New City Catechism, Week 47 (Question 47)

Q: Does the Lord’s Supper add anything to Christ’s atoning work?

Children’s answer

A: No, Christ died once for all.

Adult/older children’s answer

A: No, Christ died once for all. The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal celebrating Christ’s atoning work; as it is also a means of strengthening our faith as we look to him, and a foretaste of the future feast. But those who take part with unrepentant hearts eat and drink judgment on themselves.

Video explanation:

Song to assist with memorization:

Relevant Scripture to read:

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. . . .

Children’s Activity (printable pdfs)

Younger Kids (pages 24 and 25)

There are no resources for older kids currently available for this lesson.

Special thanks to Del Rey Church for sharing their New City Catechism kid resources with us!

Devotional questions for individual/family/group reflection and discussion:

  1. How does the nature of the nature of the Lord’s Supper differ from, say, the Passover meal of the Old Testament? What does this tell you about Jesus?

  2. How does this question and answer respond to some other faith traditions and their understanding of the Supper?

  3. It can be confusing to think about how God builds us up through the Supper. Perhaps you can relate to theological lightweight John Calvin, who said - “I experience it rather than understand it.” - how does this encourage you?

For an additional “deeper” dive into this question and answer, check out this video from Dr. Michael Allen (which a few of the above questions are based on):