How do we approach the table of communion, and how does it remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice? At the Last Supper, Jesus shares a final meal with His disciples, instituting the practice of communion. He breaks the bread and shares the wine as symbols of His body and blood, setting the stage for the sacrifice He is about to make. It’s not just a meal; it’s an invitation to partake in His sacrifice and to live in unity with Him and one another.

Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own or get together with your group, spiritual running partners, or family to talk through what you are learning.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Can you think of a time when you assumed an old way of thinking or behaving would serve you well in a new setting (or set of circumstances), but it didn’t? How did that end up going?

     2.    Read Read Mark 14:22-25.

Make some observations about this passage (What does the text say?):

• What do you notice and what are you curious about? 

Make some interpretations (What does the passage mean?)

• What do you learn about God? 
• What do you learn about humanity?

Now make some applications (what’s my response?)

• How are you encouraged, challenged, or convicted by this passage?
• What should be our response to this passage?

    3.     Apart from Jesus, where do you tend to look for purpose and meaning in your life? If you’re being honest, to what extent would you say those things satisfy? 

    4.     Where might Jesus want to bring something new to your life? If you’re not sure, where do you hope Jesus could bring something new to your life? What do you think might get in the way of that?  

KEY SCRIPTURE

Mark 14:22-25 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

PRAYER

Thank Jesus for making it possible to experience life and freedom in his name. Thank him for pulling you out of the brokenness that used to be true of your story—and if you’re still there, ask him to show you what a next step could look like in the direction of life, freedom, and peace. Ask for courage from the Holy Spirit, moment   by moment, to keep choosing the way of Jesus—especially when it doesn’t make sense! 

PRACTICE

On our own, sometimes it can be difficult to identify where and how Jesus might want to bring transformation in our lives. Check out what groups might be available, and challenge yourself to take a step into a community where you can know and be known by others. If you’re already in a group, invite one of your groupmates to coffee or lunch sometime soon to talk more about how Jesus is growing you—then pray for one another!