1 Corinthians chapter 10.
We're going to take a break over the next two weeks, today and next week, from our exposition of John's Gospel account,
!
Participation in it to steady our souls in these types of times.
So, if you are curious why, this is why.
Yesterday morning, I woke up at 2 a.m. and could barely swallow.
I had quite a sore throat.
I thought, perhaps I had strep, which doesn't seem to be the case.
I'm feeling much better now.
Me and Ms. Susan were joking about needing to eat a Popsicle while I was up here talking with you.
The sustaining grace of a Popsicle to get me through the sermon.
Hopefully, that won't be a challenge, but do bear with me if I need to mute my mic and give a little cough here from time to time.
We do this kind of sermon series.
We kind of hop around, and bit by bit, we answer a question about why we do what we do.
We're a little different as a church, and there's some things that are unique about us, perhaps to every other fellowship,
although most typically, the thing that we're explaining is something that the church has done for centuries,
and we just find ourselves a little bit odd in our day.
Why we do what we do.
And then it follows.
Why do we do what we do the way that we do what we do?
And this time, I want to speak to you about our members gathering.
So we have two times that we gather on Sunday mornings, right?
If you remember here, you should know this.
Maybe you're being reminded that we do this.
Presently, we are all participating in what we call the public gathering of the church.
That word gathering is the word that we use because it's the most biblical word to speak about the church.
The Greek word ekklesia, which is often translated to the word church, means gathering.
So when we're communicating this, we're communicating to our church.
This is when our church gets together.
We do all kinds of other things, meetings of various kind, which no one's required to come to.
They're just other great things that we do together.
But when the church, the gathering of God's people comes, this is when we come together.
So this public gathering, but you also may have noted on your bulletin that there is a time,
if you've never been with us before, that we gather before this time that we call our members gathering.
It is during this time, the primary thing that we're doing is taking the Lord's Supper together.
We do this every single week.
So to understand why we do this, why we do what we do, and why we do what we do the way we do what we do,
that comes out of my mouth too easy.
We need to do that.
We need to begin with an understanding of what we believe the Lord's Supper pictures
and what we believe about the nature of the church.
So I have two texts for our reading, and I'll depart from them for a bit, but then we'll come back to them.
1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 16 and 17, and then 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verses 23 through 29.
So I'll read them both now.
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
And then chapter 11, beginning in verse 23.
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread.
And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying,
This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
Let a person examine himself then,
and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body
eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Join me in a word of prayer for our time.
Father, we thank you for your word to us this morning.
And as we consider this issue,
we take up thinking about the Lord's Supper together
and thinking about why we celebrate it the way we do as a church.
I pray that you would lead us in the truth.
We humbly recognize that we need your help to do so.
Not one of us is going to be helped this day
apart from the powerful working of your spirit in our lives.
And so we ask that you would do that.
That you would broaden our vision for the Bible
and for the church
and for your great mercy to us in Christ.
We pray this in his name.
Amen.
We, as people, do a lot of eating.
Eating is necessary to sustain our lives.
Stop eating for very long,
and you will not remain alive.
It's ordinarily important to eat,
but I bet you can't remember
much of what you ate this past week.
Maybe something that was particularly good
or maybe that hurt a lot when you ate it,
but you've probably forgotten
most of the meals you've had,
even recently.
We don't eat mindfully,
and frankly, that's okay.
You don't have to remember what you ate
for the food to do its job
of nourishing your body.
If you've ever prayed this,
I have at times before.
I just think it's funny that we pray
that food would nourish our bodies
because that's what it does,
with or without prayer.
Food nourishes our bodies.
Some foods better than others.
But there is a meal
unlike any other meal,
unique in every way,
a meal that is meant
to nourish our souls.
This meal should always be eaten mindfully,
and the whole point of the meal
is that we would remember it
and, more importantly,
all that it means.
As I walk throughout my week,
I want to think back
to the previous Lord's Day
and that meal
and everything that it signifies
for us.
Some treat the Lord's Supper
as a private, mystical experience
between them and God,
or perhaps some sort of
small, devotional time.
But the Bible shows us
something far richer
about this meal.
The Lord's Supper
is a corporate,
covenantal,
gospel-proclaiming meal
that marks off the church
and strengthens
our unity in Christ.
It is significant.
Today I want to show you
why the Lord's Supper matters
and why we dare not take it lightly,
why we do not take it
outside the context
of a local church,
or should not,
and why we ought not neglect
to gather to take it.
We'll go back to our text
in 1 Corinthians,
but let's first look
at the record of the institution
of the Lord's Supper.
You can find this
in a number of places
in the Gospel.
Let's look at Luke chapter 22.
This is verse 14
and following.
Luke records,
And when the hour came,
Jesus reclined at table
and the apostles with him.
And he said to them,
I have earnestly desired
to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer.
For I tell you,
I will not eat
until it is fulfilled
in the kingdom of God.
And he took a cup
and when he had given thanks,
he said,
Take this
and divide it among yourselves.
For I tell you
that from now on
I will not drink
of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God
comes.
And he took bread
and when he had given thanks,
he broke it
and gave it to them,
saying,
This is my body
which is given for you.
Do this
in remembrance
of me.
And likewise,
the cup
after they had eaten,
saying,
This cup that is poured out
for you
is the new covenant
in my blood.
All of that should
sound familiar to you
from our reading
from 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
Paul is citing
this information,
the institution
of the Lord's Supper.
He has earnestly desired
to eat this Passover,
this last supper,
before he would pay
for the penalty
of the sins
of the world.
So the institution
of the Lord's Supper
was the changing
of the Passover meal,
which was a meal
meant to mark out
God's peeper
under the Old Covenant
or Testament,
and Jesus makes it
into another
kind of meal.
So to understand
all of this
a bit further,
we need to understand
something of the
Passover meal,
the significance
of that meal.
The Passover originates
in God's great act
of redemption
for the people
under the Old Covenant,
his deliverance
of Israel
from slavery
in Egypt.
I hope you're familiar
with this,
but just in case you're not,
it's important for us
to get this right.
In Exodus 12,
after nine devastating plagues,
Pharaoh still refuses
to release the Israelites.
God announces a final
act of judgment,
the death of every
firstborn in the land
of Egypt.
There's a judgment
of death given.
But he also provides
a means of substitution
and protection
for his people.
Each Israelite household
is to take a lamb
without blemish,
a male a year old.
Exodus 12,
and verse 5.
Kill it at twilight
and apply its blood
to the doorposts
and lintel
of their homes.
So either side
and above the door
of their homes.
Exodus chapter 12
and verse 7.
God declares
in Exodus 12, 13,
the blood shall be a sign
for you on the houses
where you are.
And when I see the blood,
I will pass over you
and no plague
will befall you
to destroy you.
That night,
the Lord struck down
all the firstborn
of Egypt,
from Pharaoh's house
to the slave
in the dungeon.
Exodus 12, 29,
and 30.
But he spared
every Israelite home
covered
by the blood
of that lamb.
The Passover then
was first and foremost
an act of divine salvation
through substitution.
See, that lamb
was killed
in place of
the firstborn
and its blood
marked out
that reality.
That lamb died
in the firstborn's stead.
God commanded
that this meal,
this meal that they had
after they had done this,
they hunkered inside,
they ate a meal,
there's some instructions
given for the taking
of that meal,
was to be celebrated
every year
as a memorial
of this redeeming work.
Exodus 12, verse 14.
This day shall be
for you
a memorial day
and you shall keep it
as a feast
to the Lord
throughout your generations
as a statute
forever.
Each generation
was to teach
their children
the meaning
of the feast.
Exodus 12,
verse 26 and 27.
When your children
say to you,
what do you mean
by this service?
You shall say,
it is the sacrifice
of the Lord's Passover.
For he has passed
over the houses
of the people of Israel
in Egypt
when he struck
the Egyptians
but spared
our houses.
So the Passover
was not only
an act of deliverance
but also
a defining
identity marker
for God's people.
They ate it
every single year
after that first
Passover meal
was taken.
It reminded Israel
that they were
a delivered people
belonging to
a delivering
God.
And that's
this meal
that Jesus
is having
with his
apostles.
Bobby Jameson
wrote in his book
Understanding the Lord's Supper
quote,
the Passover meal
was a living
reenactment
of Israel's redemption.
A memorial
that shaped
their identity
as the people
whom God saved
by substitution.
End quote.
The Passover
was to be celebrated
in homes
with family.
It's the way
it was originally
done.
The very first
Passover
was a meal
eaten in haste.
That's why
the unleavened bread
with readiness.
They were supposed
to be in their
clothes
because they were
supposed to have
deliverance
in their minds
as they took
the meal.
The next day
the Israelites
would march
out of Egypt.
So,
Jesus
at the Passover
the last
supper
takes these symbols
of the old
covenant meal
the bread
and the cup
and he
shows them
that he
fulfills them
in himself.
It's his body
and it's
his blood.
Just as Israel
was redeemed
by the blood
of a spotless
lamb
so now
God's people
are redeemed
by the blood
of his spotless
son.
1 Peter 1
verse 18
and 19
The Passover
celebration
pointed forward
it's typological
it points forward
to a greater
deliverance.
It points
to Jesus Christ
the true
and better
Passover lamb.
When John
the Baptist
sees Jesus
you may remember
this in our study
of John
he declares
John 1
verse 29
Behold
the Lamb
of God
who takes
away
the sin
of the world.
And the Apostle
Paul explicitly
identifies Christ
with the Passover
sacrifice.
1 Corinthians
5
verse 7
For Christ
our
Passover
lamb
has
been sacrificed.
And
finally
at this
last supper
the Passover
meal
we read about
in Luke
chapter 22
Jesus
reinterprets
the bread
and cup
to reveal
their ultimate
meaning
and
he redefines
the familial
nature
of the meal.
You cannot
miss this.
He is not
having
this meal
back with
his biological
family.
The very last
one where he
institutes
the Lord's
Supper
he's having
with the
apostles.
He's having
this meal
with his
followers.
So
this is the
background
and substance
of what we
are set to
consider today.
So
to further
our thinking
I'm going to
make five
statements about
the Lord's
Supper.
And this will be
back in
1 Corinthians
chapter 10
and chapter
11.
Five statements
about the
Lord's Supper.
Number one
the Lord's
Supper
proclaims
the gospel.
We've said
a bit about
that already.
Look with me
at 1 Corinthians
11 and
verse 26.
There Paul
says for us
often as you
eat this bread
and drink
the cup
you proclaim
the Lord's
death
until he
comes.
Every time
we take
the Lord's
Supper
we're putting
on a bit
of a play.
It's some
pageantry.
It's a
visible
representation
of the
gospel
of Jesus
Christ.
I'll add
it's a
Bible commanded
play.
We don't
do other
kinds of
plays.
This we're
supposed to
do when
we come
together.
We
proclaim
but what
is it that
we proclaim?
The Lord's
death?
Until he
comes is
what Paul
says here
and that's
certainly
true
but it's
not only
that.
We proclaim
his death
but there's
some implicit
proclamation
happening here
as well.
We proclaim
his
sacrificial
work but
also his
life.
Thoughts of
his death
cannot and
should not be
separated from
thoughts of
his perfect
law-keeping
life.
And we
proclaim his
resurrection.
He's coming
again so he
must be
alive and
we proclaim
his second
coming because
we are
proclaiming his
death until
he comes.
All of
those things
life,
death,
resurrection,
return.
The supper
practiced
properly is a
visible
sermon.
It's a
visible
sermon.
proclamation
of the
gospel.
And notice
that Paul
says,
you
proclaim.
And we
do
individually.
But more
importantly,
much more
importantly,
it includes
the corporate
body.
Remember that
Paul is
writing these
words to
a church.
He's referring
to the church
when he says
you.
If you are
part of a
church,
you're part
of that as
an individual.
But he's
talking
corporately
here.
Clue to
that,
if you go
back to
1 Corinthians
10,
verse 17,
he says,
because there
is one
bread,
we who are
many are
one body,
for we
all partake
of the
one bread.
He's talking
about us
gathered
together,
breaking
something that
pictures
Christ's
sacrifice on
our behalf.
If a little
further proof
will help you
at this point,
you can look
at the language
of the beginning
halfway through
the chapter
of Leaven.
Note the
phrase,
when you
come together.
He's talking
about this
meal.
When you
come together,
he repeats
that phrase
in verse
17,
verse 18,
and then
finally in
verse 20.
So,
we proclaim
together,
as a local
church,
when we
take the
Lord's
Supper,
by faith,
Jesus'
perfect life
grants us
righteousness.
By faith,
Jesus'
death is
sufficient
for our
forgiveness.
By faith,
Jesus'
resurrection
is the
sure foundation
of our
hope,
and by
faith,
Jesus'
return
is the
future
that we
long for.
Now,
we are not
given explicit
instruction about
how often
to do this.
We just
really like to
do it every
week because
of all of
that that I've
just said.
What a good
thing to
proclaim the
gospel in
this way and
the many other
ways that the
gospel can be
proclaimed as
often as we
possibly can.
The Lord's
Supper
proclaims the
gospel.
Number two,
the Lord's
Supper
marks off
the church.
Marks off
the church.
1 Corinthians
10, 16
and 17.
I'm reading
this before.
The cup
that we
bless,
the cup
of blessing
that we
bless,
is it not
participation
in the
blood of
Christ?
The bread
that we
break,
is it not
participation
in the
body of
Christ?
Because
there is
one bread,
we who are
many are
one body,
for we
all partake
of the
one bread.
The supper
is not only
vertical between
you and
Christ,
it is that,
but it is
also horizontal,
binding us
together as
one body.
When we
share one
loaf,
and hear me
at this point,
I don't think
that the
instruction must
be, a church
can be a size
that it
just doesn't
make sense.
We make
gluten-free
bread,
Katie Dome
does this
for us,
and for it
to cook
properly,
it has to
be done
in small
loaves,
so we
have more
than one
loaf on
any given
Lord's Day,
even when
there's not
that many
of us
here.
That's not
the point
being made,
right?
We are
together
at a
meal,
is the
point.
When we
do that,
we declare
that we
belong to
one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism,
one people.
This is why
the Lord's
Supper is
not a
private
devotional
act.
You
could have
some juice
or some
wine and
some bread
by yourself
and it
not be
the Lord's
Supper.
It's not
how you're
supposed to
do it,
but it
is a
church
act.
It's a
responsibility
given to
the church.
In the
New Testament,
the supper
is always
tied to
the gathered
church.
We don't
have nearly
enough time
this morning
to unpack
everything that
could be said
about church
membership,
but I
posit to you
in just a
few brief
moments that
local churches
as a whole,
we're
congregational,
are meant to
do the
careful work
of exercising
the authority
of the keys
given in
Matthew chapter
16 and
in chapter
18.
we are
to examine
professing
Christians
professions
and affirm
or deny
those
professions
for the
good of
those people
making the
professions
and for
the glory
of God.
So hear me
carefully.
This is a
work given
to the
church.
If a
church says
something like
anybody who
calls X
home
belongs here,
this kind
of thinking
has to fall
apart at
some point.
If somebody
showed up on
your front
door,
knocked on
the door,
you open it,
and they
said,
this is my
home,
you'd go,
hmm,
who are
you?
You might
want to
assess to
see if
they're
actually
part of
your
family
or not
before you
welcome
them in
and give
them a
bed.
There may
need to
be,
some kind
of a
process
by which
that would
take place.
Not because
we're
unkind,
but because
we care
about the
souls of
people.
We want
people who
are professing
faith in
Christ to
have confidence
of that
profession.
And so we
come together
as Christians
with trembling
and much
begging for
grace to
help to
see if
professions
are in
fact
credible.
careful,
careful
examination
for the
good of
those
people
and for
the glory
of God
that the
church
would not
be full
of people
who say
they're
Christians
and act
like
devils.
Baptism
is the
admitting
sign.
Welcoming
people into
the church.
We believe
as far as
we can
that you
are in
fact
a
professing
Christian.
You are
in the
faith.
It's
the
admitting
sign
or the
welcoming
sign.
The
Lord's
Supper
is the
renewing
sign
or the
keeping
sign.
Yes,
you
belong.
We welcome
people in
through the
ordinance of
baptism.
We keep
them and
in some
sad and
unfortunate
cases
dismiss
them
through
the
family
meal
we call
the
Lord's
Supper.
We like
the term
ordinance
when referring
to baptism
and Lord's
Supper
as it's
from a
Latin
verb
ordinare
which means
to put
in order.
What are we
ordering?
We're marking
off the
local
church's
boundaries.
Who
belongs
and who
doesn't
belong.
Right?
In a
caring
way.
Right?
Not trying
to be
exclusive
but the
claims of
the gospel
are
exclusive.
Right?
You are
either in
Christ or
you are
not and
we want
to be
careful
about who
we believe
is and
isn't.
The Lord's
Supper
then is
about
individual
assurance
but also
others
assurance.
It's
about
church
membership.
it is
the meal
that marks
off the
people who
belong to
the new
covenant
the
visible
church.
As an
anecdote
my
sweet
wife's
family
has always
spent
Friday
evenings
together.
When her
grandparents
were alive
it was over
at her
grandparents'
house.
They
continue
to do
this.
I
think
that
this
is
going
to
be
a
tradition
that
continues
on.
And
everybody
in the
family
is
expected
to be
at this
family
meal.
Are we
always
there?
No.
Sometimes
things
come up
that can't
be avoided.
But you
should be
there if
you can
be there.
And if
you can't
be,
everyone's
going to
know why.
The answer
can't just
be because
I didn't
feel like
it this
time.
I'm a
good son-in-law.
There's a
reason given
to my
mother-in-law
why I'm
not there.
She's very
kind about
the whole
thing.
If I
just need
some rest
she gets
it.
But it
can't be
because I
just don't
want to
this time.
It's a
good and
healthy
expectation.
And I'm
grateful for
the way we
grow as a
family as I
go and
participate in
these meals on
Friday evenings.
It's analogous.
Not perfect,
but it's
analogous.
it's a faith
family meal.
That's why
if you've
been with
us in
our members
gathering,
we invite
baptized
believers,
members of
Christ's
church to
partake.
Whether it's
this church or
you're a guest
and you're a
member of a
gospel preaching
church.
It's not
about,
the point is
not exclusion,
it's about
clarity.
It's about
clarity.
The supper is
a sign of
belonging.
It says,
these are the
people,
as far as we
can,
fraily,
right,
we don't do
it perfectly,
but these are
the people
who belong
to Jesus.
The Lord's
Supper
marks off
the church.
Thirdly,
very briefly,
the Lord's
Supper
nourishes
the faith
of believers.
We could
talk on
and on
about this,
but I
think most
people have
some
understanding
of this
already.
I've read
to you
before,
1 Corinthians
10,
16,
and 17,
you can
look at
it there
if you
would like
to once
again.
The bread
and the
cup
don't
change
substance,
but they
are signs
that
strengthen
faith,
just like
a wedding
ring reminds
a spouse
of the
covenant
that they
have made.
It's a
symbol.
I'm wearing
a silicone
one right
now because
the one
that my
wife gave
me on
our wedding
day got
lost in
the bottom
of a lake
in a
desk drawer,
and I
wear a
silicone
ring.
It's a
different
ring,
but it
means the
same thing,
and it
reminds me
of the
commitment
that I've
made to
her.
In that
same way,
they're
symbolic
for us.
When you
eat the
bread,
you are
reminded
Christ's
body was
broken
for me,
more
importantly,
for us.
When you
drink the
cup,
you are
reminded
Christ's
blood was
shed
for me,
more
importantly,
for us.
When you
take it
with your
brothers and
sisters,
you are
reminded
Christ's
salvation
has
united us
as a
divine
reality,
we are
united
because of
what Christ
has
accomplished.
This meal
is meant
to feed
our faith,
to re-anchor
us in
grace,
to strengthen
our assurance
that Jesus
truly is
enough.
The Lord's
Supper
nourishes
the faith
of believers.
Fourth,
the Lord's
Supper
calls us
to
self-
examination.
Look in
chapter 11
of 1 Corinthians
27,
28,
and 29.
Whoever
therefore
eats the
bread or
drinks the
cup of
the Lord
in an
unworthy
manner
will be
guilty
concerning
the body
and blood
of the
Lord.
Let a
person
examine
himself
then,
and so
eat of
the bread
and drink
of the
cup.
For
anyone
who eats
and drinks
without
discerning
the body
eats
and drinks
judgment
on
himself.
I
reject
altogether
that what
Paul is
calling us
to in
these
verses
is
self-scrutiny
concerning
the failing
of the
previous
week
or
months.
Some
churches
take the
Lord's
Supper
once a
year
or
year.
If we
were
capable,
if,
and we're
not,
if we
were capable
of sorting
through
every detail
of the
week,
we would
still fail
to realize
every action,
every misplaced
emotion,
every
solid
intention.
It's just
not possible.
You are
more sinful
than you
realize.
You can't
take an
honest
assessment
of it
all and
repent of
every
little
minutia.
It's
not
possible.
Should we
repent
when taking
the
supper?
Of
course.
Because
there is
plentiful
mercy for
sinners found
in the
completed work
of Jesus
Christ.
We should
be moved
to repentance
as we
think about
the gospel
and its
benefits
to us.
You should
be repenting
all the
time.
Repentance
and faith,
repentance
and faith.
It's an
opportunity,
another one,
to do
that very
thing.
But Paul
is not
saying that
you are
meant to
determine
whether your
performance
warrants
the reward
of the
supper.
That is not
what's being
communicated here.
And sadly,
that's what's
been taught.
there is a
particular issue
he is
speaking to
and I
say to
you that
the call
for self
examination
is more
stark when
the actual
context is
considered.
This
self
examination
thing,
I am not
dismissing
it.
It's
important.
We
should be
self
examining,
but is
it a
work when
we realize
the context
of what
Paul is
talking about
here.
So what's
happening
in this
church?
We need
to go up
a little
bit in
the text
of verse
17.
He says,
But in
the following
instructions,
I do not
commend you,
because when
you come
together,
it is not
for the
better,
but for
the worse.
For in
the first
place,
when you
come
together
as a
church,
I hear
that there
are
divisions
among
you,
and I
believe
it in
part,
for there
must be
factions
among
you,
in order
that those
who are
genuine
among you
may be
recognized.
When you
come
together,
it is
not the
Lord's
Supper
that you
eat.
For in
eating,
each one
goes ahead
with his
own meal,
one goes
hungry,
another
gets
drunk.
What?
Do you
not have
houses to
eat and
drink in?
Or do you
despise the
church of
God and
humiliate
those who
have
nothing?
What shall
I say
to you?
Shall I
commend
you in
this?
No,
I will
not.
It's
on the
heels of
that,
that he
is talking
about this
self-examination.
So,
to our
best guess
what's going
on here
is that
slaves who
are getting
off of
their work
later than
others
are not
being waited
for.
People are
going ahead
without them.
They're eating
the meal.
They're drunk
and others
are having
to do
without.
And he's
saying to
them,
that is not
the Lord's
Supper
because it's
not being
done
in
unification
with
others.
And his
words are
strong,
strong words.
So,
it's in
that context
that he
then says,
whoever
therefore
eats the
bread or
drinks the
cup of
the Lord
in an
unworthy
manner
will be
guilty
concerning
the body
and blood
of the
Lord.
So,
what's the
worthiness
that's supposed
to be going
on here?
It's a
mindfulness,
it's a
proper
orientation
toward
the
church,
the
people,
the
local
church,
those
people
that
you
know
that
were
bought
by the
body
and
blood
of
Christ.
So,
let's
examine
ourselves
and then
eat of
the bread
and drink
of the
cup.
For
anyone who
eats and
drinks,
verse 29,
without
discerning
the body,
whose
body?
Not
your
body,
he's
talking
about
that
body,
the
body and
blood of
Christ that
purchased
the
church.
drinks
judgment
on
himself.
And
there's a
temporal
judgment
going on
in this
day,
1 Corinthians
11,
verse 30,
that is
why many
of you
are weak
and ill
and some
have died.
This
kind of
carelessness
for the
church.
You
cannot
feast
on the
grace of
Christ
and refuse
to extend
grace
to others.
Christ,
the
Lord's
supper
ought to
be bringing
us
together,
helping us
to recognize
the unity
that is
ours in
Jesus.
This is
a unity
that we
must work
to maintain,
Paul tells
us in
Ephesians
chapter 4.
So the
context of
the Corinthian
church is
far removed
from us.
I don't
really doubt
anybody in
the room
is guilty
of what
was going
on in
the life
of the
Corinthian
church.
So what
are we
to consider
in our
self-examination?
Are you
rightly
thinking about
the church
when you
come together
to take
this meal?
Blood-bought
people of
Christ.
Are you
unified
with the
body?
Do you
harbor any
unresolved
conflict?
I'll say
right now
to you,
you don't
have to
like
everybody
who's a
member of
the church,
but you
have to
love them.
We
cannot
avoid
those
commands
in the
scripture.
We have
to work
through
hard
issues
together.
Next week
I told you
that we're
taking a
break from
John's
gospel,
and we're
going to
talk about
reasons to
and reasons
to not
leave a
church,
and then
the right
and wrong
way to
go about
doing it.
And you
better believe
I'm going
to talk
about
relationship
as a
major part
of what
we have
to say
do you
harbor
unresolved
conflict
when you
come and
take
the Lord's
Supper?
Is the
truth of
the gospel
orienting you
toward others
the way
that it
ought to
orient you
to them?
Right?
Beloved,
we shouldn't
consider each
other anymore
by the flesh,
by the spirit,
precious people,
bought by the
blood of
Christ.
We should
have such
humility
towards
one another.
And then
let me ask
you lastly,
do you
even come
to the
family meal?
Do you
come and
participate
in this
meal?
Now I
know that
a car is
not going
to start
some
mornings,
a diaper
is inevitably
going to
blow out,
there are
some reasons
not to
be here.
take a
family vacation
from time
to time.
But we
had a busy
Saturday,
it's not a
good reason
not to show
up at
10 o'clock.
Beloved,
it's not
that early.
It's not
that early.
You can
make it.
And hear
this with a
great deal
of kindness,
I'm just
not a person
who's late
to things,
I don't
like being
late to
things.
It's not
a pet
peeve of
mine when
people are
late to
things,
so don't
hear me
being unkind
towards you,
but if you
have a hard
time getting
here by
10,
then we
start at
930.
Set that
time on
your clock,
that's when
you're supposed
to be here,
and then you'll
show up on
time,
and it'll
be so
great,
because there's
a group of
people,
we can't
wait forever,
time has to
start,
but who loves
you,
and wants
you at the
family meal.
We want
you to come
and proclaim
with us all
that Christ
has done on
our behalf.
It's an
important time,
for us to
be together.
The
supper is
not just
a look back
to the
cross,
but also
a look around
you to your
fellow believers,
and it's a
look ahead
to the
marriage supper
of the
Lamb.
This will
be the
fifth and
final point.
The
Lord's
supper
points us
to the
future.
Again,
verse 26
of chapter
11,
as often
as you eat
this bread
and drink
the cup,
you proclaim
the Lord's
death
until he
comes.
The
supper
looks
forward.
It's a
foretaste
of the
feast to
come,
the day
when faith
becomes
sight,
when we
sit with
Christ
at the
marriage
supper
of the
Lamb.
Every
Lord's
supper
whispers,
he's coming
back,
he's coming
back.
Every
broken piece
of bread
and poured
cup
declares,
this story,
it isn't
over.
Hold
on,
hope,
he will
accomplish
all that
he has
promised.
In that
sense,
every time
we come
to the
table,
we are
training
our
appetites
for
eternity.
We are
reminding
our hearts
that this
world's
pleasures
are
temporary,
but that
Christ's
kingdom
is forever.
Revelation
chapter 19,
verse 6
and following,
then I
heard what
seemed to
be the
voice of
a great
multitude,
like the
roar of
many waters
and like
the sounds
of mighty
peals of
thunder,
crying out,
Alleluia for
the Lord,
our God,
the Almighty
reigns.
Let us
rejoice and
exult and
give him the
glory,
for the
marriage of
the Lamb
has come,
and his
bride has
made herself
ready.
And the
angel said
to me,
write this,
blessed are
those who
are invited
to the
marriage
supper.
of the
Lamb.
The
Lord's
Supper
points us
and we
need to
be
pointed
to the
future.
So why
do we
do what
we do
and why
do we
do what
we do
the way
that we
do what
we do?
It is
commanded
for our
good and
God's
glory that
we would
remind one
another of
the gospel.
We remember
together Christ's
life,
death,
resurrection,
and return.
Who
belongs?
church.
We declare
together who
belongs to
Christ.
And I'll
say to you,
if you're a
guest,
we would
love for
you to
become a
member of
this church
and join
us at
this meal.
We remind
one another
of God's
abundant
grace.
We are
nourished and
strengthened
together in
faith.
We remind
one another
of our
unity in
Christ.
We examine
and we
reconcile.
And we
remind one
another of
our future
glory.
We long
together for
his return.
So if you
are in Christ
and part of a
local church,
join your
faith family at
the table with
great joy.
Do not come
privately but
corporately.
Come not in
despair but in
faith because
the supper
tells you that
the cross still
speaks, grace
still reigns,
and the king
is coming
again.
Let's pray
together.