Groups Discussion Guide
Read Scripture. Go Deeper. Ask Questions. Take Action.
The Significance of Supper
Scripture
23For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took apiece of bread, 24gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me.” 25 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup and said, “This cup is God's new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.”
26This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27It follows that if one of you eats the Lord's bread or drinks from his cup in away that dishonors him, you are guilty of sin against the Lord's body and blood. 28So then, you should each examine yourself first, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29For if you do not recognize the meaning of the Lord's body when you eat the bread and drink from the cup, you bring judgment on yourself as you eat and drink. 30That is why many of you are sick and weak, and several have died. 31If we would examine ourselves first, we would not come under God's judgment.
Main Idea
Consistent Theme with Sacrament Series: 1) Sacraments are sacred rituals that bring supernatural results. 2) Sacraments are an outward and physical sign of an inward grace.
Communion is a sacrament, similar to baptisms where if we are not deliberate in our approach we can void the meaning and power of the experience.
Communion represents the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf where the bread represents His body and the juice represents His shed blood. As instructed by the apostle Paul, we should treat the Lord’s Supper with the dignity and significance it deserves.
Communion is the only sacrament we are told to physically touch. As with relationships and other things in life, there is a difference between knowing about someone and truly knowing them. Similar to relationships over time, we can start to treat things that should be sacred and full of meaning as something common and routine. Examining and preparing ourselves for communion is a great way to safeguard against treating Communion as common.
To do this, we can prepare ourselves in three primary ways.
- Look back in thankfulness and express gratitude as it will change your perspective (Psalm 100:4)
- Live Now in Wholeness – Is 53:3-5 NLT describes this divine exchange of what Christ did on the cross so we can experience wholeness now in life, health, relationships, and peace.
- Look forward in Hope – When examining ourselves and knowing we deserved death but He gives us life, we know we can look forward with the promise of life and hope. We have a hope and a promise based on the better sacrifice of Jesus Himself on the cross.
Communion is the only sacrament we are told to physically touch.
Discussion Questions
- How have you experienced Communion at Velocity and in your previous church experience?
- Have you always thought about how you are preparing for Communion when you took the Lord’s Supper in the past? How might you start taking Communion differently in the future?
- Are there other things in your life that we do too quickly out of habit and miss the significance in the moment? What are those for you?
- Why do you think Paul tells us to examine and prepare ourselves before taking The Lord’s Supper?
Summary
When you prepare yourself to receive the perfect sacrifice of Jesus by grounding yourself in gratitude, living in the now work and deliverance of Jesus, and expressing our hope in a better future we can experience wholeness and victory.
Take Action
- Before taking Communion next time, think about what you have to be grateful for.
- Think about Jesus' faithfulness in the past to help you see hope in the future.
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