Communion

[Salty]

We believe that Communion should be a part of our worship.

The purpose of communion is to come with a pure heart, ie confess any current sin.
We come together in fellowship and to remember that the Lord will return.

When serving communion, should the pastor give the opportunity to those in attendance a time of
self examination. Should the elements be passed with special care.

How much importance should we put on Communion

How often does your church observe communion. ( Note: I realzie that the Bible says "as often as..")
So lets not make a major debate out of how often.

Also - NO discussion on on Closed/Open communion (if you desire - start a thread on that.)

Other thoughts - Open for discussion

 

[Reynolds]

We believe that Communion should be a part of our worship.

The purpose of communion is to come with a pure heart, ie confess any current sin.
We come together in fellowship and to remember that the Lord will return.

When serving communion, should the pastor give the opportunity to those in attendance a time of
self examination. Should the elements be passed with special care.

How much importance should we put on Communion

How often does your church observe communion. ( Note: I realzie that the Bible says "as often as..")
So lets not make a major debate out of how often.

Also - NO discussion on on Closed/Open communion (if you desire - start a thread on that.)

Other thoughts - Open for discussion

I hate those little pre packaged kits with the foil over the juice. Cheapens the entire experience.

 

[Reformed]

We believe that Communion should be a part of our worship.

This is commendable. Paul wrote, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). While there is no scriptural mandate to observe the Lord's Supper weekly, it is also not prohibited.

The purpose of communion is to come with a pure heart, ie confess any current sin.
We come together in fellowship and to remember that the Lord will return.

Actually, the purpose of the Lord's Supper is to proclaim the Lord's death (1 Cor. 11:26). I would not say that coming with a pure heart is a prerequisite, although confession of known sin is good practice and in keeping with 1 Corinthians 11:28-30.

When serving communion, should the pastor give the opportunity to those in attendance a time of
self examination. Should the elements be passed with special care.

A time for self-examination is not prohibited, although it would be better if we all examined ourselves prior to worship. We don't have to remember every sin we have committed. Indeed, that's practically impossible. We need a general attitude of repentance of sin and certainly should confess those sins we know off.

Should the elements be passed with special care? We need to remember that the elements are common, although they are offered up to holy use. They should be handled with due respect, but not to a level that partakers may revere them as icons. It is what the elements represent that is sacred.

Other thoughts - Open for discussion

The Lord's Supper serves as a means of grace to those that partake. They are spiritually strengthened as they reflect upon the Lord's death and the forgiveness of sins.

 

[Rob_BW]

Quarterly

 

[JonC]

This past Sunday our pastor urged the members to prepare daily, asking God to reveal sins and lead towards repentance, for the Lord's Supper which we will have next week. When we do have the Lords Supper (generally quarterly) it is the focus of worship.

 

[Baptist Believer]

How much importance should we put on Communion

I think it is quite important, too often made perfunctory in Baptist life due to our emphasis on the symbolic nature of it.

How often does your church observe communion.

Quarterly, with additional observances on Maundy Thursday and Xmas Eve.

My preference would be to celebrate it once every two months.

 

[annsni]

We have communion on the first Sunday of each month except when there are extenuating circumstances that have us move it to another Sunday. Last month we moved it to the second Sunday because many of the men were away on the men's retreat. We do it after the message and is a very special time.

 

[Jerome]

Last month we moved it to the second Sunday because many of the men were away on the men's retreat.

Speaking of retreats, do you still do this:

we have communion...on the ladies' retreat (served by women, no less!)

I found this online, another church's ladies' retreat communion setup:

 

[annsni]

Speaking of retreats, do you still do this:



I found this online, another church's ladies' retreat communion setup:

Yes, we do communion on the ladies' retreat but since we have deacons prepare and serve communion to the congregation and our deacons are men, when we have the men's retreat, we wait for the guys to come home.