The Cornerstone Of Worship Series

The word “Communion” shows up only in 1 Corinthians 10:16 (KJV & NKJV) “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the COMMUNION of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the COMMUNION of the body of Christ?”

That word “communion” - in the Greek - is “koinonia” which literally means “fellowship”… a very close fellowship. It’s the kind of fellowship that is shared by good friends and a loving family. So, communion is the time of fellowship when we share the cup and the bread with each other. That’s why this Lock-down has been so rough on so many churches. Communion is best done with your church family.

But at the Lord’s Table you’re also communing with Jesus. Communion was called “the breaking of bread” in the New Testament. Nowadays you can go down to the grocery store and buy a loaf of sliced bread. But sliced bread was invented in 1928. Before that, if you wanted to share your bread with someone else you cut it with a knife. But it was quicker and easier to just “tear it”, or “break it.” Breaking YOUR loaf of bread meant you liked someone enough to share your food with them. You were sharing something IMPORTANT and VALUABLE with someone.

And do you remember what Jesus did at the Last Supper? “As they were eating, HE TOOK BREAD, and after blessing it BROKE IT and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’” (Mark 14:22) Every time you take of communion Jesus is sharing something VALUABLE with you. He’s offering you His BROKEN BODY. And this makes this a critical time in worship - it’s a time when you are as close to Jesus as you’ll ever get. So don’t take this lightly. Don’t “just go through the motions.” Don’t bury the Lord’s Supper by making it a mere ritual.

Another thing - who’s Supper is this? To whom does communion belong? (Hint: it belongs to Jesus). This is the LORD’S supper, it is not the CHURCH’S supper. (I Corinthians 11:20) It doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to Him.

ILLUS: Back in 2008 a Florida college student named Webster Cook was attending a Catholic mass at a church on campus. While he was there received the Eucharist, (small wafer blessed by priest) Mr. Cook, had gone to the church with a friend who was apparently not a Catholic, and Cook wanted to show his friend the Eucharist. So instead of eating it immediately like he was supposed to he took with him it back to his seat. But as he was on his way back to his seat, a number of the church members tried to physically stop him. Cook, who planned to eat the wafer immediately after showing it to his friend, was understandably upset by the rough treatment, SO he held on to his Eucharist to prove a point.

The church demanded he return it but Cook wanted the church to apologize for becoming physical with him and to promise not to use physical force against church members anymore. The church responded by pointing out that Cook was holding the wafer “hostage”. (http://www.calladus.com/2008/07/webster-cooks-cracker-pzs-cracker).

Now why did the church get so upset? They got upset because they OWNED the wafer… it belonged to THEM.