Here are some final thoughts on celebrating the Lord's Supper.
(You can catch- up with part one and part two of this series)
One final thought and issue is answering the question, how often should the Sacrament be practiced? These are Calvin's thoughts on the matter, "As to the time of using it, no certain rule can be prescribed for all. For there are sometimes special circumstances which excuse a man for abstaining; and, moreover, we have no express command to constrain all Christians to use a specified day. However, if we duly consider the end which our Lord has in view, we shall perceive that the use should be more frequent than many make it: for the more infirmity presses, the more necessary is it frequently to have recourse to what may and will serve to confirm our faith, and advance us in purity of life; and, therefore, the practice of all well ordered churches should be to celebrate the Supper frequently, so far as the capacity of the people will admit."
According to Calvin, there is freedom in the frequency of practicing communion, although Calvin's exhortation is to celebrate it as frequently as possible. Here at Big Creek Church, we have chosen to celebrate communion weekly.
One natural concern and question is "If we celebrate the Lord's Supper every week, won't it become rote, become too familiar and loose it's power?". I personally understand the concern behind this question. I came from a traditional church, in which we had communion every Sunday. But it was practiced in a ritualistic way that had no life or real meaning. But I feel as if that experience for me and for others in the church has corrupted the heart of communion.
When we celebrate Communion, we see it as an opportunity to point people to Christ. Christ becomes exalted. I may hit a "single" with my sermon that morning, but Christ hits a "home-run" every time through the sacrament. Communion gives us a natural opportunity to point people and invite them to the cross. Here is an example of that from my sermon a couple of weeks ago, the example is during the last 5 minutes of the sermon.
Also, even though we feel compelled to celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly from a theological conviction, what has been so encouraging to hear the feedback, especially from visitors, on how much they appreciate that we do it every week. People are significantly blessed by the Lord's Supper. In order to keep it fresh though, we celebrate it in various ways. Sometimes we pass the trays and elements while people are seated, and then we take all together. Sometimes we have elders at stations throughout the sanctuary, and people walk up to us, take the elements and the elders pray for them. Sometimes when we do stations, we do intinction, where people take the bread and dip it into the wine (we offer juice as well for those who may prefer it). We have done table communion, where families join the elder and receive the elements while seated at a table.
In conclusion, the Lord's Supper is a wonderful means of His Grace in our life, and we choose to celebrate it weekly believing that it will strengthen, encourage and feed our faith and walk with the Lord. How do you celebrate the Lord's Supper? I would greatly appreciate your thoughts, comments or questions on this subject.
If you would like all three parts of this series in a PDF file sent to your email, you may request a copy sent to you via email by using the Contact page.
These are highly recommended books about the subject of the Lord's Supper:
Lord's Supper by Robert Letham
What is the Lord's Supper? by Richard Phillips
Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin's Doctrine of the Lord's Supper by Keith Mathison
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