Communion / Lord's SupperWesleyan~15 minClaude Opus 4.6

The Converting Ordinance: Wesley's Open Table and the Means of Grace

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 • Luke 22:14-20

Communion as a means of grace and a "converting ordinance" — the open table where Wesley took communion multiple times weekly as fuel for holiness

Arminian / Wesleyan

Grace, holiness, and personal transformation

Tradition vocabulary:means of graceopen tableconverting ordinanceconstant communionprevenient gracesanctificationWesleyhungry soul

The Means of Grace: Fuel for the Sanctification Journey

John Wesley took communion multiple times per week. This was not ritual. This was deliberate theological practice. Wesley believed the Lord's Supper was a means of grace — a channel through which God's grace flows to the soul — and that means of grace should be used constantly, not hoarded for special occasions. Wesley distinguished between "works of piety" (prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, communion) and "works of mercy" (caring for the poor, the sick, the prisoner). Both are means of grace. Both are channels through which God's sanctifying love does its work. To neglect either is to cut off a stream of grace that God has promised to use. The Wesleyan understanding of communion, then, is not sacramentally mechanical (grace pours out automatically) nor merely memorial (it is only a symbol). It is relational and expectant: God has promised to meet us at this table, and when we come with open hands and expecting hearts, He meets us. The grace is real. The encounter is real. The question is whether we come hungrily enough to receive what is offered.

1 Corinthians 10:16Acts 2:46Wesley's sermon on "The Duty of Constant Communion"

The Daily Bread

Jesus taught us to pray "give us this day our daily bread." Not weekly bread. Not monthly bread. Daily bread. The soul requires nourishment as the body does — regularly, consistently, as often as possible. Wesley read communion the same way: this is the soul's daily bread. It is not an emergency meal for when you're starving. It is the regular, consistent, ordinary nourishment of the Christian life. His sermon "The Duty of Constant Communion" argued that failure to receive communion frequently is itself a sin of neglect.

Source: John Wesley, "The Duty of Constant Communion" (1787)

The Open Table: Communion as Converting Ordinance

Wesley made a startling claim about the Lord's Supper: it can be a "converting ordinance" — meaning, God can use it to bring someone to faith who is not yet converted. This was radical in his day and remains distinctive in Wesleyan theology. The reasoning: if God's grace is prevenient — working in a person before they consciously respond — then the means of grace can be used by God to draw people toward faith, not merely to sustain those who already have it. Someone who is seeking, who is open, who comes to the table hungrily but uncertainly — God can use that moment of receiving to complete the work He has been doing. This is why the Wesleyan tradition practices open communion — the table is open to all who come seeking God. You do not need to have all your theology sorted. You do not need a membership card. You need a hungry heart. And Wesley believed that the hungry heart that comes to this table will find the God who has been waiting to feed it.

Luke 7:36-50Matthew 9:10-13Revelation 3:20

Come Weekly, Come Hungry: The Wesleyan Practice

Wesley's "The Duty of Constant Communion" remains one of the most readable and compelling arguments for frequent communion in Protestant literature. His argument is straightforward: Jesus commanded it. The early church practiced it frequently (Acts 2:46 says "every day"). And we need what it gives more often than we typically receive it. Most Western churches have moved away from weekly communion — many evangelical churches observe it monthly or quarterly. Wesley would consider this a pastoral failure. The means of grace that God has provided should not be rationed. Every week we come to worship needing the nourishment of the table. Every week is a week in which we have sinned, doubted, wandered. Every week is a week in which we need the physical reassurance that Christ's body was broken and His blood was shed — for us, again, still. Come to this table hungry. Come often. Come expecting. The God who meets you here is not tired of feeding you.

Acts 2:46Hebrews 10:25John 6:35

Applications

1Come to communion weekly if your church offers it. Wesley's argument stands: you need it more often than monthly.
2Come hungry. The means of grace require expectation. An empty ritual produces empty results. Come open, seeking, hungry for what God gives here.
3Pray the "means of grace" daily: prayer, Scripture, and seek the table as often as possible. These are the channels of sanctification.
4Invite those who are seeking. The open table is a gift for the hungry soul — point your seeking friends toward it.

Prayer Suggestions

Lord, we come to this table as Wesley taught us — constantly, expectantly, hungrily. You promised to meet us here. We take You at Your word.
May this be a means of grace — a real channel of sanctifying love. Work in us what we cannot work in ourselves.
For those who are still seeking: we leave the table open. Meet the hungry soul who comes not yet knowing exactly what they believe, but knowing they need something.
Fill us with the grace that flows from this table. Sustain the sanctification journey. Feed the hunger that holiness creates. Amen.

Preaching Toolkit

Movie Analogy

Julie & Julia (2009)

Julia Child did not cook once a year for special occasions. She cooked every day — because food is not for special occasions, it is for every day. Wesley's communion theology is the same: the Lord's Supper is not a quarterly special occasion. It is daily bread for the soul. Come to it as Julia went to the kitchen — regularly, joyfully, knowing it is necessary, knowing it will nourish, knowing that the habit itself is the gift.

3 Voices

Classic

Communion is a means of grace — God genuinely works through this table to sustain, nourish, and transform. Come expecting to receive, not merely to remember.

Pastoral

The table is open. You do not need to have it all sorted. Come hungry. God can work through this meal even in the seeking, not-yet-arrived soul.

Edgy

Wesley said failing to take communion frequently is itself a sin of neglect. Most of our churches take it monthly at best. Wesley would not be pleased. Come to the table more often.

More Titles

The Converting Ordinance: Wesley's Open TableMeans of Grace: Why Wesleyans Take Communion FrequentlyThe Hungry Soul: Open Communion in the Wesleyan TraditionDaily Bread: Wesley's Argument for Constant CommunionCome Weekly, Come Hungry: A Wesleyan Lord's Supper Message

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did John Wesley take communion so frequently?

Wesley took communion multiple times per week because he believed it was a "means of grace" — a channel through which God's sanctifying love flows. His sermon "The Duty of Constant Communion" argued that the early church received communion daily, Jesus commanded it, and we need its nourishment as regularly as the body needs food. Infrequent communion was, for Wesley, a failure of spiritual discipline.

What is the Wesleyan "open table"?

The Wesleyan tradition practices an open table — communion is offered to all who come seeking God, not only to confirmed members. Wesley believed communion could be a "converting ordinance" — God could use it to bring someone to faith who was still seeking. The open table reflects Wesleyan convictions about universal prevenient grace and the availability of God's love to all.

This Sermon in Other Traditions

See how 16 other Christian traditions approach the communion / lord's supper sermon.

Traditional Christocentric Reformed Baptist Dispensational Lutheran Catholic Eastern Orthodox Anglican Pentecostal Charismatic Black Church Progressive Liberation Anabaptist Missional

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