Pullman Foursquare Church

Communion is one of two ordinances (the other is water baptism) that the Lord Jesus left for us to observe in worship. Cell groups are an excellent place for sharing in communion. Here are some practical suggestions for a cell group communion service.

1) Try and schedule a communion meeting at least once every month in your cell.

2) Begin with a meal. It can be a potluck, a pizza or potato feed, a BBQ or anything else you can think of. Just be sure to begin early to have enough time and to bring enough food for everyone to eat their fill. (See 1 Corinthians 11:21)

3) Go ahead and structure your meeting in the normal way (Welcome, Worship,Word,Works,Witness) but have it around a table with the meal.

4) Establish a scriptural basis for receiving communion from one of the Gospel accounts, from 1Corinthians 11, from the Exodus passover account, or from another appropriate text.

5) Give adequate time for personal and public confession. NEVER require someone to confess sin out loud but ALWAYS give the opportunity. Respond to each and every confession with prayers of love, acceptance and forgiveness. Resist the temptation to give advice during this time.

6) Receive the bread first and then the cup. This is not only scriptural but practical as well to help wash down the food. Any sort of bread or crackers are appropriate but in these days of Alcoholics Anonymous, grape juice is preferable to wine.

7) Be especially sensitive to the free flow of the gifts of the Holy Spirit before, during, and after receiving communion. Allow Him to heal, to speak, and to reveal Himself as He sees fit. Point this out to the entire group. Don’t try to over-control or to rush the time together.

8) Don’t forget to pray for the lost before closing the meeting

Where should you go?

It’s been 5 years already since I was frantically getting ready to travel with Pullman Foursquare Youth to Thailand and experience my first ever missions trip. I am not a passionate traveler, ready to go at a moment’s notice, anywhere or anytime. The thought of traveling overseas often brings out the worst in me, worry and fear and the unknown. I can recall now many wrong perceptions of what it was going to be like…. traveling in a foreign country.  Recently, a friend sent me a link to the following article:

*Despite Benefits, Few Americans Have Experienced Short-Term Mission Trips 

 
I was flooded with memories of a trip that changed my way of life and my way of thinking. My earlier perceptions were all ridiculous and my expectations were beyond realized. God used the time to shape me and bless me in ways I never imagined. He also built my faith in a way that only He could by showing me the miraculous in my own life.  We often have numerous reasons or excuses why we can’t possibly join in on a missions trip……I’ve used several of them.

Here at Pullman Fourquare Church, there are many possibilities and potential trips in the works. A team recently traveled to Kenya and another team is getting prepared to return to Thailand in the Spring. Have you considered making a short-term missions trip part of your life? Are you willing to let God influence your decision? Think about it…..your life will never be the same!

I was reminded recently why it is so important to be reading your Bible! And although I have always known it is important (even when I am not daily reading it), there are times when I am astounded by how important it is.

I recently had a conversation with a fellow who was asking me about God’s love. He talked of all these feelings he had about who God was, how God loved people, and of how we don’t love one another as God intended that we should. I asked him if he knew what the Bible called it when we didn’t follow God’s way for us? He didn’t know so I suggested it was “sin nature”. He followed up with several examples of not believing in something so negative and tried to assure me of the contradictions in the Bible. When I asked him if he had ever read through the Bible, he confessed he never had.

Now, the thing that resonated in my spirit, is how many of us (professed Christians in church) have never really read the Bible. Or read it through from cover to cover. That our exposure to the Bible consists of pulpit teachings, cell group meetings, occasional “I’m looking for something specific” moments, or relying on a grace-filled God to overcome our dread of reading His word. We often decide what we believe by what someone else tells us to believe, and when we rely on someone else, and not on God alone, those beliefs will be flawed by our human nature. Now I am not saying it isn’t good to hear from others but it is still our responsibility to line it up with God’s word. And the only way to do that is to read your Bible!

Find a place, find a time, find a method and work at it. It’s not always easy but you will eventually know what you believe but even better…….you will know why you believe it!