We value our children. That’s an understatement. I hope you gather that we value children at HLPC. We often refer to them as “covenant children.” Why do we do that?
We understand that God has always related to His people by way of a covenant. This is a bond, an agreement, that He initiates and guarantees. His bond, His promise, is to be a God to us and to our children. This comes into clear focus in Genesis 17 as God initiates the covenant of circumcision with Abraham. God has always included the children of believers in His family, the Church. That is why we practice covenant baptism and apply the covenant sign, once circumcision and now baptism (see Colossians 2:11-12), to the children of one or both believing parents. Baptism is the sign of entrance into God’s family, the Church. This is why we call our children, “covenant children.” They are a part of our covenant community, called the Church.
The Lord has given us the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament, not of entrance, but of nurture. It exists to feed our faith as we commune, or fellowship, with the risen Lord Jesus around His table. Since this sacrament is about nurture and the feeding of our faith, the Bible affirms the need for participants to grasp the table’s significance.
What does all this have to do with a communicant’s class? We believe our children are members of the church but in light of the teaching I Corinthians 11:23ff we affirm them as non-communing members- those who have yet to be admitted to the Lord’s Table upon their profession of faith. When our children do make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, we want to hear that expression and then include them at the table as communing members. We see that what was signified in their baptism- the claiming of God’s covenant promise- has come to fruition. A communicants class is a time of teaching and review in order to prepare for taking the Lord’s Supper.
This Sunday, after you’ve had time to eat some lunch, we will have a brief meeting for parents who wish to have their children be prepared for coming to the Lord’s Table. These are children who exhibit and express faith in Jesus Christ. Our process is to provide materials for use in the home that teach and review the gospel, church membership, and what the Lord’s Supper means. After you’ve covered the 6 chapters at home, I will spend three weeks reviewing with the children. Upon this review, the kids will meet with me and a few of our elders so that we can hear them express their faith in Jesus Christ and so admit them to the Table. Always keep this in mind; a communicant’s class is NOT the hoop anyone jumps through to be considered a Christian! Only faith alone, by grace alone, in the work of Jesus Christ alone, saves!
If you have any questions, please ask! Join us this Sunday, August 16th for more information!