GOOD FRIDAY ONLINE SERVICE: 10:00 AM Friday, April 10.
One of the richest celebrations that we have as a church body is communion. This is a time of gathering together in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, and rejoicing as a faith community, a local church, in His rich love and our relationship with Him and one another.
We will be celebrating communion together on GOOD FRIDAY.
We want you to be prepared physically, spiritually and mentally for this reverent celebration.
Physically:
We would like to have each home prepared using grape juice (the fruit of the vine) and bread (or crackers) for our Good Friday service, which begins at 10 am. So please try to avail yourself of these things and have them ready to partake with us on Friday morning. We want this communion to mirror as close as possible our Sunday morning communion service, seeking to maintain the reverence and joy of this event.
Spiritually:
We celebrate what is called an open table, which means we prepare people, but we don’t police the table. We expect each person who participates to be honest to God and with themselves as they prepare in worship to join in.
So, what does it mean to be prepared?
Know what we are doing together.
Remember: We are remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross, and we are celebrating/remembering His life that was perfectly lived in our place, and His death that pays the penalty for our sin, and His resurrection that guarantees our eternal life if we believe in Him. (1 Corinthians 11:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Repent: The Lord’s table is an opportunity to get right with God. This is one of the commanded church family experiences that calls us to align our lives with God’s Word. So it is a time of reflecting on our lives and confessing any known sin, and seeking God’s forgiveness. (1 John 1:9)
Renew: This is an opportunity to offer your life to Him again, and renew your first love relationship with Him, declaring that all that you are and all that you have belong to Him. This is a declaration that you want your relationship with Him to drive and define everything about you! (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Rejoice: What a Saviour! In all of life we can rejoice in His love and rest in His care. He is amazing, His love overwhelming and worth responding to. (Ephesians 3:14-21; Romans 8:32-39)
Preparing so that we can partake together in a healthy way:
As a church we celebrate what is called an open table. This means that all who are gathered can participate as long as they meet two qualifications…
- They are authentic Christians.
- They are willing to confess all known sin and experience forgiveness and renewal of willingness to fully obey (they are not currently under church discipline).
It is dangerous to participate in communion without discernment, (1 Corinthians 11:29) and we want all who join us as a church family online to treat this seriously!
You don’t have to be a member of our church, or even a regular attender to join us in this, but you do have to be a committed follower of Jesus willing to confess all known sin, and seek to choose to live today forward for Him.
Please prepare your hearts as you get ready to join us in this corporate act of remembrance and recommitment.
Parents please guide your children, make sure they have met the qualifications and if they participate, do so in obedience to God. Our practice is that baptism (or a willingness to be baptized) precedes participation in communion.
Mentally:
There has been some debate among spiritual leaders over whether we should partake or not during this pandemic and the isolation it has demanded that we observe. This struggle is an overflow of the belief that communion is a gift and command to the local church and not the individual believer. We affirm this belief that communion is a gift to the local church.
Our view as an elders board of Cloverdale Baptist Church is that the local church is still gathering together online, and as such we believe we are a local church gathering as best we can together online with all of the privileges and responsibilities that come with this.
This is not the norm, and in that our hearts ache for the time that we can gather together again for physical closeness, even as we celebrate our spiritual unity in Christ as we gather together online. We know that this is not ideal, and some of our people will struggle whether it is right or wrong to participate in an online celebration of this sort.
If you are struggling, please join us in remembering Jesus death, but do not go against your conscience. Take the time when others are participating in the elements, to focus on your own walk with God and desire to have your relationship with Him drive and define you! We don’t want anyone to participate with us who is struggling with this theologically, and want all to have the freedom in faith to submit to their consciousness.
Our statement of faith declares…
We believe that, …the observance of the Lord's supper (is that) in which members of the church, by the use of bread and wine after solemn self-examination, are to commemorate together the death of Christ
We believe we can commemorate together this great celebration, and that the spiritual benefit from this time of remembering in relationship to Jesus is not only commanded, it has tremendous spiritual benefit to those who are partaking in obedience to God as a part of a local church.
One of the most unifying and significant things that we do together is this celebration of the Lord’s table, and as you join us isolated, and yet unified in our devotion to Jesus, may we experience a new depth of love for the Saviour and one another!
We believe that in God’s Sovereign care, this pandemic can grow us deeper in intimacy with God, and wider in impact, and so we trust Him as we creatively seek to grow together.
Other:
If you would like to participate in our monthly benevolent offering, above your regular giving, please mark your online giving, or what you drop off clearly, and we will use it to minister to those in our community and church family who are in need.
PICK UP: Please remember to pick up your children’s packages for Easter weekend. Robyn and Hannah have placed these in the admin wing welcome area, and if you come to the church and buzz up, we will get them to you. If you can’t come to get them, let us know and we will try to deliver them to you.
Some one asked for a list of the songs we will be singing so they can prepare to sing along with us:
Good Friday:
O Praise The Name
Lead Me To The Cross
The Wonderful Cross
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
How Deep The Fathers Love For Us
Easter Sunday Morning:
O Praise The Name
Amazing Grace
I Will Boast in Christ
Jesus Messiah
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
Jesus Paid It All
PLEASE STAY CONNECTED! Make a phone call, send a letter, email, or whatever we can do. We want to leave the pandemic closer to Jesus and one another, and to do this will take a lot of effort on everyone's part. If you are feeling a little left out, let us know, but remember to use that feeling as an opportunity to love someone else who may be feeling the exact same thing!