The Lord's Supper

Jesus Christ placed himself at the center of the Christian life and in the Lord's

Supper. It is a rite full of symbolism. It is not the actual shedding of blood because

the perfect sacrifice has been offered once and for all. It is a divinely appointed

meeting place. It is the biblical "altar call." Before ever a cross was placed in a

church (and there is nothing wrong with crosses), Jesus himself placed the cross in

view of all believers in the wine and the bread: this is my body, this is my blood. At

his command, communion is to be the showing forth of his death until he comes again.

Bread and wine, as things that we eat and drink to live, communion reminds us that

our Creator and Redeemer is also our Sustainer - that we must abide in him.

At the table we meet our God, and we meet together. It is at the heart of building

Christian fellowship, "once you were not a people, but now you are God's people"

(l Peter 2:10). It is at the heart of maintaining the identity and integrity of the

Church. It is to be reserved for those who have been joined to the Church, the New

Covenant people, through baptism. It can also be the place of accountability and

discipline. Primarily that means a setting for self-examination, although in extreme

cases those who have denied the faith in words or actions are to be excluded not

only for the sake of the church, but also for their own sake, that they might see

consequences in this world, repent, and not see consequences in the world to come.