MAIN POINT:

When we join together to celebrate communion we are celebrating the work of the cross.

ICEBREAKER:

Tell about your ideal meal. If you were celebrating something extraordinary, what would you eat, where, and with whom?

INTRODUCTION:

Celebrating communion with fellow believers is a celebration and remembrance of a special bond we share. It is a bond forged by the unselfish and loving sacrifice of our creator offering His son in order to restore fellowship with a wayward creation. We honor the result of Jesus’ death on the cross: a perfect, holy and pure blood sacrifice required to reconnect us with God. It is a time to confess, examine, and proclaim.

ENCOUNTERING GOD THROUGH BIBLE STUDY:

Read Luke 22:19.

1. Jesus said “as often as you do this remember me”. We have been remembering His death for 21 centuries. Our celebration of communion is a proclamation of His death. What does this mean to you?

2. Because of His death (and resurrection) the door to heaven and fellowship with God has been opened. Jesus is that door and He gave the key to the kingdom to us. What is the key?

3. The gospel has been called scandalous. What could be scandalous about the gospel? It is not the fact that we try to become like a holy and perfect God; all religions offer this. It is the fact that this perfect and holy God chose to seek us and to become one of us, a lowly human! This message that Jesus taught rocked the entire world in the 1st century. How does it impact you and everyone else in the 21st century?

4. The gospel can be difficult to accept. We might feel unworthy (we are). We might doubt that God could love us (He does). How does participating in communion as a church body and standing with other believers strengthen your faith and calm your doubts?

5. Pastor Chris stated Jesus was crushed for us. There is no wine without crushing grapes and no bread without crushing grain. Our sin is why He had to be “crushed”, yet He did this willingly. How does the truth that the creator of everything loved you enough to do this make you feel?

Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

6. What did Jesus do first, before breaking bread? Why is this important?

Read 1 Corinthians 11:27-30.

7. What does it mean to take the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner? How can we be worthy?

8. Imagine you are in the room as an apostle and are reclining at the table with Jesus. He explains about the bread being His body broken for you and the wine His blood shed for you. What would be going through your mind?

Read Luke 22:21-23.

9. Jesus reveals that the one which is to betray Him and initiate His suffering is reclining at the table with them. They begin to question which one it is. A few even ask in another gospel account if it is them. This leads us to our own examination of our hearts. How do we examine our hearts and souls before God?

10. After this examination we ask for forgiveness. When we receive forgiveness we will realize just how true the statement “he that has been forgiven much loves much” really is. How does realizing how much you have been forgiven impact how much you love others? Discuss this now, then thank God for all He has done for you.

LEADER NOTES

2. The gospel (good news that Christ died for us and rose again) is the key.
6. He gave thanks. Even facing torture and death, He still took time to thank God for blessing Him with food for the meal. Also He was asking God to use and bless the breaking of His body to be used to accomplish His plan of redemption.
7. We take communion in an unworthy manner when we do not first examine ourselves and confess our sins. This does not mean we have to be perfect to take communion (we cannot be perfect!), but we should turn our hearts back toward God if they are turned away and we should confess our sins. We cannot make ourselves worthy-only God’s sacrifice makes us worthy.
9. The best, and usually most painful, way is to pray that God will reveal any and all sin in our life. If we are sincere He will show it to us. Allow your group time to pray and reflect upon where they are spiritually.