I hope you will answer this: Following the last service on Sunday we clean up the communion service plates for the fruit of the vine and the “loaf” in a small room within the building. In the past, the children have been allowed to drink the grape juice remaining in the cups, and some want the unleavened bread also. One of the brethren has stated this is a problem. They stated the emblems were sacred. But did not press this point when questioned as to the scriptural location of this idea they had. Since we do not eat in the building they might have this in mind but did not say so. I Corinthians 8:7-9 gives some guidance that we might be causing a weaker brother to stumble. But these children are 6-7 years old. So the weaker brother is either the one letting the children drink the juice or the one complaining about it. Can you help?<\/p>\n\t
There is no passage that says the emblems are sacred. I would suppose they are making a link to the table of showbread in the Old Testament where only priests were allowed to eat the bread. Such a command was not given in the New Testament.<\/p>\n
If the elements were sacred, then it would be required that the communion be closed to only Christians; yet, again I know of no passage placing that restriction on the Lord’s Supper.<\/p>\n
The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the Lord’s death. Its meaning comes when Christians partake of it together. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread<\/em>” (I Corinthians 10:16-17). Nothing is mentioned about what is to be done with the leftovers.<\/p>\n If someone had difficulty with children eating the leftovers, I would simply ask how they arrived at that conclusion from the Scriptures. If all they offer is their personal opinion, then my response would be that we don’t bind the opinions of one person on another. If there is a scriptural reason, even if I believe them to be mistaken, I would suggest to those who clean the trays to not allow children to partake where these people were aware of it, so as to not offend them. It causes no harm if children are not allowed to eat the leftovers.<\/p>\n\t Jeff,<\/p>\n Thanks for the very good reasons, especially not offending some and that is doesn’t hurt children not to be allowed to eat the leftovers.<\/p>\n What a great website you folks have!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I hope you will answer this: Following the last service on Sunday we clean up the communion service plates for the fruit of the vine and the “loaf” in a small room within the building. In the past, the children have been allowed to drink the grape juice remaining in the cups, and some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-37448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-lords-supper"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37445,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-non-believers-and-children-partake-of-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":37448,"position":0},"title":"Can non-believers and children partake of the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: l want to know if we have a scriptural authority that forbids children and non-believers to partake of the Lord's Supper? Answer: I know of no passage that places a requirement on who may partake of the Lord's Supper. Partaking of the Lord's Supper is commanded of Christians (I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5718,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-i-corinthian-1133-allow-fellowship-meals-at-the-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":37448,"position":1},"title":"Does I Corinthian 11:33 allow fellowship meals at the church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother in Christ, \u00a0 I read your answer to Why is eating in the building an issue?\u00a0concerning eating in the building and have a few questions. \u00a0 First, you quote I Corinthians 11:17-22 where Paul is remonstrating the Corinthians for leaving some hungry and for some getting drunk\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13370,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-the-church-building-be-used-for-weddings-or-funerals\/","url_meta":{"origin":37448,"position":2},"title":"Should the church building be used for weddings or funerals?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A good friend of mine told me about your web site and that your material has been a wonderful resource for him. You have a wonderful article answering the question: \u201cIs it scriptural to have recorded music (not vocal) in a wedding ceremony that is held in the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18280,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-fermented-grape-juice-wine-be-used-in-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":37448,"position":3},"title":"Can fermented grape juice (wine) be used in the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please answer me with biblical texts the following questions or doubts I have: Which kind of wine (intoxicating fermented wine or non-fermented wine) should be used during Lord's Supper celebration? Can we commit sin by using fermented or alcoholic wine during the Lord's Supper celebration? It is alleged that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97755,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-acts-242-show-that-only-christians-may-partake-of-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":37448,"position":4},"title":"Does Acts 2:42 show that only Christians may partake of the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the discussion \"Should congregations practice closed communion?\" you say that \"No passage indicates that the Lord's Supper must only be offered to Christians. It only has meaning for Christians, but we don't add rules God didn't give. If a non-Christian wishes to partake of the Lord's Supper, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65447,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-lords-supper-taken-only-once-a-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":37448,"position":5},"title":"Was the Lord’s Supper taken only once a year?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day. A friend of mine told me that the breaking of bread in Acts 20:7 is not the Lord's Supper or Passover because it is only a breaking of bread without the grape juice as stated in the context. 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