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One of the most sacred rites in the local church is Holy Communion, also called the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, etc. We partake of that ordinance because Jesus told His disciples to keep it in remembrance of Him. He said as often we do so, we proclaim His suffering and His death until he returns.
During the Holy Communion, the bread and the drink served are virtually the body and the blood of Christ. Accordingly, in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he stressed the sanctity of the Lord’s Supper. He says believers should examine themselves before eating the bread and drinking of the cup. He warned the church members about the consequences of failing to examine themselves accordingly.
“For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep,” he writes (1 Corinthians 11:30, KJV).
The Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, was occasioned by the impending death of Christ. It was during the last moments He shared with His disciples before being apprehended to be crucified. He specifically instituted the rite for us to remember Him. Every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper, it points us to the barbaric cross of Calvary. The One who knew no sin was made sin for us.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church underscored a lack of a healthy fear of God there. The same can be said for us today. People used to have more respect for the local church—even when they walked by the church building. But now, a man will walk in the house of God and gun a pastor down. Or he will enter the church to murder the people of God. This while they pray and study the Word of God. Sad but true, many believers today regard the Holy Communion as a common or unholy thing.
