Who is to be admitted to this event? Is the table open to all who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Or is it restricted only to those who have been baptized? Or is it even further restricted to those who have been baptized into a particular church, as the Strict Baptists or Closed Brethren do? I have participated in all three types of churches. What sort of event is this? Is it a sacrament, an ordinance, a memorial, a means of grace, or some combination of these four? What verb do we use? Do we celebrate communion, or observe it, or partake of it, or take it, or receive it, or have it, or just do it? Or should we have communion randomly, like we do here at PBCC? The former think the latter trivialize communion by taking it so rarely the latter think the former trivialize it by taking it so frequently. Others take it so seriously that they have it only every three, six or twelve months. How often should it be done? Some churches take this rite so seriously that they have communion every week or even every day. What do we call it? I need to call it something, to give it some label for convenience, so I will follow PBCC custom and call it communion. The only thing I have missed out on is the Mass, for I have no experience of the Catholic Church. In these churches I have participated in Communion, Holy Communion, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Table, and the Breaking of Bread. In my sojourns all over the world, I have been involved with churches of many denominations: Anglican, Baptist of several flavors, Presbyterian, Brethren, and now an independent Bible church.
Although the whole Church acknowledges the central importance of communion, there is tremendous confusion over most aspects of the event. We focus our attention today upon Communion.
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