Why Celebrate Lord’s Supper Weekly?

Why does Grace & Peace Presbyterian Church celebrate a weekly Lord’s Supper?

This question has been asked frequently over the years at G&PPC. I suppose that the confusion regarding weekly communion is due, in large measure, to the propensity of many Evangelical churches to adhere to monthly or quarterly communion. Although I do not believe that it is sinful to administer the Sacrament in that manner, the Session (i.e. Elders) of Grace & Peace made the decision to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis for biblical, historical and theological reasons.

 As we began to consider whether we should administer this sacrament on a more frequent basis, we had to answer the question, “What is the Lord’s Supper?”  Through a study of Scripture, Church history and the historic position of the Reformed Churches we came to believe that the Lord’s Supper is not a transformation of bread and wine into flesh and blood while still appearing as bread and wine, but neither is it a dead ritual that merely reminds us of Christ’ death.

We found that the beauty of the Reformed position is that it takes seriously the claims of Scripture while refusing to add something that is not proven by Scripture.  The ideas of the Lord’s Supper espoused by the Reformed churches is that the sacrament is a means of grace for the following reasons:

  1. It is a sign and seal of the gospel, a preaching and confirming of Christ’ benefits (Mt.26:28; Lk.22:19-20; 1Cor.11:26)
  2. It is a spiritual, yet actual, participation in the body and blood of Christ (Mt.26:26-28; Mk.14:22-24; Lk.22:17-20; 1Cor.10:16,17)
  3. It should be observed frequently as a covenant renewal (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1Cor.10:17; 11:17-34)

In the Lord’s Supper we remember Christ and recognize the great Trinitarian work of salvation that the Father sent the Son as our Savior (1Jn.4:14), the Son of God loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal.2:20) and the Spirit takes what is Christ’ and declares it to us (Jn.16:14).

Just as we physically eat of the bread and drink of the wine with our mouths, we partake of the body and blood of Christ spiritually, by faith (1Cor.10:16). In participating in the body and blood of Christ we are nourished spiritually as we are physically when eating food and drink. (Westminster Larger Catechism, Q.170) And so we say that in the Lord’s Supper we feed upon the body and blood of Christ and receive Christ crucified, and all the benefits of His death.

Although weekly communion is not a requirement in PCA churches, a strong case can be made for it from Scripture. In Acts 20:7 we read “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them…” There is no compelling reason to believe that the apostle meant this as a love feast separate from the Lord’s Supper.  Since Reformed worship is to be regulated by Scripture, Grace & Peace Presbyterian Church  has made it part of our weekly Sunday morning worship service.

Consequently, weekly Communion has been a wonderful blessing and time of spiritual nourishment at G&PPC. Many of our people now tell me that they would never want to return to non-weekly communion.  We thank God for the proclamation of the gospel that is seen in the Lord’s Supper, for the spiritual strengthening we receive from this sacrament, and for the reminder that, through the death of Jesus Christ we find forgiveness for our sins and entrance into the family of God.

Bill Mayk
Latest posts by Bill Mayk (see all)
About Bill Mayk

Bill is the founding pastor of Grace & Peace Presbyterian Church (PCA) Prior to beginning this church planting work in the Pottstown area, Bill served as a hospice chaplain and a missionary to Mexico and Jordan. Bill earned his MDiv from Biblical Theological Seminary.

WPE