This week, we have the opportunity to help our preschoolers and kids further understand and appreciate the Lord’s Supper. While believers might disagree on what the elements are, the full meaning of this church ordinance, and how frequently a church is to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we would all agree that it is quite important.

There are many different ways I could take us as we prepare for this week’s session, but recently when I have thought about the Lord’s Supper, I have thought quite a bit about the three perspectives we should have of this celebration.

First, We Look Back

This one is easy. We tend to do this quite a bit during the Lord’s Supper, and we should. Although, perhaps we don’t look back far enough.

When Jesus celebrated the first Lord’s Supper with His disciples, they were actually celebrating the Passover meal, which He gave new meaning as the Lord’s Supper. The Passover was when Israel looked back to how God delivered them from Egypt by the blood of a lamb. Our session content this week really does a good job of making this connection for us. The Passover not only rescued Israel from Egypt, it was a type—a picture—of God’s greater act of deliverance as He rescued people from sin through Jesus, the greater sacrificial lamb.

Today, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we need to look back and back more at both of these events.

Second, We Look Now

The reason we look back is so that we can look at today. The more we understand and appreciate what God has done through the Passover and first Lord’s Supper, the better able we will be to appreciate the salvation that God has given to us in Christ. Again, this is step is usually pretty easy for us—this is where we tend to worship as we reflect on our salvation. And this, of course, is right and fitting. We cannot not do this. Nor should we even want to or try. Our affections for who God is and what He has done should move us to worship every single time, even if your tradition celebrates the Lord’s Supper each week.

Third, We Look Ahead

Now this is the view that I think we tend to forget—we are to look ahead too. Notice how Jesus ended this time with the disciples:

“But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29 CSB)

We anticipate another Lord’s Supper one day, one in which Jesus, in the flesh, will celebrate with us! As we participate in the Lord’s Supper then, we should do so with a sense of hope, expectancy, and longing. The greatest Lord’s Supper ever still awaits. For that meal will be one where all of God’s people will sit with Him as His children and be joined by Christ Jesus, the One who made it possible.

Do this in remembrance of me, as often as you shall eat or drink it.’ He said this so that we would not be forgetful of what we should rather keep in our minds every day and that we should not be unthankful for it.” — Anne Askew (c. 1521-1546)

Anne Askew, The Latter Examination of Anne Askew (1547), ed. John Bale; quoted in Luke, ed. Beth K

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