Why We Gathere at the Lord's Table

Introduction

Set the Stage

Today is a dedicated communion service which happens 4 times a year. In these services we take time to take deeper look at a certain aspect of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. And today, we will be highlighting the corporate nature of celebrating communion.

Since the beginning of the church, there have been three things that historically define the activity of a church gathering - the preaching of the word, baptism of new believers and the celebration of communion together. 2nd century church father, Justin Martyr gave an account of the weekly worship if the church writing, “on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen.”

We Christians all over the world, for 2000 years been doing the same thing - gathering together as one body to worship God through singing hymns with our mouths, hearing his word preached with our ears, and visibly celebrating the truths of the gospel through the actions of our bodies as we regularly baptize and partake of the Lord’s Supper.

I am so thankful that we performed a baptism last week and have communion this week because these actions, these visible demonstrations that have characterized church for thousands of years are fresh on our mind. In his, Corporate Worship, Matt Merker makes this succinct observation, “Baptism is the sign of one’s entry into the new covenant family of God; the Lord’s Supper is the church’s reg-u-lar fam-ily meal.”

Argument - Why the Family Meal?

And that truth, that the Lord’s Supper is family meal, is what I want to lean into today as we answer the question - why must this be a family meal? Why must we gather together to partake of the Lord’s Supper? What is the purpose of our corporate gathering together for Communion? Communion is not and must not just be a private moment that we all participate in while we are sitting in the same room.

Main Point and Structure

So then what is the purpose? There are two reasons: and this is the main point for my sermon today:

1 The primary reason we gather together is to publically proclaim God’s Glory in the Gospel

2. The secondary reason we gather together is to intensify our union together with Christ as His body.

Let me put that simply: We Celebrate the Lord’s Table Together for the sake of Proclamation and Unity.

And I am going to walk you through two passages in the book of 1 Corinthians to show you theses truths. In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 I will show you that we celebrate communion together for the purpose of unified participation. And then in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 I will argue that we celebrate communion together for the purpose of proclamation.

The Main point of the sermon is this: We Celebrate the Lord’s Table Together for the sake of Proclamation and Unity.

1. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 - Participation

2. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - Proclamation

1. Participation

Context

So then what I want to do as we drop in to our first passage, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, is set the context of Paul’s argument here. In 1 Corinthians, Paul takes time to answer specific questions that he received from the church and in 1 Corinthians 8:1 he introduces his answer to their question about Christian liberty surrounding the topic of eating food sacrificed to idols.

Now, our two passages, fall under the umbrella of the answer to this question. In Chapter 8 Paul begins by explaining that it is not a moral issue to eat meat sacrificed to idols but it is a serious sin to wound the conscience of your brother who is offended. Then in chapter 9, Paul models for the church what it looks like to give up personal Christian freedom for the sake of the gospel.

Then when we get to chapter 10 where Paul makes the point that it is also a serious sin if you do engage in any form of idol worship. Here he is dealing with the issue of eating meat with the pagans at their idolatrous feasts. He begins by showing how the Exodus Israelites, who God miraculously brought out of Egypt, lead with a pillar of fire, fed in the wilderness, drank from the rock, how God was not pleased with most of them because they participated in idolatry, 1 Cor 10:7, “7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” The Israelites put God to the test and were destroyed. And Paul uses them as an example saying 1 Cor 10:14 “14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” This is his main point - the Corinthian Christians cannot participate in idolatry. Its incompatible to worship Christ while at the same time participate in a meal in a pagan temple.

And here’s where we get to our text, Paul writes 1 Cor 10:16, “16 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? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. ” And Paul’s argument here is that we Christians have our own religious feast, our own meal and when we drink the cup of Christ and when we break the bread of His body, we have a spiritual participation with the God of this meal - Jesus Christ, who is the One True God.

When the Corinthians participated in the meal of communion they participated with Christ - there was an identification with Christ, and a communing with him. And the same logic held true for those in Corinth who participated in a meal dedicated to an idol. Religious ceremonies whether Christian or pagan, involve the participation of the worshipers with the object being worshiped. And this is why it was completely inconsistent for the Corinthian Christians to join in worship meals and feasts dedicated t idols.

Communion with Christ

1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV

16 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?

So that is the context and the original argument, but what I want to do is press into what Paul is saying in those two verses and show you some beautiful truths about the corporate celebration of communion. Look back with me at 10:16, “16 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?” Paul uses this phrase, is it not participation in the blood and then in the body of Christ? This word participation is the familiar greek word koinonia. It means to have fellowship with, to share, to have in common, to have partnership. This is why it is called communion, in it we commune with Christ. We enjoy and experience His presence and His salvation in a unique and powerful way. As we feed on the bread and the cup with our mouths, Christ nourishes our hearts by faith.

Puritan Richard Baxter writes, that at the Lord’s Supper “No where is God so near to man as in Jesus Christ: and no where is Christ so familiarly represented to us, as in this holy sacrament...we are entertained by God as friends, and not as servants only, and that at the most precious costly feast. If ever a believer may on earth expect God’s kindest entertainment, and near access, and a humble intimacy with his Lord, it is in the participation of his sacrifice-feast, which is called ‘The Communion,’” The Lord’s Supper is where Baxter thought, that “there is he most of this love between God and man, there is the most communion, and the most of heaven, that can be had on earth.”

Communion with Each Other

And when we celebrate communion together, not only do we share together the benefits of Christ’s death, we spiritually participate in a fellowship meal with Christ and with each other.

1 Corinthians 10:17 NASB95

17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.

This shared fellowship with Christ and each other is made explicit in verse 17, “Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” As the church, we are one body because we share in the one bread. The Lord’s Supper makes the many into one body. For since each of us are united with Christ in fellowship, we are united with each other as well in fellowship. Those who eat of it form one body - the church. In the Lord’s Supper we are communing with Christ, together at the same time, in the same place and therefore in that act, we have communion with each other. Calvin makes this same point as he writes on this unifying aspect of Communion saying, “since Christ has only one body, of which he makes us all partakers, it is necessary that all of us also be made one body by such participation. The bread shown in the Sacrament represents this unity. As it is made of many grains so mixed together that one cannot be distinguished from another, so it is fitting that in the same way we should be joined and bound together by such great agreement of minds that no sort of disagreement or division may intrude.” This meal, then is formational and inseparably tied with what makes the church, the church.

Concluding Argument

And here is my point, when we put off individualism, when we recognize the reality that the Lord’s Supper is not just a devotional experience that happens between you and God - when we revel in the togetherness of the Lord’s Supper it becomes a moment of fellowship with one another that infuses and instills unity amongst one another. Augustine calls this corporate celebration of communion the “sign of unity and the bond of love.”

Application for Communion

So then, when you prepare to partake, don’t just close your eyes, bow your head and confess your sins; look around and marvel at those he’s redeemed, at your brother’s and sisters who are with you in Christ.

Use this time to consider if you have any sins against others to confess to them, any wounds that need to be healed. If any of these are discovered, make amends as soon as you can.

And while you are beholding Christ’s blood bought church, rejoice in God’s power to unify so diverse a group of people. We are many yet one. Any and all of the differences that threaten to divide us do not compare to the blood Christ shed to save us and unite us. These are the people whom Jesus purchased with that precious blood. These are the people who have committed to care for me, put up with my faults, and point me to Christ again and again. May the Lord’s Supper plant a passionate pursuit of unity in the heart of each of us here at HCF.

Transition

Now I want to transition us to our next point by walking you over the bridge that connects our two texts. You see, in Corinth, this blessed unity that is brought by rightly celebrating communion together was not experienced by the corinthian church. They failed to put aside their individualism they and violated everything that the Lord’s Supper was to be.

1 Corinthians 11:17–18 NASB95

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.

Look at how Paul addresses the church starting in 1 Cor 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. 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.” When they came together as a church, it was not for their betterment, it did not benefit them at all, but instead it made things worse. Why, because they come together factious and divided. We see this in the first chapter of this letter, 1 Cor 1:11-12, “11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” In chapter 3:3 Paul identifies that there is jealousy and strife in their midst.

1 Corinthians 11:20–21 NASB95

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.

And all of this is accentuated by the way they celebrate the Lord’s Supper, look down at verse 20, “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.” Instead of the celebration of communion being a time of loving fellowship, spiritual nourishment, worship and unity, it was a time of selfish indulgence, shaming of the poor and mocking Christ’s death with drunkenness. Instead of building up the church, celebrating the Lord’s Super stripped the church down stone by stone and scandalized the church before the unbelieving world around them. Notice that phrase in verse 21, “for in your eating, each one takes his own.” Each one, his own. They weren’t coming together at all. This was a moment of worship to the greatest idol of them all, the self.

Which is why Paul gives the scathing rebuke, when you meet together, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat. They failed, miserably. In light of their failure dear church, I call on you to put off individualism, and to put aside division and strife. So that, when we come together after this sermon to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it may be said of us that we did just that.

One last thing before we move on, notice what Paul says at the end of his instruction in verse 33, Notice at the end of his instruction, in verse 33 Paul concludes his point by saying, “33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.” When you come together, wait for one another, why? We partake of the body of Christ as One because we are One Body.

Proclamation

So then, after Paul gives the corinthians this rebuke, he instructs them on how the Lord’s Supper should properly be celebrated. And here we are moving to my second point - Proclamation

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NASB95

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.

Read with me starting in verse 23, “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.”

Now, remember that today I am focussing in on the corporate nature of the Lord’s Supper. So what I want to do is highlight the phrase in verse 26 , “26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” And here is the point I want you to see in this second section: when we celebrate communion together we are making a proclamation.

But before we dive into our corinthian text to define what exactly we are proclaiming, I want to do some biblical theology. What I mean is that I want to take a wider, 20,000 foot view of what the Bible has to say regarding why we gather together, and then I will bring us back down to our text to tie all of that into why we gather together at the Lord’s Supper.

Kingdom of Priests

So let’s go back to the front of your bibles - back to the book of Exodus. In this book God powerfully saves and delivers the nation of Israel from their slavery in Egypt, He brings them through the midst of the sea and guides them to Mount Sinai.

Exodus 19:5–6 NASB95

5 ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

And it is there, in Exodus 19 that He defines the relationship between Him and His people. He says to them in Exodus 19:5, “5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;” He saved them out of Egypt to be His covenant people, and He, their covenant God. And in this covenant relationship they were to be His treasured possession among all the nations. That is the vertical nature of their relationship. You see in our relationship with God there is always a vertical and horizontal aspect to that relationship. The vertical aspect deals with our individual relating to God and He to us. The horizontal aspect deals with how God relates to corporate groups of people as a whole, like the nation of Israel, or the church; the horizontal also deals with how our relationship with God should affect our relationship with those around us.

And in Exodus 19:6, he defines the horizontal nature of their relationship, “6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” They were to be, as an entire nation, a kingdom of priests. Remember with me that the role of the priest was that of a mediator. He would mediate between God and the people, representing the people before God, and representing God to the people. Israel, on an international scale, as a whole nation, was to be a priest to the other nations. They were to have an international impact.

Wisdom of God’s Law

And we see this role described when we get to the book of Deuteronomy where Moses teaches Israel that they would make such an international impact by following God’s law, Deuteronomy 4:6, “6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” In other words, when the gentile nations looked at Israel’s obedience to God’s law and saw the wisdom of such obedience, they would marvel at Israel’s way of life, at the wisdom of God’s law.

Wisdom of God’s King

We see this very thing happen in the reign of Solomon, where nations and even queens would come streaming to Israel to marvel at the Temple and at the wisdom of God’s King. Solomon prays for these very people in at the dedication of the Temple in 1 Kings 8:41-43, “41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.” Did you hear that? They shall hear of your great name! How shall they hear? Through the priestly mediation of the nation of Israel.

Priestly Psalms

We see this priestly action in the Psalms as well. There, in Israel’s hymnal, they are calling the nations to worship the one true God. Psalm 117 says this, “1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” or Psalm 96:3-4, “3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.” In Psalm 67 we see that Israel prayed for this very thing, “1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

Israel proclaimed a message through their obedience to God’s law and through their worship system. This worship was public - for all to see, and this worship was corporate - made powerful by many lives coming together.

Passover

Think lastly, of the example of passover. The other nations would have observed every year that, for weeks, there was a massive migration of people from all over the nation to one place - to Jerusalem. They would have seen thousands upon thousands of sheep herded into the city and up to the temple. The ancient Jewish Historian Josephus calculated that in a passover during the reign of Nero, there were 256,500 sheep sacrificed and 2,700,200 persons gathered in the city to celebrate the feast. This gathering would have sent a massive message to the watching world. And that message was this: our God is a savior, He is a deliverer, He is our Redeemer. He saved us from His wrath by passing over our sins. He delivered us from Egypt to be His people.

How mighty is our God? How powerful is He? He is this powerful, 2.7 million people powerful. 2.7 million people gathered to saying we wouldn’t be here if our God didn’t save us, if our God wasn’t the all powerful creator. His salvific power is this immense. He operates at this scale.

So then, in the Old Testament we see that God’s people gather together as a kingdom of priests to worship Him as their covenant God and to publically proclaim God’s preeminence to the nations. The vertical reason for gathering is worship. The horizontal reason for gathering is proclamation.

New Covenant Priests

And guess what? The New Covenant people of God have the same purpose when we gather. Instead of the Temple being a place in Jerusalem, we are the temple. We too are called a kingdom of priests, 1 Peter 2:9, “9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Listen carefully, you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, why? for what purpose? That you may proclaim the excellencies of him.

To the World

When we gather, we gather to worship God and we gather to publically proclaim His preeminence to the watching world around us. Peter later writes that we are to keep our conduct among the gentiles honorable, so that they would glorify God on the day of visitation. Paul writes to the Philippians, instructing them, Philippians 2:15, “15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” and Paul borrowed that phrase from Christ who said, Matthew 5:16, “16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

We gather together to shine a light, to publically proclaim the power and preeminence of God to the watching world.

As I was preparing for this sermon one I was reminded of s story one of my bible professors frequently shared that powerfully captures this message.

He was teaching abroad in Israel for some time and during this period there was a refuge crises with the North African country of Sudan. One Sunday, while at the church he attended, there were several sudanese refuges who came to worship together with them. He said that if you looked around at the church you would see these Sudanese Christians and Jewish christians and Arab christians. And then there were German christians and Russian christians, and American christians who were all there studying in Israel.

And there were also some non-believing visitors - the UN sent UN monitors who were standing in the back with my professor. And the UN people were marveling to my professor at the fact that jews and arabs and Germans and Russians could all be in a room together, let alone hugging each other, singing together, sitting amongst each other. And they said to my professor, “How can this be? This is the peace in the middle east we have been working decades for.”

This is the light to the world that we hold out when we gather together. God is so powerful that He can bring peace amongst people who have been killing each other for thousands of years. This is what we proclaim: God is this powerful. He is this excellent. He is the Preeminent

To Each Other

And not only do we proclaim this message to the world, we are to proclaim it to each other when we gather, Colossians 3:16, “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” And in the hallmark passage teaching the importance of gathering together, Hebrews 10:24-25, we are instructed to “consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

To the Angels

Lastly, the proclamation we make when we gather isn’t just visible on earth. It goes all the way to heaven. Paul prays in Ephesians 3:10, “10 that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” And Peter writes that the angels long to look on as God performs His wondrous work of salvation in us. They marvel at God’s grace to us. Think of that, the whole world is watching us gather, the natural and supernatural.

Biblical Theology of Gathering

So then, God’s people of old, and God’s people now, gather together as a royal priesthood to publically proclaim the power and preeminence of God to the world, to each other and to the heavenly places.

Communion Proclamation

1 Corinthians 11:26 NASB95

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

So when we come back to the Lord’s Supper, in 1 Corinthians 11 we see that the purpose of proclamation is sanctified, it’s set apart, it’s elevated. Like Passover before it, at the Lord’s Supper we are proclaiming a very specific message.

Look back at 1 Corinthians 11:26, “we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Let’s think of how exactly we do this.

The Bread

When we partake of the bread together we are partaking of Christ’s body. We are celebrating His incarnation. Jesus left His Father’s throne, the glories of heaven, the worship of the angels, and Philippians 2:7-8 “7 emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.” God dwelt among us so that He could sympathize for us in our weaknesses, so that He could be the perfect mediator between God and man. Hebrews 2:17, “17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.” This is what we proclaim when we partake of the bread. Christ died as a man, as the man, our perfect substitute, and our faithful High Priest.

The Cup

When we partake of the cup we are partaking of Christ’s blood. We are celebrating His atoning work. Just as at Passover, the wrath of God was not exercised against those who were covered by the blood, so we too are saved from the wrath of God by being covered by Christ’s blood. Christ’s blood justifies us before the Holy Judge Romans 5:9, “9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God”

Moreover, just as Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt, we were ransomed from our slavery to sin by the blood of Christ 1 Peter 1:18-19, “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” His blood... on the cross ....paid the price... for us!

Moreover, this cup is said to be the new covenant in His blood. Christ’s sacrifice purchased and ratified a New Covenant between us and God. In this new covenant we are delivered from sin to salvation, from death to life. We are granted true forgiveness from God for our sins. Furthermore we are given the blessing of the Holy Spirit who dwells with in us and aids us in loving and following after God.

So then when we partake of the cup we proclaim that Christ’s death was sufficient; hat His blood paid the penalty for our sins, that His blood paid the price for our ransom, that His blood procured peace between us and God, that His blood provided us with the blessings of the New Covenant.

The Resurrection and Return

Furthermore, when we partake of communion not only are we proclaiming Christ’s death but we are also proclaiming His resurrection. Look back again verse 26, “26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” We proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Christ could only come again if the tomb did not hold Him. His Second Coming is built on the reality of His resurrection. He could not come again, if He did not ascend, and He could not ascend if He was still buried and dead. His resurrection and His ascension are implied in that phrase “when He comes.”

And that is the gospel that we proclaim as we partake of the Lord’s Supper Together. We proclaim in this meal that Christ, the Son of God was born of a virgin, He suffered under pilate, He died crucified on a cross, He was buried in the tomb behind the stone, on the third day He rose from the dead, then He ascended to heaven to the right hand of His Father and it is from there we will return to judge the living and the dead. Amen!

When we proclaim the Lord’s death, we are proclaiming the highest moment of God’s power and preeminence. Celebrating the Lord’s Table then, is the most visible gospel message that the church proclaims.

The Unbeliever’s Questions: Why Celebrate Death?

Now, if you are here and you are an unbeliever, I want to ask you a question, have you ever heard of any other religion that proclaims the death of its God in a regular celebration? For those who grew up in church but don’t yet know if you believe the gospel to be true, stop and think how weird this appears to be.

And here is why we celebrate Christ’s death. Let me simplify what I just taught. We have 3 reasons. 1. He died in our place, His death paid the penalty for our sins. 2. We celebrate, because He didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead. If he did not raise from the dead there would be no signing, no preaching, no communion no church. We are here because Jesus is alive. Lastly, we celebrate our Savior’s death for since He didn’t stay dead we have a sure hope that we won’t stay dead either - death has no more sting for us. Death is the last train we take to bring us home to be with Jesus forever. I hope that makes sense for you so that you can understand what we are going to do when we celebrate communion.

Unbeliever Application: Powerful enough?

The other question I want you unbelievers to ask yourself is this: is the gospel powerful enough to save even me? Then I want you to watch the testimony of the Church as we partake of communion together. And what you should see is that the answer to this question in a resounding yes! Christ was effective for me, and you, and you, and you...

When you go to buy a product on amazon and you see that it has 5 stars you get really excited. That is until you go and look at the reviews and you notice that there is just 1 - 5 star review. And your excitement immediately turns to skepticism. So you keep looking for a product that has more good reviews.

The corporate celebration of communion offers a five star rating for the gospel, thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of 5 star ratings declaring that Christ’s death is sufficient, that His Gospel saves! And it doesn’t matter if you are from this country or that country, if you are poor or rich, if you are a man or woman, young or old, if you have very little sin in your life that you can see or if you are buried under the weight and shame of all that you have done leading up to today...this gospel saves! Jesus saves! His body and His blood are sufficient payment for our souls. Amen

Conclusion

So then, Why is this a family meal? Why do we gather together at the Lord’s Table for the Lord’s Supper?

We do so because it unites us together to spiritually participate in a time of fellowship with our Lord and with each other - reflecting the perfect fellowship we will have in heaven.

And We do so because together we make a powerful proclamation of Christ’s Preeminence and God’s Glory in saving us with His death.

Transition

Come now dear church, let us take time t prepare our hearts to celebrate this family meal together and then we will pray for the emblems.

Officiate the Lord’s Supper

I want to ask Pastor X to join me here to pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the bread and the cup.

The Bread

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 NASB95

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.”

Let us partake of the bread together

The Cup

1 Corinthians 11:25 NASB95

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.”

Let us partake of the cup together

The Proclamation

1 Corinthians 11:26 NASB95

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

Dear Church just as we joined together in proclamation with our bodies, let us join together in proclamation with our voices as we sing our final song.

Benediction

Dear church, I pray that you are filled with joy and delight after participating in worshipping our Lord together in Communion. Remember, We Celebrate the Lord’s Table Together for the sake of Proclamation of His Glory and for the sake Unity with Him as One Body.

Now, “5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 15:5-6)