Minister: The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 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
Congregation: We ask, Lord, that by your grace, our lives will be framed by your life, that all our thoughts, words, and actions would be pleasing to you. [congregation eats the bread]
Minister: Who do you say this Jesus is?
Congregation: He identified himself as the God of Moses by saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”₂ According to the Apostle, Paul, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth…” ₃
Minister: Was Jesus the Savior; was he the expected Messiah?
Congregation: The prophet Isaiah wrote of a coming savior. Jesus quoted Isaiah to identify himself: “…the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” ₄
Minister: Why was Jesus sacrificed?
Congregation: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ₅
Minister: How was he sacrificed?
Congregation: He was nailed to a cross and suffered until he died.
Minister: Also on the night Jesus was betrayed, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” ₆ [Congregation drinks from the cup]
Congregation: Thanks be to God for his faithfulness, for his covenantal, pursuing love, and for his great sacrifice.
Minister: Was the Lord Jesus deserving of the death assigned to him?
Congregation: “They made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” ₇
Minister: They laid Christ in a tomb. His disciples were filled with despair that death had overtaken him. After the Sabbath, several woman came to his tomb in order to anoint his body with spices, but he was not in the tomb.
Congregation: “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said…go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead…’” ₈
Minister: What does it mean for those who follow Christ?
Congregation: Jesus said, “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” ₉
Minister: What has become of this Jesus?
Congregation: “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.” ₁₀
Minister & Congregation: Jesus, we do confess that you are Lord and Creator of all things and of all beings. We are overwhelmed to think of your sacrificial love for us. We praise you for your wisdom, goodness, and power. In you alone is our hope and our salvation. Even so, O Lord, come quickly, we pray. Amen.
₁ 1 Corinthians 11.23,24
₂ John 8.58
₃ Colossians 1.15,16
₄ Matthew 11.5
₅ Romans 5.8
₆ 1 Corinthians 11.25,26
₇ Isaiah 53.9
₈ Matthew 28.6,7
₉ John 6.40
₁₀ Philippians 2.10,11
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