Holy Communion

Introduction

This is Lord’s Supper Sunday, when we as a church take time to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as a church family.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 1 Corinthians 11:27-32

1 Corinthians 11:27–32 ESV

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

1 Corinthians 10:14–17 ESV

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 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.

Questions Resolved: In this passage, Paul attempts to explain why we should avoid idolatry and how we should celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Transition: For you see, in these two passages, there are both a blessing and a curse. First, Lord’s Supper contains a special anointing or blessing for believers because it is our participation in the body and blood of Christ. The Lord’s Supper, however, can bring a curse of God’s judgment if we participate in the Lord’s Supper in a manner that is not pleasing to Him. For this reason, we must remember that....

Main Point: The Lord’s Supper memorializes and celebrates our salvation through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Objective: The goals of this message is to encourage you to examine your life, repent of your sin, and then celebrate the Lord’s Supper in a manner that is pleasing to God and a special blessing to you.

Personal Questions: Are you prepared to celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Have you examined your heart? Have you asked God to forgive and cleanse you from any sins you have committed this week.

First Truth: The Lord’s Supper is Worship

Paul begins with a command, “Beloved, flee from idolatry!” The city of Corinth had many pagan temples and they celebrated many pagan feasts in honor of the Greco-Roman gods. Paul is warning the Corinthian Christians that joining in the pagan feasts and then participating in the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, is incompatible.

The Corinthians prided themselves on their wisdom, so Paul goes on to tell the Corinthian Christians, “You are intelligent, you know this makes sense.”

The Lord’s Supper is one of only two biblical ordinances or rituals, so it is extremely important. Similarly, both the Jews and the pagans believed that worship at these feasts were more than just eating a little food. Those who participate in religious feasts become partners in that religious worship, and you can’t call yourself a Christian and also participate in pagan worship. That’s just common sense. This brings us to our second point.

Illustration: You may be thinking to yourself, “I don’t have a problem with idolatry. I don’t worship pagan gods.” My questions to you is, “Are you sure?” But let’s see if that’s really true.

Dionysus (Bacchus) was the god of wine (alcohol) and partying. Do live to party? Do drugs and alcohol control your life? Then you may be worshipping Bacchus.

Eros (Cupid) was the god of love. Do you live to find true love? Does the desire for meaningful relationships control your life? Then you may be worshipping Eros.

Aphrodite (Venus) was the goddess of sex. Do you live to have sex and lustful encounters. Then you may be worshipping Venus.

Hephaestus (Vulcan) was the god of the forge, the god of work. Do you live to work and make money? Then you are worshipping Vulcan.

Athena (Minerva) was the goddess of knowledge, the goddess of wisdom. Do you live to learn and become more educated. Then you are worshipping Athena.

Hypnos (Somnus) was the god of rest, the god of sleep. Do you live to relax and sleep. Then you are worshipping Hypnos.

Apollo (Apollo) was the god of music and medicine. Do you trust in entertainment and medicine. Then you are worshipping Apollo.

Hera (Juno) was the goddess of marriage and family. Does your life revolve around your family? Is your greatest motivation having a family? Then you are worshipping Hera.

Artemis (Diane) was the goddess of the hunt and sports. Are your hobbies or sports the most important thing in your life? Then you are worshipping the goddess Diane.

Application: Paul is telling the Corinthians they must get rid of their idols, and Scripture is telling us that we must get rid of the idols in our lives.

Second Truth: We must judge ourselves.

Explanation: Scripture is clear; none of us are acceptable in God’s sight apart from the forgiveness and cleansing power of Christ and his precious blood. But even after we are saved, we must still practice confession and cleansing on a daily basis to remain in fellowship with the Lord. So, Paul explains that we must examine ourselves and remove sin from our hearts before we can celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Illustration: When you have an important appointment, or if you are single and you have an important date, what is one of the last things you do before you meet that person? You check yourself out in the mirror. You judge your appearance to make sure you look fine, so that the person you are meeting does not judge you wrong according to your appearance.

Application: Similarly, when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are inviting Christ to meet us here and be present among us in a special way. Consequently, we need to check ourselves and judge our selves so that he will not judge us.

Third Truth: The cup is participation in Christ’s blood.

Explanation: This cup, which Paul calls “the cup of blessing,” was actually the third cup in the Passover meal (the Last Supper) and represented our redemption and Christ’s sacrifice.

Illustration: Most Gentiles - non-Jews - do not realize that there are four cups in the Passover meals, which was the Lord’s last supper. So when Jesus picked up the cup “after the meal,” and said, “This is the blood of the new covenant poured out for you,” he was lifting up the third cup of the Passover means referred to as “The cup of Redemption.”

Passover is closely associated with the fervent hope to see the coming Messiah. After the third cup, a child is sent to the front door to hopefully welcome the prophet Elijah. They would pray that Elijah would step through the door, drink his cup, and announce the coming of the Messiah.

So the third cup, the cup of redemption, symbolized the coming of the Lord and the redemption of Israel. What’s interesting is that Jesus did not offer or drink the fourth cup with the disciples, but instead said, “I will not drink this cup of the Lord with you until we drink it anew in the Kingdom.”

Application: When we join together and drink from this cup, we are remembering and re-enacting what Christ did for us on the cross. This is a sacred and momentous act.

Fourth Truth: The bread is participation in Christ’s body.

Explanation: It is a mistake to assert that the Lord’s Supper is merely symbolic. Verse 17 indicates that there are vertical and horizontal dimensions involves is this sacred act. Something mystical occurs when we come together celebrate Holy Communion. Christ becomes present here is a special, spiritual way, and He bestows special blessings (or judgments) upon all who participate.

Furthermore, the horizontal dimension is the social dimension. When we practice Holy Communion, the Holy Spirit binds us together in a special way and God unleashes his spiritual power in the Church. During worship this place becomes heaven on earth.

Key Verse: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). This leads us to our final truth....

Fifth Truth: The Lord’s Supper is only for believers.

The Lord’s Supper is only for believers. You are invited to join us in celebrating the Lord’s Supper if you are a professing believer in Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have been obedient through baptism, and you are not under church discipline in any church. We are not going to withhold the Lord’s Supper from you, but Paul does give us a warning. Anyone who participates in the Lord’s Supper in the wrong matter or with an impure heart may invoke God’s judgment into his or her life.

Challenge: Have your prepared your heart to celebrate the Lord’s Supper?