Why the Lord’s Supper?

Why do Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper or Communion during their Sunday assemblies? In short, because Jesus asked us to. The emblems remind us of His sacrifice on our behalf and of the covenant relationship we share with Him. Elsewhere, I have suggested that the entire focus of our assemblies should be Christ, and Him crucified. When that is our focus, it is amazing how the cross of Christ, and the memorial meal He asked us to celebrate, illuminate everything else. It is fascinating to me how rich and multi-faceted the Communion becomes. Just about every subject and topic ties in to it.

Why the Communion meditation?

The idea behind giving a meditation before celebrating the Communion, is to focus the thoughts of the congregation on some aspect of Christ’s sacrifice and/or our covenant relationship with Him. But there is another very practical reason for the meditations: They are an opportunity for mutual ministry. It’s an opportunity for men to actively share their spiritual insights with the rest of the congregation instead of remaining passive spectators. It’s a relatively non-threatening way for men to get experience standing in front of a group and talking to them about Christ. It’s a way to give men practice in studying the Scriptures and organizing what they have learned so it can be shared.

To give you an idea of what can be done, I’ve decided to share some of the Communion meditations I’ve given. They cover a fairly wide range of topics, yet the focus is always Christ.

• Faith - (Prepared for a sermon on Matthew 17:14-25) Most of the time when we hear the word “faith” we associate it with religion. So and so belongs to that religion and he really believes. However, when you stop and think about it, what distinguishes a religious person from someone who is not, is not their faith … Continue reading →
• Everything We Need - (Prepared to go along with a sermon on Matthew 14:13-36) Have you ever felt that you needed something and you had no idea how you were going to get it or how it would be supplied? I can remember a time, early in our marriage, when I wondered how I was going to provide for … Continue reading →
• From Empty To Full - (Prepared for a sermon on Matthew 12:43-45) We have a saying that, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” What we mean by it is that empty spaces usually don’t stay empty very long. We’ve all seen it happen in social settings. A group of friends gets together. They decide to go somewhere or do something. Although the … Continue reading →
• Rest - (Prepared for a sermon on Matthew 11:28-30) One of the themes found throughout the Scriptures is that of rest. It’s the concept that after we’ve finished a task, we get to relax. One of the interesting things about rest is that the quality of rest depends to a large extent on how well we did … Continue reading →
• The Turning Of The Seasons - (Prepared for a sermon on Matthew 9:35-38) My wife and I enjoy the turning of the seasons. Just a few weeks ago we were wondering why we weren’t seeing more leaves changing. It seemed to us that fall was late in arriving. Then, almost over night, it seemed, the colors came out. Everywhere we looked, … Continue reading →
• You Have Been Healed - (For a sermon on Matthew 8:28-9:8) I suspect that historians and sociologists will look back at the year 2020 and shake their heads in bewilderment. For 9 months we allowed a virus to dominate us. The economic and social costs of the regulations issued in response to the virus were horrific. Businesses and schools were … Continue reading →
• Worth - (Prepared for a sermon based on Matthew 6:19-24) How much is something worth? We usually determine the value of something by how much we are willing to pay for it. How much of ourselves we’re willing to invest in something is a pretty good indication of how important it is to us. It’s pretty easy … Continue reading →
• Seeing Clearly - How we see or perceive things can vary tremendously depending on circumstances. For example, my wife and I just returned from a camping trip. The outhouse was just a few hundred feet from where we pitched our tent. During the day it was easy to see how to walk from our camp to the outhouse. … Continue reading →
• The Light of the Gospel - (Written to go with a sermon based on Matthew 4:12-17) Have you ever experienced total darkness? During one of our vacations, our family toured a cave. While we were in one of the galleries, the tour guide turned off the lights. No matter how you strained your eyes, you could see nothing. It seemed like … Continue reading →
• A Sure Thing - (Prepared for a sermon on 2nd Peter 1:5-11, especially verse 10.) When was the last time you worried about your bank going under? My guess is that you’ve never worried about it at all. Yet, if you’re familiar with our country’s history, you know that many banks have and do fail. I’ll just mention a few … Continue reading →