Holy Communion
EOCC: The Church on the Hill formed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be a beacon of hope to the world around us.
“Do this in remembrance of me.” Right before Jesus’ death, he instituted a special meal for His Church to observe. Historically this meal was called the “Eucharist”, which simply means,” thanksgiving.” Today most main-line churches call this meal Communion or The Lord’s Supper. While there are discussions among churches of how often this meal should be taken there is a clear consensus that this meal is an important part of faith.
As we eat the bread and drink the cup, we reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and look forward to His return. This meal identifies us as a people of God and provides the blessed assurance that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
When we eat of the bread, we remember the unity Jesus sought for His people, we recall the sinfulness of our flesh and in this guilt, we need Jesus the most. When we are struggling that is when we need the help and support of the body. We need to remember that we are in a fellowship of brothers and sisters who represent Jesus to us, and we need the strength and assurance provided by the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Without this meal we retreat and suffer within ourselves.
When we partake of the juice, we are accepting the love, mercy and grace of God even though we cannot explain how this happens. We are acknowledging that each of us are dependent on God’s grace to wash our sins away, to forgive and be renewed in the likeness of Christ.
Even now, God continues to invite us to the feast, our participation in the feast depends on our willingness to accept the invitation. Through offering ourselves in praise and thanksgiving, and receiving the elements, we believe that when consumed, the Holy Spirit then makes for us the body and blood of Christ. It is in this celebration of the Lord’s meal together that nourishes our souls and sustains us both as a gathered body and individually in our journey as disciples of Jesus Christ.
At EOCC we gather every Wednesday evening and the first Sunday of the month to celebrate this meal that is critical to our faith.
As we eat the bread and drink the cup, we reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and look forward to His return. This meal identifies us as a people of God and provides the blessed assurance that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
When we eat of the bread, we remember the unity Jesus sought for His people, we recall the sinfulness of our flesh and in this guilt, we need Jesus the most. When we are struggling that is when we need the help and support of the body. We need to remember that we are in a fellowship of brothers and sisters who represent Jesus to us, and we need the strength and assurance provided by the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Without this meal we retreat and suffer within ourselves.
When we partake of the juice, we are accepting the love, mercy and grace of God even though we cannot explain how this happens. We are acknowledging that each of us are dependent on God’s grace to wash our sins away, to forgive and be renewed in the likeness of Christ.
Even now, God continues to invite us to the feast, our participation in the feast depends on our willingness to accept the invitation. Through offering ourselves in praise and thanksgiving, and receiving the elements, we believe that when consumed, the Holy Spirit then makes for us the body and blood of Christ. It is in this celebration of the Lord’s meal together that nourishes our souls and sustains us both as a gathered body and individually in our journey as disciples of Jesus Christ.
At EOCC we gather every Wednesday evening and the first Sunday of the month to celebrate this meal that is critical to our faith.