Seven Ways to Improve Your Church’s Observance of the Lord’s Table

 

This is Memorial Day. On this day we remember those who gave their lives to preserve the freedoms we hold dear. Our congregation has chosen on the Sunday before Memorial Day every year to observe the Lord’s Table in the spirit of remembering the One who gave His life to save us from the bondage of sin. It is a moving time for us and there are several things we do that help us keep our minds and hearts engaged in this important New Testament ordinance. Maybe they will be helpful for you.

See it as the pinnacle of New Testament worship.

There are not many biblically ordained rituals for the New Testament Church. Baptism marks the public profession of a believer and his identification with Christ both spiritually and in the local body. This happens once in a believer’s life. However, the Lord’s Table is commanded observance until Jesus returns. It is the way Jesus specified for us to remember Him.  It is an artful teaching picture that enlists all the sense in remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ—vision, touch, taste, feel, even smell. This is not new in worship. Old Testament Temple worship also impacted all bodily senses. It was held in high regard in the New Testament church and it should not be relegated to being a preaching service tack-on in the present-day church.

Get the theology right.

We do not believe that there is any magic (in a Sacramentarian way), or any mystical grace communicated in the observance of the Lord’s table, but that does not make it any less dynamic or meaningful. No one is saved by taking the elements or gets any more of God’s grace in observing the ordinance.

The observance of the Lord’s Table should reflect the moment. It is a holy moment that reflects the holy sacrifice of a holy God. It should be observed reverently and with joy. The youth group meeting where the Lord’s Table is observed with Coca-cola and chips is NOT reverent.

It is a body-life event, not a personal one. We do not observe the Lord’s Table with individuals in their homes or hospital beds. This is not the last rites. It is something that the Body does when it meets together. Because of this, we did not observe the Lord’s Table over Zoom during the Covid lockdowns.

Observe in timely moments.

While these are not the only times to observe the Lord’s Table, there are certain events that make its observance more meaningful. We observed it yesterday, on Memorial Day weekend, because the sacrifice of Christ is the ultimate example of one dying for others. It puts the entire holiday in perspective and even lends solemnity in remembering the sacrifice of those that died in the service of our country. There are also other days like the Friday night before Easter, during the Christmas week, and others.

Give it an entire service.

There is no set time interval for observing the Lord’s Table given in the New Testament, but we are required to do it regularly until Christ returns. Going years without observing it must be regarded as congregational disobedience. Many churches have chosen to do it on the first Sunday of every month. We decided not to do that. We found that tacking the Lord’s table onto the end of the morning service made it more of an annoyance to many than a blessing. Beginning in the late 1990’s we began dedicating an entire service to the Lord’s Table when we do it and it has been transformative for our church. These are usually our higher attended services and the atmosphere is reverent and moving. Giving it time really helps.

Preach and teach it as you observe it.

I do not preach and then do the Lord’s Table, I preach through the Lord’s Table using the elements as divinely inspired object lessons to remind us of various aspects of the sacrifice of Christ for us. It allows us as a congregation to engage in spirit and in truth.

Make it a time of self-examination.

“Let a man examine himself.” We do not practice closed, but close communion. We do not knowingly offer the elements to people we know are unsaved, but we do not forbid those who are not members of our local congregation in joining us. The concern of many churches is that they want to protect the integrity of the Lord’s Table. Those who are not saved or not walking in obedience should not take it. This is correct. The warnings of 1 Corinthians 11 are dire indeed. But Paul’s solution is for everyone who takes the elements to examine themselves. Pastors must warn their congregations and then give them time to examine their hearts and prepare their hearts to worship. One of the best ways to do this is in the deafening silence of prayer. There is something overwhelming about silent prayer in a room full of people that allows for the powerful voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard.

Sing, sing, sing.

The music of a piano or organ plays quietly as the elements were passed down the rows. That is it has been done historically in most Baptist churches.  However, in true worship, people are compelled to sing. We sing a capella as the elements are passed. We sing all those old songs about the cross, the Blood, our sinfulness, and the love of our Savior. We do not use a song-leader. Either the pastor or another church member just starts signing and the congregation joins in—raising their voices most often through tears of sorrow and joy.  The simplicity of singing without instruments is powerful.

Yesterday, we observed the Lord’s Table, and even now the tears are flowing down my cheeks as I remember that blessed moment when our congregation, together, in unity, lifted our voices in thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus who gave His life for us.