Malcolm Cox

For the last two years I have been combining the sermon and communion. Or more accurately, concluding my sermons with reflections on the Lord's supper.  Why have I done this? What are the benefits and drawbacks? Perhaps you have heard of or seen the so-called ‘sermunion’. On occasion it has been employed to save time. I have heard this approach despised and denigrated as not being a real sermon, or a real communion. Are these criticisms fair?  Today let me offer a few thoughts about benefits and drawbacks. Please tell me what you think. Benefits 1. Avoiding too many ‘lessons’ in one service. Sometimes we get three or every four lessons in a service. A welcome ‘lesson’, a HOPE talk ‘lesson’, a communion ‘lesson’, and a sermon - possibly even some of our prayers are more like lessons! The sermon/communion approach reduces the number of ‘lessons’ by ensuring that the sermon and Lord's supper have the same theme. This connectedness seems healthy. 2. Moving from the Scriptures to the table seems right. Now we k