Manteca SDA Church

This Sabbath you are invited to join us for 'at home' communion.  I know that sounds strange.  How can you 'join us' 'at home?  We have already been joining together at home via online conference, so that's not hard.  But, you ask, how can we wash each others feet and share the emblems of Jesus' sacrifice together while we can't be together?  It turns out, that's not so difficult either.  The communion service is modeled on the Passover celebration which was from its beginning celebrated at home.  We could all just participate 'together' in our separate homes by all celebrating the same thing at the same time.  It is just a meal after all, though a very special one, and we're all used to cleaning the house, maybe putting up decorations, washing our hands, preparing food and drink, setting the table, praying, and eating a meal in our own homes.  This doesn't need to be any more difficult than that.  I believe that worship at home is the foundation of healthy worship at church, so why not use this social distancing experience as an opportunity to strengthen our worship experiences at home?  At the same time, however, communion is something we love to share as a whole church family, so here's what I'm proposing.  This Sabbath, we'll meet via conference call/online meeting, as we have the last two weeks, to share our 'long distance' worship time together, but because we'll be celebrating communion, you'll need to do some specific preparation in advance in order to participate fully. 

Here's what you'll need.

• Basin, towel, water.  If you don't have a communion basin at home, get out a mixing bowl or two, a bucket, or just use the tub to share the foot washing service with your family members.  If you don't have family with you, you can still wash your own hands and feet as a reminder that Jesus is graciously cleansing you.  During this time of heightened hand-washing, we can use even the physical act of washing our hands to remind us to be grateful for grace.
• Grape juice, cups
• Unleavened bread.  I'll include the basic communion bread recipe below, but you have several other options.  Original Triscuits are unleavened, as are tortillas, Matzo crackers, or Indian chapati bread. 
• Perhaps some candles or decorations or fancy dishes--Passover is a party, a celebration, though it contains a real mixture of joy over our redemption and sadness over the cost to our Savior.

(Note about kids:  The Passover included kids.  Though we generally practice communion as an experience for baptized believers, we don't want kids to be unwelcome.  If you have unbaptized kids with you at home, you could have a special treat or snack and juice for them separate from what you will use as the communion bread and juice, and of course kids like clean feet too!)

Kids will have a part to play.  In the traditional Passover meal, the children are given the job of asking questions about the Passover service in harmony with Exodus 12:26-27, 13:8 (NIV)  And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'  27 then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'"  13:8 On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' So I'll be asking for some kids to help with questions about the communion service. 

This is going to be different, for sure, but any change in our routine gives us the opportunity to get a fresh look at what our faith means.  So start preparing today.  The Passover was the celebration at the end of a seven day period during which the Israelites ate only unleavened bread.  God told them in Exodus 13:6-7   (NKJ) 6 "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.  7 "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.  Israelite families would take any yeast, or yeast bread out of their houses before the feast of unleavened bread.  Children traditionally get to help, doing a search throughout the house with a candle and a feather (maybe like a flashlight and a broom and dustpan) to make sure they had not missed anything.  This acted out parable represented searching one's own heart for anything impure, for resentment, hatred, grudges, envy, and making everything right with God and others as far as it depends on us.  (You may or may not want to have the kids empty all the frozen bread out of your garage freezer, but wouldn't that be a memorable experience, and an opportunity to talk to them about sincere repentance and having a clean heart?)  These next few days would be a good time to pray the prayer in Psalm 139:23-24  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Communion bread recipe

Maranatha, the Lord is coming. 

--Pastor Bruce

Special Music?  link https://youtu.be/Gnd2BSByyhc

Communion order of service

Welcome to “At Home with Jesus” our online communion service.  The Lord’s supper was a Passover meal, and so we’ll be taking inspiration from some Jewish Passover traditions.  The Jews use a book called a Haggadah which means ‘telling’ for their Passover celebrations.  It’s like a program with the readings and activities of the evening celebration.  I’ve adapted some of these elements for our Sabbath communion celebration, and I’ve asked a few readers to join me, to help read this ‘telling’ of the Lord’s supper.  We’ll begin with what happens before the Passover.  (adapted from Celebrate Passover Haggadah: A Christian Presentation of the Traditional Jewish Festival by Joan R. Lipis)  I’ll read the parts that say leader, and I’ll appoint people to read the parts labeled Adult 1, 2, 3.  All the rest, keep your mics muted, but join me for the parts that say, Group.

Searching for Leaven

Leader: As it is written in Exodus 12:14-20, in Preparation for the Passover, God commanded the people of Israel to remove all leaven or yeast from their houses.  It is from this concept of the cleansing of leaven that Paul wrote in First Corinthians 5:6:

Adult 1: "Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast."  Let us search ourselves for any leaven, for any impurity of thought, word or deed that might separate us from the presence and peace of God.

Adult 2: O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O LORD. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me that needs to be removed as the leaven was removed from the house. Lead me in your everlasting way.

Adult 3: When we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Group: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

Call to Worship

Leader: O God, we come to you recognizing you are the source of all we have and all

we are.  We have come together today to remember your mighty acts in the past, how you have redeemed and preserved those who trust in you. Though we are separated by distance from you and each other physically, we are united in spirit, and rejoice that we can share this time together with each other and with you.  But we look forward even more to your coming and the end of all war, famine, sickness, separation, and death.

Adult 1: With our loved ones and friends, we welcome you, God, to our homes, but really, you are welcoming us to your home, to your table, as sons and daughters for this sacred celebration.  In our hearts, we are linked with all those who have trusted in you in the past, and all who are called by your name in the present, and all whom you will call in the future.  Father in heaven, we are your children.

Adult 2:  In word and symbol today we relive the story of redemption so that it becomes visible again in us.  We long for all people to see Jesus, the Savior and Messiah as the fulfillment of all their hopes and dreams. As we gather to observe the last supper, we recall your command in Exodus 12:17:

Adult 3: "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come."  And the words of Jesus, ‘This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 1 Corinthians 11:25 (NKJ)

The Four Cups

Leader: Though not commanded in the Bible, traditionally, four cups of wine are shared during the Passover meal.  If we observe carefully, we see hints at least that the tradition of the four cups was already practiced in the time of Christ, and would have been part of the last supper celebration.  Each cup is linked to a promise of God in Exodus 6:6-7:  The first cup is the cup of sanctification—or separating people for a sacred purpose:

Adult 1:  “I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”

Leader:  The second is the cup of deliverance:

Adult 2: “I will free you from being slaves to them.”

Leader:  Then the Cup of Redemption:

Adult 3: I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.”

Leader: And finally the cup of praise, also called the cup of the kingdom:

Adult 1: “I will take you as My own people.”

Leader: We who have trusted in Jesus are set apart not because anything in us makes us superior to others, but because we have special responsibilities, and a calling to holiness and serving God.  [You will need grape juice in your cups, so go ahead and pour some now.] This is the first cup, the cup of sanctification.  As we drink it, we are marking this as a special celebration, a time of holy joy, remembering that we are saved, delivered, to serve.  It’s kind of like proposing a toast at a wedding.  “To God who makes us holy.” The traditional prayer goes like this.  “Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, e-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, boray p’ree ha-ga-fen.”  Or, “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who makes the fruit of the vine.”

Leader: Let us all drink the cup of sanctification.

[everyone drinks]

Adult 1:  Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has chosen us, honored us with a high calling, and continues to make us holy.

Adult 2: In love you have given us the Sabbath and communion service, and filled them with holy joy to remind us of your love and deliverance that we celebrate together

Washing

Leader: Ancient tradition required that hands be washed before dipping food into any liquid.  That’s wise, especially if you were eating out of a common dipping bowl.  Washing with water was also part of the purification process for worship in the temple.  To be pure before God, however, required more than water.  It also required sacrifice, because no amount of water could ever cleanse us from our sins.  Of course, no amount of animal blood could cleanse us either, but now we have been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Though the sacrifice of Jesus is complete and we don’t offer blood sacrifices anymore, Jesus instructed us to continue using washing with water as a symbol of repentance and purification, both at baptism and as we wash each others’ feet at the Lord’s Supper. 

At this point in the meal is perhaps where Jesus would have taken off his outer garment, taken up the basin and the towel and washed his disciples’ feet.  Especially considering the argument that the disciples had just been having about who was greatest in the kingdom, Jesus’ demonstration of humility had to be shocking to the disciples.

Adult 1: Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35)

Adult 2: And he said, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:14-15)

Adult 3:  Washing feet was a mild humiliation, however, compared to the suffering Jesus was about to endure for us, “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.”  Phil 2:5-8 (NIV)

Adult 1: At the last supper, Jesus told Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 

Leader:  I invite you now to share the act of washing and being washed now at home with Jesus.  I am struck with the seriousness of Jesus’ comment to Peter, that if Peter did not allow himself to be washed by Jesus he could no longer expect to have any part in what Jesus was doing.  If Peter needed to be washed, how much more do we need the cleansing of Jesus’ hands on our dirty souls/soles?

[people wash feet and hands at home, we’ll allow about 10 minutes of silence on the call to let people participate.]

Breaking Bread

Leader:  At this point in the celebration, the unleavened bread would be brought out.  Though there’s no Biblical command to do so, the tradition, practiced to this day in Jewish communities, is to use three pieces of bread, wrapped in a cloth napkin or a container with three compartments.  [you can do this at home.  Take your unleavened bread and wrap it in three separate layers of a napkin.]  There is no agreed upon single explanation for why three pieces of unleavened bread are used.  Some say it’s for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or the priests, Levites and congregation, but believers in Jesus suspect that embedded in this Passover tradition is the symbol of three in one, representing the Triune God.

[The leader takes the middle piece of bread out and breaks it in half. The smaller half is returned to its place, and the larger piece is tucked in another napkin—everyone at home can do this.]

We take the middle piece of bread and break it in two.  Put back the smaller piece, and tuck the larger piece in another napkin.  It’s now called the afikoman which means dessert.  We will hide it until the end of the meal.

Adult 2: Paul said, “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. 1 Corinthians 10:17 (NIV)

[All the children now close their eyes while the afikoman is hidden for the children to find later.  Families can do this at home.  Then the leader holds up the remaining unleavened bread in the napkin while these words are spoken:]

Leader: This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Then we were slaves.  Now we are free.  This year we celebrate the Lord’s supper here.  Next year, in the New Jerusalem! 

The broken bread is also a symbol of the suffering of Jesus as His body was broken for us.  You’ve probably heard the expression hurt people hurt people.  But Jesus reversed that.  He took abuse and pain and returned love and grace.  By His stripes we are healed.  Through His imprisonment, we are free. 

[the bread is returned to its place on the table and the cups are refilled for the 2^nd cup]

Leader:  So let us take up a new saying, that free people free people.  As the Redeemed of the Lord, let us share our freedom and peace and hope with all who are enslaved, and let us share our bread with the hungry. 

It is our tradition at our communion service to give people an opportunity to give a special gift for Jesus to be used to bless those in need.  Though we’re not meeting in person to receive such a gift in an offering bag, you can still give a special gift as part of your worship today.  If you are using online giving you can designate the portion of your offering as a communion love offering, or if you mail it in, just put a note with your check or write on the memo line to indicate to the treasurer where your offering should go.

Telling the story

Leader:  This part of the celebration comes from Exodus 12:26-27, “When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”

Traditionally there are four questions, about the different parts of the Passover ritual, some of which we are not including today, so for our adaptation, I just need one child who can read to ask the general question about what this means.  Now this

Child:  What does this ceremony mean to you?  Why do you observe the Lord’s supper?

Adult 1: “I observe this celebration because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'  (Exodus 13:8)

Adult 2: I was a slave to sin, with no hope for a future beyond the few short years we all have here, but though the wages of sin is death, the gift of God to me is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 6:23 paraphrased)

Adult 3: I was dead in trespasses and sins, but because of His great love for me, God made me alive with Christ and raised me up with Christ, and seated me in heavenly places in Him!  (Ephesians 2:1-6 paraphrased)  By celebrating the Lord’s supper, I remember His death until He comes.

Leader:  Even though we are generations away from the Passover, and most of us are not even Hebrews, God still invites us to claim the experience of the Exodus as our own because it is the model for salvation, fulfilled in the cross of Jesus and His resurrection that frees us from sin and the fear of death, and if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

The Cup of Deliverance

Leader: It’s time for the second cup, the Cup of Deliverance, which goes with the second promise from Exodus 6:6, “I will free you from your slavery.”  Let us raise the second cup, the Cup of Deliverance [everyone raises their cup]  

Group: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who redeemed us and brought us to your table today.  So you will keep bringing us into your presence until we enter the new Jerusalem.  You have put a song in our hearts for, a song of praise and thanks for saving our souls.  Blessed are you, O Lord, redeemer of Israel and all nations.

Leader: Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, e-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, bo-ray p’ree ha-ga-fen.  Blessed are you O Lord our God, king of the universe who makes the fruit of the vine. 

[all drink the 2^nd cup]

Sharing the Bread

Leader:  After the 2^nd cup, the unleavened bread would be served.

[Leader holds up the bread in the cloth] Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, e-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, ha-mo-tzee le-chem min ha-a-retz

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

[Leader breaks off pieces of bread and shares them. Everyone eats.  No need to hurry, have seconds, It’s okay to eat it all.]

Leader: The Passover was a full meal that would also have included lamb, symbolizing the lamb of God, and bitter herbs, for the affliction of the Israelites in Egypt.  But at the end of the meal, the kids have another part. 

And the Hidden Bread

Leader:  Now it’s the children’s turn to find the hidden bread. 

[Play hot and cold to help the kids find the afikoman.  Once it’s found it’s traditional for the kids to take turns holding it for ransom and negotiating with the host for a treat, a piece of candy or a small amount of money.  The service won’t continue until the hidden bread has been redeemed.  If you have no kids with you, this part will not be as interesting, but it will be less expensive!]

[Refill cups for the third cup.]

Leader:  This part of the meal has special significance to us who know that Jesus is the Messiah.  Here we see a remarkable truth hidden in plain sight in the Passover service about the suffering of the Messiah as predicted in Isaiah 53.  This special piece of bread was part of the original three pieces of bread in one cloth.  This middle piece was broken, hidden, and brought back.  For it’s redemption a ransom must be paid.  In the same way, Messiah, the 2^nd person of the triune God was broken, buried and brought back to life at great cost. 

Leader:  [distributes a piece of the afikoman to each person] Remember this is our dessert.  It’s taste is to remain in our mouths as long as possible to remind us of God’s deliverance in the past, in the present, and in the future.

We don’t know for sure if it happened this way, but I like to imagine that as he had done earlier, Jesus took the bread and gave thanks.  Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, e-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, ha-mo-tzee le-chem min ha-a-retz

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

But this time he broke from the traditional ceremony.  This time he said, ‘Take, eat, this is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ 

[everyone eats]

Blessing for the Meal

Leader:  While it’s traditional for most of us to pray before eating, in Jewish tradition it is even more important to say thank you after the meal.

Adult 1:  Blessed are you, our God, by whose goodness we exist and by whose loving kindness we will have eternal life.

Adult 2: Blessed are you, our God, who feeds the whole world with your goodness, and grace.  Your mercy endures forever.

Adult 3:  We thank you for Your covenant, your law and your love.

Adult 1:  We thank you for Jesus, for forgiveness and cleansing, for including us in your plans and for Jesus’ promise to be with us to the end of the age, to come back for us, and to give us a forever home with you!

The Cup of Redemption

Leader:  The third cup, the cup of Redemption, recalls God’s third promise to Moses: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.” 

Adult 2: The Lord is my rock and my redeemer. 

Adult 3: I know that my redeemer lives.

Leader:  Ba-ruch a-tah Ad-do-nai, e-lo-hey-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, bo-ray p’ree ha-ga-fen.  Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who makes the fruit of the vine.  [all drink]

The Cup of Praise

Leader:  The meal is over now, but there’s one last cup to drink.  It’s called the cup of praise or the cup of the kingdom, and it goes with the fourth promise in Exodus 6:7.  “I will take you as my people and I will be your God.”  It almost sounds like wedding vows, doesn’t it.  And appropriately so.  The Passover was God’s betrothal to Israel, his invitation to come away with him, to elope to the wilderness and start a new life together.  The Passover supper is like a wedding dinner with joy and feasting and lots toasts to the happy couple.  This final cup reflects God’s promise to bring them rejoice under His kingship, to make them kings and priests before him.

You may recall it says in Luke 22:20 “In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying,

Adult 1: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Leader: When we put that together with what Jesus says in Matthew and Mark about not drinking, it brings up an interesting picture.  I’ve always assumed that Jesus drank the wine with this disciples, and announced afterward that he would not indulge until the kingdom of God comes, but Mark specifically says Jesus offered the wine to the disciples and they all drank from it, but Jesus said, “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”  It sounds more like Jesus did not drink that last glass of wine.  Why?  Because he knew he was not about to bring in the kingdom.  He must drink another cup first.  It’s as though he has been waiting at the altar for his bride, and when she doesn’t show up, he pushes the pause button, and walks out.  He leaves the meal unfinished because it can’t really be complete until the kingdom of God comes. 

Jesus still invites us to drink this final cup, and so we do, celebrating our king who is coming again soon as we look forward to the coming kingdom.

Ba-ruch a-tah Ad-do-nai, e-lo-hey-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, bo-ray p’ree ha-ga-fen.  Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who makes the fruit of the vine.

[all drink]

Group:  Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 

Leader:  Jesus drank the cup of wrath, and drained its dregs.  He died, but hallelujah, he rose again.  Death could not hold him and he ever lives to intercede for us, and soon he will return to be our God and make us his people, fulfilling the promise.

Group:  Next year, in the New Jerusalem.