Sacraments: God's Show and Tell

The United Methodist Church celebrates two sacraments: Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Our official statement on communion, This Holy Mystery, helps us understand what we mean by a sacrament.

"Sacraments are sign-acts, which include words, actions, and physical elements. They both express and convey the gracious love of God. They make God's love both visible and effective. We might even say that sacraments are God's 'show and tell,' communicating with us in a way that we, in all our brokenness and limitations, can receive and experience God's grace."

By Water and the Spirit explains, "Baptism and the Lord's Supper are sacraments that were instituted or commanded by Christ in the Gospels."

The elements of water, bread, and wine are a very important part these rites. "Because God has created and is creating all that is," By Water and the Spirit teaches, "physical objects of creation can become the bearers of divine presence, power, and meaning, and thus become sacramental means of God's grace. Sacraments are effective means of God's presence mediated through the created world."

Through the Great Thanksgiving of the communion liturgy and the Thanksgiving Over the Water of the baptismal liturgy, we pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon these objects and those that receive them.

"The ritual action of a sacrament does not merely point to God's presence in the world, but also participates in it and becomes a vehicle for conveying that reality," By Water and the Spirit states. "God's presence in the sacraments is real, but it must be accepted by human faith if it is to transform human lives. The sacraments do not convey grace either magically or irrevocably, but they are powerful channels through which God has chosen to make grace available to us."