Join Us For Worship
Sundays 10 AM
 
 
HOME
ABOUT US
GUEST
EVENTS
MINISTRIES
MEDIA
CONTACT US
SUBSCRIBE
The Alliance, Living the Call Together
SUNDAY WORSHIP
SERVICE 10 AM

Joseph Citta Elementary School
2050 Lakewood Road (Route 9)
Toms River, NJ 08755
Phone 732-557-0110

Grounded in the Word, Empowered by the Spirit, Gathered in Communion . . .
Three Streams, the Evangelical, the Charismatic and the Sacred flowing into one life-giving reservior!

Weekly Remembrance of the Lord in the bread and the cup is one way in which SonRise identifies with the sacred stream (also known as the historical, or the sacramental stream) of Christianity.  Many churches in the evangelical/reformed tradition have less frequent observances of communion.  Why does SonRise believe that it is important to have a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper?

Regular and Frequent Communion Is The Practice of the Church in the Book of Acts

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe [4] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2

Weekly Celebration of the Lord's Supper Was The Historical Practice of the Church Even During the Reformation

Plainly this custom which enjoins us to take communion once a year is a veritable invention of the devil, whoever was instrumental in introducing it...For there is not the least doubt that the Sacred Supper was in that era [the early church] set before the believers every time they met together; and there is no doubt that a majority of them took communion... It should have been done far differently: the Lord's Table should have been spread at least once a week for the assembly of Christians, and the promises declared in it should feed us spiritually. [John Calvin Inst. IV. XVII. 46].

The Benfits of Weekly Celebration of Communion

  • It provides a weekly opportunity to proclaim the gospel

    For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26
     
  • It provides a sense of the presence of Christ

    At this table Jesus feeds us with His body and His blood. His corporeal presence we have not, but His real spiritual presence we perceive. We are like the disciples when none of them durst ask Him, “Who art Thou?” knowing that it was the Lord. He is come. He looketh forth at these windows, – I mean this bread and wine; showing Himself through the lattices of this instructive and endearing ordinance. – Charles Spurgeon Till He Comes, pg 69 
     
  • It provides an opportunity for believers to be reminded of the new start and supernatual sustenance that is provided for us by Christ.

The Heidelberg Catechism puts it beautifully:

He wants to assure us, by this visible sign and pledge,
that we, through the Holy Spirit's work,
share in his true body and blood as surely
as our mouths receive these holy signs in his remembrance (A. 79).

A helpul excerpt on the subject:

The Lord's Supper and Spiritual Formation
by Robert Webber

The Lord’s Supper is rooted in the actions of Jesus, who ate with tax collectors and sinners, who miraculously fed multitudes of people who came to hear him, who ate with his disciples a final meal before his execution, and who sat down to meals with them after his resurrection. The church’s celebration of the Lord’s Supper appears to have drawn upon these meals Jesus held and above all upon the Last Supper, with its dominant paschal imagery of covenant, sacrifice, and freedom. Last Supper and Lord’s Supper. Too often in Protestant services, the Lord’s Supper has been interpreted solely in light of the Last Supper. While the cross certainly stands at the center of the Lord’s Supper, its proclamation is incomplete if it does not include the Good News of the Resurrection and of the freedom from sin and death it effects. The recovery of the Lord’s Supper in many Protestant churches will entail a recovery of the proclamation of the fullness of the gospel. As it proclaims the Good News of freedom, new life, holiness, and victory over sin and death, so also can the celebration of the Lord’s Supper contribute positively to spiritual formation.

It can be argued that the Eucharist (or Lord’s Supper) functions as the fundamentally stable element of the Sunday service. Other portions of the weekly times of worship can and do change according to the time of the liturgical, civic, or agricultural calendar. Each Sunday, the service proclaims a different facet of the saving love of God, and the changing readings, hymns, and sermons reflect that fact. For those churches that celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, the Eucharist provides a counterpoint, a context for the seasonal portions of the service. It proclaims the larger context for the church’s gathering together: the saving death and resurrection of Jesus. Several advocates of liturgical renewal have spoken of the Great Thanksgiving at the Lord’s Supper as the creed par excellence of the church, for in it the saving acts of God on behalf of humanity are remembered in thanksgiving. As it does so, the Great Thanksgiving provides a constant reminder, a context for reflection and action in Christ’s name.

The Lord’s Supper can most adequately contribute to spiritual formation when it is celebrated often, preferably every Sunday. Some may consider that a weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper is “too Catholic” or somehow indicates crypto-Anglicanism. It is worth pointing out that frequent or weekly celebration of the Eucharist was practiced not only by the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers (Luther, Calvin, and Simons) but also by the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century forebearers of the “free church” denominations, English and Scottish Presbyterians and Congregationalists, and English Baptists. A recovery of frequent celebration for these churches will entail a rediscovery and interpretation of their own traditions’ thought on and practice of the Lord’s Supper. --Robert Webber, The Ministries of Christian Worship, p. 319.