Cheers!

Yesterday we shared the bread and the juice together…

…responding to Jesus’ invitation to come –

to come to His table.

To eat and drink.

To remember.

To re-orientate ourselves around his giving of himself on our behalf.

To remind ourselves that in Him is forgiveness, restoration, welcome…

That in Him is life.

I love the simplicity…

…we eat and we drink.

By faith, we feed on him…

…we nourish our inmost being with the person and work of Jesus.

And we do this together -

it’s a family meal.

Close family, extended family, new-to-the-family.

We eat and drink together.

At Neighbourhood we set the bar pretty low…

…if you trust in Jesus or want to…

then, you’re welcome to eat and drink.

I might be wrong, but I think that’s how Jesus would have it.

Yesterday, we did communion a little different  –

we had the bread and the juice at the front and we invited people to come…

…in their own time.

As we sung, people could come.

There were at least two things that filled me with joy -

The first person forward…

was someone who gave his life to Christ 4 weeks ago – it was almost like he couldn’t hold himself back.

As he drank the juice he said…no, he almost shouted…

Cheers!

I loved that…

Cheers…

…eat and drink heartily of what’s in front of you.

‘To your good health’ – literally.

He was glad to be sharing this meal with brothers and sisters.

There was no ceremony.

Just an authentic exclamation from a grateful dinner guest.

And then I watched as a mum came forward with her toddler.

She helped her take some bread and a cup…

…they went back to their place.

She prayed a simple prayer and then they ate.

The toddler had no understanding of the theology of communion…

But she knew she was invited.

Oh, may she, and all our children, grow up knowing the grace-filled invitation of Jesus.

Both of these moments struck me…

They took me right to the heart of what communion is about.

Hearing His invitation.

And knowing it’s for us.

We’ve shared communion three weeks in a row now….

…we’ll be eating and drinking again this Sunday too.

Thanks for bearing with me for the month of September and being prepared to share the bread and juice together each week…

I don’t know if we’ll keep going like this.

But at least for this month it’s been special.

Love you family.

Cheers!