Lord's Suppper

Topic: The Lord's Supper

Title: Grape Juice Introduced

   A Methodist dentist, Dr. Thomas Welch, objected to his church's use of fermented wine in the communion service. Experimenting at night in his kitchen he came up with a nonalcoholic grape beverage, which he named "Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine".
   He approached church officials to persuade them to substitute his beverage for the traditional wine. The elders regarded his suggestion as being an unacceptable innovation.
   A son, Charles, who was also a dentist, changed the name to Welch's Grape Juice. He set up a production facility in a barn behind the family home. Response was so overwhelming that he gave up dentistry and devoted full time to making and distributing grape juice.

See: 1 Cor 11:23-26

Title: Communion Reward

Faith honors God, and God honors faith! If we abide in His will and trust Him implicitly, the Lord will reward our confidence. An incident from the lives of Robert and Mary Moffat underscores this truth in an interesting way. For 10 years these two missionaries faithfully pursued their endeavors in Bechuanaland without one ray of encouragement brightening their way. Not a single person was converted to Christ. Finally the directors of their mission board began to question the wisdom of continuing the work. The very thought of leaving their post, however, brought grief to the devoted couple who felt sure that eventually they would see the fruits of their labors. They stayed on, and for two more years the forces of darkness reigned. Then a friend in England wrote to Mrs. Moffat that she wanted to send her a gift, and asked for a suggestion. In her reply she requested nothing for herself, although she could have used many things. Rather she pleaded, "Send us a communion set; I'm sure we will need one soon." God honored her faith, for the Holy Spirit began to work in hearts, and a short time later six people accepted the Savior. Soon a small group had united to form a church for fellowship and to study the Bible. The communion set from England was delayed en route; but on the very day before the Lord's Supper was to be observed, the gift arrived. Truly, faith had been rewarded!

See: Titus 3:8; Heb 6:10; Mark 11:24

Title: The Fruit of the Vine

See: 1 Cor 11:23-26

Title: Observance of the Lord's Supper

Come to this sacred table, not because you must,
     but because you may; Come to testify not that you are righteous,
      but that you sincerely love our Jesus Christ, and desire to be his true disciple; Come not because you are strong,
      but because you are weak; Come not because you have any claim on heaven's rewards.
      but because in your frailty and sin you stand in constant need of heaven's mercy and help; Come not to express an opinion,
      but to seek a Presence and pray for a Spirit.
      - Copied

Title: Saved From The Hell Club

A widowed mother in Edinburgh had lain on her face all night long, crying, "Oh, God, my boy! Save him! I plead the Blood!" During the same night the boy, a medical student in the University and a member of the "Hell Club," was assisting in a mock celebration of the Lord's Supper. He took up a glass of wine and held it up and said, "The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!" Then, trembling and pale, he put it down and seized his hat and fled from the place. It had seemed to turn to literal blood, and as he walked he knew not where at every step he moaned, "I am guilty of the Blood of Christ!" At dawn he came home and went to his room, and his mother heard him crying there and praying for mercy, and went in and threw her arms about his neck, saying, "You are really praying, my son?" As the sun came up over the hills that morning, a mother's prayers were answered, and her son was saved. He went to his classes and asked leave to testify to the students of his experience; then he was excused for the day that he might go out on the streets and witness.

Title: It's for Sinners

There is an old story of an old man who went to church every Sunday. At the moment of Communion he always felt acutely embarrassed. There was something about the whole service, especially the prayer of confession, that made him feel very unworthy. As he knelt at the altar to receive the bread, his hands always trembled as he reached out for it. He hesitated, but the minister, knowing his mood and his reservations, smiled at him and whispered, "Take it man, it's for sinners." It is! Thank God!

Donald Strobe

Title: The Power of the Memorial

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt stands as a monument to the pride of the Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops). The pyramid's base covers 13 acres. This awe-inspiring memorial is estimated to contain 2.3 million blocks of stone, each weighing from 2 to 15 tons. Some 100,000 men spent 20 years building the Great Pyramid, but the sands of time have worn away its surface and thieves have stolen its treasures.

Unlike that memorial, the one initiated by our Lord on the night of His betrayal speaks not of pride, but of love and sacrifice. Its beauty can't be diminished by time, nor its treasures pilfered by thieves. Each time believers share the bread and cup together, the power of Jesus' memorial is as fresh as the night it was first observed.

Title: Not the Crust

A father was reading stories from a picture Bible to his three-year-old daughter. When they got to the story of the Last Supper, she pointed to the picture of the loaf of bread and asked, "Is that the crust that Jesus died on?"

Dad tried to explain that Jesus had died on a cross, not on a crust! ________

Perhaps the next time we look upon the "crust" of a loaf of bread, we can be reminded that, via the cross, Jesus' body was broken on our behalf.
Source: Christian Parenting, Nov/Dec 1996, p. 48.

Title: The Lord's Supper Points To His Return

The Jacobites of Scotland never met one another on the mountain paths, never sat down to a table of council and conference, without lifting a cup to pledge the return of their king and prince, Charles. At length Charles came back, but only to bring to Scotland defeat, disaster, and suffering. In every celebration of the Lord's Supper, since that last and first night in the Upper Room, the followers of Christ have lifted the sacramental cup as a token of their faith that their King shall come. That is the meaning of those words, which we hear so often that we forget their deep import: "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." Till he come! And when he comes, He shall come, not to bring pain and suffering, as did King Charles to unhappy Scotland, but to usher His faithful and joyful saints into the eternal joys of His presence and His heavenly kingdom. --McCartney (edited by D.V.M.)

Title: A Greater Allegiance

   Every Christian ought to be ready to stand up courageously and unashamedly for the Lord. How inconsistent that a person redeemed by the blood of Christ experiencing saving power should cower before an unbelieving world!
   On one occasion Frederick the Great invited some notable people to his royal table. Including his top-ranking generals. One of them by the name of Hans von Zieten declined the invitation because he wanted to partake of communion at his church.
   Some time later at another banquet Frederick and his guests mocked the general for his religious scruples and made jokes about the Lord's supper. In great peril of his life, the officer stood to his feet and said respectfully to the monarch, "My lord, there is a greater King than you, a King to whom I have sworn allegiance even unto death. I am a Christian man, and I cannot sit quietly as the Lord's name is dishonored and His character belittled."
   The guests trembled in silence, knowing that von Zieten might be killed. But to their surprise, Frederick grasped the hand of this courageous man, asked his forgiveness, and requested that he remain. He promised that he would never again allow such a travesty to be made of sacred things. (Romans 1:16)