Communion and foot washing

[Sister Alvear]

[LadyChocolate]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

I love to share our life with you folks...

I appreciate you sharing your life with us! I cannot tell you the times I sat a cried while viewing what you post. I've called my children in to show them all about you. My mother in law and I sit and read your articles. Many days I've only logged onto the forum just to see your posts alone! We pray for you Sis! You are an inspiration to me! God bless the work that you and Bro.Alvear are doing! and thank you for sharing it with us!

[Sister Alvear]

thank you I enjoy sharing with you all our life on the mission field not only our victories but our struggles...I fell it helps others know how to pray for us missionaries. Thank you for such kind words.

[Sister Alvear]

[Sister Alvear]

[Sister Alvear]

[Sister Alvear]

[Sister Alvear]

Many of our people do not know how to read or write so when you do things like this that they can see it helps them understand deeper God´s word that they will never read...
It takes a real calling to work on any mission field but northeast Brazil is the hardest place in all Brazil. However I feel a real love and a deep burden to help the people here.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

I may surprize you by telling you I actually believe in wine! But I work under leadership and Brother Alvear believes in grape juice....we have always used it since we have been married...He is the head...and I follow whatever he teaches.

Since our Christian communion ritual is a carryover from the Jewish Passover, in my opinion, the use of wine and matzos would be more in keeping with the Jewishness of the ritual. However, I have no problem with leavened bread and grape juice. In my opinion, the meaning is far more important than the actual physical elements used.

I had a pastor who was also the UPC Dist. Supt. of Ohio. In his opinion, grape juice was simply not communion. If he went some where and grape juice was used he considered it just a drink of juice and not did consider it to be "real" communion. In one of the organizations I belonged to over the years (Church of Jesus Christ, Pentecostal Faith) our Presiding Bishop was very adamant that only fermented wine was appropriate for communion. One of our churches was located in an area of Kentucky where alcohol sales were prohibited. He once told me that he was going to go down there and take a jug of home made wine to them for use in communion. I told him they might arrest him for "rum running." He said, "Well, I'll just tell them that it is the blood of Jesus." I told him, "If you tell them that they may lock you up in an asylum."

The last 2 churches that I have gone to have used grape juice. I receive it as a symbol of the blood of Jesus and have no problem with it. There are some Christians that believe that grape juice should be used as a concession to unity and to avoid a stumbling block. In my opinion, the grape juice or wine question is not worth arguing over.

[Sister Alvear]

I agree...I celebrate that He did for all of us what we could not do for ourselves.
Sad that people become bitter enemies over so many little things and personal convictions...