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.

• What’s A Father For? - (Given on Father’s Day) Today is a day our culture sets aside to honor fathers. All across this nation families will gather and do something special with or for Dad. This is right and good for Scriptures tells us that we ought to honor our parents. Since this is a day to honor fathers perhaps … Continue reading →
• In Order To Rise, You First Have To Die - (Given on Easter Sunday) He Is Risen! Today, all over the world, people are celebrating Christ’s resurrection from the grave. They are rejoicing because Jesus is alive. He lives forever. Even in places like Pakistan where radical Islam is on the rise, I find it interesting that a large segment of society acknowledges Easter. But … Continue reading →
• Transformed - (Written to go along with a sermon on Philippians 3:17-21) Have you ever had the experience of not recognizing someone you know very well because you saw him in a place you didn’t expect to see him, or she had her hair styled differently or was dressed differently than normal? It can be embarrassing when … Continue reading →
• Paid In Full - (To go along with the concept Paul expresses in Philippians 4:17-18) Without debt, society as we know it wouldn’t exist. For many of us debt is such a common part of our lives that we really don’t give it much thought. Almost all of us carry credit cards. In fact, many of us rarely use … Continue reading →
• Breaking Down the Wall of Hostility - (Prepared for a sermon based on Philippians 2:1-4.) In 2007 my father and I took a trip to India. One of the things we did was visit a church in the city of Amritsar. The people there loved the Lord. They were enthusiastic and sincere in their faith. Unfortunately, they weren’t very mature spiritually and … Continue reading →
• It Is Finished! - (Written to go along with a sermon on Philippians 1:1-8. The thought comes from verse 6.) Do you sometimes find it difficult to finish or complete a project? I often find it hard to do so. For example, there’s a small sailboat propped up on sawhorses in my back yard that I’ve never quite gotten … Continue reading →
• Recognizing The Body Of The Lord - (I wrote this meditation to go with a sermon titled “Christians Are The Body Of Christ”) The church at Corinth had a problem. It was badly infected with the “Me First” virus. In 1st Corinthians chapters 1 through 3, Paul pointed out that the Christians were squabbling over whose conversion was the most valid or authentic. … Continue reading →
• He Broke Down The Wall - (I gave this talk on a day the preacher spoke about Christians being brothers.) In our culture there is a lot of emphasis on race and ethnic origins. Even when you fill out some form which is totally unrelated, they ask you what race you belong to. All too often people use the politics of … Continue reading →
• Life That Is Truly Life - (Prepared for a sermon on 1 Timothy 6:17-21) At one time or another, just about everyone asks himself what life is all about. We’d like to think that we are here for some purpose. We want to know the meaning of life. There’s an emptiness within us which longs to be filled. In the attempt to … Continue reading →
• Joy - (Prepared to go along with a sermon on 1 Timothy 5:17-22) In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul devotes a lot of time to discussing church leaders. He talks about their character. He talks about their qualifications. He talks about about their work. As I read through the book one question which comes to … Continue reading →