Why does Ambassador have communion every week?

One of the most common questions I am asked after a service is why does Ambassador have Communion every week?  Here are some of the points I usually make:

• There is no command in the Bible about how often we should have communion.  1 Corinthians 11v26 simply says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup…”  There is therefore some freedom in terms of how often we have it.
• The main reason we have it weekly at Ambassador is one of church tradition.  Quite simply, Ambassador has always had weekly communion and so we continue that now.  In fact, it is interesting to note that throughout church history, most churches have celebrated the Lord’s Supper weekly, although since the Reformation it has been more common for churches to celebrate it once every two weeks or once a month.
• However, there are also some practical reasons why it may be helpful to have communion every week:
• If Paul’s rule for gathered worship is that all things should be done for edification (1 Corinthians 14v26), and if communion is a time for self-examination, praise, confession and thanksgiving, then it would seem that once a week is not too often.
• And then I think one great reason for weekly communion is that it helps to keep the cross and the gospel central.  As well as the spoken word during the sermon there is also the picture in the elements of Christ’s body and blood given for his people.  For anyone who is not a Christian it is an opportunity to watch and reflect on the death of Christ; for those who are Christians already it is an opportunity to participate and confess and be reminded again of what Christ has achieved for us and the centrality of his death.  We never graduate beyond that.

In the words of the song that we sometimes sing:

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I find a place to stand,
And wonder at such mercy
That calls me as I am;
For hands that should discard me
Hold wounds which tell me, “Come.”
Beneath the cross of Jesus
My unworthy soul is won.