𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Recall a recent celebration you were part of. How important was it to celebrate that event?

• Do you have a daily ritual or routine? What is it for and why do you do it?

• Name one of your family traditions. What does it say about what you value as a family?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴’ 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮:𝟰𝟭–𝟰𝟮

What we believe shapes our traditions and the things we do. After hearing the gospel from Peter, many disciples were baptized into the faith and sought to follow the words and ways of Jesus. Their devotion was not to earn salvation, but as a means of grace. The different means of grace, including sacraments, are not ways by which we receive grace to be saved. Rather, they are channels by which we experience more of God’s grace to live out our salvation. Let’s look at the two sacraments that Jesus Himself instituted and why we still practice them today.

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀.

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.” 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳, 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 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘱, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨. 𝟭 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟭:𝟮𝟰–𝟮𝟲

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper or communion, not just for tradition, but to recognize and remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, which paved the way for our salvation. We remember His body which was broken for us, that by His wounds we may be healed (Isaiah 53:5). We thank Him for His blood poured out for the cleansing of our sins (1 John 1:7). By doing this, we proclaim the gospel in faith and hope that Jesus will come again. Why is it important that we remember what Jesus has done through communion?

𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀.

𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟲:𝟰

(Read also 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟲:𝟵-𝟭𝟬.)

The Gospel of Matthew gives us several pictures of baptism and its importance (Matthew 3:16; 28:19). As believers, we participate in water baptism publicly. Through baptism, we declare that when Christ died, our old sinful selves died with Him. Just as Christ rose from the dead, we too will rise with Him in the 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. Baptism is an act of faith and obedience as we believe the gospel and turn to God. Recall the moment you were water baptized. What was your posture and declaration of faith then?

𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲.

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟲:𝟱–𝟲

The Bible records these as the two sacraments that Jesus gave the church (1 Corinthians 11:24–26 and Matthew 28:18–20). These acts are a means of grace and serve as visible signs of what God is doing in believers. When we practice communion or are baptized, it is not the act that earns God’s grace. Instead, by these acts of faith, we position ourselves to experience more of His grace. When we are reminded of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, we become empowered to no longer yield to sin and to live for God through the power of His resurrection. How does God’s grace help us obey Him (Titus 2:11–14)?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Are there mindsets you have about sacraments that may not be aligned to Scripture? How might our lesson today help align your motivation and heart to the truth?

• Have you been baptized in water? Would you like to publicly declare your faith and identify with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection? How do you think this will help you grow in your knowledge of and love for God?

• Through communion, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. With whom can you share the saving truth about Jesus this week?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for sending His Son, Jesus, to save us. Thank Him for the sacraments by which we can celebrate Jesus and receive more of His grace.

• Ask God to help you have the right understanding, motivation, and heart as you participate in the sacraments. Pray that you won’t take for granted your salvation paid for by Christ and will grow in your love for God every day.

• Pray that you will live as one who has died to sin and is alive in Christ. Pray for the boldness to share what Jesus had done to those around you.