Blake Jennings Grace Bible Church Suthwd Wrship in Cmmunin 1 Crinthians 11:18-34 Cmmunin is abut s much mre than just bread and wine (r juice as the case may be!) It's a gift frm Gd the Father t help us remember His Sn's sacrifice in the past and celebrate His return in the future. It's a gift He takes incredibly seriusly... life and death seriusly. S discver hw t celebrate cmmunin in a way that pleases rather than angers Gd. Turn t 1 Crinthians 11 I grew up in a Bible church like this ne in church befre I culd walk - remember when I was yung being cnfused by ne thing we did: cmmunin - everything else we did made sense: sing pray pastr wuld teach us the Bible - but then nce a mnth the deacns wuld pass ut stale crackers and little cups f juice at that pint in the mrning: starving! just want lunch, nt a cracker and a thimble especially after pastr reads verse abut this being Jesus bdy and bld! Grss! but yu culdn t say n ate cracker, drank juice, but never enugh t wash cracker dwn always wanted mre f that juice I was always left wndering what that was all abut - what I did understand at an early age: all my High-Church friends gt wine! I m getting cheated! My parents clearly chse the wrng denminatin! Needless t say, as a child I missed the pint f cmmunin! I didn t understand it. And that wuld be kay if it weren t fr ur passage this mrning - Read 11:27 in an unwrthy manner guilty f the bdy and bld f Jesus!! Serius! - But it gets wrse Read v28-30 Ding the Lrd s supper wrng brings Gd s judgment: weakness, sickness, sleep Gd was putting believers t death because they tk cmmunin in an unwrthy way! - First time I studied this passage scared me! realized that Gd takes this ritual I didn t really understand VERY SERIOUSLY! like life and death serius! - That shuld be terrifying! Paul wants t put the fear f Gd int us! Wants us t see hw incredibly imprtant cmmunin is t Gd S this mrning we re learn the meaning and significance f the Lrd s Supper And mst imprtantly, we re ging t learn hw t celebrate it in a WORTHY manner in a way that brings glry t Gd and nt judgment t us! S let s begin with the mst fundamental questin what des cmmunin mean? What Cmmunin Means - We tend t get hung up n practical matters: hw ften; wine r juice - But what matters mst t Gd is that we understand what cmmunin is There s 3 main views within Christianity n what cmmunin means
1. Re-sacrifice view Rman Cathlic view - Nw nt all Cathlics believe this, but it is the fficial view f Rman Cathlicism - Cmmunin = Lrd s Supper = Eucharist celebrated at Mass - In the Mass a miracle ccurs: bread & wine actually transfrmed int bdy & bld called Transubstantiatin - We dn t agree, but that s a relatively minr disagreement - What we strngly disagree with: the way bread & wine becme bdy & bld is thrugh a re-sacrifice f Jesus. Jesus is re-sacrificed at every Mass Ppe Pius IV Jesus re-sacrificed t pay fr the sins yu ve cmmitted since last Mass - We strngly disagree! Jesus died nce t pay fr all sin, past, present, and future Heb 10:12,14 N ther sacrifice will ever be required 2. A gift f Grace this is the Refrmed view held by Luther & Calvin - They disagreed ver what exactly the bread and wine becme in cmmunin Luther & Lutherans: Jesus actually present in, with, under yu are actually partaking f Jesus in a spiritual sense Calvin & Presbyterians disagree: it s just bread and wine - But bth agreed abut the significance f cmmunin Yu are actually receiving a gift f mre grace in yur life = additinal strength frm Gd t make it thrugh anther week very mystical idea a reasn they take it every week - I like this view desn t cnfuse the gspel like previus view - But I can t find any strng biblical supprt fr it Biblically, cmmunin isn t abut receiving anything frm Gd It s abut celebrating what yu have already received - Our chance t give back t Gd t give thanks, praise fr His gift f Jesus 3. Our view Memrial & Celebratin f Jesus - Read v23-26 - Ntice the wrd Jesus repeats: remembrance - Cmmunin is abut REMEMBERING what Jesus did in the past Like Memrial Day We re thankful EVERYDAY fr thse wh died fr ur cuntry But 1 day a year we stp and as a whle natin remember That s hw cmmunin wrks Hpefully we re giving thanks fr Jesus EVERYDAY But n cmmunin day we stp, gather, and give thanks as a family - The bread r cracker represents Jesus bdy Brken int little pieces t remind us that Jesus bdy was brken fr us Isa 53:5 Beaten, whipped, crucified, pierced, abused fr us I ve nly seen Mel Gibsn s Passin f the Christ nce that was enugh! Can t see it again t hrrific; made me nauseus And that s what Gibsn gt right: the brutality & pain Jesus suffered I culd have dne with less Satan and mre resurrectin But at least He gt the suffering f Jesus right His suffering was intlerable Tragic fr any human t suffer like that
But Jesus isn t like the rest f us perfect; never lied, cheated, stle And unlike us at any mment He culd have said, ENOUGH! He s the Almighty Creatr He culd have stpped it when they began t whip Him beat Him nail Him But He didn t allwed the suffering t cntinue t His last breath And He did it fr us... s that by His agny, we can be healed The bread reminds us that His bdy was brken s urs can be healed - The cup represents His bld Thrughut Old Testament: Gd taught His peple abut the stain f sin Nt nly Creatr als Law-Giver defined right and wrng warned that failure t bey will bring death But als created a way t find frgiveness animal sacrifices take sheep slit thrat watch till all the bld ran ut Jews learned that nly bld can wash away stain f sin But there was a prblem: animal bld can t take away human sin Heb 10:4 Lamb nt equivalent t human nt made in image f Gd Nt a sufficient sacrifice Human sin requires human bld equivalent sacrifice S all the bulls, gats, lambs sacrificed in Old Testament: just a preview f Jesus A perfect human f infinite wrth wh chse t shed His wn bld t wash away ur sins nce and fr all Eph 1:7 Redemptin = t set free frm bndage We were slaves t sin under the wrath f Gd Jesus freed us frm sin and wrath with His wn bld Jesus gave His life fr ur life He died s we culd live frever That s the gd news f the Gspel Frgiveness isn t smething yu earn frm Gd It s smething Jesus already earned fr yu He ffers it as a free gift t all wh will believe Cmmunin is ur memrial t Jesus death fr us in the past But it s als abut the future - Cmmunin is abut CELEBRATING what Jesus will d fr us in the future v26 cmmunin is als a prclamatin that Jesus is cming back! As a child I lved t watch Christmas mvies Charlie Brwn, Miracle n 34 th Street, Claymatin Rudlph Sme were gd: Charlie Brwn; sme were awful: Rudlph. S bad! Matt Mrtn and I gt int quite a disagreement ver it this week He lves the mvie - bught the anniversary DVD I just dn t get it I m like all the ther reindeer wh used t laugh and call him names because he s awful! But I still lved watching it nt fr the mvie but fr what it meant was cming Christmas presents! That s what Jesus wants cmmunin t be fr us Cracker and juice aren t that gd nt exciting t eat! But it is exciting t think abut what cmmunin lks frward t
Isaiah 25:6-8 a feast with Jesus & ne anther that never ends! nt crackers & juice best meat and wine n earth! and best f all: a final end t death and sadness Cracker & juice f cmmunin: reminder that smething better is cming! - Cmmunin: a memrial and a celebratin Gd has given us t help us remember what Jesus did fr us in the past what Jesus will d fr us in the future Gd takes this memrial and celebratin f His Sn VERY SERIOUSLY! - That s why he put t death believers in Crinth wh tk it in an unwrthy manner They didn t lse their salvatin, but they did lse their life - S let s find ut what they were ding wrng s we can avid their mistake & judgment Hw t d Cmmunin Wrng - read 11:18-22 - Crinth was a highly stratified sciety Wealthy at the tp; pr and slaves at the bttm Never the tw shuld mix wealthy held pr at arm s length - S when a wealthy persn had a party at his huse in Crinth Invited wealthy guests int dining rm; sit n cushins; eat best fd and wine But their servants had t sit in the curtyard sat n the grund, fed stale bread & cheap wine Incredibly unfair, but the rich didn t care that s just hw life wrked in Crinth rich assumed they were entitled t grge themselves while pr starved - Sadly, that same ruthless selfishness had invaded the church during cmmunin N church building met in hme f wealthy member Had a meal tgether between the bread and the cup Nt a ptluck yu ate what yu brught Hme wner did what all wealthy peple did in Crinth: invited wealthy church members int dining rm where they feasted left pr in curtyard t eat whatever crumbs they culd affrd - The rich divided up their church like Airlines divides up a plane! 1 st and business class sit first best seats, served drinks immediately Then ecnmy class has t walk thrugh them like cattle thrugh a sht! we see thse big seats glasses f champagne! Then fr the whle flight we lking frward twards first class we can see thrugh the gap in the bulkhead better fd, service whle time reminded that they re rich & privileged and we re nt! - Airlines d that because it s business and that s what we shuld expect in the wrld - But nt in here there is n place fr selfishness in the church especially in cmmunin where we celebrate mst selfless act ever!!! - That s why rich believers in Crinth had fallen under Gd s judgment and discipline That s hw t d cmmunin wrng! S hw d yu d it right in a way that makes Gd pleased instead f angry? Hw t d Cmmunin Right - Begin by examining yurself read v28
We must examine urselves befre taking cmmunin Ask yurself questins That s what we ll d nw... - 1) Am I taking this seriusly, r am I just ging thrugh the mtins? read v29 judge the bdy rightly = recgnize that this is the bdy f Jesus we re celebrating recgnize the hliness and significance f the bread and cup T the Crinthian church cmmunin was just anther dinner eat, get drunk That made Gd angry! Because cmmunin is abut His Sn whm He lves mre than anything Take cmmunin lightly, flippantly and Gd gets angry That s why we dn t d cmmunin every week Sme churches d and that s great We dn t because we fear that it wuld becme an empty ritual We may make it mre ften in the future IF we can keep it hly - 2) D I appreciate Jesus sacrifice, r d I take it fr granted? It s s easy t take the gspel fr granted! Jesus died n the crss fr my sins like The sun is bright Knwn it my whle life tend t take it fr granted But I can t celebrate cmmunin rightly if I take what it s abut fr granted S hw d I grw my appreciatin fr Jesus sacrifice? Spend time thinking abut what life wuld be like if Jesus had said n He culd have it was His chice He didn t have t die If He wuld have said n still stained by sin and under the wrath f Gd trying desperately t try t earn Gd s favr smehw I wuld have n basis fr peace, jy, r hpe Get ready fr cmmunin by remembering: we are the luckiest peple n earth! because we knw a Gd wh lves us s much that He willingly died fr ur sins - 3) D I lng fr His return, r d I hpe in wrldly things? Cmmunin: nt just remembering the past; als celebrating the future! S t celebrate cmmunin right, we need t put ur hpe in what Jesus will d But it s s easy t put ur hpes in wrldly things! A new jb, car, huse, vacatin a new relatinship a new stage f life Thse things are mre tangible easier t see s easier t fixate n S we must remind urselves that nne f them will truly satisfy us We live in a brken, sin-cursed wrld S nthing in this wrld can ultimately satisfy ur hpes fr a better life We always think the grass is greener n the thers side NO! Just different The grass isn t greener till Jesus cmes back that s what we lng fr Get ready fr cmmunin by thinking abut hw satisfying life will be Finally, as the men g back t prepare cmmunin, ne last questin - 4) D I treat thers as He s treated me, r am I selfish? I m grateful: there s nthing like the utrageus selfishness f Crinth here But we d still all struggle at times with selfishness If left unchecked it will sabtage ur celebratin f Jesus selfless sacrifice S t prepare fr cmmunin, lk fr pprtunities t selflessly serve thers Yur spuse, kids, rmmates, a neighbr r even a stranger
Culd be as simple as praying fr the peple arund yu during wrship fr thse that dn t knw Jesus t hear and believe the gspel fr thse wh are hurting t find cmfrt and strength Park farther frm the building if it s easy fr yu t walk Students yu re yung, healthy, prbably dn t have yung kids Park farther away t leave spaces fr elderly and with kids Serve in the nursery r Sunday Schl nce a mnth If everyne serves nce a mnth, then everyne gets t be in here 3x! Help ur vlunteers get a chance t wrship by becming a vlunteer Give t thse in need If yu knw smene struggling financially give directly If yu dn t knw smene struggling financially Mattil fund I dn t knw where yu are this mrning But I m guessing that at least ne f these questins cnvicted yu Take this time t get ready fr cmmunin by praying, meditating, remembering