“Right preachers should diligently and faithfully teach only the Word of God and seek only his honour and praise.”  Martin Luther, in his final sermon, on February 15, 1546

Martin Luther was a guy who wanted to see the Church do better. He loved the Church so much that he risked a lot to call it out for the ways he saw it being unfaithful to God. The two things that Luther thought were necessary for worship were the preaching of the Word of God, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (sometimes called Communion or the Eucharist). It’s interesting that most Reformed churches don’t celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week when that is what Martin Luther and John Calvin both advocated for in their ministries.

“Celebrating” the Lord’s Supper doesn’t always feel so celebratory. In many churches, it is a time of sadness, reflecting on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. That is certainly an appropriate way to honor the Lord’s Supper. But there is another way that honors Christ as well–to celebrate the resurrected Lord who defeated death so that we never have to be afraid of it!
This coming Sunday, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a church community. Pray that over the course of this week, God would reveal to you the joy of your salvation and that you will take the opportunities God gives you to celebrate it!

Question to Ponder: How would you describe the Lord’s Supper to someone who isn’t a Christian? How would you convey that it is something to celebrate?

This week’s devotions are adapted from the book, A Brief History of Sunday: From the New Testament to the New Creation by Justo L. Gonzalez. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. 2017.