Question 43: What are the sacraments or ordinances?

Answer: The sacraments or ordinances given by God and instituted by Christ, namely baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are visible signs and seals that we are bound together as a community of faith by His death and resurrection. By our use of them the Holy Spirit more fully declares and seals the promises of the gospel to us.

Kids Answer: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Key Scripture: Luke 22:19-20; Romans 6:4

Additional Scripture: Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

There are two sacraments or ordinances. There is baptism, which is once for all. And there is the Lord’s Supper, which is ongoing and regular. We call both of them ordinances because Jesus Christ commands us to do them. But we call them sacraments because through them God’s blessing and grace come to us in unique ways. They are not just personal, individual experiences. We are members of a community, and baptism and the Lord’s Supper show that we belong to that community, the covenant community, the people who belong to Jesus. And that’s the reason why these are actually like boundary markers...they put a visible difference between those that belong to the church and the rest of the world. - Pastor Timothy Keller

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• If you’ve been baptized in the past but have walked away from the faith must you be baptized again?

• What is a sacrament?

• Should you take communion on your own?

• Is there a context in which you can call yourself a Christian without belonging to a covenant community?