A Seat at the Table: The Lord's Supper

It’s great to be back with my church family after several weeks away for a sabbatical! I have missed being in worship and fellowship with you, but I also had a great time of rest, relaxation, reading, and reflecting over the last four weeks. I had the opportunity to get ahead in sermon writing and planning, to read several books that I’ve wanted to read on the topics of discipleship, church leadership, evangelism, and personal growth, and Melanie, Maggie, Abbie, and I took a trip to visit family in Oregon. Thank you so much, church family, for giving me this time away and for how you’ve blessed me and my family. And thank you to Joe for preaching through the book of Habakkuk while I was gone, and to Doug for taking Pastor’s Study on Sunday nights while I was away.

If you’ve been visiting during any of the past four Sundays, or if you’re visiting this morning, I want to introduce myself. I am Bill Connors, senior pastor here with the church family of Eastern Hills. Thank you so much for being here today. If you’re looking for a church home, I know that our prayer is that we would be that home, that family for you if that is what God desires for you. We’re not perfect, and we don’t pretend to be. This church family exists to connect people to Jesus and to each other in faith, and those things can get kind of messy. But we love you, and we’re glad that you’re here with us today.

If you are our guest today, we’d like the chance to know that you’re here so that we can send you a card of thanks, so if you wouldn’t mind sending a quick text of the word WELCOME to 505-339-2004 sometime during the service, we’d appreciate that. You’ll get a text back with a link to our digital communication card, so we can get just a little more information in order to thank you for being with us today. You can use that number if you’re visiting through our streaming ministry today as well. If you’re here in the room today, and you’d rather fill out a physical card, you’ll find one in the back of the pew in front of you. If you decide to use that card, you can either drop it in the offering boxes by the doors at the close of service, or better yet, you can bring it down to me after service because I’d like to meet you personally and give you a small gift to say thanks for joining the church family this morning.

Announcements

Women’s Archery Tournament next Saturday 8/19 at 9 AM in the FLC.

Men’s Breakfast the next Saturday 8/26 at 8 AM in the FLC.

Opening

This morning, we are solely going to focus on the Lord’s Supper. We take the Lord’s Supper about 4 times per year here at Eastern Hills. This year, because we took the Supper on the first Sunday of the year and we plan on celebrating it on the last Sunday of the year, we will take it 5 times. We do this only this often because of the deep respect that we have for the Supper and its meaning. We do not want the remembrance of the Supper to become a throwaway or rote exercise in the life of the church, and so usually (not always, but usually) on days that we take the Supper, doing so is the focus of the message as well.

This morning, our focal passage will be from Acts 2, perhaps not a passage that we would normally use when talking about Communion, but one that has the church gathering for the Supper at its core. Please stand with me if you are able, as we read Acts 2, verses 42-47:

Acts 2:42–47 CSB

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

PRAYER (Sierra Vista Baptist Church, Belen; Pray for our team in Europe returning home tonight, pray for Hawaii and the fires.. all those displaced and many missing)

My message this morning is entitled “A Seat at the Table.” During my sabbatical, I read a book and an article that got me thinking about the church as both a family and an organization or institution. Here at Eastern Hills, we try to focus mostly on the family aspect of the church. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not an organization as well.

From a family perspective, I think about my dinner table at home. Melanie, Abbie, and I each have our normal seats that we use when we gather for meals (we eat both breakfast and dinner at the table together nearly every day). And when Maggie and Nathan come over for dinner, we pull out the bench seat and put it on the end, and I sit there so that Maggie and Nathan can sit together on one side of the table, while Mel and Abbie stay in their normal spots. Everyone has a place, and everyone has access to the blessings of the meal and the fellowship of the gathering.

From an organizational perspective, the idiom “a seat at the table” speaks to someone holding a place of input, influence, and responsibility. Someone having a seat at the table means that that person gets to have a voice in the direction of the organization, serves in some important capacity within the organization, and has a responsibility for working to ensure the health, survival, and success of the organization.

But before we talk about both of those images, we need to answer the question of “who?” Who gets to have a seat at the table? Well, in a family, it’s those who belong to the family or those invited to be a part of the family meal. For the organization, it’s those who belong to the organization and have been given that level of responsibility and input.

For the church, therefore, those who have a seat at the table can only be those who belong to Jesus Christ through faith.

1: The Supper is a practice of the faithful in Christ.

If you are here this morning and you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you are a part of the family, and a part of the organization known as the church. However, if you’ve never trusted in Christ, then for the moment at least, you should not plan to take the Supper, but instead plan to watch, learn, and reflect on what is happening this morning. I don’t say this in order to alienate or insult. It’s just that Communion is something that only believers in Jesus do, because of the meaning that it holds for us.

This morning, as we take the Lord’s Supper, we do so as believers… those who belong to Christ through faith. In the verse immediately preceding our focal passage this morning, Luke records this:

Acts 2:41 CSB

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

Then it goes into the beginning of our focus: “They [those who accepted Peter’s message] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” These are those who believe. It is those who joined in the “breaking of bread,” which refers here to the Lord’s Supper.

In chapter 11 of 1 Corinthians, Paul said this about the Supper:

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 CSB

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

When the believers gather to take the Supper together, we do so as a testimony of what we believe and about Whom we believe in. We declare our having been cleansed of our sin by the blood of Christ, and that we have eternal life because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s a remembrance and a challenge for each of us together to honor our Savior, to recall His sacrifice, and to rededicate ourselves to serving Him and serving each other by following Him in His mission to seek and to save the lost.

And if you’ve never trusted in Jesus for your salvation, then I want to explain and invite you this morning to consider what Jesus has done for you—the message of the Gospel.

God loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us—a relationship that He designed us for.

Unfortunately, we act in ways that go against that relationship—we sin. We think, say, and do things that God hates. And we also refuse to think, say, and do the things that God wants us to do. So we are broken, and the relationship is broken.

Because of how broken we are, we can never be good enough to fix the relationship because God is perfectly holy and just, and is completely separate from sin. We deserve the punishment of death and eternal separation from Him because of our sins.

However, because of His love for us, God’s own Son, Jesus the Christ, came to earth as a man and lived the perfect life that we can’t live. Then He took the punishment that we deserve, dying in our place to pay the price for our sins. But since He is also fully God, the Bible says that He beat death and rose from the grave.

If we trust in Jesus alone, believing that we cannot be good enough to save ourselves and giving up our lives to Him, we will be saved from our sin and from the eternal separation from God that we deserve. We will be made God’s children by adoption, and members of His household.

As members of the family of God, we are promised eternal life that isn’t just later, but power through His real presence in our lives to walk with Him and to honor Him with our lives day by day, and to reflect Him to those we come into contact with.

I invite you to acknowledge your need for a Savior, and trust Jesus to be that Savior. Scripture says:

Romans 10:9 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

and

Romans 10:13 CSB

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

You can call on Him to rescue you right now, where you are, in this moment, and He will save you.

If Jesus is your Savior, even if you just surrendered to Him right now, you are welcome to participate at this table as a member of the family. If you’re still considering Jesus, that’s great… and we are glad you’re here and we love you. I hope that you’ll listen to the rest of my sermon, which is mostly for the believers here, and that when we take the Supper, you’ll observe and maybe even have some questions that you’d like to ask.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the remaining two points are for us to reflect on regarding the Supper:

2: The faithful have a seat at the FAMILY table.

Rather than to re-read our entire focal passage this morning, we’re going to just focus on some of the words that reveal to us what the first church did surrounding the Lord’s Supper that show how everyone in the church family had a seat at the family table. I know the text is going to be a little small, but we’re going to highlight certain phrases that point out the relational aspect of what was going on in the church as they worshiped together, which included the daily gathering with each other to break bread. And while that breaking of bread wasn’t necessarily always the Lord’s Supper or Communion, that was certainly a regular part of what they were doing.

42: “They devoted themselves…to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread...”

44: “…all the believers were together and held all things in common.”

46: “…they devoted themselves to meeting together…and broke bread from house to house.”

46: “They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts.”

Look at the love that the first church had for one another! Their relationship to each another was a core value that they shared. Twice in this passage we find that the church was devoted to being with one another and engaging in life together. It was a priority for them. They were willing to dedicate significant time to being with each other, their resources to bless the other members of the church family, and their hearts to the mutual bond that they shared. And a part of that total picture was a regular remembrance of what Jesus had done for them, because that was what drove their mutual love.

Again, Paul is instructional here. In 1 Corinthians 10, he writes about the commonality that the Supper brings to us:

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 CSB

16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, since all of us share the one bread.

When we take the cup, we share in the remembrance of the blood of Jesus together, declaring as a family that we are united in the forgiveness that that blood has bought. When we take the bread, we share in the remembrance of the body of Jesus, and how His death, burial, and resurrection gives us not just new life, but a new community through fellowship, and a new family through adoption. It is a celebration of our renewal and unity in Christ!

Now, I know that our context is vastly different from the early church. But that doesn’t mean that the principles are different. As we take the Supper together, it should be with great joy, because we belong to one another. One of the greatest joys that I have as pastor is standing up here while the elements are being distributed, and looking around at all of your smiling faces as you smile at the deacons, as you work together to pass the elements down the rows, seeing this church family that I love come together at the family “table,” so to speak.

Being in Christ gives us our seat at this family table.

But it is not merely a family table. It’s also a functional table, which brings us to our last point.

3: The faithful have a seat at the FUNCTIONAL table.

You are probably wondering what I mean by saying that the table is a “functional” table. Well, this points back to what I said in the introduction about having a “seat at the table” of an organization. And while here at Eastern Hills, our primary way of looking at the church is in the dynamic of the family, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t also an organized group of believers who share a common purpose and mission. I’m not saying that we’re like a secular business or corporation. I’m saying that we all—both individually and collectively—have a calling of the ministry of the Gospel in the community in which we find ourselves, and we are to function that way.

In our focal passage in Acts, where the Lord’s Supper held a prominent place in the fellowship of the church, we also see that they were about fulfilling the ministry that God had given to them together:

43: “...many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.” (I’m reading this as that these signs and wonders were being performed publicly)

47: “praising God” (again, since they met in the temple, this would have been public)

47: “…and enjoying the favor of all the people.” (they lived favorable lives in front of their neighbors and others they associated with)

47: “Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (This is really the crux of this point. They shared the Gospel, and people came to faith.)

Even as the church was active in their participation in the family life of the church, they were active in their participation in the organizational life of the church—the fulfillment of the church’s mission.

So what do I mean that those who follow Jesus have a seat at the “functional” table? I mean that those who are members of the church have the blessing and the responsibility for their participation the church as an organization, and the Supper is a part of both reminding us of that fact and holding us accountable to it.

First, the Supper reminds us of the blessing of being in this together. No one of us has all of the responsibility for the fulfillment of God’s purposes in the life of Eastern Hills. It’s not all up to me. And it’s not all up to you. And each of us have been uniquely gifted by God for His purposes that are to be used for the good of the body. Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 12:

1 Corinthians 12:20–26 CSB

20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. 23 And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, 24 which our respectable parts do not need. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, 25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

We need each other if we are going to be all that God has called us to be! And in His wisdom, Jesus has given us the Supper as a means of looking at around at each other and seeing that we’re not lone rangers: we’re in this together.

But the other side of that blessing is the responsibility that we each have as a part of the church. When we take the Supper, as we look around and realize that we aren’t in this alone, we also are seen by the rest of the body as having a role to fulfill in this church’s given mission of making disciples.

Just before what we just read from 1 Corinthians 12, Paul also wrote:

1 Corinthians 12:12–19 CSB

12 For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. 14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be?

The whole church is necessary to make the church whole. We are each called to fulfill the work that He’s called us to in the place that He has put us to do it. Each of us. Every one of us.

Think about our focal passage in Acts 2: Through who’s work do you think the Lord by the Spirit was adding to the church daily those who were being saved in verse 47? Through the people of the church! They lived in public, were seen in public, worshiped in public, and proclaimed the Gospel in public. They were effective neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family members. Yes, some miraculous things were happening, but the passage doesn’t say that it was just the signs and wonders that brought the lost. It was also the witness of their Spirit-enabled love for God, love for one another, and love for those who didn’t believe yet. They each did the work that God called each of them to in the place that God had put them to do it.

Our taking the Lord’s Supper together reminds us of our responsibility to fulfill the ministry that God has given to us: just as Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many,” (Matt 20:28), so we are called to give of ourselves as members of the body of Christ for His purposes in the life of the fellowship of the church and her mission in the world.

Closing

In just a moment, we will take the Lord’s Supper together as this remembrance of what Jesus has done for us, for the relationship that He’s given to us as a church family, and the responsibility that He’s given to us as members of the body of Christ.

But first, I’d like to take have a time of response to this morning’s message from the Word.

If you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus before for your salvation, I’d like to ask you to take a moment and reflect on the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ: that we all have sin that separates us from God, but because of God’s great love for us, Jesus (the Son of God) came and lived a perfect life that we could never live, and died a sinner’s death that we should have died, and defeated an enemy we could never defeat: death, by rising from the grave, and then He ascended to a place that we could never reach without Him: heaven. He will come back and receive those who are His in His time. Is today the day that you will believe in Jesus, trusting in what He has done to save you, and surrendering your life to Him as Lord? If that’s you, we’d love to talk with you about it and celebrate with you. While the band is playing in just a moment, come and tell us that you’ve surrendered to Jesus this morning, so we can rejoice with you. Joe, Kerry, and Rich will be down here with me to receive you. If you’re online and you’re trusting Christ this morning, send me an email so we can celebrate with you and get you some resources to get you started on this new spiritual journey.

If you believe that Eastern Hills is a church family that you can get connected to, walk with, grow with, and serve with, then we’d like to discuss that with you as well. Come and let us know, and we’ll set an appointment with you to go over our Statement of Belief, talk about our testimonies, and answer any questions you might have about Eastern Hills. Online but in the Albuquerque area? Reach out by email.

This is also a good time to to worship God through the giving of tithes and offerings. You can do that online through our app or on our website, or if you prefer to give in person, just wait until we dismiss after the Supper, and you can put your offering in the boxes by the doors on the way out.

PRAYER

Lord’s Supper Observance

I’d like to invite our deacons to come down and prepare to serve the Lord’s Supper to our church family.

As they come, I’d like to reiterate both a welcome and a warning. The welcome is that we’re here together in this room (and online for those who could not be here this morning, but are participating), and it’s such a joy to be able to take the Supper together. Look around you for just a moment and welcome each other to the family table.

The warning is that if you do not belong to God through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, please do not take the Supper. Since this is a time of memorial of and identification with the Gospel, if you do not believe, you should not participate. This is to safeguard the sanctity of the ordinance and for your protection as well, according to Scripture. We love you, and we’re glad that you’re here. We pray that witnessing this ordinance will be a blessing to you and open your heart to ask questions or to want to find out more about following Christ.

Distribute the bread to the deacons.

Mark 14 records that Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke, it, and gave it to His disciples.

We’re going to do something just a little different this morning as we prepare to take the bread and the cup. We’re going to have a time of directed prayer. Families or groups sitting near each other, feel free to share this prayer together.

Directed prayer for the bread.

Take a moment to praise God for His understanding and wisdom.

Thank Him for His divine plan for our salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus’ body on the cross.

Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of any sins that you might be holding onto before we take the Supper.

Take a moment now to confess those sins to God, asking for His forgiveness.

Lord, we ask you to bless this bread and help us to take it in a worthy manner as we remember what Christ has done for us, His body, the church this morning. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Deacons distribute the bread.

Mark 14:22 says that Jesus told His disciples, “Take it; this is my body.”

Distribute the cup to the deacons.

Mark also recorded that Jesus gave thanks and gave the cup to His disciples.

Directed prayer for the cup.

Praise God for the fact that He is both gracious and merciful.

Thank Him for His mercy in pouring out His wrath on Jesus instead of us, through Jesus shedding His blood for our sins.

Thank Him for His grace in saving us into the family, into the community of the church.

Ask Him to convict you by His Spirit to know how He would have you fulfill the ministry and purpose that He has for you as a part of the church.

Lord, we ask you to bless this cup and let us respond in obedience to join You in Your mission as we take it together. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Deacons distribute the cup.

Mark 14:24 says that Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

Thank you, deacons, for serving our church family this morning. We all appreciate your faithfulness. And thank you, Donna, for playing during the Supper.

As the deacons return to their seats, I have just a couple of closing words:

Closing Remarks

Bible reading (Deut 11)

AOM tonight at 415 in the parlor

Pastor’s Study tonight

Prayer Meeting this Wednesday, invite folks since we’re going to start something new.

Instructions for guests

Benediction

Let’s read this all together.

Ephesians 4:15–16 CSB

15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Amen. Let us go and walk in obedience to what Jesus has called us to as His children, His body, and His bride.

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