As I wrote last week, I made my profession of faith just before my tenth birthday. What I didn’t tell you was why I asked my pastor to baptize me right away. Baptisms were usually scheduled for every couple of months since we had to heat the baptismal pool.  However, I happened to know that we would be participating in the Lord’s Supper (Communion) the next Sunday and only members of the church could participate. Technically I would not become a member of the church until I had been baptized, so I asked to be baptized right away, that evening during the Sunday night service.  What I remember about being baptized is that the water was really cold. However, I got to participate in the Lord’s Supper the very next Sunday. (Yes, I realize that no one would have kept me from participating in the Lord’s Supper, but I felt that sense of urgency.) Maybe I was a little proud of being able to take Communion, but I don’t think that’s all bad.  I was so happy to demonstrate that I was now a member of the church, and I felt part of something very important, Communion. Sometimes we would all hold hands afterwards and sing “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds.”

Sometimes we participate in Communion while in our pews or chairs, sometimes we go to the altar. Sometimes it’s bread, and most times it’s crackers (it’s always grape juice where I go). Some special memories include going to visit our shut-ins and taking Communion with them. While special for my husband and me, I could tell that it was even more meaningful to the elderly men and women we visited who so missed this act of community. Another very special recollection was when I was at a Women’s Retreat and we were preparing to take Communion.  We had a time of prayer and reflection, and I remembered an interaction I had with another woman at church who happened to be there.  She is a wonderful woman of God, but we had differed on something not very important. I went to her and asked for forgiveness for my hard feelings and we prayed and took Communion together. I will never forget that.

Fast forward to a few Sundays ago, when our congregation celebrated Communion.  I love this ordinance of the church, and I love sharing with my fellow believers the symbols of our LORD’s sacrifice for us, representing his body broken and blood shed for us. Our pastor provided time for us to get our hearts ready for Communion with a time of prayer and confession. I prayed over my relationships. I asked for God to reveal to me any sins, problems, issues. You know, because Jesus died for us for the purpose of reconciling with our Heavenly Father, it just doesn’t seem right to not pursue reconciliation with all our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, it seems essential that we live in reconciliation with each other as well as with our Heavenly Father. That’s what community is, and why the Lord’s Supper/Communion is so meaningful when taken in community, especially with our church family.

I love this except from Tim Challie’s website (referenced below) regarding our preparation for Communion:

“A Renewing of Love – We come to renew our love not only to God but also to our brethren. “For it is a feast of the Lord, and it is an act of communion; communion not only with Christ, but with His churches, with His saints… The Lord requires that His children should not fall out who come to His table, but that there should be love and peace. There’s a mighty bond when you come to the sacrament, and therefore, first all heart-burnings and heart-grudges must be laid aside.”

So although we serve, work for, and worship Jesus at the Mission, the Mission cannot take the place of our church family. Fellowshipping with Christ and other believers in baptism and communion are essential to our Christian walk. These ordinances are regularly practiced in the local church. I pray that you are a member of a Bible-believing church and that you are actively participating in all the areas of worship in your church.

For more on this subject, I recommend this website: https://www.challies.com/articles/preparation-for-communion/

Blessed Be the Tie That Binds

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne,
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts, and our cares.

We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

Blessings,

Judy