The Lord’s Supper

The Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion, is one of the most important rituals that Jesus taught his followers to practice. Jesus described it as a special way to remember what He did for us when He was crucified, and also to receive and experience His grace to us. There are differences among Christians about how they understand and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. But the essence is clear: Jesus gave his followers this ritual so that we would be strengthened and encouraged by His grace.

Crossway Multinational Church celebrates the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of each month during our worship service. Crossway’s practice follows one of the key descriptions of this ritual found in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, a letter of the Apostle Paul:

“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 it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (NIV)

Crossway’s practice is a simplified version of what Paul describes: each person who chooses to participate will be given a small piece of cracker or bread, and a small cup of juice. Sometimes we are served these elements where we sit, sometimes we go to tables where they are provided for us, and sometimes experience it like a meal.

Who should eat and drink: Everyone is invited and welcome to join us for these worship services. At the same time,the Bible teaches that eating the bread or cracker and drinking the juice is a celebration meant for those who have put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. If you have not yet become a Christian, we ask you not to eat and drink the elements until you are. Please join us for the service, but simply pass the elements on to the next person. Children, as guided by their parents, are also invited to join in this practice once they have expressed a clear faith in Christ.

If you are a Christian who is not coming in sincere humility, confessing your sin before God and receiving His forgiveness, and recognizing the amazing love that the sacrifice of Christ represents, we ask you not to join in eating the meal. Instead, examine your heart and seek God’s grace to soften your heart (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-32).

To guide our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we focus on different emphases of the Gospel each time we celebrate this meal. From these different emphases, our service will be a bit different each month. These parts are:

• The holiness of God
• The reality of sin
• The grace of God to rescue us from our sin
• The call to receive this grace by faith
• The call to respond to grace through mission and action
• The hope of the new heavens and new earth for those in Christ

Crossway welcomes your questions about the Lord’s Supper, and we welcome you to these special times together. Our celebration of the Lord’s Supper is always overseen by our pastor and/or one of our elders, assisted by other members in our congregation.