Communion Part 2

During the school year we gather for four different services in three different rooms in two different languages.

8:30 service in the main Sanctuary in Morris

9:30 service in the main Sanctuary in Morris

10:00 service at the Bridge in Hancock

11:00 Spanish service in the fellowship hall in Morris.

This morning we come together as one body to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

We will conclude our service with the baptism of 27 individuals.

Here’s what our church affirms regarding the practice of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote about the practice of the Lord’s Supper:

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 “23 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, 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 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

I can think of four things that take place when we partake of the Lord’s Supper:

1. We look back and remember Christ’s death

The Lord’s Supper is a visible and tangible proclamation of the Lord’s death:

When the bread is broken it symbolizes the broken body of Jesus for you and for me.

When the cup is poured out it symbolizes the pouring of Jesus’ blood for you and for me.

We look to the present for spiritual nourishment

The bread and the cup are not the means of salvation.

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

However, when we partake of the bread and the cup in genuine faith, we receive a spiritual benefit. We are confirmed and nourished in our faith journey.

1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”

The word participation is the Greek word koinonia (fellowship, communion).

The Lord’s Supper is a meal in which we have fellowship and communion with Christ.

We look forward to the great banquet

Paul said that in Lord’s Supper, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:26)

This is a reference to what Jesus said in Matthew 26:29 “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.””

Let’s be honest, s small piece of bread and a little cup of grape juice is no banquet, but only a token of the great banquet is that is to come. It is a foretaste of the greatest feast and celebration that is yet to come for all the nations of the earth (Isaiah 25:6-8).

We look around to see the body of Christ, the church.

The Lord’s Supper is not only our communion with Christ, but also communion with one another as believers.

1 Corinthians 10:17 “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

The Lord’s Supper is a visible display of our unity with other Christian believers who have believed the gospel and repented of their sins. Thus, communion is only for believers.

Will I see you at the banquet? Revelation 19:9 “And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.””

Instructions: The elders will distribute the bread and the cups.