Sermon Tone Analysis

*CELEBRATING THE LORD’S SUPPER*

*I Corinthians 11:17‑34*

*November 4, 2007*

*David Riley *

*Red** Bank Baptist Church*

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/1 Cor 11:17-34/

/17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse./

/18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it./

/19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you./

/20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper,/

/21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk./

/22 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./

/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./

/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./

/28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup./

/29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly./

/30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep./

/31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged./

/32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world./

/33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another./

/34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you may not come together for judgment.

And the remaining matters I shall arrange when I come./

/(NAS)/

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*INTRODUCTION*

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Family reunions are almost a thing of the past.

Many people would be hard‑pressed even to name their relatives and the cities they live in, much less tell the tales of the last time they spent together.

Families just don't gather like they used to.

And many wouldn't make it through a reunion anyway, because strife, like a thistly vine, would strangle from the gathering every trace of relaxation and joy.

But there was a time when family reunions were as regular as birds heading south for the winter.

Members of the family would flock to the reunion site and settle in for a time of laughing, eating, and rekindling closeness.

In the same way that our natural families need to reunite to strengthen their bonds, so we in the family of God need times of sharing and feasting times to tighten our family ties.

The night before* *His crucifixion, Jesus instituted a family reunion‑the Lord's Supper./

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/Matt 26:26-30/

/26        And while they were eating, Jesus took {some} bread, and after a blessing, He broke {it} and gave {it} to the disciples, and said, /

/"Take, eat; this is My body."/

/27        And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave {it} to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;/

/28        for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins./

*/29        "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."/*

/30        And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives./

/(NAS)/

 

In this memorial service, believers may participate together in the most meaningful, the most intimate form of worship.

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*I.

The Church's Practice*

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The love feast, or /agape /feast, was like a modern‑day potluck.

Members of a church family would gather and bring whatever food or drink they could afford.

They were encouraged to share it all, regardless of how rich or poor they were.

After the feast, the most symbolic part of the meal was served ‑ the /Eucharist.

Eucharist /means "thanksgiving," telling us something of the purpose for partaking in the bread and the cup.

It included the breaking and eating of bread to commemorate Jesus' crucified body and drinking from a cup of wine in remembrance of the blood He shed for our sins.

After the meal, the believers would linger to share and sing and enjoy a time where all barriers were down and all bonds strengthened.

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* I.

The Church's Practice*

*II.

The Corinthians' Situation*

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Like everything else man has touched, he ruined even the Lord's Supper.

In I Corinthians 11:17‑34, we see that the Corinthians had turned what was intended to be a feast of love and remembrance into a gluttonous orgy of pride and selfishness.

Small wonder Paul refused to praise them!

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*          A.

Paul's Introductory Comments.

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When it comes to his rebuke on this issue, Paul doesn't mince words.

/1 Corinthians 11:17/

/17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.

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/NASB /

 

In verse 2 of chapter 11, Paul had something to praise them about.

But now the reason for praising them has disappeared.

Because they had so perverted the Lord's Supper, he wishes they had never observed it at all.

A Christian’s attitudes and motives should be pure at all times.

But when believers come to the table of the Lord, sharing the bread of His body and the cup of His blood, it is absolutely necessary that they leave behind all sin, all bitterness, all racial and sexual prejudice, all class pride, and all feelings of superiority.

Of all places and occasions, those attitudes are most out place at the Lord’s Supper.

They grievously profane that holy, beautiful, and unifying ordinance of God.

 

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Paul's Condemnation.

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This severe beginning sets Paul's tone for the rest of the chapter, as he continues to blast the Corinthians:

/1 Corinthians 11:18-20/

/18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it.

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/19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.

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/20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, /

/NASB/

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Though the Corinthians were supposed to be gathered to celebrate their unity in Christ, they huddled instead into exclusive little groups ‑ barriered, proud, selfish.

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/1 Corinthians 11:21-22/

/21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

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/22 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.

/

/NASB/

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Like a group of whining two‑year‑olds, they clung to what they could call "Mine!" Drunken and gorged on their own food and drink, they hadn't yet learned to share.

So, because of their selfishness, Paul shakes in their faces the scathing finger of condemnation.

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*  I.

The Church's Practice*

* II.

The Corinthians' Situation*

*III.

Jesus' Instruction*