Why did Jesus give the church a meal to eat together? The Lord's Supper isn't just something churches do together, it's something that binds us together, making many into one. This accessible work biblically explains what the Lord's Supper is, how it relates to a local church's life together, who should celebrate the Lord's Supper, and how we should approach it.

Four different ways Christians understand the Lord's Supper---Baptist view (memorialism), Reformed (spiritual presence), Lutheran (consubstantiation), and Roman Catholic (transubstantiation)---are fairly represented and debated to provide readers with an opportunity to draw their own conclusion on this important Christian institution.

"When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'" —1 Corinthians 11:24 The Lord's Supper is more than a church tradition or a complex doctrinal controversy—it has practical importance to our daily lives. When Jesus instituted the Supper, it was meant to strengthen the faith of his followers by reminding them of his promises. God has always made promises to his people through covenants, and along with them given signs and meals to point to and confirm his blessings. Looking at the unity of the covenants throughout the Bible, this book will help Christians recover the practical importance of the Lord's Supper as both a sign and a meal of the new covenant blessings God has bestowed on believers in Christ.

Who did Jesus of Nazareth claim to be? What was his relationship with early Judaism? When and how did he expect the kingdom to come? What were his intentions? Though these key questions have been addressed in studies of the historical Jesus, Brant Pitre argues that they cannot be fully answered apart from a careful historical analysis of the Last Supper accounts. In this book Pitre offers a rigorous, up-to-date study of the historical Jesus and the Last Supper, filling a significant gap in current Jesus research. Situating the Last Supper in the triple contexts of ancient Judaism, the life of Jesus, and early Christianity, Pitre brings to light crucial insights into major issues driving the quest for Jesus. His Jesus and the Last Supper is sure to ignite discussion and debate.

Examines Hebrews' exposition of Jesus' death, his self-offering in heaven at his ascension, and the link between them.

In what way can we consider the Lord's Supper more than just a memorial service but a means of grace? In this impressive new study, Richard Barcellos shows that the Lord's Supper is a means of grace because of what the Holy Spirit does in the souls of believers when local churches partake of it.

"The Word is for the engrafting; the Sacraments are for the confirming of faith. The Word brings us to Christ; the Sacrament builds us up in Him. The Word is the font where we are baptized with the Holy Ghost; the Sacrament is the table where we are fed and cherished. The Lord condescends to our weakness. Were we made up all of spirit, there would be no need of bread and wine. But we are compounded creatures. Therefore God, to help our faith, not only gives us an audible word but a visible sign. Things taken in by the eye work more upon us than things taken in by the ear. So, when we see Christ broken in the bread and, as it were, crucified before us, this more affects our hearts than the bare preaching of the Word."

Presents the biblical institution of the Lord's Supper, theological issues (the presence of Christ, the sacrament's efficacy and necessity), and pastoral considerations.

What did Jesus intend when he spoke the words, “This is my body”? The Lost Supper argues that Jesus’ words and actions at the Last Supper presupposed an already existing Passover ritual in which the messiah was represented by a piece of bread: Jesus was not instituting new symbolism but using an existing symbol to speak about himself. Drawing on both second temple and early Rabbinic sources, Matthew Colvin places Jesus’ words in the Upper Room within the context of historically attested Jewish thought about Passover. The result is a new perspective on the Eucharist: a credible first-century Jewish way of thinking about the Last Supper and Lord’s Supper— and a sacramentology that is also at work in the letters of the apostle Paul. Such a perspective gives us the historical standpoint to correct Christian assumptions, past and present, about how the Eucharist works and how we ought to celebrate it.

Addresses the current exodus of Christians from evangelical churches and argues for a return to historical roots.