What is Communion?
The Lord’s Supper (or Eucharist) is the sign and seal of our communion with the crucified and risen Lord. Jesus shared meals with his followers throughout his earthly life and ministry—common suppers, miraculous feasts, and the covenant commemorations of the people of God. Jesus spoke of himself as the bread of life, and the true vine, in whom we are branches. On the night before his death, Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples. He spoke of the bread and wine as his body and blood, signs of the new covenant and told the disciples to remember him by keeping this feast. On the day of his resurrection, Jesus made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of the bread. The disciples continued to devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, prayers, and the common meal. As Paul wrote, when we share the bread and cup in Jesus’ name, “we who are many are one body” (1 Cor. 10:17).
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper offers an abundant feast of theological meaning, including: thanksgiving to God the Father; remembrance of Jesus Christ; invocation of the Holy Spirit; communion in the body of Christ; and a meal of the realm of God. The Reformed tradition understands the Lord’s Supper to be a sign of God’s covenant. The bread of the Lord’s Supper is linked with the bread of Passover and the gift of manna in the wilderness. The Lord’s Supper thus connects us with God’s saving power and providential care from generation to generation. Like the offering of sacrifices, a sign of Israel’s thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness, the Lord’s Supper is a sacrifice of praise and a sign of our gratitude for God’s steadfast love. The Lord’s Supper represents God’s gracious invitation to an everlasting covenant. The Lord’s Supper also reflects our calling to feed others as we have been fed, and offers a foretaste of that heavenly banquet when God will wipe away every tear and swallow up death forever.
The Lord’s Supper enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God’s sustaining grace offered to all people. The Lord’s Supper is at once God’s gift of grace, God’s means of grace, and God’s call to respond to that grace. Through the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Christ nourishes us in righteousness, faithfulness, and discipleship. Through the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit renews the Church in its identity and sends the Church to mission in the world.
When we gather at the Lord’s Supper the Spirit draws us into Christ’s presence and unites with the Church in every time and place. We join with all the faithful in heaven and on earth in offering thanksgiving to the triune God. We reaffirm the promises of our baptism and recommit ourselves to love and serve God, one another, and our neighbors in the world.
The opportunity to eat and drink with Christ is not a right bestowed upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who come in faith, repentance, and love. All who come to the table are offered the bread and cup, regardless of their age or understanding. If some of those who come have not yet been baptized, an invitation to baptismal preparation and Baptism should be graciously extended.
Worshipers prepare themselves to celebrate the Lord’s Supper by putting their trust in Christ, confessing their sin, and seeking reconciliation with God and one another. Even those who doubt may come to the table in order to be assured of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.
The Lord’s Supper shall be celebrated as a regular part of the Service for the Lord’s Day, preceded by the proclamation of the Word, in the gathering of the people of God. When local circumstances call for the Lord’s Supper to be celebrated less frequently, the session may approve other schedules for celebration, in no case less than quarterly. If the Lord’s Supper is celebrated less frequently than on each Lord’s Day, public notice is to be given at least one week in advance so that all may prepare to receive the Sacrament.
*Taken from the Book of Order
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper offers an abundant feast of theological meaning, including: thanksgiving to God the Father; remembrance of Jesus Christ; invocation of the Holy Spirit; communion in the body of Christ; and a meal of the realm of God. The Reformed tradition understands the Lord’s Supper to be a sign of God’s covenant. The bread of the Lord’s Supper is linked with the bread of Passover and the gift of manna in the wilderness. The Lord’s Supper thus connects us with God’s saving power and providential care from generation to generation. Like the offering of sacrifices, a sign of Israel’s thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness, the Lord’s Supper is a sacrifice of praise and a sign of our gratitude for God’s steadfast love. The Lord’s Supper represents God’s gracious invitation to an everlasting covenant. The Lord’s Supper also reflects our calling to feed others as we have been fed, and offers a foretaste of that heavenly banquet when God will wipe away every tear and swallow up death forever.
The Lord’s Supper enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God’s sustaining grace offered to all people. The Lord’s Supper is at once God’s gift of grace, God’s means of grace, and God’s call to respond to that grace. Through the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Christ nourishes us in righteousness, faithfulness, and discipleship. Through the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit renews the Church in its identity and sends the Church to mission in the world.
When we gather at the Lord’s Supper the Spirit draws us into Christ’s presence and unites with the Church in every time and place. We join with all the faithful in heaven and on earth in offering thanksgiving to the triune God. We reaffirm the promises of our baptism and recommit ourselves to love and serve God, one another, and our neighbors in the world.
The opportunity to eat and drink with Christ is not a right bestowed upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who come in faith, repentance, and love. All who come to the table are offered the bread and cup, regardless of their age or understanding. If some of those who come have not yet been baptized, an invitation to baptismal preparation and Baptism should be graciously extended.
Worshipers prepare themselves to celebrate the Lord’s Supper by putting their trust in Christ, confessing their sin, and seeking reconciliation with God and one another. Even those who doubt may come to the table in order to be assured of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.
The Lord’s Supper shall be celebrated as a regular part of the Service for the Lord’s Day, preceded by the proclamation of the Word, in the gathering of the people of God. When local circumstances call for the Lord’s Supper to be celebrated less frequently, the session may approve other schedules for celebration, in no case less than quarterly. If the Lord’s Supper is celebrated less frequently than on each Lord’s Day, public notice is to be given at least one week in advance so that all may prepare to receive the Sacrament.
*Taken from the Book of Order
What does the Presbyterian Church (USA) believe about Communion?
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Gifts of God: The Sacraments - Communion: A Feast of Grace by PC USA Church
This video is 5:32 minutes long
Bible Passage
When people celebrate holidays, they often eat special meals together. What kind of food do you eaat at Christmas? At Easter? On your birthday? Jesus and the disciples ate a meal to celebrate the Passover when they were in Jerusalem.
When Jesus and the disciples went into Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday, it was time for the Passover festival. Jewish people traveled from all over to Jerusalem. They came to remember how God sent Moses to lead them out of slavery into the Promised Land. An important part of this celebration was the Passover meal.
Jesus sent his friends Peter and John into the city. He said, "Find a place where we can eat the Passover meal together."
"Where do you want us to prepare the meal? We don't live here," they asked.
"You will meet a man carrying a jar of water," answered Jesus. "He will show you an upstairs guestroom in his house."
Peter and John went to Jerusalem. They saw the man with the water jar, He showed them his upstairs guestroom where the meal could be prepared, just like Jesus had said.
Later, Jesus and all the disciples came to the upstairs room. When the meal was ready, they gathered around the table to eat the Passover meal of lamb, vegetables, and herbs. Jesus looked around the table. He said, "I am glad to eat this Passover meal with you. It might be a long time until we eat together again."
Jesus picked up a cup. He said, "Thank you, God, for this food."
Then Jesus picked up a loaf of bread and tore it into pieces. He gave the bread to his disciples. "This bread is like my body," he said. "Remember me when you eat bread with your friends and family."
When everyone had eaten, Jesus lifted the cup again. He said, "This cup is like the blood that makes each human live. Remember me when you drink from this cup."
This was a new way to celebrate the Passover. The disciples were confused about some things that Jesus said. But tonight, they were happy to be together.
*Taken from Growing in God's Love: A Storybook Bible
When Jesus and the disciples went into Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday, it was time for the Passover festival. Jewish people traveled from all over to Jerusalem. They came to remember how God sent Moses to lead them out of slavery into the Promised Land. An important part of this celebration was the Passover meal.
Jesus sent his friends Peter and John into the city. He said, "Find a place where we can eat the Passover meal together."
"Where do you want us to prepare the meal? We don't live here," they asked.
"You will meet a man carrying a jar of water," answered Jesus. "He will show you an upstairs guestroom in his house."
Peter and John went to Jerusalem. They saw the man with the water jar, He showed them his upstairs guestroom where the meal could be prepared, just like Jesus had said.
Later, Jesus and all the disciples came to the upstairs room. When the meal was ready, they gathered around the table to eat the Passover meal of lamb, vegetables, and herbs. Jesus looked around the table. He said, "I am glad to eat this Passover meal with you. It might be a long time until we eat together again."
Jesus picked up a cup. He said, "Thank you, God, for this food."
Then Jesus picked up a loaf of bread and tore it into pieces. He gave the bread to his disciples. "This bread is like my body," he said. "Remember me when you eat bread with your friends and family."
When everyone had eaten, Jesus lifted the cup again. He said, "This cup is like the blood that makes each human live. Remember me when you drink from this cup."
This was a new way to celebrate the Passover. The disciples were confused about some things that Jesus said. But tonight, they were happy to be together.
*Taken from Growing in God's Love: A Storybook Bible
Faith Talk Questions
- What sorts of people are coming to this church? Can you find someone who is old? Someone who is very young? Can you find someone you might like to get to know?
- Can you find things in this book that we do at our church?
- What do you think it would have been like to be at the table with Jesus during the Last Supper?
- How is the Last Supper like our communion?
- Where else do we share food together? Do you think that God is with us in those places, too.
- What do you think Jesus meant when he said, "Remember me?"
- If you could take a picture of the scenes in this story, what would you show?
- Jews share the Passover meal to remember how God set them free from slavery. Christians share bread and cup at Communion to remember Jesus. What else can you do to remember Jesus?
Videos
Saddleback Kids
This video is 3:28 minutes long
Communion: Chuck Knows Church by Chuck Knows Church
This video is 3:03 minutes long
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The Bread and the Cup: Chuck Knows Church by Chuck Knows Church
This video is 3:05 minutes long
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Baking Bread with Miss Kelly
Books to Read
This video is 3:57 minutes long
Communion Songs
Hymn #505 Be Known to Us In Breaking Bread by Haig Mardirosian, Organist
This song is 1:13 minutes long
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"Let Us Break Bread Together" by Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Music Director Nancy Callahan
This song is 2:25 minutes long
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"Break Thou the Bread of Life" by Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Ladies Ensemble and Nancy Callahan
This song is 2:06 minutes long
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"Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ" by Grosse Pointe Memorial Church Virtual Choir with James Biery, organist
This song is 1:51 minutes long
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Remembrance by Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Connection Band
This song is 3:14 minutes long
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"We Gather Together" played by Haig Mardirosian
This song is 1:40 minutes long
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