FCS Vision: To give children the opportunity to explore and experience the wonders and emotions of communion within the familiarity and support of their family.
Ministry Summary
To provide families with a place and a regular opportunity (quarterly) to experience communion as a family and among other families. To provide a sense of freshness of presentation to a simple event and to inspire awe and wonder in the profound depths of the love of Christ demonstrated in His death, burial, and resurrection in such a way that children can appreciate and respond in reverence, gratitude, and worship.
A Note from Pastor Don
First of all, let me say how excited I am that you are checking out RBfK’s Family Communion Service! I believe that our Family Communion Service is a very special opportunities for families to take a next step in their spiritual expression and the spiritual education of their children.
The Family Communion Service is a unique experience because of its size, length, and purpose. This service is a perfect size to add hands-on and experiential features. The sixty minute service allows us explore and experience the wonder and emotions of Christ’s death, the central idea of our salvation and hope.
The purpose of the Family Communion Service is to experience communion as a family. We have also designed the service to teach families how to do communion in the context of just their family. Families will sit together in family units with the parents or the adult leading the actual serving of communion. But don’t worry, we will teach you how before we ask you to do it!
I hope the Family Communion Service excites you as much as it does me. I hope to see your
family at the next Family Communion Service.
Pastor Don
The Family Communion Service is a unique experience because of its size, length, and purpose. This service is a perfect size to add hands-on and experiential features. The sixty minute service allows us explore and experience the wonder and emotions of Christ’s death, the central idea of our salvation and hope.
The purpose of the Family Communion Service is to experience communion as a family. We have also designed the service to teach families how to do communion in the context of just their family. Families will sit together in family units with the parents or the adult leading the actual serving of communion. But don’t worry, we will teach you how before we ask you to do it!
I hope the Family Communion Service excites you as much as it does me. I hope to see your
family at the next Family Communion Service.
Pastor Don
The Reason WhyI am excited to add the Family Communion Service to the RBfK group of ministries. In the
linked five minute video, The Reason Why, I explain, well... the reason why. Pastor Don |
|
What You Can Expect
Knowing what to expect can help us ease into a new experience. You may not be familiar with communion and you may have questions about it. Check out our FAQ below. Some of you may come from a different Christian tradition that does communion in a different way. Our FAQ’s simply expresses Rock Brook Church’s understanding of communion. There is also a link below to ask questions if you have additional questions.
Ready to attend? As you enter, you will be seated in family groups. The Family Communion Service will begin with a couple songs from our weekend RBfK services and a prayer. Someone from the RBfK Team will then give a brief thought on the life of Jesus Christ.
At this point the main presenter will talk about and demonstrate how we will be experiencing
communion in that service. There may be stations to visit and things for the senses to experience. Families will be given instructions and the communion elements with the bread and the juice available in family sized serving trays.
To close, we may sing, pray, read a Scripture, or affirm our faith with the reciting of the Apostles Creed (the favorite of Pastor Don), or do all four. Total time, around sixty minutes. I hope this helps you understand the event and what to expect. I also hope to see you at the next Family Communion Service.
Pastor Don
Ready to attend? As you enter, you will be seated in family groups. The Family Communion Service will begin with a couple songs from our weekend RBfK services and a prayer. Someone from the RBfK Team will then give a brief thought on the life of Jesus Christ.
At this point the main presenter will talk about and demonstrate how we will be experiencing
communion in that service. There may be stations to visit and things for the senses to experience. Families will be given instructions and the communion elements with the bread and the juice available in family sized serving trays.
To close, we may sing, pray, read a Scripture, or affirm our faith with the reciting of the Apostles Creed (the favorite of Pastor Don), or do all four. Total time, around sixty minutes. I hope this helps you understand the event and what to expect. I also hope to see you at the next Family Communion Service.
Pastor Don
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where in the Bible can I find teaching about communion?
a. There are two primary passages about communion in the Bible. The first, Matthew 26:17-30, is where Jesus first began the communion celebration. The timing was very important, it was Thursday before Good Friday, the night before Jesus was crucified. Jesus knew what was about to happen and the importance of His death, burial, and resurrection to the eternal plan of God. Jesus gave us this simple event to remind us the importance of His sacrifice, and that we should not forget.
b. The second primary passage is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. This passage is written to correct some bad practices in the local church and give us a bigger and better picture of what communion should look like in the local church setting. The author, Paul, added some new and important features in this important how-to-do-it text.
2. Doesn’t communion require a pastor or priest?
It does not. Although communion reflects some of the ceremonies in the Old Testament which required a priest, the New Testament gives no such directives. Perhaps the difference is in the different relationship that believers have to God in the New Testament (New Covenant). The Apostle Peter teaches that we have been given a more significant status being “in Christ”. He tells us, believers, that we, “...are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV). We ourselves have become priests before God when we choose Jesus as our Savior, Forgiver, and Forever Friend. We have been given the right and privilege of full access to Jesus!
3. Who should participate in communion?
The Bible is very clear that ONLY believers in Jesus Christ take communion. The Apostle Paul writes to the church of Corinth, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:27 NIV). This a warning for both believers and unbelievers. For unbelievers, there is no celebration for Christ’s love, sacrifice, and payment for sin, since they have not yet experienced these gifts from Jesus. For believers it is a warning about guarding and respecting the sacredness of this commemorative event.
4. At what age should children be included in communion celebration?
a. At an early age, children need to learn this is not a snack and during the communion service the elements should not be served to kids to be eaten as a snack. This can be difficult for younger children to understand that everyone else is eating and they are not. This may be a good time to offer younger children a simple (and unrelated) snack to eat while the rest of the family is participating in
communion. As children get older, they will know the difference between the snack and respected elements in a communion service, especially if you treat the communion elements with a bit of specialness during the communion experience.
b. The only requirement in Scripture to participate in communion is that it is for believers only (see above FAQ). Once your child is old enough to understand and communicate their faith in Jesus Christ, they are old enough celebrate their relationship with Jesus through communion.
5. What do the communion elements represent?
a. The broken cracker represents Christ’s body, which was, “broken for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV).
b. The juice, crushed from the grapes, represents the blood of Jesus Christ that poured out the wounds in His severely beaten body. Isaiah the prophet says of Jesus, that He was “pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;” (Isaiah 53:5). A sacrifice’s blood is required for forgiveness of sin, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7 NIV).
6. Who can serve communion?
Any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can serve communion. It is important for all to remember: No Pastor Required. We can rejoice and celebrate the universal accessability and the simplicity of this sacred celebration.
7. Can we serve communion to people outside our family?
Yes. You are welcome to have any believers in Jesus Christ participate. Such as, kid’s friends (maybe best to talk to their parents first), extended family members, your small group, etc.
8. Does it have to be grape juice and crackers?
a. Nope - again, the beauty of the instructions given by Jesus is the universal ability to easily participate. Every culture in every time has some sort of fruit that is squeezed for juice and some sort of bread made from crushed grains. Every time I think of this, I marvel again at the intelligence of Jesus to make something so significant to be so accessible and simple.
b. There are reasons why grape juice / wine and crackers have been used by the historical church. Reasons that help communicate a fuller picture of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. However, as much as these reasons assist in telling the story, they are not based upon Biblical mandate. Jesus did not want this to be complicated and difficult. He chose instead, elements universal and available to
all. Remember, the remembering is more important than the elements. “‘do this... in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:25 NIV).
9. How is the crucifixion story enhanced by the use of our modern crackers and grape juice?
a. Crackers would best resemble the bread Jesus would have used from the Jewish Passover Feast the disciples were celebrating on the night we know as, The Last Supper. The unleavened bread, a non-rising bread, when baked would resemble our cracker. Leaven, in this feast, was a symbol for sin and was to be totally removed from the house before the bread was prepared and baked. For Jesus’ part in this story, it would also picture that there was no sin in Jesus as He paid the price for sins, not His own, but the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). The crispness of a cracker type bread is easy to break, reminding us that Jesus body was “broken for us” (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV).
b. Grapes are often found in the red / purple color spectrum. When mashed and pressed, the juice is also in the red color spectrum, accurately imaging the color of blood. The process of juicing is also an accurate picture of the crucifixion. To juice a grape, the body of the grape is pierced and broken to let the juice out.
10. Do the elements need to come from church or need to be blessed?
a. Nope. Items from your garden or grocery store will work great. (See FAQ #8-9 above). Communion is not about the elements, it is about us remembering the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to become the Savior and Forgiver of our sins. The elements are simple aids to assist in telling the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
b. Some Christian traditions believe that the elements become more than just symbols of the crucifixion. At Rock Brook Church, we do not believe the elements are or become anything more than what they are; broken bread, symbolic of the broken body of Jesus, and juice, symbolic of the blood shed for the forgiveness of sins and sinners.
11. What do we do with left over juice and bread?
a. Keep them and serve then up as a snack or with a meal. But perhaps do not serve them in such a way that seems like a communion service. This could be confusing to younger children.
b. Keep your left overs and open the circle of serving communion to extended family or your small group. Not sure how to do that? Watch for simple instructions coming to the Family Communion Service web page.
12. How often should we do communion?
a. How often a person, a family, a small group, or a church participates in communion is a matter of personal preference. The Bible only says, “as often as you do it” (1 Cor 11:25 NASB). Personally, I (Pastor Don) hold communion to be very meaningful and I will have communion often, even by myself, when I want to remember what Jesus did for me. Remember the key in Scripture, “as often as”.
b. RBfK will be hosting Family Communion Services three or four times per year.
13. How do I end communion? Sometimes it just seems so abrupt and awkward?
a. On the night Jesus established this new celebration, Matthew says they “sang a hymn and departed” (Matthew 26:30 NIV). Sing a favorite song or hymn that you know you and your family can already sing along with. You can play off your phone or device or you can find it on Youtube with on-screen lyrics.
b. Read / recited a Bible passage together.
d. Say a closing prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf.
e. A key would be to have your closing selected before you start for a smooth and thoughtful transition.
14. What edition of the Apostle's Creed do you use?
The Apostle's Creed is very old, circa 325 AD. It has come through many languages and church traditions. Pastor Don has used this edition for so long the origin details have long been forgotten. However, no matter which edition, tradition or date, the core of the creed is the same, stating traditional Biblical beliefs. At Rock Brook Church, we affirm the belief statements in The Apostle's Creed. (click here for a printable copy)
15. If this was good for me and my family, how can I let people know?
There is Family Communion Service Testimony Page for families to provide feedback, photos, and encouragement to other families. I hope you will let us know what the family communion service meant to you and your family. The link is below.
16. Is it possible to get one of the family size communion trays that we used in the service?
a. Yes it is. They are constructed in quality clear pine and come in two finishes:
i. Sealed and varnished, like you used at the Family Communion Service.
ii. In unfinished wood so you and your family can create a custom and personalized tray for your home use. Paint or permanent markers would best absorb into the raw wood.
b. Family sized communion trays can be purchased at the Family Communion Service event for $10.00.
a. There are two primary passages about communion in the Bible. The first, Matthew 26:17-30, is where Jesus first began the communion celebration. The timing was very important, it was Thursday before Good Friday, the night before Jesus was crucified. Jesus knew what was about to happen and the importance of His death, burial, and resurrection to the eternal plan of God. Jesus gave us this simple event to remind us the importance of His sacrifice, and that we should not forget.
b. The second primary passage is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. This passage is written to correct some bad practices in the local church and give us a bigger and better picture of what communion should look like in the local church setting. The author, Paul, added some new and important features in this important how-to-do-it text.
2. Doesn’t communion require a pastor or priest?
It does not. Although communion reflects some of the ceremonies in the Old Testament which required a priest, the New Testament gives no such directives. Perhaps the difference is in the different relationship that believers have to God in the New Testament (New Covenant). The Apostle Peter teaches that we have been given a more significant status being “in Christ”. He tells us, believers, that we, “...are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV). We ourselves have become priests before God when we choose Jesus as our Savior, Forgiver, and Forever Friend. We have been given the right and privilege of full access to Jesus!
3. Who should participate in communion?
The Bible is very clear that ONLY believers in Jesus Christ take communion. The Apostle Paul writes to the church of Corinth, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:27 NIV). This a warning for both believers and unbelievers. For unbelievers, there is no celebration for Christ’s love, sacrifice, and payment for sin, since they have not yet experienced these gifts from Jesus. For believers it is a warning about guarding and respecting the sacredness of this commemorative event.
4. At what age should children be included in communion celebration?
a. At an early age, children need to learn this is not a snack and during the communion service the elements should not be served to kids to be eaten as a snack. This can be difficult for younger children to understand that everyone else is eating and they are not. This may be a good time to offer younger children a simple (and unrelated) snack to eat while the rest of the family is participating in
communion. As children get older, they will know the difference between the snack and respected elements in a communion service, especially if you treat the communion elements with a bit of specialness during the communion experience.
b. The only requirement in Scripture to participate in communion is that it is for believers only (see above FAQ). Once your child is old enough to understand and communicate their faith in Jesus Christ, they are old enough celebrate their relationship with Jesus through communion.
5. What do the communion elements represent?
a. The broken cracker represents Christ’s body, which was, “broken for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV).
b. The juice, crushed from the grapes, represents the blood of Jesus Christ that poured out the wounds in His severely beaten body. Isaiah the prophet says of Jesus, that He was “pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;” (Isaiah 53:5). A sacrifice’s blood is required for forgiveness of sin, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7 NIV).
6. Who can serve communion?
Any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can serve communion. It is important for all to remember: No Pastor Required. We can rejoice and celebrate the universal accessability and the simplicity of this sacred celebration.
7. Can we serve communion to people outside our family?
Yes. You are welcome to have any believers in Jesus Christ participate. Such as, kid’s friends (maybe best to talk to their parents first), extended family members, your small group, etc.
8. Does it have to be grape juice and crackers?
a. Nope - again, the beauty of the instructions given by Jesus is the universal ability to easily participate. Every culture in every time has some sort of fruit that is squeezed for juice and some sort of bread made from crushed grains. Every time I think of this, I marvel again at the intelligence of Jesus to make something so significant to be so accessible and simple.
b. There are reasons why grape juice / wine and crackers have been used by the historical church. Reasons that help communicate a fuller picture of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. However, as much as these reasons assist in telling the story, they are not based upon Biblical mandate. Jesus did not want this to be complicated and difficult. He chose instead, elements universal and available to
all. Remember, the remembering is more important than the elements. “‘do this... in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:25 NIV).
9. How is the crucifixion story enhanced by the use of our modern crackers and grape juice?
a. Crackers would best resemble the bread Jesus would have used from the Jewish Passover Feast the disciples were celebrating on the night we know as, The Last Supper. The unleavened bread, a non-rising bread, when baked would resemble our cracker. Leaven, in this feast, was a symbol for sin and was to be totally removed from the house before the bread was prepared and baked. For Jesus’ part in this story, it would also picture that there was no sin in Jesus as He paid the price for sins, not His own, but the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). The crispness of a cracker type bread is easy to break, reminding us that Jesus body was “broken for us” (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV).
b. Grapes are often found in the red / purple color spectrum. When mashed and pressed, the juice is also in the red color spectrum, accurately imaging the color of blood. The process of juicing is also an accurate picture of the crucifixion. To juice a grape, the body of the grape is pierced and broken to let the juice out.
10. Do the elements need to come from church or need to be blessed?
a. Nope. Items from your garden or grocery store will work great. (See FAQ #8-9 above). Communion is not about the elements, it is about us remembering the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to become the Savior and Forgiver of our sins. The elements are simple aids to assist in telling the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
b. Some Christian traditions believe that the elements become more than just symbols of the crucifixion. At Rock Brook Church, we do not believe the elements are or become anything more than what they are; broken bread, symbolic of the broken body of Jesus, and juice, symbolic of the blood shed for the forgiveness of sins and sinners.
11. What do we do with left over juice and bread?
a. Keep them and serve then up as a snack or with a meal. But perhaps do not serve them in such a way that seems like a communion service. This could be confusing to younger children.
b. Keep your left overs and open the circle of serving communion to extended family or your small group. Not sure how to do that? Watch for simple instructions coming to the Family Communion Service web page.
12. How often should we do communion?
a. How often a person, a family, a small group, or a church participates in communion is a matter of personal preference. The Bible only says, “as often as you do it” (1 Cor 11:25 NASB). Personally, I (Pastor Don) hold communion to be very meaningful and I will have communion often, even by myself, when I want to remember what Jesus did for me. Remember the key in Scripture, “as often as”.
b. RBfK will be hosting Family Communion Services three or four times per year.
13. How do I end communion? Sometimes it just seems so abrupt and awkward?
a. On the night Jesus established this new celebration, Matthew says they “sang a hymn and departed” (Matthew 26:30 NIV). Sing a favorite song or hymn that you know you and your family can already sing along with. You can play off your phone or device or you can find it on Youtube with on-screen lyrics.
b. Read / recited a Bible passage together.
- John 3:16 (speaks of Jesus sacrificial love)
- Numbers 6:24-26 (a benediction, closing prayer of God’s blessings)
- Hebrews 13:8 (declaration of the unchanging Savior, Jesus Christ)
- Revelation 4:11 (a chorus of praise sung to Jesus in heaven)
- Hebrews 13:20-21 (closing benediction or bless to the book of Hebrews)
- Acts 1:8 (the last words Jesus gave the followers before ascended back to heaven)
- Jude 24 & 25 (benediction or closing blessing)
- 1 John 3:1-3 (declaration of the hope of Jesus' return to earth, second advent, and how it will bless us).
d. Say a closing prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf.
e. A key would be to have your closing selected before you start for a smooth and thoughtful transition.
14. What edition of the Apostle's Creed do you use?
The Apostle's Creed is very old, circa 325 AD. It has come through many languages and church traditions. Pastor Don has used this edition for so long the origin details have long been forgotten. However, no matter which edition, tradition or date, the core of the creed is the same, stating traditional Biblical beliefs. At Rock Brook Church, we affirm the belief statements in The Apostle's Creed. (click here for a printable copy)
15. If this was good for me and my family, how can I let people know?
There is Family Communion Service Testimony Page for families to provide feedback, photos, and encouragement to other families. I hope you will let us know what the family communion service meant to you and your family. The link is below.
16. Is it possible to get one of the family size communion trays that we used in the service?
a. Yes it is. They are constructed in quality clear pine and come in two finishes:
i. Sealed and varnished, like you used at the Family Communion Service.
ii. In unfinished wood so you and your family can create a custom and personalized tray for your home use. Paint or permanent markers would best absorb into the raw wood.
b. Family sized communion trays can be purchased at the Family Communion Service event for $10.00.
Family Communion Service Event Resources
With all RBfK’s special events, we publish an Event Fact Sheet (an EFS), giving all the important event information on just one sheet of paper. Follow the link below for the EFS for dates, times, and other details of the next Family Communion Services.
Please use the other links below to make a connection or get a resource.
Please use the other links below to make a connection or get a resource.
Leave us a comment after attending the service...
Thank you for taking time to share your experience at the Family Communion Service. Use the link below to tell us about sharing communion with your family at the service or how it went when you do communion at home with your family.
