1 Corinthians 11:17-34

 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

You may have heard the saying, “If you can't take care of nice things, then you can't have them.” It seems that the Corinthians were ruining everything. Paul addresses their gross failure at the Lord's Supper in this passage. In the early church the Lord's Supper was associated with a common meal. It bound the church together and had the practical effect of feeding their poor. But at Corinth it became an occasion for division, this time between rich and poor. In some cases the wealthy ate to excess while snubbing the poor who had little or nothing to eat. Apparently some took their meal first and then left the assembly. We can see every abuse of the Lord's Supper at Corinth. 

Paul points out that as a result of their behavior, judgment had fallen on them; some were weak, some were sick, and some had died. We can't be sure if these are descriptions of physical or spiritual conditions or both. For our part, we can know that the Christians and the congregation that observe the Lord's Supper faithfully and sincerely will be stronger and more fit to live their lives as disciples.

There are 7 ‘tive’ words that describe the power and the impact of the Lord's Supper.

It is retrospective in that in the Lord's Supper we look back at His passion with all of its horror and beauty.

It gives us a perspective; in it, we look forward to the Lord’s coming, bringing His reward with him.

It is introspective; we examine our own hearts and lives. Jesus commanded us to love God and our neighbor. We weekly fail to do this perfectly and are therefore in need of God's great mercy.

It is commemorative; Mount Rushmore will crumble to dust before the memorial of the Lord's Supper ends. Instead of reminding us only of our failures, we are also reminded of his forgiveness. Think of it: every week for over 103,000 weeks, the victory over sin, death, and evil has been commemorated in the Lord's Supper.

It is instructive; there is here a sermon of grand simplicity and elegance. By the bread and wine we proclaim the Lord's death. One of the fads that swept through the church in the late twentieth century was the ‘drama ministry.’. That was no new thing. Rather, every Lord's Supper is a dramatic presentation,in  which we live and in which we participate.

It is corrective; if we examine ourselves faithfully, there will be a correcting effect of the Lord's Supper. If we take it seriously, it will either remove sin from us or will cause us to remove ourselves from the Lord’s Table if we are unwilling to repent.

It is separative: every activity of the church life can be faked. Taking the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner or with the correct judgment cannot be counterfeited. It will result in renewal or result in damnation. The Lord's Supper is a great dividing line.

The problem is not that we take the Lord's Supper too often; it is that we take the Lord's Supper too lightly. Some churches offer it infrequently, hoping to keep it special. It takes effort to prepare for the Lord's Supper, and that's not just putting out some crackers and juice. In some churches the whole of the Lord's Supper takes five minutes or less, almost as if it is an afterthought. In some churches it is done without any thought or preparation. Sometimes we stuff the Lord’s Supper into our busy worship schedule like it was an awkward cousin at a family reunion we can’t keep out but don’t know what to do with. Our focus has become the sermon, the song, the video, or the latest fad. It is a small wonder we participate in the Lord's Supper so poorly.

The early church focused the worship gathering on the Lord's Supper. So much so that eventually the communion table, or altar, became the very center of the church building. The Reformation added a much-needed emphasis on the word of God, study and preaching. Eventually the pulpit became the center of the church building. The seeker-driven and church growth movement wanted to connect with those outside the church so that music, light, and presentation became its hallmark, and at the center of the church there is a stage; at the center of the stage was the guitar stand. Each development was taken in reaction to their existing church. Instead, what we need to do is make Jesus the center, the person that we celebrate in the Lord's Supper. We lose much of the power of our lives as disciples when we fail to do this.

“Lord, help me to approach the worship of communion with a heart completely given to you.  AMEN”