What is Communion?
At least once a month, our church partakes in what is called the Communion or the Lord’s Supper (Table). It is time where we all “break bread” together and drink from the fruit of the vine. This often means eating a small piece of bread or cracker (often gluten-free to include all that we can) and some grape juice (not wine in order to make this a safe place for those struggling with alcoholism – Romans 14:21). We pray and then pass out the bread first waiting for every believer to have a piece and then we take it together. We then pass around the cup and again wait until every believer has some and take it together. Here are some questions you may have regarding communion:
Why do you take time out of your service to take Communion?
There are a number of reasons:
a) TO OBEY JESUS – Jesus commanded at the last supper with His disciples before His death, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25);
b) TO REMEMBER JESUS AND HIS DEATH – We are prone to forget how God saved us by taking Communion, it serves as a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us by dying on a Cross for our sins. This is why Jesus repeatedly said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”;
c) TO PROCLAIM JESUS – Every time we participate in the Communion we “proclaim the Lord’s death” (1 Corinthians 11:26) to both ourselves and those who do not believe in Jesus;
d) TO HOPE FOR JESUS’ RETURN – At the end of the Apostle Paul’s instructions on Communion, he remind us to proclaim “the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26); and
e) TO COMMUNE WITH JESUS AND HIS BODY (THE CHURCH) – When we eat this bread and drink this cup we are actually communing and participating with Jesus and His Body, the Church. As 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” Therefore, Communion is more than a memorial to remember His death, but Jesus’ spiritual presence is there at Communion in a unique way. This does not mean that the bread and blood turns into Christ’s actual body and blood as our Catholic friends believe in what is called transubstantiation. Nor does it mean that the body and blood of Jesus are present alongside the bread and cup as our Lutheran friends believe in what is called consubstantiation. Instead, when Jesus said in Matthew 26:26, “Take eat; this is My body,” He was speaking symbolically. The bread was not part of His physical body, but represented it. However, when we are at the Lord’s Table, He is the host!Who should participate in Communion?
BELIEVERS IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND OTHER BELIEVERS! Communion acts as a time of examination to see what you truly believe about Christ and if you are following Him. This is why 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” is believers in Jesus Christ who are walking obedience to God’s Word (1 Corinthians 11:27), who are peace in their relationships (Matthew 5:23-24), who confess known sin (1 John 1:9) and who remember Christ’s sacrifice for them (1 Corinthians 11:24). You do not have to be a member of Temple Baptist Church to participate in Communion here, but you must be a member of Christ’s Church. Pray Psalm 139:23-24 before Communion and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin to you whereby you should confess and repent of that sin. This is why we do not come to the table of Christ worthy of participating, but very aware of our need for Christ and His grace. Too often we think of this only as individuals, but since we are eating together and Communion is communal we must be discerning about our local church body and whether we are in right relationship with each other. For example, if you had a fight with your family or another member within the church before coming to church, you should seek forgiveness and reconciliation before participating in Communion.How old do you need to be to take Communion?
Participating in Communion is less a matter of age and more a matter of faith and understanding. YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNION IF YOU BELIEVE AND UNDERSTAND THAT JESUS DIED TO TAKE AWAY YOUR SINS! If a child has come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and understands that Communion is meant to obey, remember, proclaim, participate with and hope someday to see Jesus, then they should be allowed to participate in Communion. We believe this follows Jesus’ command to “Let the children come unto Me” (Matthew 19:14). Nevertheless, we submit to the parents who best know their children’s faith and understanding.Do you need to be baptized to take Communion?
Though we do not require baptism to participate in Communion, just faith, the New Testament teaches that the first command a new believer is to follow is to be baptized (Acts 2:38; Matthew 28:19). Therefore, we strongly urge new believers to be baptized once they understand the importance and reason for being baptized. GET BAPTIZED AND COMMUNION WILL BE MORE JOYFUL AND THANKFUL!How often do you take Communion?
The Early Church varied in their frequency of taking Communion. The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem right after Pentecost took it daily (Acts 2:46); while those Gentile Christians in Troas took it on the first day of the week (Sunday – Acts 20:7). Therefore, we believe we have liberty to determine how often we observe Communion, which is AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH!Do you offer Communion to people at home?
In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, we see the Apostle Paul’s rebuke for the Corinthian Christians who were divided and taking communion within cliques, not waiting for each other and some were even getting drunk. This evidences the importance of Communion being an event whereby the whole local church participates together. Therefore, COMMUNION SHOULD BE DONE WITH THE WHOLE LOCAL CHURCH BODY UNLESS A PERSON IS SICK OR SHUT-IN AND OUR ELDERS BRING COMMUNION TO THEM. Since we do not believe our small groups constitute a local church at this time, we would not encourage them to take communion by themselves.How do I prepare for Communion?
Coming to our worship celebrations eagerly expecting for God to work in our lives is a growth mindset. Since we often have Communion on the second Sunday of the month, it would be best if you confess your sins to God and reconcile with others before gathering with us at Temple. PRAY PSALM 139:23-24 FIRST AND BE READY TO MEET JESUS!