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.

• It’s Time - (Prepared to go along with a sermon on Acts 24:24-26 titled “When It’s Convenient”) Solomon wrote, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV) This year in particular I’m enjoying the change in the seasons from Winter to Spring. From my office window I can see … Continue reading →
• Escape From Hell - One of the arguments people use to say that there cannot be a God is the existence of evil. They say that if an all-powerful, good God existed, He would not permit the pain and suffering we see all around us. People who say such things fail to recognize that if God is to give … Continue reading →
• New Birth - Every birth is special. It’s a time of wonder and amazement. I suppose that when he or she first holds a newborn, just about every parent thinks about the potential of this new life. What is this child born to do? Who will this child become? Will this child live up to its potential? We … Continue reading →
• Suicide - I don’t know what drives people to commit suicide. I’ve never been particularly tempted to take my own life. However, I imagine that the major cause of suicide is despair. Someone feels so hopeless; he feels that the situation is so beyond his ability to cope that there is no way out. Death is preferable … Continue reading →
• Forgiven - In Christian circles you hear a lot about belief and faith. There is a certain body of knowledge that a person has to accept as true in order to become a Christian. When teaching – even when going verse by verse through a book of the Bible – it is easy to just concentrate on … Continue reading →
• Seeing Reality - Have you ever had the experience of walking somewhere at night and being scared by something you saw? You saw a shadow and thought that something, or somebody, was going to jump out at you. Or, perhaps you saw what looked like eyes staring at you. Your fight or flight mechanism started to kick in. … Continue reading →
• Reenacting the New Covenant - No doubt we are all very familiar with the passage in 1st Corinthians 11: “The Lord Jesus, on the night 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.” In the same way, after supper … Continue reading →
• Number One - Many people live by the philosophy that you have to look out for ‘number one.’ Number one, of course, is themselves. They justify it by another saying. “If you don’t look out for yourself, no one else will.” What it really boils down to is selfishness. We want to have our own way. We want … Continue reading →
• Unless a Seed Dies - No one likes to go through pain and suffering. But sometimes pain and suffering is absolutely necessary in order to obtain a desired outcome. Jesus put it this way, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, … Continue reading →
• Freedom - We consider ourselves a free people. But, what is freedom? Freedom really has no meaning except in contrast to its opposite. In a political context it means not being subjected to tyranny or oppression. In a social context it means not being bound by convention or peer pressure. When we speak of religious freedom we … Continue reading →