Whiteboard: World Communion Sunday

I am fond of saying, "World Communion Sunday should be one of our highest of Holy Days for the Disciples of Christ."

Think about it. It is a Sunday that is:

• Dedicated to the Unity We Have in Christ.
• Celebrated around the Lord's Table.
• Participated in by Churches All Over the World Regardless of Denominational Identity.

Those are three of our core values as a church right there! Unity, the centrality of the Lord's Table, and a ecumenical spirit that guides us!

So come join us this Sunday for one of our highest of Holy Days. Come to celebrate the oneness that we experience in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to remember him in the broken bread and the shared cup of the new covenant. Come to celebrate in worship with our brothers and sisters all over the world who will be gathering this Sunday in their own communities of faith, singing praises in their own language, and breaking bread in their own special way in service to the Lord. See you Sunday!

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Luke 22:14-27 The Lord’s Supper

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Whiteboard: World Communion Sunday

I am fond of saying, "World Communion Sunday should be one of our highest of Holy Days for the Disciples of Christ."

Think about it. It is a Sunday that is:

• Dedicated to the Unity We Have in Christ.
• Celebrated around the Lord's Table.
• Participated in by Churches All Over the World Regardless of Denominational Identity.

Those are three of our core values as a church right there! Unity, the centrality of the Lord's Table, and a ecumenical spirit that guides us!

So come join us this Sunday for one of our highest of Holy Days. Come to celebrate the oneness that we experience in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to remember him in the broken bread and the shared cup of the new covenant. Come to celebrate in worship with our brothers and sisters all over the world who will be gathering this Sunday in their own communities of faith, singing praises in their own language, and breaking bread in their own special way in service to the Lord. See you Sunday!

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Mark 8:1-10 Feeding the Four Thousand

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’

His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’

He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’

They said, ‘Seven.’

Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Whiteboard: World Communion Sunday

This coming Sunday we'll celebrate World Communion Sunday!

It really is one of my favorite Sundays of the year, and I've often said that it should be THE major high holy day for us as Disciples of Christ. 

You see, on World Communion Sunday we  celebrate the Unity of Christ that dwells at the very heart of our Christian Faith and lift up the Communion Table as the central place for our worship. World Communion Sunday resounds with the theological themes that are so close to our hearts as part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – unity, diversity, the celebration of Communion at an open table!

This year we'll be combining our observation of World Communion Sunday with a celebration of Global Ministries Sunday as well. Global Ministries is the worldwide missions arm of our denomination. They work to "receive and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for justice, reconciliation and peace."

What better way to celebrate the unity of Christ that exists among the diversity of his people all over the world than to lift up our common global missions where Disciples are serving our brothers and sisters in faith throughout the globe!

Our worship service was written (almost entirely) by different Disciples missionaries serving all over the world. You'll hear stories of their work, we'll share prayers that they have written, and we will celebrate at the Lord's table with a special Communion Meditation put together by our missionaries. It will be an extraordinary Sunday...a true high holy day for the church!

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1 Corinthians 11:23-26 -- The Lord’s Supper

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’

In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whiteboard: World Communion Sunday

This Sunday is World Communion Sunday! World Communion Sunday is one of my very favorite worship services of the year. It is the day when we celebrate the Unity of Christ that dwells at the very heart of our Christian Faith and lift up the Communion Table as the central place for our worship. Why, World Communion Sunday sounds like a service developed just for us Disciples doesn’t it?!? It resounds with those theological themes that are so close to our hearts – unity, diversity, the celebration of Communion at an open table.

The funny thing is, World Communion Sunday was actually started many, many moons ago…by the Presbyterians! But that’s alright because it speaks to our ecumenical nature too!

We’ll be celebrating World Communion Sunday this week at First Christian Church Scottsdale in word and song, in prayer and at the table. I’ll hope you’ll join us!

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Mark 14:22-25

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

It is one of my favorite Sundays of the year.

The Sunday when we celebrate Christian Unity and the blessing of the Lord's Table.

It is WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY!

I've often joked that World Communion Sunday really should be one of the highest of holy days for the Disciples. After all, it is the Sunday when our brothers and sisters in all sorts of churches from all sorts of denominational backgrounds all over the world celebrate the unity we have in Christ by breaking bread and sharing the cup at the Lord's Table. These are the great theological themes for us as Disciples of Christ -- Unity, Diversity, and the Centrality of the Lord's Table.

No wonder I love World Communion Sunday so much!

See you this Sunday!