"Come Share the Lord": Part 6 - Conclusions

Part 6: Conclusions

1. I did not expect to find so many catholic/denominational teachings linking the Emmaus account to the Lord’s Supper. Now that you understand what this song is teaching - I hope it will give you pause before you sing it - if you sing it at all. The song has a lovely melody and it sounds pretty, but since I don’t agree with the words, I can’t truthfully sing along, because in my mind I’m not singing truthful words. If I sing with my spirit, I also have to sing with my mind.

"Therefore, the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind". 1 Corinthians 14:13-15

2. Please note: I am not condemning those who lead this song or those who sing it. Raising questions about songs is not something I see encouraged in the church, you sing what the songleader leads, or what’s in the songbook. But songs are NOT scripture, and if we think a song is teaching doctrine that’s not Scriptural, shouldn’t we speak up? What should we tell visitors who hear us singing this song - we sing it but we don’t believe it? We sing it, but we have no idea what it’s talking about? Just things to think about.

**The reason this is SO important to me, is this: we need to be very careful about the songs we bring in and sing. The songbooks that we have in our pews are mostly the songbooks that other denominations have in their churches too, we sing many of the same songs. I see many denominational ideas slipping through because they are in songs that sound pretty, and Satan can use this to make us believe unscriptural ideas. (99% of songs I have no problem with, but there are some that I do, like this one)

3. Around this time of year, I see/hear a lot about the Emmaus account from my denominational friends and TV evangelists. I often hear it described as “the 7 Mile Miracle”. Well, that’s only the 2nd time Jesus appeared to his disciples; as mentioned above, the 3rd time he appeared to them in John chapter 21, he also ate bread with them - and nobody mentions that. I think the reason could be because the Emmaus account happened on the same day that Jesus was resurrected, and people want to call that “Easter Sunday” and point to the eucharist being taken that day. But, we can all agree that the Lord’s supper was instituted at his Passover meal with his disciples, BEFORE his death - not after.

4. I also think that many non-denominational Christians / members of the Churches of Christ believe that Jesus or God is present (i.e. His presence is) in the church building, - but they don’t know why they believe it or where that belief comes from.

We need to be clear on what is denominational teaching and what is Scriptural teaching about the bread and cup.

The Catholic belief that the presence of Jesus is actually in their building because of the eucharist being there, is very central to them. Of course, as members of the Churches of Christ - we don't believe this, but I myself find many people teaching and believing that the presence of God or Jesus is in the church building, somehow or in some way.

I myself believed this for a long time, hearing people talk about the need to "dress up for church" (especially on Sunday morning) to impress God and/or show him respect. We need to be clear on this idea. So think about it. Does having the bread and cup in a location mean Jesus is there? The Catholic church says yes. What do you believe? Why?

5. So when is Jesus with us?

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (In Greek it says, “I am with you all days.)

So Jesus is not physically visible to us, but he is with us all of our days, to the end of the age.

6. I do think it is a good idea to sing a song before we eat the bread and take the cup - to remind us of what we are doing and why we are doing it. 'Come Share the Lord' seems like a good song to lead because we don't have that many in our song books about the subject and it sounds pretty. However, I hope that I have shown that the many references to Catholic and denominational teachings - as well as references to Emmaus - make this a song much more about those things than about what the Scriptures say about the Lord's supper.

7: Challenge: As I've said, this song has a nice melody, so I would like to ask any that are "poetically gifted" to perhaps come up with some better lyrics for this song. They don't even have to rhyme, they just need to be Scripturally accurate. Why not change the lyrics to some that more accurately describe the Lord’s Supper and can better prepare us to recognize it -and what it represents - before we eat and drink?