Communion and God’s Great Story of Redemption
The story of God and humanity moves from rebellion and loss to rescue, forgiveness, and hope through Jesus Christ. The communion meal helps the church remember his death, proclaim his resurrection, and await the completion of God’s redemptive story.
- God’s great story is one of rescue, restoration, forgiveness, and redemption.
- Jesus’ death and resurrection mark the decisive climax of that story.
- Communion helps the church remember, proclaim, and await the fulfillment of God’s promise.
By Ethan Magness 
The Great Story We Tell and Remember
There is a great story to be told that the world needs to hear. It is a story of rebellion and loss, chaos and destruction, punishment and fear. It is a story of rescue and restoration, order and repair, forgiveness and hope. It is a story of great redemption purchased at great cost. It is the story of great sacrifice because of a great love. This is the story of God and all people and this is the story the world needs to hear.
There is a great story to be told that the church needs to remember. It is a story of rebellion and loss, chaos and destruction, punishment and fear. It is a story of rescue and restoration, order and repair, forgiveness and hope. It is a story of great redemption purchased at great cost. It is the story of great sacrifice because of a great love. This is the story of God and all people and this is the story the church needs to remember.
The climax of this great saga is so stark that it cannot be ignored. One innocent man, who was the very living God, chose to die that all guilty people may have the chance to live. And then, by the power of God, this dead man who was God rose to life again and demonstrated that the tide had turned, the plot had shifted, the new day was dawning. Jesus Christ, once dead and now alive, is the firstfruits that prove the harvest is coming, Jesus, now alive, is the demonstration that God’s promise to rescue and repair, to forgive and redeem, is coming true.
Why We Share the Communion Meal
This is the story that must be told and this is why we share this meal—that the story is never forgotten by God’s people and that our mouths never stop declaring the salvation of our God. We eat this meal to remember Jesus’ death, to proclaim his resurrection, and to await that day when all is complete and God’s great story is brought to its final glorious conclusion.
Ethan Magness is pastor of spiritual formation with Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland.
You didn’t tell the story.
If I could live this day over again I would be a wiser christian/ 7/24/11. Thanks for the WORD.