Taste & Communion

OBJECTIVE

In teaching the concept that the church is heaven on earth, we are the closest to heaven when we take Communion and eat the Body of Christ and drink the Blood of Christ. By dying on the Cross for us, God gave us the ability to commune with him by partaking in His body and blood. This lesson will focus on partaking of the Holy Communion and how we should prepare ourselves.

HOOK/INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes

What is your absolute favorite food in the whole world? Would you be happy eating it every day? After a few hours, do you feel hungry? Tired? What if I told you that there was food that would give you eternal life in heaven with God?

Communion is the climax of the liturgy. We are closest to heaven when we partake in Christ's body and blood. It gives us the power to fight against the devil and makes us be like the angels and saints in heaven.

Partaking of the body and blood of Christ is a great mystery and a mystery that only human beings are able to participate in because God created us in His image and wants us to return to His image - the image we were created in before Adam and Eve fell from Paradise.

But, there are steps that have to be taken before we can partake in communion. In order to take communion, we have to be baptized into the faith and be living a life of repentance. We should always pray and confess before partaking in communion.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Memory Verse
"Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:54

CONTENT (Key Points) - 20 Minutes

Before Jesus was crucified, He gathered the disciples together in the upper room, washed their feet and gave them bread, which He told them was His body and wine, which He told them was His blood. Just like we say in every liturgy, during the Institution Narrative, Jesus took bread and said "Take, eat of it, all of you. For this is My Body, which is broken for you and for many, to be given for the remission of sins. This do in remembrance of me." Also, with the cup, He said "Take, drink of it, all of you. For this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, to be given for the remission of sins. This do in remembrance of me."

When we take communion we are united with God through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ that we receive from the priest. The fact is that after the priest prays on the bread and wine, and the Holy Spirit descends on them, they are no longer bread and wine, they are truly His body and His blood. The liturgical prayers lifts us up to heaven and allows us to communicate with God, the angels, the apostles, and all the saints.

In order to be worthy of taking communion we have to do some preparations. It helps us if we go to the Vesper prayers (Asheya) the night before the liturgy so we can lift our hearts and minds to God. We have to clean our spirits by repenting and confessing our sins. We also clean our bodies, by taking a shower and wearing clean and respectable clothes. Also, we do not eat before going to church, fasting for at least 9 hours, so that the first thing to enter our bodies is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have to remember that we are going to meet God, who created all of us and everything we see around us.

It is important to come to church early. On Sunday, we pray Matins, then the Agpeya, then there is the Offering of the Lamb, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Faithful, and then communion. Our church put a rule that you should not take communion if you do not attend the reading of the Bible, which is during the Liturgy of the Word. If you come only in time for the Bible, then you have missed Matins, the Agpya, the Offering of the Lamb and the readings before the Bible. It is very important to try to come to church as early as you can. In church, we have to keep our minds on God and not speak to anyone or talk about anything from the world. It helps to follow along in the prayer books. The hymns said during the liturgy are very easy and they are meant to help you lift your heart to God.

When it is time to take communion, everyone should stand quietly in line. This is not a time to talk to friends because the Great King is on the altar and we are about to become one with Him. When we take the body of Jesus, we should open our mouths very wide so the priest can place the body inside our mouth without anything falling. When we take the blood of Jesus, we should put our lips close to the Mysteer, or the spoon, and suck in so that we can take all of the blood without getting our germs on the Mysteer. We should return to our seats quietly, praising God for allowing us to participate in this great mystery by participating in the singing of Psalm 150 or by reading the prayers for after communion. We should wait until church until the priest releases the angel of the sacrifice and disperses the people in peace.

Communion, if taken worthily, results in our salvation. To take communion worthily, we must make sure that 1) we have been baptized into the true faith, 2) we truly believe this is the body and blood of Christ, 3) we must acknowledge that we are sinners and repent/confess, and 4) we must have forgiven everyone and not have any enemies. When we confess our sins to a priest, he absolves us for the sins that we are aware of. When we take communion, this allows the sins that we are unaware of to be forgiven. These two sacraments wash and cleanse our hearts.

Communion also makes us strong in the fight against sin. When we partake in Holy Communion, our souls become strong and we can win the spiritual struggle against the devil. If we fight against the devil through the power God gives us, we will have a place in heaven with God and all His angels and saints.

After we take communion, we try to protect our bodies from anything that would make us bleed or spit. It is preferred to not walk barefoot, to avoid anything that might cause injury, to not swim, to not brush teeth. If any bleeding does occur, we wipe it with a tissue or cotton, which is then burned in fire. The day of communion should be consecrated to God, spending the day with God, thinking about the great mystery that you have participated in.

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 minutes

We need to be prepared for Communion - how? Why do we have to be Baptized? Give scenarios and have the children decide if it is right or wrong ( not fasting from the night before, talking to their friends in the communion line, arguing with their siblings or being angry with someone, leaving liturgy early).

Remind the children to take communion every week and confess their sins to their father of confession every month, or whatever frequency he assigns them.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

Who can pray on the bread and wine to be the Body and Blood of Jesus?
Can we do it without the priest?
Who gives him this authority? And when?
How do we prepare ourselves for Communion?
What should we do at the church? And what should we not do?
Can we rush to the front of everybody to take communion first?
What do we read at the church?
Why do we stand up while the Bible is read and sit down while the Epistles are read?
Can we sing with a loud voice?
Can we talk to the people sitting next to us?
Can we go out and into the church during Liturgy?
When can we leave the church?

CONCLUSION - 1 Minute

God loves His children and gives us His Body and Blood so that we can unite with Him. When we take Jesus' body and blood, we become like His saints who are in Heaven.

ACTIVITY - 5 Minutes

Children can come up with a "To Do" list that they decorate or color and hang in their room. On their "to-do" list is everything they must do to prepare for Holy Communion every week.

You can have the children do the attached word search.

You can have the children reenact the Last Supper to show the institution of the sacrament with juice and a large bread or Obrana.

COPTUNES+ VIDEO

RESOURCES

Videos about Communion

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Encourage parents to be active in making sure they come to church early and that their children take communion at least every Sunday.

Encourage parents to be active in taking their children to confession every 40 - 60 days. Follow up with parents to see whether children have participated in confession.

If you can, make a communion and confession booklet for children to be able to check off how many times they take communion and go to confession each month.