September 28, 2020
You’re invited
to church this weekend! On Saturday, October 3, we’ll receive Communion for the
first time since March and the COVID safety restrictions began.
There are
two ways to receive Communion this weekend:
- We
encourage you to attend Saturday’s 5:00pm contemporary praise service where
we’ll have individually wrapped bread and wine elements available.
- Or
if you still prefer to worship at home, you may prepare some bread and wine for
you (and your family) to receive Communion when directed by the pastor during
the online service.
How to
Receive Communion this Weekend
During
Saturday’s courtyard service, at the time for Communion, the pastor will
instruct all those in attendance when to open the prepackaged elements and
receive the bread and wine after speaking the Words of Institution.
If you will
worship and receive Communion from home, please have elements ready before you
begin the service. For bread you can use bread or crackers, and for wine you
can use wine or grape juice – set aside in a small serving for use specifically
for Communion on this day. Before the online services available Sunday morning at
8:30am (traditional worship) and 9:45am (praise worship), gather the elements
you’ve prepared (bread and wine), and at the time for Communion the pastor will
speak the Words of Institution and instruct you in receiving Communion.
If you will
worship from home, you are also welcome to pick up individually wrapped elements from the Church Office.
The Office is Closed due to COVID Restrictions, but the Communion Elements will
be available for pick up from the Church Office (24851 Chrisanta Drive) on
Wednesday 9/30 and Thursday 10/1 between 9:00am-12:00pm.
Who Can
Receive Communion
At Mount of
Olives Church, we believe all who are believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior, and are repentant of their sins, are welcome at the Lord’s Table to
receive Communion.
What We
Believe
At Mount of
Olives Church, we believe Holy Communion is more than a symbol. After
all, Jesus said “on the night in which He was betrayed” and instituted the
Lord’s Supper with the words “this is my body”; “this is my blood”. He didn’t
say it is like my body and blood. He didn’t say this represents my body and
blood. Rather, He said it IS His body and blood.
Some would
argue that He did say “do this in remembrance of me”, which means
Holy Communion is only a symbol. We should receive
Holy Communion for many reasons, including to remember Jesus, but
those words do not reduce Holy Communion to a symbol. It doesn’t take
away from the fact that He said it is His body and blood.
This becomes important, because it means we are having an actual encounter with
Jesus. Somehow, He is present in the bread and cup. Martin Luther said He is
present “in, with, through and under the bread and wine”. It also means that as
God took on human flesh and revealed Himself as this down to earth God, He is
still coming to us in down to earth ways. He is not tucked away in heaven
unaware of our condition. He is the down to earth God who knows what it is like
to be a human being.
Jesus mentions the Mana in the wilderness of which the children of Israel ate
in the desert, but still died. With Jesus as the “bread of life”, when we eat
of Him, we will live. Bread is a basic food. It is foundational to many
cultures. It is a staple. So too, Jesus is foundational to every aspect of our
lives. With so many things changing all around us, He is the one who never
changes. He is “the Bread of Life”.
What are the
Words of Institution
Our Lord Jesus
Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given
thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: Take and eat; this
is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.
In the same way
also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to
them, saying: Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My
blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as
you drink it, in remembrance of Me.
(For the bread)
“This is the body of Christ, broken for you.”
(For the wine)
“This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”
We’re excited
to be receiving Communion in worship services once again. And we invite you to
contact the church staff with any questions. Please email info@moochurch.org
God Bless and We hope to see you Saturday!