Why do we practice communion?
Channel: Chapelstreet Church
Date: 2023-04-06

What makes communion significant? Why do Christians take communion?  

Have you ever been on a trip where the entire schedule was based around meals? The group planner says, “We’ll have breakfast at 9, lunch at noon, and then we’ll have some time to kill before dinner.”

Meals are most meaningful when they’re shared. As C.S. Lewis put it, “The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.” Shared meals do much more than nourish us; they bond us together.

Jesus instituted Lord’s Supper to have the same two effects: to nourish our souls and to bond us together—both with him and with one another. This, of course, is why the meal is often referred to as communion. At the Table, we not only look back to the atoning sacrifice of Christ and look forward to his future return in glory, but we also presently commune with Christ and his people in a special way.

Jesus invites you to the Table because he loves you. He desires to be with you, to physically assure you of his forgiveness and love, and to remind you that he will stop at nothing to save you.

In today’s video, Pastor of Creative Kenton Kober explains the significance of communion and how Jesus wants to encourage and bless you through it.

This is Day 19 of our 20 Days on Following Jesus series. Find the rest of the series here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0lnY-4k_FoicFce0YaSUseBovJiNQ7GO 

A Prayer for Today
Triune God, thank you for forgiving and saving me through the blood of Christ. You, LORD, have defeated death with death; you have enlivened me by your Spirit. Thank you for rescuing me from darkness, freeing me from bondage to sin, and uniting me to Christ. Thank you for your eternal covenant, which is my daily assurance. Thank you for inviting your people to your Table to share in intimate communion with you and one another. Use this meal to strengthen us, encourage us, sanctify us, and fill us with your life-giving presence. I love you, Lord. Amen.

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BIBLE VERSES REFERENCED
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Mark 14:22–24 (NIV): “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and  when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26 (ESV): “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
1 Corinthians 11:28 (NIV): “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.”
Matthew 5:23–24 (NIV): “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

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ADDITIONAL VERSES TO EXPLORE
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Matthew 26:17–28
1 Corinthians 11:17–34
Revelation 19:6–9

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ARTICLE SUGGESTIONS
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How to Give (and Receive) Repentance
https://tinyurl.com/4rxhv7dt
Repentance that Leads to Death
https://tinyurl.com/5w7nxr49

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SONG SUGGESTIONS
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Remembrance (Matt Maher) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMg-CTBwd5M 
The Passover Song (Caroline Cobb) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjILH2YNUc 
We Will Feast in the House of Zion (Sandra McCracken) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZc3_sJXXUY 

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CONNECT WITH US
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