COMMUNION
You can take communion at home or just about anywhere
First, is it possible to take communion at home? Yes, it is. Actually, when Jesus first modeled the spiritual tradition of communion, He did it in someone’s home. If you’re a Jesus follower, you can take communion just about anywhere.
Did you grow up in a church that offered communion as part of the service every so often? If you’re attending Life Fellowship, you’ve probably noticed that communion is served every first Sunday of the month as a part of the service.
Let’s talk about taking communion at home. If you’ve ever thought of taking communion with your family, Life Group or Microsite, good for you. That’s a great idea. We’re going to give some really practical ways to do that soon. But first, what is communion all about?
The most famous story of communion in the Bible is the story of The Last Supper. It was Jesus’ last dinner with His disciples before He was killed. You can read the story (and if you’re going to host communion you’ll definitely want to) in Matthew 26, Luke 22, and Mark 14. It happened as part of the celebration of Passover which was actually a festival that began in the Old Testament period. Jewish people would have celebrated Passover as a way to remember how God brought them out of Egypt and spared their lives in so many ways. The eating of the bread and drinking of the wine that led to what we call communion is still a regular part of celebrating Passover that Jewish people and some Christians celebrate each year.
With Passover as the setting, Jesus took the bread, broke it, yet didn’t follow the typical Passover tradition. He said, “Eat. This is My body.” Then, with the cup of wine, He explained further.
And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.” Matthew 26:27-28 NLT
In Luke’s Gospel, he included a few more of Jesus’ words from that evening, “do this in remembrance of me.” Those six words, and the Apostle Paul’s reminder in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, are the motivation for why we take communion together as Jesus followers. Jesus asked us to carry out this simple tradition to remember that He gave His life for our lives. That He was poured out to wash away our sins. Like baptism, communion is a spiritual symbol and reminder of what Jesus has done. But it holds power not only as a symbol, it also reminds us to invite the Holy Spirit to examine our lives and to continue to do His work of washing us by the grace of Jesus.
After taking communion, Jesus and His followers walked to the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed His famous prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane only hours before He was arrested and eventually died so that we could truly live.
Did you grow up in a church that offered communion as part of the service every so often? If you’re attending Life Fellowship, you’ve probably noticed that communion is served every first Sunday of the month as a part of the service.
Let’s talk about taking communion at home. If you’ve ever thought of taking communion with your family, Life Group or Microsite, good for you. That’s a great idea. We’re going to give some really practical ways to do that soon. But first, what is communion all about?
The most famous story of communion in the Bible is the story of The Last Supper. It was Jesus’ last dinner with His disciples before He was killed. You can read the story (and if you’re going to host communion you’ll definitely want to) in Matthew 26, Luke 22, and Mark 14. It happened as part of the celebration of Passover which was actually a festival that began in the Old Testament period. Jewish people would have celebrated Passover as a way to remember how God brought them out of Egypt and spared their lives in so many ways. The eating of the bread and drinking of the wine that led to what we call communion is still a regular part of celebrating Passover that Jewish people and some Christians celebrate each year.
With Passover as the setting, Jesus took the bread, broke it, yet didn’t follow the typical Passover tradition. He said, “Eat. This is My body.” Then, with the cup of wine, He explained further.
And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.” Matthew 26:27-28 NLT
In Luke’s Gospel, he included a few more of Jesus’ words from that evening, “do this in remembrance of me.” Those six words, and the Apostle Paul’s reminder in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, are the motivation for why we take communion together as Jesus followers. Jesus asked us to carry out this simple tradition to remember that He gave His life for our lives. That He was poured out to wash away our sins. Like baptism, communion is a spiritual symbol and reminder of what Jesus has done. But it holds power not only as a symbol, it also reminds us to invite the Holy Spirit to examine our lives and to continue to do His work of washing us by the grace of Jesus.
After taking communion, Jesus and His followers walked to the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed His famous prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane only hours before He was arrested and eventually died so that we could truly live.