Tag Archives: Communion

“FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS”

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“FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS” A COMMUNION MEDITATION By Jack Cottrell “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26-28). This is Matthew’s inspired record of some things Jesus said as He was establishing the church practice called communion, … Continue reading →

THE LORD’S SUPPER AS A COVENANT MEAL

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THE LORD’S SUPPER AS A COVENANT MEAL A COMMUNION MEDITATION By Jack Cottrell Matthew 26:27-28 – “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.’” Luke 22:20 – “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” In a recent communion meditation I pointed out how the word “is,” … Continue reading →

“This is My body . . . This is My blood”

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“THIS IS MY BODY . . . THIS IS MY BLOOD” A COMMUNION MEDITATION By Jack Cottrell In the upper room, when establishing the Lord’s Supper, Jesus passed the bread to His apostles with these words: “Take, eat, this is My body” (Matthew 26:26). Then He passed the cup to them saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is My blood” (Matthew 26:27-28). Here is a quote from recent history: “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” What does this make you think of? Bill Clinton, of course. At his impeachment hearing, Clinton’s lawyer … Continue reading →

Why Do Some Call It the “Eucharist”? A Communion Meditation

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WHY DO SOME CALL IT THE “EUCHARIST”? A COMMUNION MEDITATION BY JACK COTTRELL – APRIL 2018 As we are now preparing to take the emblems commemorating Christ’s death for our sins, I have a question: what do we usually call this part of our worship service? We commonly refer to it as the “communion” service. Where do we get that name? It comes from the King James Version of 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of … Continue reading →

THE BREAD AND THE CUP OF BLESSING

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THE BREAD AND CUP OF BLESSING A COMMUNION MEDITATION – Jack Cottrell, February 2018 Imagine you are sharing a meal with some fellow Christians, and you say, “Brother Smith, will you ask the blessing on our food?” The prayer that follows often includes this: “Dear God, we pray that you will bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.” “Ask the blessing”? “Bless this food”? Where do we get these ideas and this language? Maybe from our Bibles. The KJV of Matthew 26:26 says, “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, … Continue reading →

SUFFERING AT THE CROSS

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SUFFERING AT THE CROSS — A Communion Meditation Jack Cottrell – Greendale First Church of Christ – October 2017 [Author’s note: I gave this meditation on the same Sunday when I preached a sermon dealing in part with the subject of the Trinity. In the sermon I was pointing out that it was necessary to reveal the fact that God is a Trinity of persons at the beginning of this New Covenant age, because that was the time when God was carrying out the mighty works of redemption (incarnation, atonement, resurrection, ascension, outpouring of the Holy Spirit). The necessity for … Continue reading →

SIN-EATER — OR SIN-BEARER? A COMMUNION MEDITATION

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SIN-EATER – OR SIN-BEARER? A Communion Meditation – Jack Cottrell QUESTION: Do you think it is acceptable for someone giving the communion meditation to just read or otherwise relate what someone else has written? ANSWER: Of course it is! That is why someone like me goes to the trouble of writing and publishing such meditations! In fact, here is one I just prepared and shared with my congregation recently: From time to time in modern fiction we see a character called the “sin-eater.” One story that many remember is a 1972 episode from “The Night Gallery” called “The Sins of … Continue reading →

The Father’s Sacrifice: A Communion Meditation

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THE FATHER’S SACRIFICE — A COMMUNION MEDITATION BY JACK COTTRELL In the late 1970s, my family and I visited with the missionary family of Samuel Gonzalez in Merida, Mexico. This is located in the Yucatan Peninsula, the narrow pointy eastern projection of Mexico that points out toward the state of Florida. This was the northern edge of the homeland of the Mayan Indian group, and we saw many of the ruins of the Mayan culture. One place we saw was the famous Mayan pyramid known as Chichen Itza. Within a short walking distance from the pyramid is one of the … Continue reading →

What Was Nailed to the Cross?

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WHAT WAS NAILED TO THE CROSS? (A Communion Meditation by Jack Cottrell – November 2014) Back on March 23 (2014), when giving our order of worship, our Sunday bulletin indicated that our Communion Hymn would be “Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary.” Only instead of saying “Burdens Are LIFTED at Calvary,” it said “Burdens are LISTED at Calvary”! Well, this was obviously a typographical error, to be sure. But when I saw it, the first thing I thought of was Colossians 2:13-14, which (in the ESV) says that God has “forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt … Continue reading →

What Are You Wearing? A Communion Meditation

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“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be’; this was to fulfill the Scripture: ‘They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ Therefore the soldiers did these things” (John 19:23-25a, NASB). This makes me wonder what happened to the tunic (the inner layer of clothing). One … Continue reading →