Communion

At Crossway, we celebrate Communion on a monthly basis.  Communion is a part of our Sunday worship.  We invite all who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to partake on this special privilege.  We believe that the bread and wine are symbols of Christ’s body and blood. 

What is Communion?

A study of the Communion (also called the Lord’s Supper) is a soul-stirring experience because of the depth of meaning it contains. It was during the age-old celebration of the Passover on the eve of His death that Jesus instituted a significant new fellowship meal that we observe to this day. It is an integral part of Christian worship. It causes us to remember our Lord’s death and resurrection and to look for His glorious return in the future.

During the Last Supper—a Passover celebration—Jesus took a loaf of bread and gave thanks to God. As He broke it and gave it to His disciples, He said, “’This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:19-21). He concluded the feast by singing a hymn (Matthew 26:30), and they went out into the night to the Mount of Olives. It was there that Jesus was betrayed, as predicted, by Judas. The following day He was crucified.

The accounts of the Lord’s Supper are found in the Gospels (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:17-25;Luke 22:7-22; and John 13:21-30). The apostle Paul wrote concerning the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29.

Why do we have Communion?

The participation of the Lord’s Supper allows the Christian to fulfill the following purposes:

Obedience.  The Lord Jesus commanded the disciple and the church to do this (communion).  A Christian must simply obey and partake in the Lords Supper.

Remembering the Passion of the Lord.  The second purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember the pain and suffering the Lord Jesus endured for our sake.  He tells us to do this in remembrance of Him.  Each time we take the bread and wine, we ought to remember the cross.

Proclaiming the Gospel.  1 Corinthians 11:26 states that when we take communion we proclaim the Lord’s death.  To proclaim means to speak forth to each other a message.  This proclamation is done without words as each person take the bread and wine before one another. 

Looking forward with hope.  The Lord’s Supper lets us look back on the sacrifice on the cross and at the same time allows us to look forward to the coming of the Lord for His church.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:26 that we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  There is a limited time we will celebrate this supper.  One day we will feast with the Lamb of God in His presence.  This is where our hope lies.

Baptism

We have baptism two times a year, September and April.  If you or your child would like to be baptized, please contact Pastor Sam Oh.  There is a mandatory class for all candidates.

"Christian baptism is a sign from God that signifies inward cleansing and remission of sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-27), Spirit-wrought regeneration and new life (Titus 3:5), and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as God's seal testifying and guaranteeing that one will be kept safe in Christ forever (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14). Baptism carries these meanings because first and fundamentally it signifies union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-12); and this union with Christ is the source of every element in our salvation (1 John 5:11-12). Receiving the sign in faith assures the persons baptized that God's gift of new life in Christ is freely given to them. At the same time, it commits them to live henceforth in a new way as committed disciples of Jesus. Baptism signifies a watershed point in a human life because it signifies a new-creational engrafting into Christ's risen life." -  J.I. Packer