LWC SERMON GUIDE

THE CROSS HAS SPOKEN

Scriptures to Read and Ponder

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 — The bread, the cup, remembrance, the new covenant and the proclamation of Christ's death.
Matthew 7:7–8 — Ask, seek and knock: cultivating a life turned towards God.
Philippians 2:5–11 — Jesus, the Lord of all, reveals His greatness through self-giving love.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 — God's promise of a new covenant in which His ways are written upon our hearts.
Colossians 2:13–15 — At the Cross, Christ disarmed the powers and authorities and triumphed over them.
Romans 8:1 — In Christ there is now no condemnation.
Matthew 14:28–31 — Peter reminds us what happens when the storm becomes bigger in our vision than Jesus.

Sermon Recap

1. We Have Received Some News

The sermon began with a familiar memory for many in Gibraltar: GBC News at 7:30pm.

Families gathered around their television and received news about events that had happened elsewhere — the Falklands War, the reopening of Gibraltar's border with Spain and countless other events. Someone had received the news and was now transmitting it.

That became a picture of the Church.

Two thousand years ago, something happened at Calvary. We were not there. But faithful witnesses received the message and passed it on — through Scripture, preaching, personal testimony and ordinary conversations.

Eventually, the news reached us.

And now it must travel through us.

The Christian faith is not merely private spirituality. It is the announcement of something God has actually done in Jesus Christ.

The Cross has spoken. The question is whether the Church will speak.

2. Receive — and Pass It On

Paul begins:

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you...”
— 1 Corinthians 11:23

Those words describe a rhythm at the heart of Christian discipleship:

Receive → Pass on.

Paul was both a receptor and a transmitter.

We need to become people who know how to receive from God:

praying,
seeking,
opening Scripture,
listening,
creating space for God,
asking Him to teach and shape us.

We cannot continually pour out if we never receive.

But there is an opposite danger. We can spend years consuming sermons, worship, conferences, books and Bible studies without ever giving anything away.

What God gives us was never intended to terminate with us.

If He gives us comfort, someone else needs comfort.
If He gives us wisdom, someone needs that wisdom.
If He gives us grace, somebody needs to encounter that grace through us.
If we have received the gospel, somebody needs to hear it.

And transmission requires relationship.

Mission happens when we come close enough to people to listen, eat together, work together, become friends, notice their pain and speak Jesus into the ordinary spaces of life.

We face God with open hands to receive, then turn towards the world with open hands to give away what we have received.

3. The Lord Jesus

Paul deliberately calls Him “the Lord Jesus.”

Jesus is more than an inspirational teacher, spiritual adviser or religious option.

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King.

That changes our relationship with Him.

We can admire a teacher and disagree with him. We can receive advice from a counsellor and ignore it. But if Jesus is Lord, our lives come under His reign.

If He says forgive — we forgive.

If He says love our enemies — we love.

If He says follow Me — we follow.

The gospel is not merely the announcement that Jesus saves. It announces that Jesus is Lord.

And that raises a deeply personal question:

There can only be one throne in the human heart. Who occupies mine?

4. What Kind of King Is Jesus?

The astonishing answer appears in the next words:

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread…”

Jesus knew what was coming.

He knew about Judas.
He knew about the kiss.
He knew about the soldiers.
He knew about the trial, the whip, the nails and the Cross.

Yet He took bread and declared:

“This is my body, which is for you.”

Here we discover what God's power looks like.

The One who owns everything gives Himself away.

The One possessing all authority does not use His authority to preserve Himself but to serve others.

The King kneels.

The Master takes the towel.

The One whose feet should be worshipped washes the feet of His disciples.

Philippians 2 shows us the same Jesus: possessing divine glory, yet humbling Himself, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient even to death on a cross.

And then comes the challenge:

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

The world asks, “What can I get?”

Jesus asks, “What can I give?”

That radically reshapes leadership, marriage, parenting, friendship and Christian ministry.

If Jesus is our Lord, Jesus also becomes our pattern.

5. Remember Me

Jesus tells His disciples:

“Do this in remembrance of me.”

We are forgetful people.

Under pressure, we can:

remember the problem and forget the promise;
remember the wound and forget the Healer;
remember our failure and forget His faithfulness.

So Jesus places a meal at the centre of Christian worship and says:

Remember Me.

The Lord's Table re-centres our lives.

Communion is not ultimately about examining how impressive our faith has become. It directs our attention away from ourselves and back towards Jesus.

Peter could walk upon the water while his attention remained upon Christ. When the storm became bigger in his vision than Jesus, fear took over.

Whatever fills our vision will shape our world.

Communion calls us back:

Look again at Jesus. Remember Him.

6. The New Covenant in His Blood

Jesus lifts the cup and declares:

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

Centuries earlier, Jeremiah had looked forward to a day when God would establish a new covenant with His people — writing His ways not merely upon tablets but upon human hearts.

Now Jesus declares that this promised covenant has arrived through Him.

Christian transformation therefore goes deeper than external religious behaviour.

God desires to transform us from the inside out — shaping our desires, renewing our minds and forming within us hearts that increasingly desire what He desires.

The cup announces:

What the prophets longed for, Jesus has accomplished.

7. The Table Is Preaching

Paul then says:

“Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

Notice the progression:

First we receive — then we pass on.
First we remember — then we proclaim.
First we look at Jesus — then we speak about Jesus.

Every time we celebrate Communion, the Table is preaching.

The broken bread speaks.

The lifted cup speaks.

The gathered Church speaks.

And remarkably, we proclaim His death.

Ordinarily, the death of a king announces defeat. Rome intended crucifixion to declare:

“Rome has won. You have lost.”

But heaven interpreted Calvary differently.

Colossians 2:15 declares that through the Cross Christ disarmed the powers and authorities and triumphed over them.

Rome thought it was making a spectacle of Jesus.

Paul says Jesus was making a spectacle of the powers of darkness.

What appeared to be Christ's defeat became the instrument of His victory.

8. The Cross Has Spoken

So what does the Cross say?

Over sin: Forgiven.

Over the record of accusation: Cancelled.

Over condemnation: No condemnation.

Over slavery: Redeemed.

Over the powers of darkness: Disarmed.

Over death: Defeated.

We therefore do not gather around the Lord's Table like mourners remembering a defeated religious leader.

We gather around the Table of a risen King.

He died — but death could not hold Him.

He entered the grave — but the grave could not keep Him.

Darkness covered the land — but dawn came on the third day.

9. The Proclamation Cannot Stop at the Table

Communion leads naturally into mission.

What we proclaim around the Table must become what we proclaim to the world.

The bread cannot be loud on Sunday and silent on Monday.

Christian mission is not primarily:

“Come and see how good our church is.”

It is: “Let me tell you what God has done in Jesus.”

So invite people.

Serve people.

Feed people.

Welcome people.

Become their friends.

But somewhere along the road, somebody has to tell somebody about Jesus.

We are not meant to become spiritual reservoirs.

We are Living Waters.

The message comes to us, and then flows through us, towards somebody who desperately needs what we carry.

Receive the news.

Pass on the news.

Remember Jesus.

Proclaim Jesus.

The Cross has spoken. May the Church not remain silent — until He comes.

Memorable Quotes & Aha Moments

“The Cross has spoken — and the Church cannot remain silent.”
“Receive. Pass on.”
“We need to become great receptors and great transmitters.”
“What God gives you is not for you alone.”
“You cannot transmit the Gospel if you permanently live inside a Christian bubble.”
“Speak Jesus into the ordinary spaces of human life.”
“There can only be one throne in the human heart.”
“The One who could demand everything from us gives everything for us.”
“The world asks, ‘What can I get?’ Jesus asks, ‘What can I give?’”
“We remember the problem and forget the promise; we remember the wound and forget the Healer.”
“Whatever fills your vision will shape your world.”
“Every time we break the bread, the Table speaks.”
“Rome thought it was making a spectacle of Jesus; Paul says Jesus was making a spectacle of the powers of darkness.”
“The bread cannot be loud on Sunday and silent on Monday.”
“Somewhere along the road, somebody has to tell somebody about Jesus.”
“We are not a spiritual reservoir. We are a place of Living Waters.”

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

What part of Sunday's message has remained with you most strongly, and why?
Paul says, “I received from the Lord what I also passed on.” Which side comes more naturally to you — receiving from God or passing what you receive on to others?
What practices currently help you receive from the Lord? Is there enough space in your life to listen to Him?
Is there something God has given you — encouragement, wisdom, testimony, grace or experience — that may actually be intended to help somebody else?
Who are the people outside your immediate Christian circle with whom God has already given you genuine relationship?
What would it look like to “speak Jesus into the ordinary spaces of human life” rather than seeing mission primarily as inviting people to church?
If Jesus really is Lord, what area of your life most needs to come under His reign?
Jesus demonstrates authority through self-giving love. How might His example change the way you exercise influence at home, at work, in church or in your relationships?
When life becomes difficult, what do you tend to remember first — the problem or God's faithfulness?
What has become unusually large in your vision recently? How might intentionally fixing your attention upon Jesus change your perspective?
When you receive Communion, what does the bread and cup personally proclaim to you about what Jesus has accomplished?
Which word do you most need to hear from the Cross today: Forgiven, Cancelled, No Condemnation, Redeemed, Disarmed or Defeated? Why?
What does it mean practically for you that Christ has triumphed over the powers of darkness through the Cross?
Who in your life needs to hear what God has done in Jesus? What might a natural, non-forced conversation about Jesus look like this week?
Where does the message go next? Name one person or one place into which you believe God may be asking you to carry what you have received.

Prayer Points

Jesus, turn my heart towards You. Teach me to become someone who asks, seeks, knocks and receives from You.
Lord, keep me from becoming a spiritual reservoir. Let everything You pour into me become a blessing that flows through me towards others.
Jesus, You are Lord. Show me any area of my life where I am still occupying the throne, and give me grace to surrender it to Your reign.
Form the mind of Christ within me. Teach me to use whatever influence, authority and resources I possess to serve and lift others rather than advance myself.
Help me remember You. When pressure comes, remind me of Your promises; when wounds speak, remind me of the Healer; when failure accuses me, remind me of Your faithfulness.
Fix my eyes upon Jesus. Where circumstances have become bigger in my vision than Christ, restore my perspective and renew my faith.
Write Your ways upon my heart. Holy Spirit, transform not only my behaviour but my desires until I increasingly love what You love.
Let the victory of the Cross become real in my life. Where accusation, condemnation, bondage, fear or darkness still speaks loudly, teach me to stand upon what Jesus has accomplished.
Give me courage to proclaim Jesus naturally and faithfully. Show me the people already around me who need to hear the good news I have received.
Lord, make LWC a place of Living Waters. May the Gospel come to us, transform us, and flow through us into Gibraltar and beyond — until He comes.

Sermon: The Cross has spoken