This Sunday we plan to sing...
- Agnus dei
- Join all the glorious names
- By Thy mercy
- How He loves
- Nothing but the blood
We will be celebrating communion this Sunday. Here are a few thoughts on communion from the Worship Sourcebook...
"The Lord’s Supper is... a
celebration and proclamation of
Jesus’ real, spiritual presence with
us, of the forgiveness offered to us
through Christ’s work on the cross,
and of the ongoing spiritual
nourishment he provides us. It is
also a celebration of the unity of Christ’s body,
the church, as well as a
meal of hope, of anticipating the
heavenly feast of Christ’s coming
kingdom. The Lord’s Supper is linked
to nearly every aspect of the gospel!"
Read more about what the Worship Sourcebook has to say about communion by clicking on the "Read More" link below... (also, check out other's Sunday setlist here)
"The Lord’s Supper is a physical,
ritual action, mandated by Jesus,
through which God acts to nourish,
sustain, comfort, challenge, teach,
and assure us. Arichly symbolic
act, the celebration of the Lord’s
Supper nourishes our faith and
stirs our imaginations to perceive
the work of God and the contours
of the gospel more clearly.
As the New Testament unfolds
the meaning of the feast, it describes
the Lord’s Supper as a
single celebration that conveys
several layers of meaning. First,
the Lord’s Supper is a celebration
of memory and hope. We remember
all that God has done for us,
especially in Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is a thankful remembrance
of the entire life and ministry of
Christ: his participation in the
creation of the world; his birth at
Bethlehem; his teaching and
miracles; his suffering, death,
resurrection, and ascension; his
sending of the Spirit; and his
second coming and final reign.
Significantly we remember not
only the actual events (past and
future), but especially how those
events give us an identity, how
they transform us and all creation.
The Lord’s Supper is also a
celebration and proclamation of
Jesus’ real, spiritual presence with
us, of the forgiveness offered to us
through Christ’s work on the cross,
and of the ongoing spiritual
nourishment he provides us. It is
also a celebration of the unity of
Christ’s body, the church, as well as a
meal of hope, of anticipating the
heavenly feast of Christ’s coming
kingdom.
The Lord’s Supper is linked
to nearly every aspect of the gospel!
This means that the Lord’s Supper
is appropriate in a worship service
based on any scriptural theme during
any season of the year.
The particular theme or season will likely suggest
which dimension of the Lord’s
Supper can be highlighted. During
Advent the celebration may highlight
our expectation of Christ’s coming
kingdom. During Holy Week it may
emphasize the significance of Christ’s
suffering and death. During Eastertide
the Lord’s Supper may be a feast
of celebration for Christ’s victory.
This sacrament’s multiple layers of
meaning are conveyed in part by the
different names for the celebration.
“Lord’s Supper” conveys that Jesus
himself is host of the supper and that
we celebrate this feast in obedience to
Christ.
“Communion” highlights the
intimate union we experience with
both Christ and fellow believers.
“Eucharist” (based on the Greek
word for “thanksgiving”) names this
feast as a meal of gratitude, just as the
last supper was, for Jesus and his
disciples, a meal of thanksgiving.
Whatever the particular theme of
the service or season, it’s especially
important to underscore the following
pastoral themes in celebrations of the
Lord’s Supper.
Throughout the history of the church,
including the present day, the greatest
problems associated with the Lord’s
Supper have developed when one or
more of these foundational claims
have become distorted or unclear.
• The Lord’s Supper is a celebration
of God’s grace, not human
achievement. It is a means of grace
through which God acts to seal the
promises of the gospel. The power
of the celebration does not lie in
our ability to think hard about
Jesus’ death and our sin, but in the
way God’s Spirit uses the celebration
to nourish and sustain us. The
Lord’s Supper is a gift!
• The Lord’s Supper is not an end in
itself. It always points beyond itself
to celebrate God’s grace and
covenant faithfulness. This does
not mean the physical aspects of
the celebration are incidental or
unimportant. The Lord’s Supper
should be a celebration fitting to
the abundant grace of God offered
in Christ.
• The Lord’s Supper is a sign of a
covenantal relationship. Our
relationship with God in Christ is
based on promises. That’s why the
celebration of the Lord’s Supper
fittingly begins with a clear
statement of God’s invitation and
promises and continues with a robust prayer of thanksgiving and
hope.
• The Lord’s Supper is deeply
personal, but never private. It is a
communal action of the gathered
congregation, which represents the
church in all times and places.
Worshipers need to be taught these
themes and how to incorporate them
in celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
Often denominational resources
provide a complete service or “form”
for the Lord’s Supper. Some congregations
follow such forms word-forword;
others ignore them altogether.
In either approach it is possible to
miss the point of what we do at the
Lord’s Supper—and why. The
following resources draw on the rich
pastoral wisdom that gave rise to
traditional Lord’s Supper forms and
offer several options for use in
different contexts.
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