Quarterly (!?!?) Celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Calvin)

 I'm one of those Presbyterian pastors who believes that celebration of the Lord's Supper should be done frequently.  In the church I served before, we celebrated Holy Communion once per month.  In the church I serve now, we celebrate it weekly.  To be honest, I've never heard anyone who is accustomed to celebrating the Lord's …

Dear Weak Sinner: Come to the Table! (Calvin)

  I'm so thankful that we don't have to be superhero Christians to share in the Lord's Supper.  We don't have to have a strong, bullet-proof faith, nor do we need to reach a certain level of sanctification to partake in the table of the Lord.  As long as we're repentant of our sin and …

Holy Communion: Rome v Reformed

While studying the historical and theological background of the Lord's Supper (part of which I posted a few days back), I came across this helpful summary of the differences between Rome's understanding of the Mass and the Reformed understanding of the Lord's Supper.  It is found in Francis Turretin's Institutes of Elenctic Theology (vol. 3, …

The Lord’s Table (Not Altar)

One of the many deep, theological, biblical, and practical differences between Roman Catholic churches and Reformed churches is the understanding of the sacrament of Holy Communion.  Rome teaches that in the Eucharist, the bread and wine become Christ's actual body and blood which are then offered on the altar as a sacrifice.  "The Eucharist is …