A Table Of Unity...

This Sunday, we concluded our three-part mini-series on Communion with a sermon titled A Table of Unity. This mini-series has been the opening section of the overall series, Foundations: What Every Christian Should Know.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at Communion as a table of remembrance and a table of examination. This week, we looked at one more important truth: What does Communion do for us as a church?

According to the Apostle Paul, Communion reminds us that through Christ, we’ve been made one body. We come together as the people of God, united by the same Savior, gathered around the same table, and called into the same mission.

The sermon began with the story of the Cane Ridge Communion gathering in Kentucky in 1801. People came from different churches and backgrounds, including Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. They gathered for prayer, worship, and the Lord’s Supper. What began as a simple Communion service became one of the sparks of the Second Great Awakening. Thousands gathered, many were converted, churches were strengthened, and the Gospel spread across the frontier.

I. One Body

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 that “we, though many, are one bread and one body.” That means Communion reminds us that Christ has brought us together. We’re not just a room full of individuals. We’re members of one another.

Jesus prayed for this in John 17, that His people would be one. This isn’t just unity for unity's sake. It’s not just people attending the same church service. It’s a spiritual unity rooted in Christ Himself.

The church is like a human body. Different parts have different functions, but they all belong together. Communion reminds us that Jesus didn’t save us into isolation. He saved us into a body.

II. One Table

Communion also reminds us that we come to one table. Throughout Scripture, sharing a table represented fellowship, peace, relationship, and acceptance.

At the Lord’s Table, every believer comes the same way: by grace. Nobody earns a place there. We come because Jesus made a way through His death and resurrection.

The world constantly divides people into categories, but the Gospel brings people together through Jesus Christ. Communion visibly declares that we share the same Savior, the same Spirit, and the same access to the Father.

III. One Mission

Communion doesn’t just remind us who we are. It reminds us what we’re called to do. The church isn’t just a group of people holding on to a memory. We’re a people sent into the world with a purpose.

Real unity must be protected. Paul tells the church to walk with humility, gentleness, patience, and love, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

I used the picture of a rowing team. If everyone rows in a different direction, the boat doesn’t move forward. The same is true for the church. We won’t move forward in the mission Christ gave us if everyone is pulling in different directions.

As the sermon closed, we returned to Cane Ridge. That gathering didn’t begin with entertainment or a celebrity preacher. It began when believers from different backgrounds gathered around the table of Christ. Through that gathering, God stirred hearts, strengthened churches, and spread the Gospel.

So what does Communion do for us as a church?

It unites us in Christ. It reminds us that we belong to one body, we gather at one table, and we are sent into one mission.

When we come to the Lord’s Table, we come thankful for the cross.

We come with examined hearts.

And we come ready to walk together as the people of God.

​Stay tuned for out new mini-series on The Chrisitan Prayer life next week!

– Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas