When these folks are present, should we still have the Lord's Supper? Should we ask the non-believer to wait in another room until we've remembered Jesus? Should we not have supper at all? Should we have separate "open" meetings for preaching/evangelizing and only have "private", believers-only, communions?

I've heard it said that Paul "broke bread" with non-believers, but was that actually a celebration of the Lord's Supper, or was it just a meal? Is the term "breaking bread" the same thing as the Lord's Supper, or can it refer to a "meal"?

Thanks for your help.

Love y'all...

Bruce

Do you mind if I answer them in reverse order?
Q. "Is the term "breaking bread" the same thing as the Lord's Supper, or can it refer to a "meal"? "
A. Every instance of " breaking bread" in scripture is simply the dividing of food into portions to be eaten at a regular meal! There are 21 references to "breaking bread" in the Bible. I often say: "One for every meal of the week!"

Q."I've heard it said that Paul "broke bread" with non-believers, but was that actually a celebration of the Lord's Supper, or was it just a meal? "
A. That event is recorded in Acts 27:33-38. It was a meal, as every remembrance of the Lord! We are to remember Him as often as we eat and drink! I Cor.11:26

Q."Should we have separate "open" meetings for preaching/evangelizing and only have "private", believers-only, communions?"
A. There is not a verse of scripture, nor one instance of believers breaking bread where unbelievers were excluded!!! (Check them all out to see for yourself!) This idea has come from I Cor 11:28 and 29. But no unbeliever can eat or drink unworthily! The meal, to them, is just an ordinary meal! But to the believers, it is an ordinary meal with extraordinary significance (remebering their Lord who died for them, gave His body and shed His blood that they might be saved and live their lives as unto Him.

-The Body of Christ can not have any significance one way or the other to an unbeliever! 11:29
-The one's who were weak and sickly for not rightly discerning the Lord's Body were "among you", i.e. "the saints at Corinth".
-"Many sleep" cannot refer to unbelievers as the word translated "sleep" here, as in death, is never ever used of the death of an unbeliever! Only the death of believers is referred to as sleep! 11:30
-The ones who are to judge themselves can only be believers! They are distinguished from "the world". 11:32

Q."When these folks are present, should we still have the Lord's Supper? (Absolutely!) Should we ask the non-believer to wait in another room until we've remembered Jesus? (Never! Give them the best seats in the house! See James 2:1-10 Put yourself in their shoes: If you were treated like that would you ever come back???) Should we not have supper at all? (Certainly we should!) Should we have separate "open" meetings for preaching/evangelizing and only have "private", believers-only, communions? (Never! We have no scriptural teaching, example, or principle to justify such segregation! The very purpose of the Supper is: "ye do shew the Lord's death till He come". The word translated "shew" always communicates the idea of a proclamation to people! What better gospel testimony could there be??!! What better opportunity to demonstrate to our unconverted friends, family or neighbors how Christians love one another, or to talk about what the death and resurrection and return of Christ mean to us??

I hope this helps to answer your questions, give you some food for thought and encourage you to search the scriptures daily whether these things are so! Acts 17:11

I agree with all that you said, especially the part about not excluding anyone. That would go against God's purpose entirely. I guess what concerns me is that the passing of the cup can be exclusionary in itself.

Maybe we're doing it incorrectly. At the conclusion of the meal, we ask God's blessing on the cup and speak our Lord's words when he said, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Now, just these words alone divide. The non-believer could very likely feel excluded because they don't agree to, or possibly even understand, being a part of the "new covenant". Would they not feel that by taking the cup, they ARE agreeing to something they don't yet believe in? Or by taking the cup with disbelief in their hearts, are they being dishonest to the group and to the Lord they don't yet know? Should the take the cup if they don't believe, or just pass it to the next person? Wouldn't that make them uncomfortable, even embarrassed?

Maybe when we pass the cup, we should just state that "the passing of this cup demonstrates unity between us? (leaving out the function of the cup creating unity with our Lord?) That doesn't seem like a good idea.

It has been our feeling that the Lord's Supper is the central part of our meeting and since we have (and God willing, will continue to have) non-believers among us, we want to be sure we're doing it right, and not excluding the seeker.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Can I suggest another perspective that might give you some liberty as you break bread?

The only time that the N.T. records eating BEFORE breaking bread is at what is commonly called "The Last Supper". Scripture never uses such an expression! The passover was the memorial meal which is to be observed forever by Israelites. (Ex.12:14) It was AFTER the Lord Jesus had eaten the Passover with His disciples that He introduced the memorial meal of the New Covenant. (The cup is actually the token or visible sign of the New Covenant.)

The major distinction between the Old Covenant and the New is that while the Old made clear distinctions between -holy days and common days,
-a holy priesthood and common people,
-clean animals and unclean,
-holy garments and common garments,
-a holy temple and common buildings,
-holy food and common food
-holy rituals and common daily routines etc etc,
THE NEW MAKES THE COMMON HOLY!
-common people are made holy in Christ,
-common people in Christ are all holy priests,
-since we are called to lives of holiness - every day is holy,
-common food is made holy and thus we thank God for our food(never heard of in the O.T!)
-there are no rituals connected with the New Covenant because all of life is to be
lived as unto Him who died for us and rose again! (II Cor.5:14,15)

It is for such reasons that I do not believe that "the Lord's Supper" should be any different from any other meal! In fact, I believe that every time we eat and drink we are to remember the Lord as we do so! Remember that, for the believer, the New Covenant makes holy ALL that is common !

So it is for these reasons that I do not believe we should divorce "the Lord's Supper" from our ordinary meals. I do not believe we should "observe the Lord's Supper" any more than we "observe" breakfast, lunch or supper! I do not believe we should "have the Lord's Supper" BEFORE our meal, nor do I believe we should have it AFTER our meal! The Lord's Supper IS THE MEAL!!!

If we do not have ritual words that we repeat or read at our "ordinary" meals, why would we think that such must be a part of "the Lord's Supper"???

How then should we "bless", or "give thanks" for the Lord's Supper as we eat our "ordinary" meals?

Since I have appreciated this tremendously significant truth regarding the New Covenant, I seek to pray and express thoughts along the line of the following at each meal:

"Our heavenly Father, we just want to thank you for your abundant provision for all of our needs and especially for giving your own Son, the Lord Jesus. Thank you for this food and drink that constantly reminds us of His body which was given and His blood which was shed that we might be brought back into right relationship with you. We pray that as it nourishes our bodies we may live our lives as unto the One who died for us and rose again. We thank you for it in the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen"

Such thanksgiving communicates to any unbeliever who is with us the significance that we attach (rather what Christ, Himself, attached) to our eating and drinking. Nothing in such a prayer excludes the unbeliever, because the work of Christ was accomplished for them as well! They have just not yet come into the enjoyment of it by faith in Christ. As they eat and drink with us, they are eating an ordinary meal, as they would in their own home. For them, it has no significance other than the satisfaction of hunger pangs! But once they come to Christ, hopefully, our example will help them to see what an extraordinary significance EVERY ASPECT OF THE BELIEVER'S LIFE HAS! Our LIVES are to be lived, NOT TO OURSELVES, BUT TO HIM WHO DIED FOR US AND ROSE AGAIN! (II Cor.5:14,15)

But if, since my last meal, I have sinned against you, offended you or wronged you in any way and have not made it right... I should make it right BEFORE I sit down to eat another meal! How can I sit down to eat a meal which I acknowledge is a reminder of the price that was paid to redeem me and continue KNOWINGLY in offence against another member of Christ's Body??? To me, that is what is involved in "not discerning the Lord's Body"!

If I allow sin to go unjudged continually while I eat and drink and thank God for His Son, what a hypocrite I am! "For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep (have been removed in death by the judging hand of God because they would not judge themselves).

Trust your consideration of these things (New Covenant thinking) will give you a whole new perspective, not just on the Lord's Supper, but on living the life of Christ (Gal.2:20) 24 hours a day, seven days a week!

That's one reason why N.T. Christians need no "church sanctuary"! We ARE the sanctuary and our ordinary homes become the center of our relationships with others and the natural place to gather to worship the Lord and minister to each other according to gifts the Lord has given us!

Hello dear brothers and sisters! I love you all so much!

I wanted to let you know that our gatherings for the Lord's Supper are going very well. We've been seeing 10 to 15 in attendance, and have (obviously) had to move our eating time into the living room. It has worked very well, except we've learned that it's better to lean toward food that can be eaten with the fingers. Sloppy, messy foods lend themselves to accidents (spills). But anyway, we have moved away from the ritual of "breaking the bread" to considering the entire meal as the "bread" and spending some time before the meal, asking God's blessing, and discussing the significance of what we're preparing to do. After the meal, we pass the cup (usually juice) to complete the supper. Everyone shares of the one cup, and understands the importance of the demonstration of unity.

Afterwards, we enter into a time of prayer and praise, which leads into a time a sharing, ministering, and teaching. I am constantly amazed at the movement of God through our group. Lives are being changed, the discouraged are finding hope, the lost are being saved! Praise our Father in Heaven! His goodness is without bounds!

Stay the course!

Blessings!