Instructions for the Lord's Supper

Call to worship

Welcome everyone!

LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!

“All I Have is Christ”

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS

Lord, We thank you for saving us!

“Cornerstone”

Words and Music by Hillsong

“Thank You Jesus for the Blood”

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS

Lord, Open our hearts to better understand this institution You began and commanded us to do. Help us to see the significance of this meal, and We ask that would would grow spiritually every time we take it.

SERMON

Introduction

In the Baptist church, there are two ordinances we practice: One is Baptism and the other is the Lord’s Supper.

Both of these were commanded by Jesus for us to continue them indefinitely

AND Both of these proclaim a message of transformation By way of death and resurrection.

Today we are going to observe the Lord’s Supper, but in preparation for that, I want us to study Paul’s teaching on this subject so that we rightly understand what it means and how we should do it.

What I want to do today is ask two primary questions about the Lord’s Supper and then answer them from this text today.

The first is “What is the Lord’s Supper?”

and the second, “How do we rightly participate in it?”

Turn with me to 1 Cor 11:23-25 “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; 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 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.”

What is the Lord’s Supper?

1) IT IS A TRADITION STARTED BY JESUS AND COMMANDED BY JESUS FOR THE CHURCH TO OBSERVE

Jesus said when He instituted this with His disciples “do this” twice

These are imperatives (which is just another word for a command)

And what Jesus was saying is when He is gone, you followers must continue to do what I am showing you tonight

And the book of Acts teaches us that when the church was birthed, it was observed

And the book to the Corinthians teaches us that they observed it

And this tradition has been carried on by believers for 2,000 years and will continue until He returns

The point is we must not look at the Lord’s Supper as optional for our lives

It is necessary to be obedient to Jesus

It is necessary for spiritual growth in our lives

It is necessary for a church to be unified

Churches do have the freedom to practice this as they believe

Paul says, “For as often as you do it” meaning the frequency is up to the church

Some churches observe it every week

We used to observe it every month

Now we observe it once a quarter

The reason we changed to once a quarter is because it can get too repetitive and the significance of it be lost

So we do it every three months so that it is not mundane and we lose the significance of it

2) THE LORD’S SUPPER IS A CONGREGATIONAL ORDINANCE

In other words, it is not an individual practice

First this is this is the example we see in Scripture. Jesus instituted this in the Upper Room with His disciples.

We also see this in the book of Acts and Corinthians. It is always taken when the church came together, not on an individual basis.

WHY?

Because communion with Christ is part of our covenant together as one body in Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 NASB95

Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.

Just like church discipline and baptism which happens inside the congregational gathering, so also communion is to take place when the congregation gathers.

3) THE LORD’S SUPPER IS A SYMBOL OR VISUAL REMINDER OF THE DEATH AND SACRIFICE OF JESUS

There is nothing mystical that happens to this piece of bread and to the cup of juice in which we take it

This bread does not turn into the body of Christ

This wine does not turn into the blood of Jesus

If you don't believe me, when you sip this juice, tell me if it doesn’t taste like WELCHES GRAPE JUICE to you?

The same is true with the bread. It tastes like a cracker because it is a cracker and it stays a cracker until it breaks down in your system and becomes nutrients

IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO GIVE US GRACE, BUT FOR US TO REMEMBER JESUS’ DEATH AND SACRIFICE WAS BROKEN FOR OUR BENEFIT

Jesus said, “this is My body which is for you” (on your behalf)

The body of Jesus was beaten and broken for us. Listen to how Isaiah explains:

Isaiah 53:5–6 (NASB95)

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

When we take this bread, we are to remember the body of Jesus that was broken for us, for our personal transgressions, for our iniquities, for our well-being.

So when we eat this cracker, we don’t just remember his stripes, his beating, His suffering, His shame, His rejection…BUT we also remember it was our sins that He bore, personally, those things that I did to Him, that I broke his laws, I was a rebel and that broken body He received is what I deserved, BUT HE TOOK IT FOR ME.

It is a very personal matter for the Christian to remember that all of my sin was placed and paid for by a very loving Savior.

4) IT IS ALSO TO REMEMBER OUR COVENANT WE HAVE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Jesus said, “this cup is the new covenant in my blood”

Background:

In the OT a covenant treaty required the slaughtering of an animal to indicate the commitment of each party to keeping the covenant.

If one side broke the covenant, then that person’s blood would be shed.

But here Jesus said, “this new covenant is in My blood”.

This speaks of Jesus’ personal commitment to bring this covenant into being.

It was God Himself who would make a covenant with us, and would redeem us with His own blood!

That is what God said in Jeremiah 31:31

Jeremiah 31:31

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

This covenant assures us that there will be redemption

We do not wait for a maybe! We do not say, I hope I get to go to heaven

We know that our earthly bodies will be transformed because it is Jesus Himself who has made a PERMANENT covenant with us!

We do not wonder if we will be rejected when we get to heaven if we are in covenant with Christ!

The blood of Jesus is absolutely enough!

His blood removes ALL of our sins!

Psalm 103:12 NASB95

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Application

Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of Me”

Remembering is not simply calling something to mind but to actively engage in something.

Galatians 2:10

They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.

Paul is not speaking about simply recalling the poor, but actively helping them

So when Jesus tells us to “do this in remembrance of Me” He is saying to us to be engaged in worship, follow Jesus with child-like trust, and obedience!

This remembering of the body and blood should lead us to trust Him more deeply, worship Him in awe, and obey everything He commanded

It should lead us to depart from sin and cling to hope of our future redemption

It should lead us to depart from the love and pleasures of this world and to cling to Him who gave Himself for us!

It should bring us back all the way to the place where we began and remember that the Savior of this world would so look down upon you and me and call us to be His own!

5) IT IS ALSO A PROCLAMATION OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST

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

Every time we approach the Lord’s Table, we proclaim the death of Jesus Christ TO THE WORLD and TO EACH OTHER

We are saying, Jesus Christ died a vicarious death for our sins, and because of His death and resurrection, I can be forgiven, and you can be forgiven too

We are saying that God came to earth 2,00 years ago and died on the cross for the sins of the world

We proclaim the gospel every time we take of the Lord’s Supper

How do we rightly participate in the Lord’s Supper?

1 Cor 11:27 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

1) WE MUST NOT PARTICIPATE IN AN UNWORTHY MANNER

The word “unworthy” means to participate in a CARELESS manner.

Problem at Corinth

1 Cor 11:18-22 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.”

Those in Corinth has made a fiasco out of the Lord’s Supper

They were excluding the lower class, from the meals and eating all they wanted until the food was completely gone, and some who were still hungry would eat the bread that was to be used for communion to fill their appetites!

They were also apparently drinking more than they should even to the point of getting drunk.

So there is pride, drunkeness, gluttony, selfishness, and an obvious lack of reverence for Jesus

2) Our attitudes must fit the occasion

Taking the Lord’s Supper is a serious deal and we must not take it lightly, or with a lack of reverence, or as if it has no meaning

FUNERAL ILLUSTRATION

What happens when someone dies? We hold a funeral to remember that individual’s life

How many of us would think it is appropriate to come to a funereal laughing, joking, or even drunk?

How many of us would think it appropriate to come to a funeral fighting amongst ourselves?

How many would think a funeral service would be a place to look down upon people?

How much more serious and reverent should we be when we remember the Lord’s broken body and spilled blood for our sins?

How much more important is the death of Christ, than the death of one of us?

When we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we are not coming to a funeral, but to a proclamation of a living Savior who died for our sins!

But the idea is not look upon this casually!

Don’t come to the Lord’s table with no reverence for Jesus.

We should be in awe of what Jesus has done for us!

We should be filled with gratefulness, rejoicing, and hope

b) We should not partake with unrepentant sin in our hearts

The Corinthians were called to examine themselves and notice the blatant sinfulness that they were doing and repent of it

What does it mean to have unrepentant sin?

Just suppose you came in here today and you got drunk last night. We are taking the Lord’s Supper today, and you say well I’m sorry I got drunk I feel bad, but deep down in your heart you have no intention of seriously quitting and turning from that sin. That is not repentance. You should not take it

Suppose you are in an inappropriate relationship with someone. And you come in here and take this knowing you should not be in that relationship, but you plan to continue it. Don’t take it

Or suppose you are harboring unforgiveness in your heart, and you plan to continue holding that grudge, you should not take it

But the point is not for us to keep the sin, but SO THAT WE WILL REPENT OF THAT SIN

1 Cor 11:28-32 “But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Heres the point, if we rightly examine ourselves, and truly turn from those sins, then it is perfectly acceptable to partake in Communion

This is why we take a moment before we do this to search our hearts and examine ourselves to seriously look at our lives and see if we have unrepentant sin

And if we do, confess it to Jesus, turn from it seriously and permanently and then eat the bread and drink the cup

This is an ordinance for the redeemed, saved, born again Christian

People who are not truly devoted to Christ or are unconverted should not partake of it

Why? Because how can someone not take this in an unworthy manner if they have not turned from their sins and fully trusted in Christ?

And John says if anyone says they do not sin, they are a liar and the truth is not in them!

So if you are not truly following Jesus stay seated!

Parents, if your children are not truly following Jesus and living repentant lives then this is not for them!

Not to withhold something from them, but to protect them

Is it really that serious?

(v 30-32) For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

This is a serious warning!

Paul says because these Corinthians were not judging themselves rightly there were many who were sick and dead because they took this in an unworthy manner

This is not a spiritual kind of sickness but physical sickness and physical death.

Notice Paul says, “But if we judged ourselves rightly”

That doesn’t mean to make judgements about yourself according to what you want to believe about yourself.

It means to judge yourself accurately according to what God says and declares.

That is to be what we hold up to our lives.

(v 30) “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

The point is this: we are much better off to judge ourselves so that we will be judged by the Lord. We are better off to examine ourselves and if we find ourselves unworthy, stay seated and avoid God’s judgement.

It is much better for someone who does not have the right attitude, or unrepentant sin in their lives, or hatred of another person to stay seated when people get up to take communion, bear that little bit of embarrassment, than to come to this holy Table filled with pride and risk being judged by God.

And it is best for someone after examining themselves and finding an unworthy heart to repent and get it right with Jesus, and then come forward and partake.

Let me finish with this as we close and before we take Communion together

Judgement is certain for the world, but forgiveness is available today for anyone who will repent of their sin, all their sin, and trust in Jesus

Jesus gave His life for us, so that we may be saved from our sins.

He is a loving Savior, He wants to give you life and give it to you abundantly!

And anything Jesus asks for in your life, He will give you so much more than this world could ever offer.

If you have not repented and started following Christ, do it today

~PRAYER~

RESPONSE

PUBLIC INVITATION

“Love Came for Me”

Words and Music by Shannon Wexelberg

COMMUNION

Moment of Silence to confess sin

Father, we ask at this time that you would reveal any sin that may be hidden in our hearts or attitudes that we may have in our hearts that we need to turn from. We confess that we are all sinners and are in desperate need of your grace and are so thankful for the promise, “that we if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

1 Corinthians 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you;

The bread represents His body Which was broken for our benefit

He bore our sins

He took our punishment

He took what we deserved, so that we may live

Pray a blessing over the bread

Jesus said: “do this in remembrance of Me.”

Eat the bread

1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood”

The juice represents His shed blood which brought us into a new covenant with God

Only because of the blood can we be forgiven

Only because of the blood can we live in the assurance that we will be in heaven

Only because of Christ can we be called Christians

Pray and bless the cup

“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.

Drink the cup

OFFERING

We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.

BENEDICTION

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’”