Articles
Why Christians Should Take The Lord's Supper Every Sunday
The very first Christians did not have Christmas to celebrate. And there is no indication they celebrated Easter, either.
They had the Lord’s Supper. Some churches call it Communion, or the Eucharist, or the Breaking of Bread. Whatever it is called today, this memorial of bread and wine was a centerpiece of the lives of our early brethren. And it should be a weekly part of our worship today.
Now I understand many believe that would be too much. More than one person has told me that weekly observance would cheapen the value of this beautifully graphic feast for them. But notice that the first disciples looked at it differently.
Our first brethren devoted themselves to the Breaking of Bread from the very beginning (Acts 2:42). Just as they dedicated themselves to the Words of the Apostles, fellowship with their spiritual family and praying to their God, they committed to this simple meal.
They would even organize special meetings around the Lord’s supper. Twice the scriptures point this out. Once, Paul traveled to Troas to encourage the disciples there. Though he arrived Monday, he waited six days until their Sunday Bread-Breaking meeting (Acts 20:6-7). Notice that their gathering was specifically for the Breaking of Bread. Though they heard preaching and likely prayed together, they really met for the Supper.
The Corinthians were another group of saints whose meetings were designed around the Lord’s Supper, although they were rebuked for profaning it (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). In correcting them, Paul encourages them to gather for this supper, wait for one another and eat it together (1 Corinthians 11:33).
Finally, ancient writers, historians and Bible scholars also confirm a weekly observance of the Lord’s supper by our early brethren:
Observance of the Lord’s Supper on Sunday reflects the general practice of both the first-century churches as well as post-first-century churches. For example, the Didache, written shortly after the close of the first century, speaks of Christians coming together each Lord’s day and breaking bread (9:1-12; 14:1). Justin Martyr wrote in his First Apology (ch. 67), circa A.D. 152, of Christians meeting on Sunday and partaking of the communion (ch. 67). Milligan observed: “That the primitive Christians were wont to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on every first day of the week is evident.... During the first two centuries the practice of weekly communion was universal, and it was continued in the Greek church till the seventh century” (1975, p. 440). Johnson summarized the post-first century data:
[T]he early church writers from Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, to Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Cyprian, all with one consent, declare that the church observed the first day of the week. They are equally agreed that the Lord’s Supper was observed weekly, on the first day of the week (1891, 1:505, emp. added) (http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1254).
So what do you think? Since our first brethren, who were taught by the apostles, devoted themselves to this meal and centered their meetings around it every Sunday, shouldn’t we do the same? Perhaps there are other things we can do to avoid making it stale besides limiting this Communion with Christ to just a few times a year.
