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.

• Fix Your Eyes on Jesus - We live in a violent and uncertain world. It’s virtually impossible to pick up the paper or turn on the radio without being confronted with some fresh atrocity or outbreak of unrest. War and terrorism are no longer things which just happen in distant places, but have the ability to touch us and our loved … Continue reading →
• The New Covenant - Luke records that just prior to His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus ate a meal with His disciples. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the … Continue reading →
• Authority - If we are honest with ourselves, most of us probably have a little trouble with authority. The truth is that we have a tendency to resent it. We’re an independent lot and we don’t like somebody telling us what to do. We like to be in charge and, quite frankly, we like to think that … Continue reading →