Talking to Your Kids about the Lord’s Supper

Because of the current season we find ourselves in, we aren’t offering Faith Kids on our campus at this time. However, we encourage parents and grandparents to bring their kids into the worship service with them. Since it is our practice to take the Lord’s Supper together each month, your child might ask some questions about what we are doing and why we are doing it.

If you find your child or grandchild asking questions about the Lord’s Supper but are unsure how to respond, here are some brief explanations that might help.

What is the Lord’s Supper?

• The Lord’s Supper is a special time when those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior remember that He died for their sins. We remember this by eating bread, which represents Jesus’ body, and by drinking juice, which symbolizes Jesus’ blood.  

• Help your child understand that the Lord’s Supper is a reminder, both for individual believers and the church family as a whole, of Jesus’ sacrifice in their place for sin. He wanted them to remember that faith in Him is all that is needed in order to be forgiven for sin and brought into relationship with the Father.

• Jesus told His followers to remember Him in this way until He returns so that their hearts would be strong in believing that Jesus is their only hope. 1 Corinthians 11:26 tells us that as often as we eat of the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Jesus’ death until He comes again.

How do we take the Lord’s Supper?

• The bread is not Jesus’ actual body. The juice is not Jesus’ actual blood. They are symbols and not literal. We are not literally drinking Jesus’ blood and eating His body. Communion is not magical.

• Also, help and encourage them to be in the right mindset. 1 Corinthians 11 gives personal instructions for taking communion and tells a believer to “examine himself” before eating and drinking.

When should my child take the Lord’s Supper?

We encourage families to never rush the Lord’s Supper. The meal does not impart grace or salvation so taking it sooner than later will not keep your children from sin or earn them extra favor with God. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of remembrance and requires proper mental understanding and meaningful spiritual reflection to hold significance.

Be prayerful about this decision. No one knows your child better than you, and when it comes to a decision like this, trust the Lord’s guidance and your discernment as a parent. When it comes to children taking the Lord’s Supper, what is important and what must be determined by each parent for their own children is:

• Have they given a convincing profession of faith in Jesus?

• Are they showing fruit and evidence of conversion through obedience to and love for Jesus?

• Do they understand and can they articulate the significance of the Lord’s Supper?

What are some key biblical texts I can look up to prepare for this conversation?

It’s a good idea to begin with Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper in Luke 22:7-23. Consider what Jesus was teaching when He spoke to His disciples and how we continue to remember Jesus broken body and shed blood.

Next, examine Paul’s instructions regarding the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29. Consider Paul’s instructions for taking the meal together as a church as well the significance of the bread and cup.

What are some good resources that will help me explore the meaning and theology of the Lord’s Supper further?

• Baptist Faith and Message 2000: The statement of faith that we hold to as a local church. Article 7 gives a definition of the ordinances of the church along with key Scriptures from which the doctrines are based.

• The Lord’s Supper by Jonathan Griffiths: An essay providing a good summary of the Lord’s Supper as it has been understood by the church theologically and historically.

• New City Catechism: The New City Catechism is a modern-day resource aimed at helping children and adults alike learn the core doctrines of the Christian faith via 52 questions and answers.