五：為了與別的基督徒一塊兒領用主餐
基督徒主日敬拜聚會時常包括五樣事情：1）禱告、2）唱詩歌、3）讀經（研讀聆聽聖經，加上解釋）、4）奉獻錢以及5）領用主餐。主餐也有人稱呼為主的晚餐，或聖餐。主餐是耶穌基督自己設立的，目的是給他的門徒既簡單又深奧的機會紀念和懷念耶穌在十字架上所作的。
基督徒吃主餐，在心理比較不把它看為一個責任；我們強調吃主餐是我們的特權。主餐不算儀式，乃是一個交往。領用主餐不赦免基督徒的罪孽。相反，基督徒吃主餐以前要先認罪悔改，要先向弟兄道歉，向姐妹改變態度，要懊悔所有的罪孽。
我不敢說一個基督徒不能在家裡獨身吃主餐紀念主，但我敢說如果一個基督徒有機會與別的基督徒一塊兒聚會，一塊兒敬拜天上的神，一塊兒領用主餐，而故意的留在家不出門，不聚會，他就因此而失去了主餐很重要的意義和象徵。
領用主餐時，我們心裡應該往五個不同的“方向”想：後面，裡面，前面，上面以及左右。
第一，“後面”：要回想耶穌基督曾經被釘十字架，為我們流出他的聖血，赦免世人的罪孽。耶穌設立主餐時，他說，“這是我的身體，為你們擘開的；你們應當這樣行，為的是記念我”（哥林多前書11:24）。
第二，“裡面”：在內心考慮自己的罪孽（上面已經講過）。使徒保羅說，“所以人應當省察自己，然後才吃這餅，喝這杯” （哥林多前書11:28）。
第三，“前面”就是未來：要思考，要仰望，耶穌的再來。保羅說:“你們每逢吃這餅，喝這杯，就是宣揚主的死，直等到他來” （哥林多前書11:26）。
第四，“上面”：要抬頭，打開屬靈的眼睛，遇見而感謝天上的天父和耶穌基督。耶穌應許門徒說，聚會吃主餐時，他也會跟基督徒在一塊兒，“在父的天國里與你們同飲新酒”（就是主餐的杯）（馬太福音26:29普通話本）。
第五（也是我在此要強調的一點），“周圍”：要考慮在周圍的其他的基督徒。這些人是我的弟兄姐妹；在耶穌基督里我們是一家的人；我們都是一個身體，就是基督的教會。保羅提醒最早住在哥林多的基督徒，他們在星期天所吃的那塊餅象徵著教會的合一，就是弟兄姐妹的團結；他們是一體（哥林多前書10:17）。如果基督徒不參加聚會，他因此就失去這種象徵；他的缺席也阻礙全教會吃主餐所象徵著教會的合一。保羅說我們藉著杯和餅“同領”主的血和身體（哥林多前書10:16）。缺席的基督徒不能與弟兄姐妹“同領”餅和杯。出席的基督徒，領用餅和杯的弟兄姐妹才象徵著教會的合一。
此短文的題目是，基督徒為什麼要參加每周日的敬拜聚會？從此可知部分的答案是,“因為基督徒要與別的基督徒一塊領用主餐”。當吃主餐的同時，基督徒就象徵著教會的合一與團結，好讓這屬靈的身體（教會）健全、強壯、和諧。
Why Christians Attend Worship Every Sunday
05: To Partake of the Lord’s Supper with Other Christians
By Edward Short
Sunday Christian worship services normally include the five activities of prayer, singing, Bible reading and exposition, contribution and the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper is also called Holy Communion by some people. The Lord’s supper was instituted by Jesus Christ himself, for the purpose of giving his followers a simple yet profound opportunity to remember and contemplate everything that he did on the cross.
Participation in the Lord’s supper is seen less as an obligation and more as a privilege. The Lord’s supper isn’t a ritual, but rather is a time of communion. Participation in the Lord’s supper does not forgive one’s sins; rather a Christian should confess his sins and repent prior to his eating the Lord’s supper. He should apologize and change his attitude toward his Christian brothers and sisters, and repent of any and all sin before he comes to the Lord’s table.
I dare not say that a Christian can’t remember the Lord as he eats the Lord’s supper at home by himself, but I dare say that if a Christian has the opportunity to assemble with other Christians and worship together as a group and partake of the Lord’s supper, but he purposefully stays at home and doesn’t meet with other Christians, he thereby looses some important symbolism of the Lord’s supper.
When we partake of the Lord’s supper, our minds should consider five “directions”: We should look behind, within, forward, above and around.
First, look behind: Our minds should go back to the cross and see Jesus shedding his holy blood in order to forgive the sins of mankind. When he instituted the Lord’s supper, Jesus said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24 NRSV).
Second, look within: We should think about our own sins. The apostle Paul said, “Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28 NRSV).
Third, look forward: Anticipate the return of Jesus. Paul said, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Fourth, look above: Let us open our spiritual eyes as we lift our heads in thanksgiving, and visualize our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. Jesus promised his disciples that he’d be with Christians as they ate the Lord’s supper: “…when we are together in my Father’s kingdom… Then I will drink it again with you” (Matthew 26:29 Easy-to-Read Version).
Fifth (what is being emphasized here), look around: Think about the other Christians in the assembly. These people are my brothers and my sisters! In Christ Jesus we’re all one family; we’re one body, the church of Christ. Paul reminded the earliest Christians in Corinth that the loaf they ate on Sundays symbolized the unity of the church, the fact that they were a single body (1 Corinthians 10:17). If Christians skip the Sunday assembly, they thereby loose this symbol; their absence prevents the church from expressing the very symbol of unity that the Lord’s supper presupposes. Paul said that through the bread and the cup we “share” in the body and blood of Christ. Christians who fail to assemble cannot “share” the bread and cup with other Christians. It is the Christians who assemble and partake of the Lord’s supper that symbolize the unity of the church.
The purpose of this brief article is to explain why Christians should assemble for worship each Sunday. Part of the answer is because Christians should partake of the Lord’s supper with other Christians. By doing so, they symbolize the unity of the church, and that, in turn, enables the spiritual body (the church) to be healthy, strong and harmonious.