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.

• Proclaim His Death and Coming - Why do we take Communion? Why do we participate every Sunday in this thing we call the Lord’s Supper? There are a lot of reasons. However, I want to concentrate on just one of them. In the middle of a passage we often read at Communion time is a phrase that we probably don’t give … Continue reading →
• Choose Life - In our daily lives we have to make many choices. Often those choices are mutually exclusive. If we do this, we cannot do that. For example, when we’re driving our car down the street, if we choose to turn left, we cannot simultaneously turn right. The very act of turning left automatically closes off the … Continue reading →
• What Is Man? - (I prepared this meditation to go along with a sermon on Psalm 8.) At some point in our lives just about all of us ask the question, “Why am I here? What is my place in the grand scheme of things?” In trying to answer that question we run into one of the contradictions in … Continue reading →
• An Inheritance - Not too many days pass in which we do not get a rather pointed reminder about the uncertainty of life. We read or see on the news about a devastating earthquake. Thousands have died in an instant of time. In some other place, terrorists have massacred another village. A few days later we hear about … Continue reading →
• More To Be Pitied - We all go through struggles or hardships from time to time. But no matter how rough we have it, it’s pretty easy to look around us and see someone else who arouses our pity. For example, we might be feeling sorry for ourselves because we have car trouble. But then, we see someone who doesn’t … Continue reading →
• Royal Gambit - How many of you play chess? I’m absolutely no good at it, but occasionally it is fun to play against a computer program set on “easy”. I don’t play often. When I do, it’s purely for recreation. However, to others chess can be serious business or a passion. I once had the privilege of visiting … Continue reading →
• Imitate His Faith - Our minds are wired in such a way that when we hear a name, we automatically associate certain attributes or characteristics with it. Whether it is true or not, whether it is deserved or not, the image or description pops into our mind. For example, when we hear the name of a particular company we … Continue reading →
• It Was Night - During the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples before the crucifixion, He predicted that the disciple to whom he gave a piece of bread would betray Him. We know, of course, that it was Judas. In describing the scene, John records a detail that isn’t in the other accounts. He writes, “As soon as … Continue reading →
• When We Were Enemies - Our world’s a mess. Just about anywhere you look there is conflict and strife. The news is filled with the butchery that’s going on in the Middle East. There are wars all across Africa. Russia and Europe are facing off over Ukraine. India and Pakistan are fighting over who owns Kashmir. Even in places where … Continue reading →
• Remember the Spirit - During the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples before the crucifixion, He broke some bread, gave it to the disciples and said, “do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24) After supper Jesus passed a cup around and said, “drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25) Through the centuries, the church has kept … Continue reading →