085 Ordinances of the Church: Communion Part One

 “Jesus initiated the Lord's supper at Passover, the Jewish Passover meal. The Passover celebrates Israel's deliverance out of Egyptian slavery, Jesus took that and upped it in a major way; He gave us the Lord's Supper. And that celebrates an infinitely greater deliverance over sin.” - Pastor Jeff Cranston

Hello Kitchen Table Theology Family!  In this episode, Pastor Jeff and Jen Denton are currently in a series about the ordinances of the church. So far in this series, we have discussed Baptism and today we discuss Communion or the Lord’s Supper. 

[00:01] Introduction

• This episode is brought to you by Your Greatest Adventure: Taking the Next Steps in Your Faith by Pastor Jeff Cranston 
•  The Church’s ordinances are meant to unite the Body of Christ, however, they have engendered a lot of confusion and discord among Christians

[02:57] What Do You Think of When You Think of Communion? 

• Communion is also known as the Lord's supper, or the Eucharist
• Pastor Jeff tells a story about Charles E. Welch and how Welch’s grape juice impacted lives with the Gospel
• Jen reads 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Paul correcting the Corinth Church from misunderstanding communion 

[13:33] The Origin and Practice of Communion Within The Early Church

• In Acts 2, Luke tells us the 4 markers of an early Christan 
  • Obedience to the teaching of the apostles
  • Fellowship with one another 
  • Breaking of bread
  • Prayer
• Some scholars believe that communion in some households was celebrated at every meal
• An extra-biblical source on how the early church was perceived from Pliny to Emperor Trajan

[19:23] The Perversion of the Lord's Supper, the Purpose for it and its Preparation

• How can communion be perverted? 
  • When the Church (Ecclesia) is divided in every way 
  • Unity, love, fellowship, togetherness, those have to be the hallmarks every time we take the Lord's supper together (Corinthians 10:11)

[25:30] Closing Segment

• Jen and Pastor Jeff read a review from a listener! 
• Closing words! 

Key Quotes

“We remember the spiritual and the eternal redemption that He bought and paid for, for us his loved one.” - Pastor Jeff Cranston

“Unity, love, fellowship, togetherness, those have to be the hallmarks every time we take the Lord's supper together.” - Pastor Jeff Cranston 

Resources Mentioned

• Pliny’s Letter to Trajan
• Wikipedia: Pliny the Younger on Christians

Join the Conversation

We love your feedback! If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review. If you have any questions or comments on today’s episode, email me at pastorjeff@lowcountrycc.org

Visit my website https://www.jeffcranston.com and subscribe to my newsletter. Join me on Sunday mornings at LowCountry Community Church. 

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Remember, the real power of theology is not only knowing it but applying it. Thanks for listening!