Does the bread have to be broken after it is blessed and before the Lord’s Supper is taken?  I have seen a growing number of men break the bread in the plate after the prayer.  What's the biblical answer?

Sincerely,
Broken Up Over The Issue

Dear Broken Up Over The Issue,

We must break the bread like Jesus did, by sharing it with others who are also taking the Lord’s Supper. The term ‘break the bread’ can mean two things:

1. Physically separating a loaf of bread (Acts 27:35)

2. To have a meal, share food (Acts 2:46)

When we take the Lord’s Supper, we use Christ’s example as our guide. Christ took the bread first and then the juice (Matt 26:26-27) – so we do it in the same order. Jesus used grape juice, so we use grape juice (Matt 26:29). So if Jesus physically broke the bread as part of the Lord’s Supper, we should to. The example we see is that Jesus gave thanks for the bread and then broke the bread to share it with the disciples (Matt 26:26). So when we take the Lord’s Supper, we are to do the same thing… share the bread with the other Christians assembled. Without being too dogmatic on the point, the bread gets broken, by default, every time other Christians take some from the loaf. The emphasis isn’t on who breaks the bread – but on us all sharing the meal together (1 Cor 10:16-17).

I've heard people say that they don’t take communion because they are still living too worldly, and they either don’t come to church on Sunday… or if they do, they leave before communion is served because they don’t want to cause damnation upon themselves.  When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes.  I guess my question is: should a person partake even if they know they are still living worldly, engaging in things that are ungodly, but have the understanding of the Lord’s Supper?  I'll be waiting for your response as this is a question, believe it or not, that many are struggling with today.

Sincerely,
In Remembrance

Dear In Remembrance,

The answer is in 1 Cor 11:27-30.  When people take the Lord’s Supper while actively living ungodly lifestyles – they only make things worse.  Paul specifically said that people who do this put themselves into a spiritual coma which eventually leads to spiritual death (1 Cor 11:30) because they pretend to be godly but are not.

The answer isn’t to never take the Lord’s Supper – it is to stop living unfaithfully.  Everyone sins (Rom 3:23), but when we are actively pursuing a lifestyle of sin, it is like we are crucifying Christ all over again (Heb 6:6).  If someone knows the importance of the Lord’s Supper but fails to repent of their old and ungodly ways, they are only making things worse by taking the Lord’s Supper.

How many times on Sunday can I take the Lord’s Supper?

Sincerely,
Really Remembering

Dear Really Remembering,

The Bible never specifically addresses how many times on Sunday that Christians can take the Lord’s Supper, but the practical answer would be once (maybe twice) because it is a group activity, not an individual one.

The command to gather and take the Lord’s Supper is a congregational one.  The whole church comes together on Sunday to take it together (Acts 20:7).  It isn’t intended to be done by individual Christians at home or apart from the church.  Paul says that we are to take the Lord’s Supper when the church is gathered together, and the Corinthian Christians were rebuked for not doing it together (1 Cor 11:20).  It is a spiritual meal taken together as we collectively remember Christ’s death and proclaim it until His return (1 Cor 11:26).

With this in mind, most congregations only offer the Lord’s Supper once (or sometimes twice if they offer it at an evening service for those who weren’t able to make it in the morning).  Therefore, practically speaking, a Christian would never have more than one or two opportunities to partake of the communion each Sunday.

Some Christians feel that they need to take it twice if it is offered twice – this is their prerogative, and the Scriptures seem to give freedom for each individual to decide whether or not to partake again.  However, a Christian only needs to take the Lord’s Supper once on Sunday to fulfill the command.

When taking the communion, should you physically "break the bread"?

Sincerely, Not Enough Crumbs

Dear Not Enough Crumbs,

We must break the bread like Jesus did, by sharing it with others who are also taking the Lord’s Supper. The term ‘break the bread’ can mean two things:

1. Physically separating a loaf of bread (Acts 27:35)
2. To have a meal, share food (Acts 2:46)

When we take the Lord’s Supper, we use Christ’s example as our guide.Christ took the bread first and then the juice (Matt 26:26-27) – so we do it in the same order. Jesus used grape juice, so we use grape juice (Matt 26:29). So if Jesus physically broke the bread as part of the Lord’s Supper, we should to. The example we see is that Jesus gave thanks for the bread and then broke the bread to share it with the disciples (Matt 26:26). So when we take the Lord’s Supper, we are to do the same thing… share the bread with the other christians assembled. Without being too dogmatic on the point, the bread gets broken, by default, every time other christians take some from the loaf. The emphasis isn’t on who breaks the bread - but on us all sharing the meal together (1 Cor 10:16-17).

I am a Christian and recently visited a local congregation where I noticed they were using different unleavened bread than is used at my home congregation.It was sort of homemade-looking, flaky and crusty, more like pie crust, and not the normal saltine-type of crackers. Is there some reason that they would use this other bread versus the crackers? Is it more like the original unleavened bread used by Christ and the apostles than the cracker style?

Sincerely, Store Bought

Dear Store Bought,

The only thing that matters is that the bread is unleavened.See this post for why the bread must be unleavened.The saltine-type crackers that you are used to are a mass produced, manufactured type of unleavened bread.The pie crust type was probably baked by a member of that congregation.It is doubtful that they baked it themselves for doctrinal reasons.Someone probably made it to be kind or frugal.Since Jesus didn’t have a Safeway or Costco to shop at, I’m sure the homemade type is closer to what He ate, but it really doesn’t matter.The only qualification is that the bread be without yeast.