Another part of worship you will experience when visiting with us every Sunday is the Lord’s Supper. Whether a Sunday morning worship or Sunday evening, we always make a point to partake of the Bread and the Fruit of the Vine. God has called us to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). While worshipping with the Blackman church of Christ, you may notice that we may do things a little different than you are used to. As for why, you can see the reasons why described below. If you have any questions, please let us know; we would love to study this with you further.
The Command
The Lord’s Supper is described in four locations: Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:12-25, Luke 22:18-20, and 1 Corinthians 11:17-32. These passages teach us some important aspects of the Lord’s Supper:
- It consists of two elements: the bread (which represents His body), and the cup (which represents the “blood of the covenant”).
- “The bread” would have been “unleavened” (made without yeast) as no leavened bread would have been permitted in the house during the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” (See Exodus 12.15-20 for more details).
- “The cup” would have contained “the fruit of the vine”– a reference to a drink made from the fruit of grapes.
The Action
When you visit with us, you will notice that we observe the Lord’s Supper during Sunday morning and Sunday evening services. This is how we strive to follow Paul’s command “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (I Corinthians 11:26)
The Reasons
We partake of the Lord’s Supper every week because the early church did the same.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul describes how the church received the Lord’s Supper “when they came together” (1 Corinthians 11:17,18,20,33,34).
The book of Acts uses the phrase “the breaking of bread”. This appears to reference both fellowship and, in particular, the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42-46). In Acts 20:7, we see that the church in the Bible gathered together for the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week–every week. Following that example, we remember Jesus and His sacrifice through the partaking of the bread and the cup every week, as well.
The Method
Since the church in Scripture partook of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of every week, we do the same. We will have a baptized brother in Christ who will begin by saying a few words to help center our thoughts upon the sacrifice of Christ. Then, typically other brothers will lead the congregation in prayer for the bread, and then the cup. Sometimes, we will have individual cups provided ahead of time to those partaking. Other times, we will pass these out individually. In either case, we strive to reflect upon the death, burial, and resurrection as we partake first of the bread, and then the cup, together.
1 Corinthians 11:23-29 ~ 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.