Preparation for the Lord’s Supper and the Days of Unleavened Bread.      printer-friendly    MP3

This document is part teachings from the ICG and part discussion from your minister on the subject.  Learn from the teaching and glean ideas from the discussion.  The teachings are what we preach annually on this subject.  The discussions will include tips that may apply to you.

---Tip:  Begin your preparation for the Spring Feast sooner than later.  You do not want to be rushed.

---Attitude tip:  Deleavening, the Lord’s Supper and the Days of Unleavened Bread are more than just ritual.  Our attitude should be one where we are looking for opportunities to worship God and to work these living metaphors.

1] Deleavening Process
-----how we do it.
-----why we do it.
-----tips.
-----when we do it.
-----what is leaven.  How PEB [personal elements of belief] apply.

Exodus 12:19 
Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

The leaven, clearly, represents sin.  The bread crumbs and leaven you are looking for are mere symbols.  You are not just looking for unleavened bread; you are looking for sin.

---Attitude tip:  Do not look for leaven; look for sin.  Deleavening is not Spring cleaning but rather a living metaphor of you putting sin out of your lives.  Leaven might only be in a few places in your home but sin can be virtually anywhere in your lives.  Therefore, consider looking “everywhere” for sin.  Deleavening is not about the leaven but about your actions and procedures of getting the leaven [sin] out.

To me, deleavening is not about getting bread crumbs but finding the hiding places of sin.

Discussion:  Here are some places I looked for sin already this year.  These are just things I have encountered.  You will have your own list.  Possibly my list will tweak your mind on the “hunt.”
 

There are many more such places.

---Tip: Keep collecting all leavened items to a central point in house. 
------put in final trash before first Holy Day, OR
------take to trash point
------unopened items to food bank.

---My favorite tool: a canister vacuum with a needle-nose hose end.
---Tip: Overlap vacuuming---“no surface just once.”
---Tip:  Don’t think, “Where would bread crumbs be” but rather, “where could sin be hiding?”

For leavening agents:
http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/unleavenedbread_agents.php

For Unleavened Bread Recipes:
http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/unleavenedbread.php  

Leavening and PEBs:
In all of our discussions here, your specific Personal Elements of Belief [PEBs] will figure strongly.

---some members reject any substance with the word, “yeast” involved.
---some members reject anything puffed up including egg whites, popcorn, cheese puffs and the like.

When do we Deleaven?
Clearly you are deleavened prior to the evening entering the first Holy Day which would be the evening of Friday, the 3^rd of April.  Many are deleavened prior to taking the Lord’s Supper – evening of 1^st of April or prior to the actual service.

2] The Lord’s Supper Service.
-----the Food Washing service…the procedure.
-----the wine.
-----the unleavened bread.
-----mentally and spiritual preparation for taking the bread and the wine.

Anyone may participate in the foot washing service.  One must be baptized and with the Holy Spirit to take of the bread and wine.

The Lord’s Supper service will begin promptly at 7:03 PM, Pacific, the evening of the 2^nd of April-Thursday in the Meeting Room of the ICG.  I will be in the room from 6:00 PM.  I will be showing only meditation music videos.

For all members attending this service, and assuming no PEB factors, you are spiritually in the Pacific Time zone.

We are scheduled to have as many as four human guests here in the house.  The men will conduct the foot washing service downstairs while the women will have a station in the second-floor family room.

The Procedure: Since we are all scattered and not in the same physical room, you will have to develop and have your own foot washing procedures.  Following is just what we are doing here.  Your beliefs, means and PEBs will dictate what you do locally.  Most of what follows is what we are doing.  You might possibly glean some points here.

Attitude: Assume Christ is physically attending your location and prepare and carry out all procedures accordingly.

Dress: Dress for Christ.  All ministers and deacons should be in white shirt, tie and jacket.

Regarding shoes and socks:  Foot covers should be anything that is taken off quickly and put back.  On men’s socks, prepare the clean socks by turning them inside and out a couple of times prior to putting on to reduce lint pieces in the water.

Preparation:  Do all you can ahead of time.

Basins:  Anything that will accommodate a large human foot.  David and I got ours at the 99-cent store.  Wash ahead of time and rinse after each use during the service.  David and I have multiple basins [show].



Foot Washing Stations:  The following is assuming you have guests or non-married individuals.  Husbands and wives, who are alone, can wash each other’s feet.  Those alone wash their own feet.  Individuals may wash more than one set of feet.

Otherwise have separate foot washing stations.  They must be in separate areas with no line of site to the other.

Have chairs, basins, clean water, towels, and either a sink area or dump station for basin water once it is used.  Here at our house, we will have fresh, store bought water in gallon containers.  We will have fresh washed basins, multiple basins and plenty of towels.  We will have the first basins in place with the gallon containers in the basins.  Since we are doing the service on carpet, we will have towels down under the basins and the dump container.  The person dumping the basin will rinse it out with clean water assuming there are not enough extra basins.

Wine:  The wine represents the blood of Christ.  It must be red.  No Merlot or anything blended.  Therefore, use Burgundy, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon [Ka-ber-nay So-vee-nyon], or Pinor Noir [Pee-no Nwar].  No fortified wines or ports.  No pop wines or Mogen David wines.

Bread:  The bread represents the body of Christ.  Traditionally we use the Manischewitz Matzos. 

Attitude:  You are not just looking for unleavened bread and wine, you are looking for Christ.

Graphics of the bread.
   

The bread and wine table: For our purposes here, we will have a plain folding table 25x18 and covered in a clean white cloth.  We will have a silver tray or clean white plate; one for bread and one for wine.  Each is covered by a clean white cloth.

Wine can be in wine glasses, shot glasses or the official Lord’s Supper containers you obtain online or at a Bible book store.  Figure on having at least one glass of wine extra for a multitude of reasons including spills or a last minute guest.  Figure one-half ounce of wine each or less.  Cover with white cloth.  Here we are using thin shot glasses and white cloths that are about 18 inches by 18 inches.

   

The bread should be one full sheet [for six individuals or less] on the plate or tray and covered by the white cloth.

Each tray is covered before the service and remains covered until that actual taking of the bread or the wine.  The tray is passed around, replaced on the service table and covered once again with the white cloth before continuing.

For the bread portion of the service, the bread is uncovered and then broken up in small pieces, generally not larger than 1 inch by 1 inch.  The focus here is on listening to the breaking of the bread.

Preparation Room for Bread and Wine:  Prepare your wine and bread trays in a separate room.  For many, the preparation room will be the kitchen and the service room will be either the living room or the room with the computer for the online service.  The reason for this will be apparent in the Post Service Procedure below.

Post Service Procedures: 
---All bread and wine in the prep room can be used later, assuming no PEBs in play.

---Destroy all unused wine---sink or toilet or ground.
---Destroy all unused bread---sink with garbage disposal or use toilet.

---Pour out all waste water containers.
---Put all white cloths in the hamper or immediately wash.

---Clean all service materials—glasses, plates, trays, etc. immediately after services.  Do this as a separate procedure and do not put these items in with general dishwashing cleaning.  Store for next year.
---Break down the service room and put everything away.

3] Days of Unleavened Bread
-----What do these days represent?
-----Why two Holy Days.
-----How long is this period?
-----Why is there reference to the 6 or 8 days of Unleavened Bread?

The days of Unleavened Bread represent your time of judgment in the Salvation Process.  The first Holy Day represents your calling into the Salvation Process.  The second Holy Day represents your making it through the entire process.

You shall eat unleavened bread all 7 days.

Exodus 12:15 
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

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