Meal
The Lord’s Supper... for the forgiveness of sins
At our Baptism, God initiates a relationship with us, using ordinary Water. In the Lord’s Supper, God uses a common Meal of bread and wine to sustain us in that relationship. In both Sacraments (literally meaning, ‘sacred acts’), God’s extraordinary Word is what provides the power for this to happen.
We might sometimes wonder why God would use things like bread, water, and wine to spread the new Life that comes through Jesus. Why couldn’t we just experience Transformation through mental acts (like believing)? Why do we need bodily acts (like Baptism and the Lord’s Supper)?
CS Lewis observes: “God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it” (Mere Christianity).
When we take part in the Lord’s Supper (also called Holy Communion), we find ourselves mysteriously linked to the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us through the cross. When we take part in the Lord’s Supper, there can be no doubt in our minds that the Grace of God is applied directly and personally to us!
The apostle Paul writes: “For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.’ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
The people of Acts Church Lakeway continue to be drawn back again and again to this special meal, each time remembering and re-enacting the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the Lord’s Supper, we believe that we receive the body and blood of Jesus in, with, and under the bread and wine. This is a mystery that the apostle Paul speaks of as he gives the following warning: “So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
To learn more about the practice of the Lord's Supper at ACTS Church Lakeway, look for the PDF file in the Resources section of this website.