Lord's Supper

The Lord’s Supper

At Berean, we normally celebrate the Lord’s Supper 5-6 times per year. Some of those are times during the morning services and some during the evening services. We believe the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance established by the Head of the Church—Jesus Christ. All pastors, elders, teachers, deacons, ministry leaders and church members are fully expected to participate in the Lord’s Supper unless they are providentially hindered.

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is an active, outward remembrance of Jesus’ death; it should be observed periodically until He comes again and should always be preceded by self-examination (Mat 26:17-30; 1Co 11:23-28).

We believe the Bible teaches that believers are spiritually strengthened in at least four ways by their active participation in the Lord’s Supper. They—by faith—gain strength in:

1. Their knowledge of the remarkable love Jesus demonstrated toward them through His death.
2. The realization that their sins have been pardoned by the grace of God.
3. The awareness that they are part of a large spiritual family—the body of Christ.
4. Anticipation of the return of their Lord Jesus and the reality of everlasting life with God.

A correct understanding of the meaning of the Lord’s Supper and an appropriate response in faith are both necessary for the believer to be strengthened.

We believe the act of observing the Lord’s Supper is a proclamation of the gospel; therefore, we make no effort to hide the time of the Lord’s Supper from the general public, nor do we dismiss those who are not members of our church.

Our communion table is both open and closed:

It is open to born-again Christians, who:

• Are members in good standing of BBC or another Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, New Testament church (or are seeking God’s will concerning church membership)
• Have renounced and confessed all known sin in their lives; and
• Are striving to obey the commandments of the Lord

It is closed to adults and children, who:

• Have not repented and placed their faith in the Lord Jesus as their Savior
• Are not pursuing membership in a Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, New Testament church
• Are living in blatant disobedience to the commandments of our Lord
• Have an ought with a brother or sister in Christ, are under church discipline, or are living in violation of any behavior outlined in the BBC Covenant, Articles of Faith, and/or Constitution
• By the conviction of the Holy Spirit are unworthy to partake (1Co 11:27).

BBC uses grape juice with no alcohol content as a symbolic representation of our Savior’s blood and small square pieces of unleavened bread as a symbolic representation of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The pastors and elders administer the Lord’s Supper, and the deacons assist in serving the congregation. While we hold in great reverence the symbolic wonder of the Lord’s Supper, we adamantly reject any doctrine of transubstantiation (the doctrine that the elements change into the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ). We do not believe that the Lord’s Supper provides justifying grace. We affirm with great conviction that repentance of sins and faith in the work that Christ did on the cross are the gifts of God by which He saves us.