"By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:35
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
© 2007 Northcrest Church of Christ
| 918 Tehuacana Rd. P.O. Box 283. Mexia, Texas 76667 (254)562-3533 (254)562- 7953 |
FAQs: What is communion (the Lord's Supper), and why do you do it every week?
People often ask members of the Church of Christ, "Why do you partake of the Lord's
Supper?" or else, "Why do you do it every week?"
For those who have never had any experience with communion, it is a practice that
has been a part of the church ever since its inception 2000 years ago in the book of
Acts. Though our practice today takes place in a little different context, we still
observe this timeless tradition just as our forefathers did, and just as Christ did with
His disciples. After we give thanks for the bread and later, the wine (we use grape
juice), these symbols are passed throughout the crowd, and each member partakes,
first by breaking the bread, and then by drinking from the cup.
Supper?" or else, "Why do you do it every week?"
For those who have never had any experience with communion, it is a practice that
has been a part of the church ever since its inception 2000 years ago in the book of
Acts. Though our practice today takes place in a little different context, we still
observe this timeless tradition just as our forefathers did, and just as Christ did with
His disciples. After we give thanks for the bread and later, the wine (we use grape
juice), these symbols are passed throughout the crowd, and each member partakes,
first by breaking the bread, and then by drinking from the cup.
So much can be said about the Lord's Supper, or communion, but here are just a few of the basics of what it means to us:
1) It is a memorial to Jesus' death. As Jesus said in Luke 22:19, "Do this in remembrance of me," so it is a way to remember the
sacrifice He made for us. Of course, these are symbols of Christ's body crucified.
2) It is a recognition that Jesus is present with us. Not only do we remember back to when Jesus walked the earth and spoke to us
humans, we recognize that He is still present with us today in Spirit, in our worship service together.
3) It is a reminder that we will feast with Him again face to face in the future. We look forward to that time when we will be
with Him again, and do so with eager expectation as we partake every week.
4) It is a reminder to ourselves that we are to be living sacrifices, just as Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. See Romans 12:1-2.
5) It is a symbol of unity among believers. Everyone in our congregation comes from different backgrounds, and each one of us are
unique and different- different races, ages, socioeconomic statuses, political viewpoints, and on and on. But the one thing, and the
ONLY thing, that we all have in common that unites us, is the body and blood of Jesus given for us in our stead. It puts things in
perspective.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons, but should help explain why we deem this practice to be so important. There is
nothing wierd or cultish about it, as many from the outside world might claim. We do not hold to the idea of transubstantiation (that
these elements actually become the body and the blood of the real Jesus), but believe that the meaning is in the heart of the act. It
is simply a symbol that we hold near and dear to our hearts as followers of Jesus.
Do you really need to do it EVERY week?
Some people question the practice of communion every week as either unneccesary, or say it lessens the impact or importance of it.
We look at the first century church, and see that they took of the Lord's Supper at least weekly. Any one who partakes this often will
admit that it sometimes can be a struggle for us to keep it in perspective and remember exactly how important it is. But you could say
the same thing about weekly worship services, daily prayer, or any regular practice of a Christian - it is tough to always keep a right
focus when it becomes regular. When you come to Northcrest, expect that we will partake of the Lord's Supper, not just on
occasion, but every Sunday morning that we gather. We consider it the central part of our worship service.
1) It is a memorial to Jesus' death. As Jesus said in Luke 22:19, "Do this in remembrance of me," so it is a way to remember the
sacrifice He made for us. Of course, these are symbols of Christ's body crucified.
2) It is a recognition that Jesus is present with us. Not only do we remember back to when Jesus walked the earth and spoke to us
humans, we recognize that He is still present with us today in Spirit, in our worship service together.
3) It is a reminder that we will feast with Him again face to face in the future. We look forward to that time when we will be
with Him again, and do so with eager expectation as we partake every week.
4) It is a reminder to ourselves that we are to be living sacrifices, just as Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. See Romans 12:1-2.
5) It is a symbol of unity among believers. Everyone in our congregation comes from different backgrounds, and each one of us are
unique and different- different races, ages, socioeconomic statuses, political viewpoints, and on and on. But the one thing, and the
ONLY thing, that we all have in common that unites us, is the body and blood of Jesus given for us in our stead. It puts things in
perspective.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons, but should help explain why we deem this practice to be so important. There is
nothing wierd or cultish about it, as many from the outside world might claim. We do not hold to the idea of transubstantiation (that
these elements actually become the body and the blood of the real Jesus), but believe that the meaning is in the heart of the act. It
is simply a symbol that we hold near and dear to our hearts as followers of Jesus.
Do you really need to do it EVERY week?
Some people question the practice of communion every week as either unneccesary, or say it lessens the impact or importance of it.
We look at the first century church, and see that they took of the Lord's Supper at least weekly. Any one who partakes this often will
admit that it sometimes can be a struggle for us to keep it in perspective and remember exactly how important it is. But you could say
the same thing about weekly worship services, daily prayer, or any regular practice of a Christian - it is tough to always keep a right
focus when it becomes regular. When you come to Northcrest, expect that we will partake of the Lord's Supper, not just on
occasion, but every Sunday morning that we gather. We consider it the central part of our worship service.