COMMUNION ORDER (Hughes)

COMMUNION

INVITATION

Brothers and sisters, as we draw near to the Lord’s Table to celebrate the Communion of the body and blood of Christ, we are grateful to remember that our Lord instituted this ordinance:

For the perpetual memory of his dying for our sakes and the pledge of his undying love;

As a bond of our union with him and each other as members of his mystical body;

As a seal of his promises to us and a renewal of our obedience to him;

For the blessed assurance of his presence with us who are gathered here in his name;

As an opportunity for us who love the Savior to feed spiritually on him who is the Bread of Life; and

As a pledge of his coming again.

COMMUNION PRAYER

Father in heaven, we bow our heads now because Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit. We bow in reverence, in respect, in awe, and in adoration for the person of Christ, the words of Christ, and today for the cross of Christ. Fill us now and afresh with your Holy Spirit, so that our worship in this moment will bring true honor to you—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and genuine consolation to our souls. We pray this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

FENCING

This sacred time at the Lord’s Table is for believers who have rested all their hope on the death and resurrection of Christ.

If you are not yet a believer, you should refrain from partaking until you come to faith in Christ—and then joyfully partake along with the body of Christ.

We encourage those of you who are believers to examine your hearts, so that you can partake in a worthy manner. If your heart is not right, refrain until you can come freely to partake.

As the bread and the cup are served, we ask that you hold them, so that we all partake together.

THE BREAD

“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’” (1 Cor. 11:23–24).

PRAYER FOR THE BREAD

Christ Jesus, when you came into the world, you said to the Father: “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.” Then you said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book” (Heb. 10:5–7). And then you came in the incarnation, and by a single offering of your body on the cross you achieved what all the offerings on Jewish altars could never accomplish—the complete forgiveness of our sins. Bread of heaven, as we now partake of the symbol, ravish our hearts and refresh our souls. Amen.

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PARTAKING OF THE BREAD

Jesus said: “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24). Silence

THE CUP

“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’” (1 Cor. 11:25).

PRAYER FOR THE CUP

Our gracious God, we thank you this day for the new covenant, the covenant sealed through the blood of Jesus Christ, your Son. And we drink this cup in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, asking him even now, through the Spirit, to commune with us as we commune with each other. With grateful hearts, O Christ, we drink of you and to you. Amen.

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PARTAKING OF THE CUP

Jesus said, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25b). Silence.

BENEDICTION

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). Amen.