The Lord’s Supper

Weekly Update – August 14th, 2025 

On Sunday, we took the Lord’s Supper together as a church.  We used to take it quarterly, then we paused for a while during Covid, began to take it every other month and now we take it monthly.  Some argue that taking the Lord’s Supper too frequently causes a church to forget its significance, but I would argue that we ought to long for the gospel to not only be proclaimed in word but also portrayed before our eyes as often as we gather.  Either way, hopefully this has become a normal, monthly rhythm for us to take the Lord’s Supper together on the second Sunday of the month.  Aside from frequency though, it is occasionally helpful to ask ourselves, what is the Lord’s Supper?  Perhaps answering this question will bring a bit more meaning to it when we take it every month. 

In Acts 2:42 we read, “And they (Christians) devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”  What is being described here is the weekly gathering of the church.  They hear preaching, fellowship with one another, pray and take the Lord’s Supper.  In a similar passage, we read, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…” Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 11:26 it says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”  Here, frequency is implied as Paul says, “as often as you eat…and drink…”  Either way, it appears as if early followers of Christ took the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis with one another. That means that the Lord’s Supper shouldn’t be seen as something that is merely a remembrance of what Christ has done with no present-day effect upon believers. If that were the case, then why does it matter when or if we take it at all. Instead, the Lord’s Supper is reminding us of God’s promise to save us. As John Calvin says in the Institutes of Christian Religion, the Lord’ Supper “represents God’s promises painted in a picture and sets them before our sight…”  So then, when we take this meal together, we are reaffirming the covenant Christ enacted on the night before his death, as we proclaim that that these promises are for us. If we are then reaffirming God’s covenant with us through Christ, that means that the Lord’s Supper is not just an act of remembrance, but an act of participation. 

Now when we say that the promises of God are for us, we often think of the forgiveness of sins.  Yes, the forgiveness of sins is key and necessary for us to have a right relationship with God, but there is so much more being promised to us when we are in Christ. We must also think of the promises of God including our ongoing communion with him as well. When we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, we begin to be reshaped into the image of Christ, as we embrace our new identity as adopted sons and daughters of God our father. When we gather for worship, this reality is pressed upon us, as we participate, as God’s people gathered together, in the taste of the redeemed life that we were originally created to live. The Lord’s Supper is part of this worship, allowing us to be active participates in the covenant promise of renewed fellowship and active communion with God.  It is here, in the Lord’s Supper, as Todd Billings says, “we taste and see how God provides the ground for resting in his love.” 

But not only are we tasting of God’s goodness now, as we reaffirm his promises to us, we also believe that the Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of life to come. Through Christ, our hope is set in the fact that our sins are forgiven.  But this is only the means to something greater. What I mean is, being forgiven opens up the door for a relationship with God. This relationship with God then culminates when we have unhindered fellowship with him in eternity. This is shown in Revelation 19:9 with all those who are united in the final supper, the marriage supper of the lamb.  There, all sin will be vanquished, all hope will be fulfilled, and Christ will be there, as we sit at his table in perfect peace. Therefore, the Lord’s Supper is meant to cause us to anticipate that moment, as we reflect upon our own lives, our relationship with God and with others, looking to the day when those we are gathered with, will join with us in a renewed creation. 

As we take the Lord’s Supper together, my hope is that we can see the significance that is placed upon holding to the promises of God and the desire for Christian fellowship, believing that the Lord’s Supper is as much a part of our worship service as is the singing, prayer or the reading of scripture. And as we continue in this rhythm, my hope is that we can grow in a renewed understanding of what is occurring during this meal, seeing it more than a time to remember the past, but as an opportunity to participate in what Christ has done for us, as we anticipate our future hope being fulfilled in the presence of God.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson