Mount Zion Baptist Church – Louisburg, NC

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WHAT IS THE LORD’S SUPPER?: 5 Day Devotional

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20–30 minutes

DAY ONE:

MEMORY PASSAGE

“He took 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 memory of me.’” — Luke 22:19

Write Luke 22:19 out by hand:

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

Luke 22:14–20

“When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles. He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in God’s Kingdom.’ He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves, for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine until God’s Kingdom comes.’

He took 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 memory of me.’

Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’”

THE LORD’S SUPPER HELPS US REMEMBER THE GOSPEL

The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion, is one of the practices Jesus gave His church. It is more than a tradition Christians continue because previous generations practiced it. Jesus deliberately gave His followers the bread and cup to help us remember and proclaim the good news at the center of our faith.

Jesus established the Lord’s Supper on the night before His crucifixion. He knew that He was about to be arrested, beaten, and killed. During His final meal with His disciples, Jesus took ordinary bread and the fruit of the vine and connected them to what He was about to accomplish. He said that the bread represented His body given for them and that the cup represented the new covenant in His blood poured out for them. Then He commanded His followers to continue doing this in remembrance of Him.

This means that the Lord’s Supper gives us something physical that points us toward spiritual realities. We see the bread. We hold it. We eat it. We receive the cup and drink it. Through these ordinary actions, we deliberately bring the gospel back to the center of our attention. In that sense, when Christians receive the Lord’s Supper, we are eating and drinking a picture of the gospel.

And the gospel we remember reaches backward, around us, and forward.

We remember what Christ has done for us. Through His body given and His blood poured out, Jesus has dealt with our sin, restored our relationship with God, and begun the work of making us holy.

We remember what Christ has made us. Jesus has not saved us to live as isolated individuals. He has adopted us into His family and knit us together as His people.

And we remember what Christ has promised us. The Jesus who died and rose again is coming again. When He does, He will bring His work to completion and make everything right.

The Lord’s Supper therefore gives us a repeated opportunity to bring the whole Christian hope back before our eyes. We remember the cross, we recognize the family Christ has created, and we look forward to His return.

GUIDED REFLECTION

1. Break down Luke 22:14–20 to explain what is happening as Jesus establishes the Lord’s Supper. What does He say about the bread and the cup, what does He tell His disciples to do, and how do His references to His suffering, His blood, remembrance, and the coming Kingdom help explain the meaning of the meal? Be as specific as possible.

2. Why do you think Jesus gave His followers a physical practice involving bread and the cup rather than simply telling them to remember His death? How might seeing, holding, eating, and drinking these symbols help bring the gospel back to your attention in a concrete way?

3. Before working through this devotional, how would you have explained the purpose of the Lord’s Supper to someone who had never experienced it? Has Communion ever felt like something you participated in mainly because it was a church tradition? What parts of Jesus’ words in Luke 22 deepen or correct your understanding of what you are actually doing?

4. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of what Christ has done for us, what Christ has made us, and what Christ has promised to do. Which of those three dimensions do you most naturally think about during Communion, and which have you tended to overlook? What would change if you intentionally remembered all three?

5. What could you do differently the next time you receive the Lord’s Supper so that you are not merely going through the motions? How could you use those moments to deliberately remember Christ’s redemption, recognize your brothers and sisters as His family, and renew your hope in His return?

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

REMEMBER THE WHOLE GOSPEL

The next time your church celebrates the Lord’s Supper, use the bread and cup as a deliberate three-part reminder.

As you receive them, remember:

Christ has saved me.
Jesus gave Himself for me through the cross.

Christ has made us His people.
The Christians receiving this meal alongside me are my brothers and sisters in His family.

Christ is coming again.
Jesus will return, complete His work, and make everything right.

Then thank Him:

“Lord Jesus, thank You for what You have done for us, for the people You have made us, and for everything You have promised to do. Help me receive this bread and cup in remembrance of You.”

DAY TWO: THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATES OUR REDEMPTION THROUGH THE CROSS

MEMORY PASSAGE

“Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith.” — Hebrews 10:19–22

Write Hebrews 10:19–22 out by hand:

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

Hebrews 10:19–23

“Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water, let’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.”

Isaiah 59:1–2

“Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear. But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

THE LORD’S SUPPER REMINDS US WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR US

The Lord’s Supper begins with something we desperately need to remember: we needed to be rescued, and Jesus rescued us through the cross.

Scripture calls our rebellion against God sin. Sin includes the things we do that violate God’s will, but the problem runs deeper than individual bad decisions. We are sinful people who cannot repair our relationship with God by ourselves. Isaiah says that our sins have separated us from God. No amount of generosity, morality, religious activity, or good behavior can erase our guilt or tear down that barrier.

That is why the cross is such good news.

Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He lived without sin and willingly gave Himself for us. On the cross, He bore the judgment our sin deserved so that everyone who places their faith in Him can be forgiven. Our acceptance by God does not rest on whether we have managed to become good enough. It rests on what Jesus has already accomplished.

Hebrews describes the result in remarkable terms. Because of the blood of Jesus, believers can now draw near to God. The God from whom our sin separated us welcomes us into His presence. We do not approach Him by pretending we have never sinned or by proving that we deserve to be there. We approach Him “in fullness of faith” because Jesus has made the way open.

And Christ’s work in us does not stop with forgiveness. The Lord who saves us also begins changing us. He works within us to make us holy, freeing us from sinful patterns and teaching us increasingly to live like Him. Christians often call this lifelong work sanctification.

This is part of what we remember every time we receive the Lord’s Supper. The bread points us toward Christ’s body given for us. The cup points us toward His blood poured out for us. Together, they remind us that Jesus has wiped away our sin, restored our relationship with God, and is making us holy from the inside out.

GUIDED REFLECTION

1. Break down Hebrews 10:19–23 to explain what it says Jesus has made possible through His blood. What has changed about our relationship with God, why are we now able to “draw near,” and what response does the passage call for from us? Be as specific as possible.

2. Isaiah 59:2 says that sin separates us from God. What does this teach you about the seriousness of sin? Why can your morality, accomplishments, religious activity, or good deeds never solve this problem, and how does that help you understand why you need Jesus rather than simply needing to become a better person?

3. If you have placed your faith in Christ, what difference should it make in your everyday relationship with God to know that Jesus has already dealt with your guilt and opened the way into God’s presence? Are there sins, failures, fears, or feelings of unworthiness that sometimes make you avoid God rather than draw near to Him?

4. Christ not only forgives His people but also begins making them holy from the inside out. Where can you presently see Him changing you, and what sinful pattern, habit, attitude, addiction, or area of brokenness do you especially need to trust Him to continue changing?

5. When you receive the bread and cup, you are being reminded of something Christ has already accomplished for you. How could remembering the cross during the Lord’s Supper strengthen your gratitude, assurance, worship, and desire to follow Jesus?

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

DRAW NEAR BECAUSE OF JESUS

This week, whenever you become aware of a sin, failure, temptation, or feeling of guilt, use it as a trigger to draw near to God instead of withdrawing from Him.

Confess your sin honestly. Then remind yourself of Hebrews 10:19–22 and pray:

“Lord, I come to You because of Jesus. Thank You that His blood has wiped away my sin and opened the way into Your presence. Continue making me holy from the inside out.”

When you next receive the Lord’s Supper, remember the same truth as you receive the bread and cup:

Christ has wiped away my sin, restored my relationship with God, and is making me holy from the inside out.

DAY THREE: THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATES THE FAMILY CHRIST HAS MADE US

MEMORY PASSAGE

“Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.” — 1 Corinthians 10:17

Write 1 Corinthians 10:17 out by hand:

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

1 Corinthians 10:16–17

“The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.”

Ephesians 2:19–22

“So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.”

THE LORD’S SUPPER REMINDS US THAT CHRIST HAS MADE US ONE FAMILY

When Jesus saves us, He does not merely restore our individual relationship with God. He brings us into a people. Through Christ, people who were once separated from God and from one another become members of the same family and the same body.

Paul connects this reality directly to the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Corinthians 10, he points to the bread believers share and says that although we are many people, we are “one body.” The Lord’s Supper reminds us that everyone gathered around Christ’s table has been brought together by the same Savior. We needed the same grace, were rescued through the same cross, and now belong to the same body under the same Lord.

That means our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ are not incidental to our Christian lives. God has made us members of His household and has “built” us together. Church is meant to become a community where Christians faithfully love, support, encourage, forgive, correct, restore, and care for one another.

This should shape the kind of church family we work to create. Christians should be able to trust one another. We should be people with whom others can safely be honest about their struggles, failures, and sins. When a brother or sister falls, our desire should not be to gossip about them, humiliate them, abandon them, or use their failure against them. We should desire their repentance, healing, restoration, and renewed faithfulness to Christ.

That kind of community requires each of us to become trustworthy ourselves. If Christ has joined us to His people, then we should take seriously the trust our brothers and sisters place in us. We should keep confidences, refuse gossip and manipulation, remain faithful when relationships become difficult, forgive as Christ has forgiven us, and help make our church a place where hurting and struggling people can find a family that will genuinely love them.

The Lord’s Supper gives us a visible reminder of this reality. We do not merely receive Christ’s gifts as isolated individuals. We receive the bread and cup together as the people Christ has redeemed and knit together through His cross.

GUIDED REFLECTION

1. Break down 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 to explain what Paul is saying about the Lord’s Supper and the people who receive it. What connections does he make between the cup, the bread, Christ, and the church being “one body”? Be as specific as possible.

2. Read Ephesians 2:19–22 again. What do the descriptions “fellow citizens,” “household of God,” and “built together” teach you about what happened to your relationships with other Christians when Christ saved you? How does this challenge an understanding of Christianity that is primarily private or individual?

3. Think specifically about the people in your own church family. Where do you already see relationships marked by trust, faithfulness, honesty, forgiveness, support, and restoration? Where could you personally do more to help your church become the kind of safe and trustworthy family described in this entry?

4. How do you normally respond when another Christian admits a serious struggle, sin, failure, or mistake? Are you more likely to listen, protect their trust, pray, encourage repentance, and help restore them, or are you tempted to judge, gossip, distance yourself, or use what you know against them? What would Christlike faithfulness require from you?

5. When you next receive the Lord’s Supper alongside the people in your church, what would it mean to look around the room and consciously remember that Christ has made these imperfect people your brothers and sisters? Are there relationships in your church where you presently need to pursue forgiveness, reconciliation, greater trust, or more faithful love?

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

REMEMBER THE BODY

This week, whenever you interact with someone from your church, use that encounter as a reminder that Christ has joined you together as members of His family.

Silently pray:

“Lord, You have made us one body through Christ. Help me to love this brother or sister faithfully, to be worthy of their trust, and to seek their good as a member of Your family.”

Then look for one concrete opportunity to act on that prayer. Encourage them, listen to them, keep their confidence, forgive them, check on them, pray with them, help them, or take another simple step toward being the kind of faithful brother or sister Christ has called you to be.

When you next receive the Lord’s Supper, look at the people receiving it with you and remember:

Christ has adopted us into His family, and He is knitting us together as His people.

DAY FOUR: THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATES THE COMING RETURN OF JESUS

MEMORY PASSAGE

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” — 1 Corinthians 11:26

Write 1 Corinthians 11:26 out by hand:

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

1 Corinthians 11:23–26

“For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.’ In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Revelation 21:1–5

“I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.’ He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ He said, ‘Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.’”

THE LORD’S SUPPER REMINDS US THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN

The Lord’s Supper does not only point backward to what Jesus accomplished on the cross. It also points forward to what Jesus has promised to do when He returns.

Paul says that every time Christians eat the bread and drink the cup, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Those final words matter because the Christian story does not end with Jesus dying, rising from the dead, and returning to heaven. Jesus has promised to come again, and the Lord’s Supper teaches us to live with our eyes fixed on that future.

Revelation 21 gives us a glimpse of what Christ’s final victory will mean for His people. God will make all things new. His dwelling will be with His people. Death will be gone. Mourning, crying, and pain will be gone. God Himself will wipe the tears from the eyes of His people. The broken order of this fallen world will finally pass away.

That promise gives Christians a very different way to experience suffering. Following Jesus does not mean that our present grief becomes unreal or insignificant. Christians still mourn people they love. We still experience sickness, disappointment, loneliness, injustice, pain, and death. Our hope is that none of these things will have the final word. Jesus will.

This is why the Lord’s Supper can be an act of hope even during some of the hardest seasons of our lives. As we receive the bread and cup, we remember that the world as we presently experience it is not the world as it will always be. Christ has already defeated sin and death through His cross and resurrection, and He will return to complete His work. Everything that sin has broken will finally give way to the new creation God has promised.

So when you receive the Lord’s Supper, remember where history is going. Jesus is coming again. Death will end. God will dwell with His people. He will wipe away every tear. He will make all things new.

GUIDED REFLECTION

1. Break down 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 to explain what Paul says Christians are doing when they receive the Lord’s Supper. What are they remembering, what are they proclaiming, and how do the words “until he comes” point the Lord’s Supper toward the future? Be as specific as possible.

2. Carefully examine Revelation 21:1–5. What specific things does John say will be different when God makes all things new? What will disappear, what will take their place, and what does the passage tell us about God’s future relationship with His people?

3. What grief, loss, pain, disappointment, or brokenness in your life makes you especially long for the world Revelation 21 describes? How does the promise that Jesus will make all things new allow you to acknowledge the reality of that suffering without believing that it will last forever?

4. Think about the statement, “The world as we presently experience it is not the world as it will always be.” Where are you tempted to become discouraged, hopeless, fearful, or exhausted because you are treating something temporary as though it were permanent? How should Christ’s promised return change the way you endure it today?

5. The next time you receive the Lord’s Supper, what would it look like to receive it not only in remembrance of Christ’s death but also in anticipation of His return? How could consciously remembering “until he comes” change the way you approach the bread and cup?

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

UNTIL HE COMES

This week, whenever you encounter something that reminds you how broken this world is, whether grief, sickness, conflict, disappointment, fear, pain, or death, use it as a trigger to remember Revelation 21.

Do not pretend the suffering does not hurt. Bring it honestly before God, and then pray:

“Lord Jesus, this will not last forever. You are coming again. You will wipe away every tear, bring an end to death, and make all things new. Help me endure today with hope because I know where You are taking Your people.”

When you next receive the Lord’s Supper, remember the promise contained in those simple words:

“Until he comes.”

Receive the bread and cup remembering that the crucified and risen Jesus is coming again, and He will make all things new.

DAY 5: WHAT IS THE SPIRIT CALLING YOU TO DO NEXT?

MEMORY PASSAGE

“If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25

Write Galatians 5:25 out by hand:

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

Galatians 5:22–25

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.”

Philippians 2:12–13

“So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

THE GOSPEL WE REMEMBER SHOULD SHAPE THE LIFE WE LIVE

The Lord’s Supper calls us to remember what Jesus has done, but biblical remembrance is never meant to stop with remembering facts. The truths we have remembered throughout this study are meant to shape the way we actually live when we get up from the table and walk into another week.

Christ has wiped away our sin, restored our relationship with God, and is making us holy from the inside out. That means there may be sins the Holy Spirit is calling us to confess, habits He is calling us to leave behind, or areas of our lives where He is calling us to trust Christ and begin obeying Him more faithfully. We do not change ourselves in order to earn God’s acceptance. We pursue holiness because Christ has already redeemed us and God is now at work within us.

Christ has also knit us together as His people by adopting us into His family. That means following the Spirit may involve the way we treat another member of Christ’s body. There may be someone we need to forgive, encourage, check on, serve, listen to, apologize to, or pursue reconciliation with. There may be trust we need to protect or a relationship into which we need to pour greater faithfulness.

And Christ has promised that He is coming again to make everything right. That means the Spirit can teach us to face suffering differently. We can grieve honestly without surrendering to hopelessness. We can endure circumstances we cannot presently change while remembering that they are not permanent. Our future belongs to Jesus.

Galatians says that because we live by the Spirit, we should also “walk by the Spirit.” A walk happens one step at a time. You may not know everything God will do in your life over the next year, but you can ask what faithful step lies directly in front of you today.

So as this study ends, do not merely ask, “What have I learned about the Lord’s Supper?” Ask, “Because these things are true, where is the Spirit calling me to follow Jesus next?”

GUIDED REFLECTION

1. Break down Galatians 5:22–25 to explain what Paul means by living and walking by the Spirit. What kind of character does the Spirit produce, what has happened to the old sinful life of those who belong to Christ, and what response does Paul call believers to make? Be as specific as possible.

2. Think back over the truth that Christ has wiped away your sin, restored your relationship with God, and is making you holy from the inside out. What specific area of your life most needs that transforming work right now? Is there a sin to confess, a pattern to abandon, an act of obedience to begin, or an area where you need to stop hiding from God and draw near to Him?

3. Christ has adopted you into His family and knit you together with His people. What is one concrete way the Spirit may be calling you to become a more faithful brother or sister in Christ this week? Is there someone you need to encourage, serve, forgive, apologize to, listen to, reconcile with, or simply show up for?

4. Christ is coming again and will make all things new. What present grief, fear, disappointment, or difficulty do you need to place within that larger hope? What would it look like to endure that situation faithfully this week while refusing to let it convince you that suffering has the final word?

5. Looking across everything you have studied about the Lord’s Supper, what is the clearest next step of obedience in front of you right now? Write it as specifically as possible, including what you will do, who may be involved, and when you intend to take that step.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Set aside two or three quiet minutes today. Review the three truths you have carried through this study:

Christ has wiped away my sin, restored my relationship with God, and is making me holy from the inside out.

Christ has adopted us into His family and is knitting us together as His people.

Christ is coming again and will make everything right.

Then ask the Lord:

“Holy Spirit, because these things are true, what step of faithfulness are You calling me to take next?”

Think through what Scripture has shown you in this study. Identify one specific step of obedience that follows naturally from it, and take that step this week.

Do not wait until you have everything figured out. Walk by the Spirit one faithful step at a time.

And when you next receive the Lord’s Supper, do not only remember what Christ has done. Receive the bread and cup ready to continue following the One who gave Himself for you, made you part of His people, and is leading you toward the day when He will make all things new.

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