Remembering the Cross Together
Month 6: The Cross — Why Jesus Died · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 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.” 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Memory Verse
“But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”— Romans 5:8 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 18–20
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 179 of 365 — King Jehoshaphat learns to seek the Lord.)The Heart of It
On the very night He was betrayed, Jesus took bread and a cup. He gave His friends a way to remember Him forever. He didn't hand them a statue or a painting. He gave them a meal. "This is My body which is broken for you… This cup is the new covenant in My blood" (). Every time the church shares the Lord's Supper, we are doing exactly what He asked. We are looking back at the cross with grateful hearts. Our family naturally remembers birthdays and special days. God knows we forget what matters most. So He built remembering right into how His people gather.
But notice what Paul says we are really doing. "You proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (v. 26). The bread and the cup preach. They announce out loud that Jesus' body was broken and His blood was poured out to pay for our sin. This isn't a sad ceremony. It's the gospel you can almost taste. And it points two directions at once. It points back to a real cross on a real hill. And it points forward to the day He returns. That is why families worship together. Not to earn God's love, but because we have already been loved at the cross, just as promises.
Around the Table
Jesus gave us special bread and a special cup. That way we'd never, ever forget how much He loves us.
Let's do it: Break a piece of bread or cracker in half and say together, "Thank You, Jesus, for loving me!"
When grown-ups take the Lord's Supper at church, they are remembering that Jesus' body and blood paid for our sin.
Let's talk: Jesus wanted us to keep remembering the cross, not just once. Why do you think that is?
The Lord's Supper looks back to the cross and forward to Jesus' return. In one meal, it preaches the whole gospel.
Let's go deeper: How could remembering the cross every week change the way you treat people the rest of the week?
💬 Conversation Starter
What is one tradition our family does to remember something important? How is that like the way God's people remember the cross?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
The Lord's Supper is some of the earliest Christian evidence we have. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians around AD 55. He says he is passing on what was already handed to him (v. 23). So this tradition is older than the letter itself. Believers were proclaiming Jesus' death within just a few years of the cross, not generations later ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Family worship is not a performance you stage. It is a fire you keep warm. Centering it on the cross protects you from two ditches. One ditch is dead routine. The other is emotional hype. When the table, the Word, and a simple prayer keep pointing your children to what Jesus did for them, their obedience grows out of gratitude rather than fear. Tripp reminds dads that we don't shape hearts by the volume of our voice. We shape them by the steady, repeated display of grace. You will not always feel inspired leading worship. Lead anyway. Faithful repetition is how God carves the gospel into a child's memory.
Draws on: Paul Tripp, Parenting.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that Jesus' body was broken and His blood was poured out so we could be forgiven. Help us remember the cross with thankful hearts. And help us live like people who are deeply loved. In Jesus' name, amen."
The cross is worth remembering every single day. It is where God proved His love for me.