A Communion Service Using the Five Senses

The Sense of Touch

Using the sense of touch we can take a larger portion of the communal bread and each participating member break off a piece of the bread.  The texture of the rough unleavened bread is to be noticed and the tiny fragments that are broken off are reminders of the Lord’s body being broken for us;  the breaking of the Lord’s Body is symbolized as He was broken for us.  Let silence reign except for the physical sound of the bread being broken as a reminder that His body was broken for us.  “…When He had given thanks, He broke [the bread] and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' (1 Corinthians:11:24).  The bread is hard and it breaks in a difficult manner.  So too was it difficult for the Lord’s body to be broken. 

And/or take a rough hewn piece of timber that must have resembled the actual rugged cross.  Be careful in handling since splinters were likely to have been existent in the original timbers of the cross.  Its roughness must have been similar to what Jesus must have felt on the back of His feet, hands, legs, and back.  There was no similarity to what we see customarily of a cross today where it consists of a smooth, finished texture that is sanded and stained. 

The Sense of Hearing

Pouring of the sacramental wine (or grape juice), use the pouring of the wine (or grape juice) into the cups that each participant will drink from.  Pour each one at a time.  Let silence reign except for the pouring of the wine or grape juice.  Let the pouring of the Passover drink remind the participants of the pouring out of the Lord’s blood which was poured out for us.  “In the same manner He also took the cup [of wine] after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me'” (1 Corinthians:11:24).
 
Or we can use the sound of a metal hammer on a stake.  The sound which must have been clearly heard when the hammer drove home the six-inch nails into the Lord’s hands while He was nailed to the cross.  This should be done as silence reigns and let each participant ponder the sound that was heard by those who witnessed His crucifixion as Christ Himself heard. 

Conclude the service with a hymn with no accompaniment.  Let the human voices be all that is heard in singing a hymn. 

The Sense of Sight

If possible, use the last portion of the movie, The Passion of the Christ where Jesus breathed His last.  It reveals the torturous condition that the Lord took upon Himself in His propitiation for us and our sins.  We used this in the Mulvane Brethren Church at the Resurrection Sunday services to vividly display how the Savior paid the ultimate and supreme price as an eternal and outward expression of an inward, unconditional love for those who are His. 

The Sense of Taste

Let each participant drink the wine or grape juice and eat the unleavened bread and let it savor the flavor of it in remembrance of Him.  That He said that it would not be until the Kingdom of Heaven would be realized in all its fullness that He again would taste of it.  In Matthew 26:29 we read Jesus' words to us where He clearly included us in this remembrance command and He gave us a powerful promise for our future. “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.” 

The Sense of Smell

Smell the wine or grape juice and the unleavened bread.  Savor the smell before partaking of the sacraments to remind the participants of what they Passover Meal.   What we are smelling is what the Lord and His disciples themselves must have smelled as they participated in the Upper Room Passover Meal.  Let silence reign while each participant savors the smell of both the drink and the unleavened bread.  

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