Communion Sevices

1st. Christ’s Death. When we participate in the Lord’s Supper we symbolize the death of Christ because our actions give a picture of his death for us. When the bread is broken it symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body, and when the cup is poured out it symbolizes the pouring out of Christ’s blood for us. This is why participating in the Lord’s Supper is also a kind of proclamation: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).

2nd. Our Participation in the Benefits of Christ’s Death. Jesus commanded his disciples, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matt. 26:26). As we individually reach out and take the cup for ourselves, each one of us is by that action proclaiming, “I am taking the benefits of Christ’s death to myself.” When we do this we give a symbol of the fact that we participate in or share in the benefits earned for us by the death of Jesus.

3rd. Spiritual Nourishment. Just as ordinary food nourishes our physical bodies, so the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper give nourishment to us. But they also picture the fact that there is spiritual nourishment and refreshment that Christ is giving to our souls—indeed, the ceremony that Jesus instituted is in its very nature designed to teach us this. Jesus said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. (John 6:53–57)

Certainly Jesus is not speaking of a literal eating of his flesh and blood. But if he is not speaking of a literal eating and drinking, then he must have in mind a spiritual participation in the benefits of the redemption he earns. This spiritual nourishment, so necessary for our souls, is both symbolized and experienced in our participation in the Lord’s Supper.

4th. The Unity of Believers. When Christians participate in the Lord’s Supper together they also give a clear sign of their unity with one another. In fact, Paul says, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17).

When we put these four things together, we begin to realize some of the rich meaning of the Lord’s Supper: when we participate we come into the presence of Christ; we remember that He died for us; we participate in the benefits of his death; we receive spiritual nourishment; and we are united with all other believers who participate in this Supper. What great cause for thanksgiving and joy is to be found in this Supper of the Lord!

But in addition to these truths visibly portrayed by the Lord’s Supper, the fact that Christ has instituted this ceremony for us means that by it he is also promising or affirming certain things to us as well. When we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we should be reminded again and again of the following affirmations that Christ is making to us:

1st. Christ Affirms His Love for Us. The fact that we are able to participate in the Lord’s Supper—indeed, that Jesus invites us to come—is a vivid reminder and visual reassurance that Jesus Christ loves us individually and personally. When we come to take of the Lord’s Supper we thereby find reassurance again and again of Christ’s personal love for us.

2nd. Christ Affirms That All the Blessings of Salvation Are Reserved for Us. When we come at Christ’s invitation to the Lord’s Supper, the fact that He has invited us into his presence assures us that he has abundant blessings for us. In this Supper we are actually eating and drinking at a foretaste of the great banquet table of the King. We come to His table as a member of His eternal family. When the Lord welcomes us to this table, he assures us that he will welcome us to all the other blessings of earth and heaven as well, and especially to the great marriage supper of the Lamb, at which a place has been reserved for us.

3rd. We Affirm Our Faith in Christ. Finally, as we take the bread and cup for ourselves, by our actions we are proclaiming, “We need you and trust you, Lord Jesus, to forgive our sins and give life and health to our souls, for only by your broken body and shed blood can we be saved.” In fact, as we partake in the breaking of the bread when we eat it and the pouring out of the cup when we drink from it, we proclaim again and again that our sins were part of the cause of Jesus’ suffering and death. In this way sorrow, joy, thanksgiving, and deep love for Christ are richly intermingled in the beauty of the Lord’s Supper.

Examine ourselves. As we come to the Lord’s table we must also examine ourselves so as not to take the bread and wine in an unworthy manner. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 tells us “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Sam is going to lead us in song and as he does let us gather around the alter for communion.

Song and gather around the alter

Explain process holding bread and eat it together and holding cup and drinking it together.

Use 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 for communion:

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.” (Pass out the bread, eat, prayer.)

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.” (pass out the wine, drink, prayer.)

Song and dismiss as led by the Holy Spirit.[1]

[1]Adapted from: Grudem, W. A. (1994). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (989). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.

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