Communion is really the symbol of... God's new deal:

Old deal: Obey the law and you will have life-Exodus 24:4-8 NLT: "4 Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord's instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, 'We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.' 8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, 'Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.' "

New deal: Believe in God's Son and you will have life-Jeremiah 31:31-33 NLT, emphasis added: "31 'The day is coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,' says the Lord. 33 'But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,' says the Lord. 'I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.' "

Lord's Supper: The announcement of God's new deal with humanity 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NLT, emphasis added: "23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.' 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant between God and his people-an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.' 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again."

The BREAD: What God has done for us

• The bread is LIFE-John 6:33-35 NLT: "33 'The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' 34 'Sir,' they said, 'give us that bread every day.' 35 Jesus replied, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.' "
• The bread is FORGIVENESS.
• The bread is TRUTH.
• The bread is PURITY-1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NLT: "7 Get rid of the old 'yeast' by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth."
• The bread is FELLOWSHIP. We have fellowship with God and with one another.

The BLOOD: How God has done it

• The blood SEALS the deal.
• The blood PURCHASES our redemption.
• Ephesians 1:7 NLT: "7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins."
• The blood CLEANSES our sins.
• Hebrews 9:12-14 NLT: "12 With his own blood-not the blood of goats and calves-he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people's bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins."

The MEAL: How we should take it

• Look BACK.
• Look WITHIN.
• Look AROUND.
• Look UP-1 Corinthians 11:26 NLT: "For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again."