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COMMUNION
The Lord's Supper
 
Welcome! We have been dining at the Lord's table for many days now. Some of you have completed your first 40-day journey and are now well into another. Others may be in the midst of your first journey. No matter how long you have been dining with the Lord, the important thing is that you are spending time with Him on a daily basis, getting to know Him more intimately and growing more in love with Him each day.
 
When Jesus met with His disciples in the upper room to celebrate the Passover Supper, which was a required observance under the old mosaic covenant (reference Numbers 9:13), He instituted a new meal that would inaugurate the new covenant between God and all men, a new covenant of grace sealed with His blood (reference Mark 14:12-25).
 
Observed in remembrance of God's faithfulness, the Passover Supper celebrates the Lord's deliverance of His chosen nation from their Egyptian bondage. On that original Passover night, the angel of the Lord passed over the homes of those who had obediently covered their doorframes with the blood of a perfect lamb (Exodus 12:21-28), sparing the all the firstborn in the household.
On the night before His crucifixion, as the Lord reclined with His disciples in the upper room, sharing the bread and the cup, He revealed that a new deliverance was about to be accomplished, which would result from the sacrificial and atoning death of the perfect and sinless Lamb of God.
 
The Scriptures do not specifically instruct how often we should observe the Lord's Supper; we know only that we should "until He comes" (reference Acts 11:26). Many of us have participated in this Holy sacrament at church, but we may not have considered observing the Lord's Supper in the privacy of our own home. Our Sunday morning worship often becomes routine, and we may take for granted, or fail to recognize, the reverent reason underlying the order of the service.
 

The communion site here in the Temple provides an opportunity to observe the Lord's Supper, personally and privately. It is a means by which we can channel our newly rekindled intimacy with the Lord, taking it to a deeper level as we reflect on our spiritual routines and traditions, which may have become rote behaviors instead of true acts of worship towards the Lord.  

 

Before you enter your time of personal communion with Him, you will need two supplies: a cracker, or piece of bread, and a small cup of grape juice.

 

Our focus is our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As you enter a time of contemplative prayer and worship, the song, "Jesus," will guide your thoughts towards the One Who brought you to this place. Take this opportunity to examine your heart, and prepare yourself to partake of the bread and the cup. (The worship song, "Jesus," was graciously provided by Alberto and Kimberly Rivera** from their CD, The Longing).

 

The Lord's Supper

(Mark 14:22-24)

 

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it,

and gave it to His disciples, saying,

'Take it; this is My Body.'

Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them,

and they all drank from it.

'This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.' "

 

                                                                                                            

Jesus began with a prayer of thanksgiving to His Father. As you enter your time of reflective prayer and confession, begin by offering a prayer of gratitude for the great sacrifice made on your behalf. 

 

"A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread

and drinks of the cup."

(1 Corinthians 11:28)

 

It is important to examine your heart, considering your attitude and your motive for coming before the Lord and partaking of the sacraments. We must remember that the bread and cup symbolize the very body and blood of Christ, given for each of us. As members of the body of Christ (His Church), we are to live holy and pleasing lives, and we are to exhort and encourage the entire Body to work in unity, remaining connected to the Head, which is Christ. (For further reflection during your time of confession and repentance, click on "Prayers of Repentance").

 

"Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth,

unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man

and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life,

and I will raise him up on the last day.

For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood

remains in Me, and I in him.' "

(John 6:53-56)

 

In Luke 22:19, Jesus instructs the disciples to take the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Him. In the Old Testament, however, only those who were consecrated to the Lord could partake of the Passover meal (reference Exodus 12:43-48). The same principle applies under the new covenant: only those who, by faith, have experienced the saving grace of the Lord's death and resurrection can truly digest the significance of the Lord's Supper.

 

After you have offered the Lord a prayer of gratitude, spend some time examining your heart and confessing your sins. Then, partake of the bread and the cup, using the Scripture in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide you.

 

"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.' "

 

[Eat the bread.]

 

"In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying,

'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it,

in remembrance of Me.' "

 

 [Drink the cup.]

 

Spend as much time as you desire in additional worship and prayer. As you go forth today, remember to live a life of obedience unto the Lord. "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." (Exodus 24:7b).

 

Come back to the Lord's Table at anytime. This observance is a reminder of what Jesus did for us, but it is also a promise of what He is going to do.

 

" 'Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,

and His bride has made herself ready.

Fine linen, bright and clean,

was given her to wear.

Blessed are those who are invited

to the wedding supper of the Lamb.' "

 

(Revelation 19:6b-8a; 9a)

 

 

** For more information on the music ministry of Alberto and Kimberly Rivera, please visit their website, www.rainingpresence.com.