Coming To This Table
HYMN---“Leaning On the Everlasting Arms”---#16
† “COMING TO THIS TABLE”
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†1 Corinthians 11:23-34 (NKJV)23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and 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 in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
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†There are 2-ordinances in the New Testament church,à
Baptism & The Lord’s Table./
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†Baptism is the public declaration of our faith./
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†The Lord’s Table is the public affirmation of our faith./
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†The Declaration, Baptism à
we do one time when we trust Christ./
†The Affirmation – The Lord’s Table, We do it repeatedly. /
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†And as often as we do it à
we show the Lord’s death until He comes./
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†There are those today who would say that à
matters of faith are not a public issue…./
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†They say it is very personal & Private……./
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†I will agree that our faith is personal but à
Biblically it is never to be A PRIVATE MATTER!/
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†Now there may be some here à
who have never been baptized…./
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†You my feel that at your age Baptism is not done./
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†Please hear me now, I’m not pressing you on this, butà
you are never to old to be baptized./
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†If you have not ever been baptized,à
I would be glad to talk to you personally about that./
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†But tonight our focus is the Lord’s Table à&à
participating in Holy Communion./
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†To this communion service tonight I extend à
an open invitation./
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†? What does it mean that our invitation is open?/
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†That simply means this communion service à
is not restricted to denomination or church membership./
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†What it means is that à
If you know Jesus as your Savior you are invited./
†As we prepare to come to the Affirming table of our Lord,à-
I want to give you a few thoughts and then à
we will let the Lord’s table preach it’s own message./
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†There are 3 THINGS I want to share with you tonight à
ABOUT THE LORD’S TABLE!/
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†The 1st thing I want to share with you à
about the Lord’s table is à
THE EXPLANATION OF THE SUPPER./
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†In verses 23-25 Paul is explaining the Lord’s Supper./
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†1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NKJV)23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
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†1.) What we should notice 1st here is that this is à
a Simple Act, it is Not a big elaborate ceremony!/
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†I don’t believe that Jesus intended the Lord’s Supper à
to be a really formal ceremony filled with much fanfare./
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†I believe we are to keep it very simple and in-formal./
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†? Why would I think this?/
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†Well I think it should be kept simple because à
our Lord choose the simple over the elaborate with His life./
-†And if it is formal then that would cause those like me à
who are simple, to feel somewhat unwelcome…./
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†And I just do not think Jesus would want that./
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†Now, please understand, I am not for a moment à
suggesting in celebrating the Lord’s supper à
we should be irreverent./
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†We can keep it simple & in-formal and still be à
reverent & holy in how we participate./
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†Folks, this communion service though simple & in-formalà
Is still a very special worship./
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†2.)So as Paul explains the Lord’s Supper as à
a Simple Act, & Not an elaborate ceremony, à
Paul gives us the words of Jesus an important reminder./
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†In verse 24 we see the words of Jesusà
“This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
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†? What are we remembering? /
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†We are remembering a CROSS./
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†We are remembering an EMPTY TOMB./
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†We remember an OCCUPIED THRONE./
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†We remember a RETURNING SAVIOR./
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†3.)So here in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we find à
The explanation of a simple act and a reminder, But also à
We should understand this communion service is symbolic./
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†Let me give you a word here tonightà
of course you may know this word already ……. /
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†TRAN-SUB-STANTIATION
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†? You say what does that mean?…./
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†TRANS….. That means CHANGE./
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†SUBSTANTIATION…. Means the SUBSTANCE../
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†You see folks, à
there are some who believe and hold to the belief that à
when the elements are received by à
the person partaking of the supper that à
it is literally changed into the actual body & blood of Jesus./
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†There is NO TRAN-SUBSTANTIATION HERE!!!/
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†THIS IS A SYMBOL!/
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†Communion, the Lord’s Supper is THE SYMBOLIC ACT à
OF YOUR AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST./
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†It is a simple act, It is a reminder, It’s a symbolic act./
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†4) But it is also a Statement of Faith./
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†By participating in communion you saying à
“I believe Christ and Christ alone for my salvation.”/
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†II. So the 1st thing I share with you tonight à
about the Lord’s table is à
THE EXPLANATION OF THE SUPPER,
The 2nd thing I want to share with you à
about Lord’s table is,THE EXAMINATION OF THE SAINT./
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†Verse 28 says,“28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”/
†Folks, before you come to the Lord’s table à&à
participate in this communion service à
there are 3 Test you need to take./
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†1st there is the salvation test./
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†Look at what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
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†Now I want to ask you a pointed question à&à
important question?/
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†? Before you partake of this table….,à
Do you know…that Jesus is your Lord?/
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†Don’t come to the table if you can’t come to the Lord à
of the table!!!/
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†If salvation through belief in Jesus Christ à
is not a part of your life, this communion is not for you./
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†The 2nd test is The ATTITUDE test./
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†Paul writes in Galatians 6:4 (NKJV)4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
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†Paul is saying “Let each of you examine your own work, à
if you think you are something when you are nothing,à
you deceive yourself.”/
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†? What is your attitude about your works? /
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†? Are your works where they ought to be with Christ?/
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†Affirm here tonight that you are committed and sowing à
your life to His will…His Kingdom./
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†Not that we work for our salvation, à
we are saved by our faith in Jesus./
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†And if He really is our savior, à
our work for Him will be a major part of our life./
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†the 3rd test is The REPENTANCE test./
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†In 1 Corinthians 11:28 (NKJV) Paul says, 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
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†And Paul continues in verse 29 “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
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†This Lord’s Table forces us to deal with our sin…./
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†Let me suggest this concept to you,à
Every time we take Communion… à
“REVIVAL SHOULD BREAK OUT!!!!!””/
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†? Why do I say that “REVIVAL SHOULD BREAK OUT”?/
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†Because the Communion service should cause us,à
God’s People, to Humble ourselves., to Seek His face, à
And turn from our wicked way’s./
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†WE must do this because it say’s in Verse 29 “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
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†Folks as we come to the Lord’s table this evening,à
We must take & pass these three test,à
The Salvation Test,à
The attitude test,à
The REPENTANCE test./
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†III.So thus far as we come to celebrate à
the Lord’s Supper I have shared with you à
1st THE EXPLANATION OF THE SUPPER, & 2nd à
THE EXAMINATION OF THE SAINT,à&à
Now thirdly let me share with you à
THE EXALTATION OF THE SAVIOR./
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†Verse 26 says26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
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†Folks, Jesus is coming back …/
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†We must never forget that truth../
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†What if it were today…/
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†Yes, Jesus is coming back, but à
He is not coming back for a cross à
He is not coming back for a crown… à
He is not coming back for a coronation./
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†When Jesus comes againà
He will appear as THE KING OF KINGS à
AND THE LORD OF LORD’S:/
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†We must not ever forget that He is alive and exalted!!!!/
-HYMN---“Let Us Break Bread Together”---(printout)
†As Paul instructed in today’s text à
we are to examine our lives à
before receiving “The Lords Supper”./
†And as we examine our lives we may à
see something that needs to be confessed & cleaned up./
†If we have trusted Christ as our Savior,à
He invites & authorizes us to come to His table./
†Eating at the Lord’s table means à
communing with Him & identifying with His death./
†Our partaking of Communion indicates à
that we are undivided in our commitment to Christ. /
†Our partaking of Communion says, à
He is our top priority; à&à
He has preeminence in our lives./
†Let us now prepare ourselves à
to approach the Table of our Lord./
Prayer
†Lord Jesus, as we come before you now à
may we confessed our sins to you. /
†Heavenly Father I pray now that you might à
hear our private prayers of confession. /
†We come to this time of communion, à
remembering your works of salvation in our lives. /
†You have saved us from sin & death. /
†You have healed our diseases. / è
†You have healed our emotions. /
†You have restored our broken relationships. /
†You have saved our sons & daughters. /
†You have brought us together à
to worship you à&à to thank you for all you’ve done./
†Thank you for inviting us to do this in remembrance of you./
†We accept your invitation, & now we come. /
Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Prayer
Serves bread & Wine./
Breadà24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it & said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Cupà25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Pray à Cover Sacraments
HYMN---“I Am Thine, O Lord”---#17