November 2016 Communion Meditation

As we have opportunity each month to come to the Lord’s Table and take of this precious ordinance as a local church, I’d like to offer a series of sacramental meditations to aid us in our preparation for communing with Christ. My prayer is that each of us might spend the days leading up to these corporate gatherings to search our hearts, increase our understanding of this joyous celebration, and ultimately be spiritually nourished as we come to the table hosted by our Savior and therein enjoy an even greater communion and fellowship with Him.

The practice of these sacramental meditations dates back well into the 17th century as Protestant Churches would exhort their congregants to prepare themselves through deep and careful meditation of the atoning work of Christ and His resurrection. Specific to Pastor Tim’s sermon and our gathering on this Lord’s Day (11/20), I offer you a short excerpt from John Willison (1680-1750) concerning eating and drinking in an unworthy manner. With this in mind, Richard Phillips also notes that the Lord’s Supper uniquely and "personally confronts each person present with the reality of their own relationship to God. People may endure the sermon with studied indifference, but when the bread and wine are set before them they must make a decision about what they are going to do and what it means to them.”

Willison, John – Direction 6: Concerning the Sin and Danger of Unworthy Communicating in A Sacramental Directory, or a Treatise Concerning the Sanctification of a Communion Sabbath, p. 58-65