Sacrament of Communion
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Recall a recent celebration you were part of. How important was it?
โข Tell us about one of your daily routines. What is it for and why do you do it?
โข Name one of your family traditions. What does it say about what you value as a family?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ข๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ ย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ญ:๐ฎ๐ฏโ๐ฎ๐ฑ
We remember what we value, celebrating holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. Christians are also called to remembrance. Communion or โThe Lordโs Supperโ is one of the two sacraments we practice as a church. Sacraments are visible signs that point us to the gospel. Through communion, we remember and proclaim the finished work of Christ on the cross, and this is done in the context of a community. Letโs discover four reasons we are called to observe communion.
๐ญ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐โ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐.
. . . โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ข๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ญ:๐ฎ๐ฑ
Jesus instituted communion and taught it to His disciples who also shared it to other believers. It has two elements: the bread which symbolizes Christโs body that was broken for us and the cup which symbolizes His blood that was shed for us. During communion, Jesus is not physically present with us, but His presence dwells with all believers. We can give thanks not only because our sins are forgiven, but we now have a new covenant relationship with God. Knowing this, how should we approach communion?
๐ฎ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ, ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต?ย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฌ:๐ญ๐ฒ
Communion signifies our participation and inclusion in Christโs sacrifice. We are part of the people Jesus died for. Since His body was broken for us, we are granted fellowship with Him and we are now part of His body. Since His blood was shed for us, the new covenant is sealed, and we are beneficiaries. Why is it important for us to identify with Jesus?
๐ฏ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐.
๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ.ย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฌ:๐ญ๐ณ
When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, one problem that he addressed was disunity. Many did not uphold the purpose and significance of communion. The rich disregarded the poor by eating ahead of and not saving some for the others. Partaking communion is meant to be shared with fellow believers, because it symbolizes our unity with Christ and each other. What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 11:27โ28, 33 about how we should observe communion?
๐ฐ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐น ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป๐.ย
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅโ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด. ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ญ:๐ฎ๐ฒ
The practice of communion inspires hope. This sacrament is both remembrance and expectation. For the time being, we remember what Jesus did, but we also anticipate what more He will do. Jesus will come again in glory, and a greater communion and feast await His saints (Revelation 19:9). How does Jesusโ return inspire hope in how we do communion?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข How does understanding the purpose of communion shape your approach towards it? How may our topic today help change the way you participate in communion?ย
โข Our church community worships together and is formed through communion. Pray for someone you may need to be reconciled with, and ask God to help you grow in unity and love as His Church.ย
โข How can our focus shift from the difficulties of this world to the hope of Christโs return? Is there someone you can encourage with this truth this week?ย
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for sending Jesus to save us. Thank Him for the sacraments by which we can celebrate Jesus and show gratitude for His grace.
โข Ask Him to help us have the right understanding and motivation as we participate in communion. Pray for unity in our local church and the body of Christ.
โข Pray for the Church to live in the hope we proclaim as we practice communion. Pray that we would be able to share this hope with others as a worshiping community.