The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:27-29 “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

This is not an occasion to take lightly. Self-examination is to be done before you partake of the Lord’s Supper. The issues at hand are salvation and sanctification. The whole purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for humankind’s sin and to declare His expected return. Paul chastised the church for coming together not in one accord, but in quarrelling. They had failed to remember the Lord’s body and sacrifice. It’s possible that people observed the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin. You may have, yourself observed the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin, whether it be accidental or intentional.

During the Feast of Unleavned Bread, the Jews are searching their homes for any leavening agents. The command says for this feast eat unleavened bread for seven days, and to remove all leaven from your home, before the feast begins. In our homes, we are to get rid of anything leavened as well as any leavening agents. For the rest of the seven day period, all meals and snacks don’t contain any leavening agents or leavened products.

Just to give you an idea of how intensely we are to examine our hearts before taking the Lord’s Supper, listen to how the Jews searched their homes for leaven, or leavening agents such as yeast.

Chametz (leavened or that which could be leavened) is removed from the house, drawers, closets, pantries, or shelves which remain locked for the duration of the seven days.

The house is throughally cleansed of any trace of chametz.

The house is dusted.

Drawers are cleaned out, and are scoured to ensure there are no particles of chametz left behind.

Special pots, pans, and dishes are brought out which have never touched anything with leaven on them.

All food is prepared under the strict laws of Passover according to the Torah and Talmud.

In the process of leavening, bread is “puffed up” by the yeast or other leavening agents. Without the yeast, the bread would remain flat. This is a metaphor for us removing anything unholy from our lives, to keep us from becoming “puffed up.” In seeking to rid our households of all that is leavened, we also look inwardly and examine ourselves for any spoilage, any leavening, any feelings of being “puffed up” since our last communion. Then, as we rid our homes of chametz, we rid ourselves of it too. This is our chance to have a fresh start. This is our opportunity to examine ourselves for anything spoiled in our behaviour, our attitude, our relationships with others, our relationship with God, and the world among us. Taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthily manner, or with unconfessed sin, is like profaning the sacrifice of Christ. Before taking the bread and the cup, we should search our hearts, pray for God to reveal any lingering sins, and receive His forgiveness.

I want you all to take a few moments right where you are sitting and pray and ask God to reveal to you any unconfessed sin in your life. He will reveal it through the Holy Spirit. The altars are open, ready to receive you.