Christian Focus

I'm a pastor. I love to study and teach. I revel in the opportunity to learn the Word and train other men to do so well. However, I often find myself at a loss to provide young leaders with resources which model good scholarship and pastoral application on important topics in brief treatments. Richard Barcellos has served the church in providing just such a resource on the Lord's Supper.

I found myself moved by his exegesis of the text of Scripture as he drew out the implications of the Lord's Supper for Christ's church. I was encouraged by the way in which he built his doctrine on the sure foundation of the Word followed by a demonstration of how a biblical understanding of this important sacrament is supported by historical reformed confessions. I plan to use this book often, not only for instruction on the Lord's Supper, but as a model for my men on how to build their theology from sound exegesis which is mindful of historical interpretation.

This book is worth your time and money. Buy it and read it. Buy several copies of it and give them to men you are training.

Pastor Chad Vegas, Sovereign Grace Church of Bakersfield

There are very few books I can recommend without a single caveat or reservation. Richard Barcellos' new book, The Lord's Supper as a Means of Grace: More than a Memory, is one of them. Writing in an incredibly clear, straightforward style (unlike so many other theological works these days), Barcellos spells out exactly what his aims are in this book: to demonstrate how the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a means of grace to the faith of believers in Jesus Christ. He then proceeds to do exactly that, presenting arguments based on sound exegesis of several Scripture passages. He then turns to historical Reformed Confessions and Catechisms to show that he's not presenting a novel idea, but rather perhaps reminding his readers of what has often been forgotten. Key points include the meaning of "communion," how the Spirit applies Christ's work to our souls, and how prayer (also a means of grace) is crucial to our understanding of the sacraments.

I heartily recommend this book for the following people: students, teachers, pastors, Baptists who want to understand historic Baptist doctrine, PCA members, Roman Catholics, students of biblical Greek, bloggers, anyone who wants to understand the distinction between an "ordinance" and a "sacrament" (it's probably not what you think), and basically everyone else.

More than a mem'ry
Grace transcending time and space
All should read this book

Patrick McWilliams, ConfessingBaptist.com