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October 03, 2007
In Pastor's Words
Breaking Bread Together
The first Christians knew the importance of breaking bread together, better known to us as the Lord’s Supper. Acts 2:42 tells us that, immediately following Pentecost, the “breaking of bread” in the early church was a daily occurrence and became one of four basic pillars that supported the fundamental structure of the Church. The “breaking of bread” was and is observed in response to our Lord’s institution of it in the Gospels, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:19,20). About a quarter century after later, in AD 55, Paul reiterated Christ’s instruction to the Church at Corinth, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink in, in remembrance of me.”
What we learn from the institution of the Lord’s Supper is that it is a command to all of us in the Christian church 1) to look outward to the precious fellowship we have with Christ around the Table with other Christians, 2) to look backward to Jesus’ shed blood and sacrificial body on the cross which was foreshadowed by the sacrificial lamb at the Passover in the Old Testament, 3) to look inward to the work of grace through salvation by faith in Christ’s work on the cross, and 4) to look forward to our eternal union with Christ when He returns for His church. Until Jesus comes, we are instructed to be faithful at the Lord’s Table to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
All over the world this Sunday, designated “World Wide Communion,” Christians will observe the Lord’s Supper in obedience to Jesus’ command. They may not always observe the Supper with traditional bread and wine. While officiating at communion services in Africa, unique substitutes were sometimes used in dire circumstances. On one occasion, while visiting missionaries in the remote northern frontier in the Turkana tribal territory, only cookies and orange drink were available. On another occasion, during a bread shortage, fried egg substituted for the bread. In Masai land in an outdoor church service, where congregants sat on logs under the shade of an acacia tree, crackers and soda were all that were available. And so it will be this Sunday for world wide communion around the world. Regardless of what substances that will actually be used for the traditional bread and wine, the significance will be the same as Christians look outward, backward, inward and forward. And God will be pleased! Will you join us at Zion this Sunday to break bread with us?
Pastor Ralph Partelow
Posted by Jennifer Herrmann at October 3, 2007 11:15 AM