The Lord's Supper at FBC Fenton — What It Is and Why We Celebrate It

## A Table Set for the Church

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus gathered His disciples for a meal. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said: *"This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."* Then He took the cup and said: *"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."* (Luke 22:19–20)

With those words, Jesus instituted one of the two ordinances He gave His church — a regular, embodied practice of remembering, proclaiming, and anticipating what He accomplished at the cross.

At FBC Fenton, we celebrate the Lord's Supper regularly as a congregation. This post explains why, and what we believe about what happens when we do.

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## What the Lord's Supper Is

**It is a memorial.** When Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me," He was not asking for a passive historical recollection. He was instituting a practice that would repeatedly bring His people back to the defining event of human history — His death and resurrection. The Lord's Supper is a physical, tangible act of remembering what Jesus did, with the bread representing His broken body and the cup representing His shed blood.

**It is a proclamation.** Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:26: *"For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."* Every time the church observes communion, it is an act of proclamation — declaring the Gospel not in words alone but in physical, visible action. The Lord's Supper is preaching without words.

**It is an anticipation.** Jesus said at the Last Supper that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again "until the kingdom of God comes" (Luke 22:18). The Lord's Supper is not only a backward-looking memorial — it is a forward-looking hope. We celebrate it "until he comes." Every communion is a declaration that history is moving toward a consummation, and that Jesus will return to bring His kingdom fully and finally.

**It is a participation.** Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 10:16: *"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"* There is a real sense in which receiving the bread and cup is a genuine participation in Christ — not in a magical sense, but in the sense of a deeply personal, spiritual communion with the living Jesus.

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## What the Lord's Supper Is Not

**It is not a sacrifice.** In some Christian traditions, the Eucharist is understood as a re-presentation or re-offering of the sacrifice of Christ. At FBC Fenton, we do not hold this view. Hebrews 9:28 and 10:12 are clear: Christ was sacrificed once for all. His sacrifice is finished. The Lord's Supper celebrates a completed sacrifice — it does not repeat or extend it.

**It is not transubstantiation.** The Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation holds that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus during the Mass. We believe this misreads both the text and the nature of Jesus' statement. Jesus spoke in figures and symbols throughout His ministry ("I am the door," "I am the vine"). The Lord's Supper is a memorial and a symbol — extraordinarily meaningful, but not a physical transformation of the elements.

**It is not merely a ritual.** On the other end of the spectrum, some treat communion as a bare ordinance with no spiritual significance — just a symbolic act done out of obedience. We do not hold this view either. The Lord's Supper is a genuine means of grace — an occasion where the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of those who receive it in faith, deepening their communion with Christ and with one another.

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## Who Should Participate

At FBC Fenton, the Lord's Supper is for believers — those who have personally placed their faith in Jesus Christ and are baptized members of a local church in good standing.

Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 is sobering: eating the bread and drinking the cup in an "unworthy manner" is to be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of Christ. He instructs everyone to "examine himself" before participating. This is not meant to frighten genuine believers away from the table — it is a call to serious, honest self-examination before approaching it.

If you are a visitor to FBC Fenton and you are a believer and a member in good standing at another local church, you are welcome to participate. The table is the Lord's, and it belongs to His people.

If you are not yet a Christian, or if you are not sure whether you believe, we encourage you to let the elements pass — not as a rejection, but as an invitation to consider what the table represents and whether you want to place your faith in the One who set it.

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## How We Observe the Lord's Supper at FBC Fenton

We celebrate communion regularly during our Sunday morning worship services. The elements — bread (typically crackers or bread) and juice (we use grape juice rather than wine) — are passed to the congregation while Scripture is read and the meaning of the ordinance is briefly explained.

We pause for a moment of personal examination before receiving. Then, as a congregation, we receive the bread and the cup together — a shared act that declares our shared dependence on the same Savior.

It is a solemn and joyful moment. Solemn because of what it cost. Joyful because of what it accomplished.

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## A Moment Worth Anticipating

If you have never experienced a Lord's Supper service that was explained well — where you understood what you were doing and why — we hope this gives you a new appreciation for what Jesus instituted the night before He died.

He gave His church bread and cup as a way of saying: *Remember me. Proclaim my death. Anticipate my return. And do it together.*

We would love for you to be at the table with us.