and juice, or that you're only allowed to take them after you've asked Jesus to be your Savior. Let's look closely at why that is and what this is all about.

We'll start by reading Luke 22:14-20. When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

So Jesus and his disciples have gathered together to celebrate something called Passover. Do you remember what that story is that was so important in the Old Testament? The story that has kept popping up over the last few weeks? Yup, that's it. The one where God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Our focus has been on the miracle when God parted the Red Sea, but there was another very important thing that happened.

Before Pharaoh agreed to let his slaves go, there were ten different plagues. Everything from frogs and gnats, to the water turning to blood and the sky being totally dark for three days. But the hardest plague of all was when all the firstborn sons in Egypt died in the night. In order for the Israelites to be safe, God told them to kill a perfect little lamb, one without even any markings on its wool. They were to take the blood from the lamb and use it to paint around the doorpost of their houses. As long as their homes were covered in the blood of the lamb, the angel of death would pass over.

Did you hear what I said? Pass over. This is where the name "Passover" came from. And while the angel of death was moving through Egypt, the Israelites were eating a meal God told them to make. He had instructed them to make bread without any yeast. You see, when you bake with yeast it takes a lot of time because you have to wait for the bread to get big and fluffy usually two times before you bake it. It's delicious but it takes all day. God knew the Israelites weren't going to have all day to sit around and bake bread. He knew that Pharaoh's first born son would die and when that happened Pharaoh would tell the Israelites to leave now! And they needed to be ready. So they baked this bread without any yeast and waited to see what God would do.

And sure enough, the Israelites got to leave Egypt. Then, after they crossed the Red Sea and were safe and sound, God commanded them to always remember what he had done to save them with a festival called Passover. Every year the Israelites would eat the bread without any yeast and tell the story to their children and grandchildren of how God saved them from slavery. So when Jesus was living it was well over a thousand years later and the Israelites are still remembering to celebrate Passover every year. There's actually several stories that tell us about Jesus celebrating Passover.

In the passage we're reading today, it is the last time Jesus would celebrate Passover. In fact, that very night Jesus was arrested. The next day, on a Friday, Jesus was crucified. And then on Sunday, Jesus came back to life!

Let's look again at exactly what Jesus said. Verses 19 & 20 say, "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

Jesus was taking the bread and the wine which was for Passover and making a new tradition. We call it communion. He said that the bread was to help us remember his body which was given for us. And he said that the wine reminds us of his blood which was poured out for us. He wanted us to always remember how his blood covered our sins when his body was hurt and broken on the cross. Remember how it was the blood of the lamb that covered the doorways for the Israelites back in Egypt? Can you guess what another one of Jesus's names is? He is the Lamb of God. And this is why. His blood was the payment for our sins. It covers our sins up so we don't have to be punished for them anymore.

This is why communion is only for people who have asked Jesus to be their Savior. Their sins have been covered by his blood! So they can be part of this special tradition where we remember what Jesus did for us. And this is a tradition that we will do until Jesus comes back again! It's already been two thousand years since Jesus went back to heaven, and we're still doing communion to remember him. Jesus told us that someday he will come back and when we're with him again we will have a big feast to celebrate! So communion also reminds us that Jesus is coming back and we can spend forever and ever with him, feasting and celebrating.

If you think you might be ready to ask Jesus to be your savior, you can talk to your parents or another grown-up. Children are so important to God, you mean so much to him! And you don't have to wait to be a grown-up to be saved. But it is a very important thing, so it's important you understand about sin and why we need a savior, and why Jesus is the only one who can save us.

Parents and other grown-ups, in the show notes for this episode, we've included some additional things to talk about as well as prayer. There are no magic prayers or words though! We know that God looks at the heart so don't worry about getting the words just right.

I'm going to close this episode with a prayer. No matter what, we can always pray and thank Jesus for what he's done for us and ask him to keep speaking to our hearts.

Discussion Guide

• If your child has already asked Jesus to become their Savior, take a little bit of time to discuss again what that means. It's good for all of us to hear the gospel again and be refreshed with the joy of salvation. 
• If your child wants to ask Jesus to be their Savior--that's the best news! Take a few minutes to talk about how our sin keeps us from God, but when we are truly sorry for our sins and want Jesus to became the leader of our lives, we can be forgiven! And when we are forgiven and Jesus is our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our hearts, and he will never leave us. 
• This is an example of a prayer you could use, but remember, it's not the words that matters. What matters is your child's heart and desire to be right with God. 
• Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner and I need a savior. I ask you to forgive me and make me clean inside like you. I want you to be my Savior and the leader of my life. I thank you for dying on the cross for me and for loving me so much. I love you too. Amen! 
• If your child (or you!) prays that prayer, please let us know! You can leave a comment on this blog, message us through Facebook, call the church at 614-837-7122, or email us through our website. We want to celebrate with you! Angels are already rejoicing in heaven!