Setting the Lord's Table: "Seeing Communion as an Appetizer"

Appetizer intro...

I don’t know about you, but I love appetizers.

It is not uncommon for me to get an appetizer when I go out to eat. Some of my favorites are boneless wings, mozzarella cheese sticks, cheese curds, onion rings, sliders, and probably my favorites...chips and salsa with queso. If you go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and don’t eat chips and salsa, I doubt your salvation…

I’ve also had some unique appetizers… alligator bites, rabbit bites, crab wontons, crawfish tail rangoons, frog legs, venison burnt ends and corn fritters… and they were all good too… except the frog legs… not a big fan of fishy tasting chicken. Anyway...

Sometimes, I eat appetizers for the main course. Chili’s has an appetizers sampler and most of the time when I go there, I get that sampler with honey chipotle chicken crispers, big mouth bites and mozzarella cheese sticks…yum! On Fridays nights after we play church softball, a large number of us go to Applebee’s and get half price appetizers and pretty much all of us eat those for supper that night. Boneless wings, mozz sticks and chicken wonton tacos are the most popular among us. Sorry… you are probably all getting super hungry right now…

By the way, do you pray before you eat appetizers? There is actually some debate there. I was taught, growing up, that you pray before your meal, but appetizers aren’t the meal. So you can snack on apps and then pray when the main course comes out. The exception in my family was that when the appetizer was the meal, then you had to pray before you ate it. I don’t know why… we were just good baptists… doing things because that’s the way we have always done them…

Anyway, appetizers are great because they are delicious, they can get them out to your table quickly, they help curb the appetite a bit and hold you over so that you can take your time and enjoy your meal, rather than scarfing it down because you are so hungry. Appetizers get you ready for what is coming next. They are great, but the main course is even better.

I think that is one way we can look at the communion. The Lord’s Supper is like an appetizer, getting us ready for The Marriage Supper of the Lamb when Jesus comes again. That’s why the title of the message today is, “Seeing Communion as an Appetizer”.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NASB)

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 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.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Colossians 2:16–17 (NASB)

16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Revelation 19:7–16 (NASB)

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

When we have the Lord’s Supper...

We are reminded of His suffering.

13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood...

1 Corinthians 11:24–25 (NASB)

24 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.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

When we have the Lord’s Supper...

We rejoice in His salvation.

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him...

Psalm 35:9 (NASB)

9 ...my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; It shall exult in His salvation.

Isaiah 25:9 (NASB)

9 ...Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

Philippians 4:4 (NASB)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

When we have the Lord’s Supper...

We get ready for His second coming.

7 “...His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

1 Corinthians 11:28 (NASB)

28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

1 Corinthians 11:26 (NASB)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Memory Verse of the Week:

1 Corinthians 11:26 (NASB)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Discussion Questions:

What does this Scripture teach us about God?

What does this Scripture teach us about man?

Do you see any commands to obey or principles to apply?

Do you see any promises to claim or blessings to enjoy?

Do you see any truths to meditate on or Gospel messages to share?

Did anything else in the passage stick out to you?