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Sermon #2011

Do This in Remembrance of Me

A Sermon on Acts 2:41-42

Originally preached March 21, 1965

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Scripture

Acts 2:41-42 ESV KJV
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. (ESV)

Sermon Description

What is the church’s message? Some say it is to forget the past and that it must decide what the church is today. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that instead it must go back to the past and to the only authoritative source: the Bible, specifically the Acts of the Apostles. Referencing Acts 2:41–42 in this sermon titled “Do This in Remembrance of Me,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that all humanity’s trouble arise because they are ignorant of God. To understand the modern world, it is this: the wrath of God is revealed against ungodliness. They are not only sinful but helpless and cannot save themselves. The church declares and demonstrates that God has done it all, and this can be seen particularly in the Communion service. There are three reasons the early church practiced Communion: first and ultimately, because Jesus commanded them in order to preserve doctrine. Secondly, Jesus instituted it to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Finally, He established it to remember Him and all that He represented. This is the great message of the Christian church: Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, sent into the world to save humanity. This is what the early church and the Christian church have been looking back to ever since.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon begins by introducing Acts 2:41-42 which describes the early church. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that the sermon will examine what the early church is, its message, and how it conducts itself.

  2. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the church is worth considering and is relevant today. He says the church has brought tremendous blessings and progress to the world.

  3. There are two views of the church: either deciding what it should be now or looking to the early church to understand its true nature. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues we should look to the early church.

  4. Acts 2 describes Peter preaching at Pentecost, leading to 3000 conversions. The new believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.

  5. Dr. Lloyd-Jones focuses on "breaking of bread," which refers to Communion. The early church constantly participated in Communion. We should examine ourselves to see if we are like the early church.

  6. Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks why the early church devoted themselves to Communion. First, because Jesus commanded it. He instituted it the night before his death.

  7. Second, Jesus instituted Communion to preserve the truth of the faith. It enacts and displays the truth. It has often contradicted false teaching.

  8. Third, Jesus instituted Communion to preserve the unity of the church. It humbles us and focuses us on Christ, not our differences.

  9. Fourth, Jesus instituted Communion so we would remember him, especially his death and resurrection. We remember the gracious God who sent his Son to die for us.

  10. Fifth, Communion declares Jesus's death, as Paul says in 1 Cor. 11. The early church proclaimed Christ's death, not hiding or being ashamed of it. His death is the only way of salvation.

  11. Sixth, Communion reminds us of the new covenant in Jesus's blood. God has made a new covenant to forgive our sins, give us new life, and adopt us as his children.

  12. Seventh, Communion reminds us of Jesus's second coming. The early church endured hardship while waiting for Jesus to return, defeat evil, and establish his kingdom.

  13. Finally, Communion leads us to praise and thank Jesus for dying for us while we were still sinners. We can do nothing but give ourselves completely to him.

  14. Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges the listeners to examine themselves. Do they delight in and eagerly participate in Communion like the early church? If not, can they truly call themselves Christians? Communion expresses what Christians believe.

  15. Dr. Lloyd-Jones invites any who have not believed the message of Jesus's death for them to do so now. Believing the truth of the gospel leads to a desire for Communion.

The Book of Acts

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.