WHO SHOULD TAKE COMMUNION (The Lord's Supper)? 

Communion is to be done by every Christian. It’s for anyone who is part of God’s family, who has decided to become a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us that we should keep taking Communion to remember Jesus' sacrifice, until Jesus comes back.

WHAT does the bread and wine mean? 

The bread and wine are the symbols that Jesus used when He spoke with His disciples at the Last Supper. The bread represented His body, and the wine represented His blood. Sometimes we may use crackers or grape juice--what’s important is that we take this time to remember what Jesus did for us. (Because children usually don’t understand abstract thinking, it can be a little confusing how the bread and drink are not actually the physical flesh and blood of Christ.)

When should we celebrate communion? 

The Bible does not say exactly how often we should celebrate communion, so different churches have different traditions for this. Some churches take communion every week, some once a month, some on special religious holidays or occasions. At Place of Grace Campus we take the Lord's Supper on the months where there is a 5th Sunday, which comes out to be about four or five times a year. 

Where did communion come from? 

Before Jesus died on the cross He had a special supper with the disciples and a part of that was when He shared a cup of wine and said this was to represent his blood that would be shed for our sin. Then he shared some bread and said this was to represent his body that would be broken for us. He knew that he would have to die so that He could be raised up back to life again. This showed that death had no power over Him! 

After Jesus died on the cross and rose again, witnessing or hearing about this good news strengthened the faith of many of the people who followed Him while He walked on earth. His disciples and many others started meeting together, and they continued to tell new people the good news of what Jesus taught and how He saves us. As the word spread, churches began to form. These were the very first Christian churches, and they are the root of our church today! Isn’t that amazing!!!

Why is it important that we remember? 

Jesus wanted to give us a way to REMEMBER that He died for us. Because what Jesus did changes our whole life! Jesus died for us because He loves us so much. He knew that without His help, our sin would keep us from being with God forever, and He didn’t want that! All people sin, but God is perfect. Because we sin, it separates us from God. Jesus paid the price by dying on the cross. He took the punishment we deserve because He wants us to be able to live with Him forever in heaven. When we choose to believe what the Bible says and surrender our life to Jesus, we become a Christian, a part of the family of God! Whether you are a brand new Christian, just beginning to follow Jesus, or someone who has been a Christian for many years, taking Communion reminds us of our commitment to follow Jesus and makes us grateful all over again that He has saved us!

How do we prepare to take communion? 

1 Cor. 11:28 says that we must examine our hearts before participating in Communion. Stop, Look and Listen--Take a moment to ask God to show you: Is there anything I’ve said, thought, or done that I need to apologize to God for? If so, I should do that first. As your children get older, you can have deeper discussions about what it means to be right before God.

Download a printable parent guide to communion

https://faithconnector.s3.amazonaws.com/hopevale/files/communion_guide.pdf