Words of Institution and Eucharistic Prayer

This morning I had the responsibility to give the words of institution and Eucharistic prayer for the Lord's Supper during our worship service at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church. Here's what I said:

The Lord Jesus Christ opened his great sermon on the mount saying “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:3-6). When we come to worship God according to his Word, we come impoverished. We come as receivers. We come to feed upon Christ. We come to ingest him in the depths of our soul. His body was offered up and his blood was spilled for us and for our salvation. Indeed Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. . . . Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (John 6:35, 53-59). We know that Jesus was not referring to a carnal eating and drinking because he said, “not as the fathers ate and died.” Instead he was referring to a spiritual eating, an eating that is no less real than carnal eating yet even more effective in that it nourishes us unto eternal life. Jesus has prepared his Table for us. As the Apostle tells us, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that 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.’ 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 Cor. 11:23-26).

This is the Lord’s Table. It is open to all those who are trusting in the finished work of Christ alone for their salvation, to all those who are communing members in good standing of this or any other church where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly preached. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Let us pray, Father we are thankful that you have gathered us now around the Table of your Son, because he offered himself up to you as our sacrifice of atonement. Would you also now grant by your Son’s mediation that the Holy Spirit would attend our eating of this bread and our drinking of this wine and so cause us to feast spiritually upon the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, being raised up to commune with him in the heavenly temple with great joy, in Jesus’ name. Amen.