Category Archives: Lord’s Supper

A Trinitarian Celebration

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As orthodox Christians, one our most essential beliefs is that we worship a Triune God. We confess that there is only one true and living God, and He eternally exists in three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As Martin Luther summarized this doctrine, “We believe the divine majesty to be three distinct persons of one true essence.” 

Here at this Table we primarily focus our attention on the Son, and rightly so, for here is bread and wine which are Christ’s body and blood. But this is also a Triune meal – all Persons of the Godhead are inseparably involved.

Here we are reminded that the Father chose us before the foundation of the world and has graciously adopted us into His family. 

Here we see the Son’s body broken and His blood shed for us and we are invited to partake of Him in order to have our faith encouraged. 

And here the Holy Spirit communicates Christ’s presence to us and seals the benefits of this sacrament to our hearts.

In this Trinitarian celebration, when you partake of Christ, you are participating in the life of the Holy Trinity. God is joyfully inviting You to Himself – to feast on the abundance of His house and to drink from His river of delights. 

So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.

Unti He Comes

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As we conclude our celebration of the Lord’s Supper each week, we hear the words of St Paul to the Corinthians – “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). 

This morning I want us to meditate on Paul’s last three words here – until He comes. With this orienting statement, the Apostle Paul is teaching that this sacrament is not simply about looking back at our Lord’s death. Rather, in more ways than one, this is an eschatological meal.

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Our Good Shepherd

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This communion meditation was given at King’s Cross Church (Moscow, ID) on March 12, AD 2023.

In Psalm 23, we have a wonderful depiction of our Lord’s faithfulness to us as our Good Shepherd.

Because He is our Shepherd, we lack no good thing. He provides for all of our needs – giving us rest in green pastures and leading us beside still waters. He has brought us into His fold and now He makes it His chief business to protect and guide us. 

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An Advent Eucharist

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This sacrament which we are about to partake of together is a visible reminder of our Lord’s first Advent.

The true physicality of the incarnation is matched here by the physicality of this Supper. The eternal Son, begotten of the Father, truly became man.

You could behold Him with your eyes. You could reach out and touch Him with your hands. Just as you see and touch this bread and wine here today.

And this is sacrament is also a reminder of Christ’s second Advent. As the Apostle Paul says in the words of institution proclaimed each week, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

So here at this Table we look back at our Lord’s first Advent and His work on our behalf.

We look forward to His second Advent, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior. 

And we behold now our Lord, for He comes to us here in this moment in simple bread and wine.

So come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

One Lord, One Table

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This meditation was given at Christ Church Downtown on Nov 7 AD 2021.

In my exhortation earlier I encouraged you all to remember that the church is indeed one.

Despite our many differences, we are united by a common faith in Christ, and we are all part of one Body which has Christ as its head.

And yet while our oneness is a fundamental attribute of the church that can never be denied, it is still something that we must continually strive for and maintain at the same time. To do this we must avoid unnecessary divisions and conflicts which strike at and strain our fellowship and unity.

And it is here at this table where we find a means of grace toward that end.

It is here in this sacrament called communion where we all partake together as one.

For this table is the Lord’s and this table is one. It stretches across the earth and across time, and at it sits the Lord and His Bride.

As we partake of this bread and wine week after week, the Father delights in continuing to answer Christ’s prayer—that all who believe in Him would be made one in His perfect love.

So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.

Child Communion

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Much more controversial than the doctrine of paedobaptism today is the doctrine of paedocommunion, or child communion. While welcoming children to partake of the Lord’s Supper is a practice found in the ancient Church, today very few Presbyterian or Reformed churches allow it. However, there are good biblical reasons for allowing covenant children to join the rest of God’s people at His table. But because this practice was not re-established by the Reformers, is rejected in many Reformed denominations today, and would be out of line for someone who subscribes without exception to the Westminster Standards; we ought to be humble in our support of this practice and not schismatic. We must recognize that advocation for paedocommunion would be part of a commitment to semper reformanda, always reforming our life and doctrine. As Reformed Christians we do indeed believe that the work of the Reformation and the subsequent confessional doctrines are part of God’s work in maturing and refining His church. However, we do not believe that the Reformers had the opportunities or the need to address every doctrinal issue, nor were they infallible. Scripture alone must be our highest authority. So now let’s turn to four arguments for welcoming covenant children to partake of the Lord’s Supper.[1]

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Lord’s Supper

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Having considered the sacrament of baptism, now let’s turn to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. As we have already noted, there are two parts of a sacrament: the outward and visible sign, and the inward and spiritual grace thereby signified (WLC 163). In the Lord’s Supper, the outward visible signs are bread and wine—consecrated, broken, poured, distributed, and received.[1] The inward spiritual grace signified is Christ crucified for us and all of His benefits for us—including union with Him, the indwelling of the Spirit, adoption by the Father, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and future glorification.[2]

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