The other day I read this in a bible study by Tim Keller and it got me thinking…
“We are to combine the Word and Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper together in worship. Some people insist that this means we must have communion every time we preach the Word… Nevertheless, we should agree to a balance. “High” churches traditionally stress the sacrament and downplay the “homily” or preaching — ”low” churches do it the other way around. Here we see the early church combined them.”
At SPC we have communion about every 4 – 6 weeks. We do this for several reasons…
However, before I list my reasons I want to ask for your thoughts. I know this is a hot topic with some, so I look forward to the dialogue. I will post my reasons, one each week, for the next several weeks.
More to come …
You know what I think, but I suppose other readers might not.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Word and Sacrament are the focal points of worship, and each is termed a means of grace, it benefits the congregation to have each regularly. I'm not going to argue that we're biblically mandated to take communion each week, only that it is helpful.
Some argue that communion can lose its sense of importance (becoming commonplace) if we practice it too often. On the contrary, our statement of faith (Westminster) places more importance on the preached Word. We practice that every week, and it manages to be both common and important.
I think every other week would be a good mix of keeping it in our lives often while preventing it from becoming too much of a empty ritual. I don't have any theological backing for that - just gut.
ReplyDelete4-6 weeks is too long apart in my opinion. Taking communion with that much distance in-between almost makes it seem far less important than the Word.
The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is important; it is also a time for meditation.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is also time-consuming, which takes away time from preaching the Word and what do you do about people that are visiting and you do not know about their walk with God? The way that it is presented to visitors is always a problem.
Let me throw you another curveball. The sacrament of the Lord's supper replaces the Passover or Seder - this was celebrated once a year. How many scripture references can you find that could be stated concretely that it should be held more frequently? Some denominations or cults hold it only once a year - Moravians and Jehovah's Witnesses.