Discerning The Body

Transcript

Well, family, you get to see a lot of me this morning, so whether that’s good or bad, it is what it is. I’m going to try and watch the clock a little closer this week. If you were not able to be with us last week or the week before, or at all during the series, if this is your first Sunday with us, we’re working our way through 1 Corinthians. And right now we’re in chapter 11. In fact, we’re finishing up chapter 11. We’re in the second half. We’re going to be in 1 Corinthians 11, 17 to 34. If you would like, there should be a Bible in the seat in front of you, or at least nearby to you, or maybe lean over to your neighbor and you can share with them. So let’s get started with reading the text this morning. So would you please stand with me as you’re able for the reading of God’s word?

But in the following instructions, I do not commend you because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat for in eating. Each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What? Do you not have houses to eat or drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what

— 1 Corinthians 11

(ESV)

I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when

he was betrayed, took bread. 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. In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

— 1 Corinthians 11

(ESV)

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home so that when you come together, it will not be for judgment. About the other things, I will give

— 1 Corinthians 11

(ESV)

directions when I come. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Would you pray with me and ask for the Lord to help us this morning? Lord, thank you for giving us your word. It is a guide for us, a lamp unto our feet to light for us the path that you would have us walk. Lord, would you strike us where we need to be struck?

Divisions in the Body

Would you lift us up where we need to be lifted? Would you show us this morning how to glorify you with all that we do? Lord, we love you so much. And it’s your name we pray. Amen. Well, family, who here loves receiving correction? Not me. I tell you, I have a hard time hearing somebody tell me, hey, you’ve got something you’ve got to work on. There’s something that you’re not doing very well, and this is what it is. And if you’re anything like me, this may be a struggle. You’re one of those really awesome folks who just loves it when folks correct you. That’s good on for you. I remember when this happened pretty significantly in my life. I was about 19 years old. The church that I had grown up in had brought me on as an intern to work with the youth

group. I was going to be working under our youth pastor, and one of the benefits was I got to live in the church-owned house nearby. And one of the other benefits was they said, hey, you need to get somebody to disciple you, to mentor you in your life. I knew exactly who that was going to be, Chuck. Good member of the church, longtime friend of my family, a little younger than my dad, but I appreciated his humor and his wit, the way that he talked and lived out his life. I could see that he clearly loved the Lord and had a good understanding of the word. So I asked Chuck to meet with me, and he agreed. He said that’d be no problem, so we began meeting on a regular basis. Our discussions and our talks would center around the word or other good books that we

talked about life and ministry and responsibilities that we have as men in life. We also just talked about life in general, similar interests or things we enjoyed about one another. Well, this one time after we were meeting, I decided to have him meet at the house I was living in. Now, this was a church-owned house, and it was fairly decrepit, and I didn’t do a great job of contributing to its care and maintenance. Little 19-year-old, just living on his own for the first time ever. If there were dishes in the sink, not a big deal. Oh, I’m missing a spoon? Nah, I can use a fork instead. That cereal goes really well with a fork instead of a spoon. Laundry? Yeah, that’s a joke. Do I have clean pants? Yeah, they don’t smell too bad. It’ll be fine. Chuck walked in, and I could just see it on his face right away.

And do you ever have that moment where you’re like, oh, it’s coming? You’re just like, your gut just like, oh, yep, yep, I’m going to get it, I’m going to get it. Praise God for that moment. Praise God for how Chuck responded. He could have lashed out and started berating me, but he didn’t. But he also did not mince his words. He spoke clearly and truly and said, yo, this is not acceptable. This is not okay to be living like this. You have a responsibility to care for this place and then to be hospitable for those who are entering into your home. Family, I have never forgot that moment. Now, you can ask my wife. I’m not the best at doing chores around the house, but it has lived with me ever since that day. In our passage today, Paul addresses the Corinthians in a very direct way, and he’s addressing

a very specific problem within the church, and it’s a severe issue. So he cannot give any positive words when he’s speaking about it. He is blown away. He has walked in the door, and there are dishes all over the countertop, in the sink, on the table. There are clothes in the hallway, all over the laundry room that’s working just fine, and the house is a mess. I’ve broken up our text this morning into three sections. They’re very distinct and pretty natural within it. You have the first point, the first section, verses 17 to 22, where Paul addresses the divisions within the body. Our second point is in verses 23 to 26, where Paul proclaims the body. And our final section, 27 to 34, is about discerning the body. So let’s get in and start with our first point today, divisions in the body. Paul starts off in verse 17, saying,

But in the following instructions I do not commend you. Family, this is a clear continuation of the thought and theme from our last passage. Paul began to address the church about when they gather. Their corporate gathering is his main theme, the underlying theme for the next few chapters. So he is carrying that on. But he is unable to commend them, unlike the last section. Last time he could at least commend them, their gathering. But here, he has nothing that he can commend them for. In fact, he says that when they come together, it’s not good. It’s not helpful. It’s not healthy. There’s nothing good about what they’re doing. It’s actually making things worse. Let’s read on and try to figure out why this is so important to Paul. We see this in verse 18. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions

among you. Family, Paul holds the unity of the church in such high regard that when the church is causing something to come in the way of them being unified and displaying Christ’s glory through their love of one another, that is catastrophic for him. This isn’t just a roof leak. This is the foundation crumbling. In fact, this is not the first time that Paul has mentioned divisions to them. He started out this very book beginning to address their divisions in who they prefer as speakers, which one they liked better, who gave a better argument about the gospel. He even mentioned that they were having issues with taking each other to court. So divisions was not just a lightweight issue in the church in Corinth. It was a core issue. The church was divided, and this division prevented them from able to give a clear testimony to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Instead of being distinct and different from the world around them in Corinth, they just looked exactly like it. Their church had nothing different to offer. It is interesting to note that Paul says that he, in the last part of 18, that he believes it in part. So he’s received some sort of report, and whether or not the report was exaggerated or true to fact, he at least believes some portion of it, some portion of it enough to take this seriously and to not let it go. And in this, Paul is trying to grab their attention. He’s not being mean. He’s not just trying to batter them down and give them no hope to stand back up. He’s trying to use a tactic that gets their attention and causes them to be struck to their core over this issue. So how does this issue get played out?

Well, he says that there, in verse 19, that there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine may be recognized. Now this is a really difficult thing to navigate in this setting, and there’s two ways to kind of understand what Paul is saying here. Either he’s saying that there are non-believers who say they’re believers in the church, but that is false, that they are not, that they are believers is not actually true. Or he’s saying that there are believers among you who are not acting like Christ. In either case, Paul is saying that these divisions are proof, they are proof that what is going on is wrong and that they need to stop. Their actions are not Christ-like, and they need to have their eyes opened so that they can see what they are doing to their brothers and sisters and then change from that.

Now we know that a believer is not saved by their works. They cannot earn salvation, but their works are a testimony to what Christ has wrought in their heart. Ephesians 2 tells us that we are saved by grace through faith and that this is a gift of God so that no man can boast. Our faith, however, is proved and tested by what we do. James 2 says that faith without works is dead. What Paul is doing here is trying to let them know that you are not living like you say you should be living. And this divisions among you is destroying your reputation. What were the divisions centered on though? We see this in verse 20 through 21, that when you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry and another gets drunk.

Paul is addressing how they take communion. And in fact, he says that their attempt at taking communion is not actually the Lord’s supper at all. What they are doing is really a mockery of the Lord’s supper. Because when they gather together, there are some who have plenty to eat and some who are going hungry. Now let’s make some distinctions. It’s not like your typical American sort of gathering where everybody contributes and everybody pitches in to eat together. This isn’t an American potluck. A custom of that time would be that they would gather in a wealthy individual’s home. And those who were able to afford such would bring rather elaborate meals for themselves. And then those who were poor would try to come and gain whatever was left or whatever people were generous enough to give to them. In Corinth, these events were common. A gathering like this in somebody’s home would not be uncommon.

And it is often centered around pagan idol worship. And it was an ability, a time for the wealthy to flex. To flex on those who were poor and say, look it, I’ve got more and you’ve got less. It was a way for them to climb the social ladder and to put others down. At these gatherings in pagan homes, the wealthy were given seats of honor, while the poor had to stand outside in the courtyard of the atrium. Paul is saying that the church in Corinth looks nothing unlike the rest of the pagan idol worshipers around them in Corinth. Paul has been talking about this for a couple of chapters now, that there needs to be distinction. You cannot participate in idol worship and claim that you believe the Lord Jesus Christ. It just doesn’t work. It doesn’t add up. And so Paul poses a question to them.

What? Don’t you know what you’re doing? Don’t you see? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in at home? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? So when they gathered together, instead of looking to Christ and his example for them, they were simply imitating the world around them and doing what came natural, trying to vie and jockey for position by putting others down, by elevating themselves at the expense of others. For this reason, Paul cannot commend how they are gathering. He asks them in the end of 22, what shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No. I shall not. Family, don’t get discouraged. It’s easy in this text to read through this and feel it in your heart. Take some of that, but also see how Paul is lovingly trying to correct them.

Proclaiming the Body

He asks them, do you want me to give you props and lift you up for this and say that you’re doing well? No, I can’t. That would be to lie to you and not tell you the truth that you need to hear. And instead of continuing to just berate them for no reason, Paul points to Christ. Paul points to the meal that they are supposed to be taking as the reason for why they should be different, different from the world around them. And this will get us to our second point today in verses 23 to 26 in the proclamation of the body. Now Paul’s aim here is not to give them a proper deep understanding of how to do communion. He wants to give them an understanding of what the point is when we gather together and take communion. It’s to look at the one who authored communion.

Let’s read this passage, these three verses in full, and then we’ll go back and break them down. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. 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. In the same way, also he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Let’s key in on a couple of phrases here. Look at how when Paul quotes Christ, he says, do this in remembrance of me. In 24 and 25, both of these are to be done in memory of Christ.

If we look back at how Jesus and his disciples interacted, there was one point where his disciples bickered over who would be the most important. Who would sit at his right hand and his left when he came in glory? And Jesus’ reply was that the first shall be last. Sure he was talking to the disciples, but what he meant was about himself. He was telling them that he is the example that they are to look for in how they consider themselves in light of others. Jesus, who was God, who was high, who was the first of the first, chose instead to be humble and became a human, to live like us, feel like us, and went so far as to suffer the same humiliation, suffer the shame and humiliation of the cross. And not only that, but to take on himself the full punishment of God the Father on our behalf.

He was the first of the first, and he became further back than the last in order that he might save for himself a people from all tribes, languages, all nations. When God created the world, he created it perfect and whole and complete. But we messed it up. We chose our own way. We chose to elevate ourselves over God. We chose sin and rebellion. But God promised to save us. God promised to his people that he would not leave them alone in their sin and condemnation forever. What we see when Paul gives the Corinthians this section here is a light to reflect on, that their salvation has come. What Paul is saying is that when you partake of this meal, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death. For you to take in the bread and the wine, it’s making a stand, saying, this is where I align my belief.

I stand with Jesus and what he did for me. And this is why Paul was so opposed to them looking like the rest of Corinth when they gathered to partake of the meal, because Christ did not come to lift himself up, but to lift others up. And he is the example for the Corinthians so that when they gather, they don’t come to humiliate those who have less, but to look out for them, to meet their needs, to supply them with food if they were unable to bring any. For the Corinthians, to take communion, it’s an identity statement saying, I don’t identify with the world around me in Corinth, I identify with Christ. To take this bread and this wine is to agree with the whole body of believers there that they identify with Christ in his life, that they will live as he lived, that they will

identify with Christ in his death, that they will die to sin and put the old man to the grave. For them, it is to identify with Christ in his resurrection, and that as he rised, so will they rise in newness of life. If you have a second, flip over to Romans chapter six. I want to read a large chunk here that really gives us an explanation of this. Romans chapter six, verse five, all the way through 11. It says, for if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Paul is reminding the Corinthians of their position in Christ. They can no longer live in their sin and take that stance. By doing what they’re doing, they’re taking their sin and putting it above Christ. They are putting themselves before other people. They are proclaiming their own victory rather than a desperate need for the savior to forgive them, to change them and conform them more and more into his image. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he wrote in Ephesians 2.14 that the wall of hostility has been broken down and we are one.

We are united in Christ. Paul is very clear throughout Corinthians and a lot of his letters that as believers we are united. We are one. There is no one who is more elevated or less than the brothers and sisters who are sitting with them. All are unified, are one in Christ. What we do to one affects the whole. If there is a limb that is suffering, we all suffer. He is saying that their abuse of those who had less in that setting was an abuse of the whole church. They forgot what they were there for. They forgot what this meal was about. And family, just on a side note, this is the most quoted scripture that we use on Sunday mornings and it is so easy for us to forget the importance of these words. It is so easy for these to be things that are just common, that are normal, that don’t

Discerning the Body

require something of us. It lacks interaction at times. So here Paul encouraged them that this meal means something. There is something happening here, something tangible. It is more than just taking a piece of bread and a little bit of wine, but you are making a statement. You are saying this is what I identify with. This is what I center my life around. This is who I will live like. What Paul is saying to the Corinthians is that they are doing the exact opposite when they take communion. Instead of elevating those who are around them, they elevate themselves. This is an opportunity that he gives them to change. He lays that out for us in our third point, which is discerning the body, verses 27-34. He starts with giving a warning. Whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner

will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. This is a fitting warning, given that it is about the Lord’s Supper that the Corinthians are being brought up. This is their struggle, that they don’t know what they are doing. So they need this reminder that they are in danger. They are abusing and they are contradicting what the meal was intended to represent. And Christ gave himself up for them. To take of it, he says, in an unworthy manner that is without thought, without thinking, without comprehension, without understanding of what you are doing. The idea here is that Paul is saying when you do that, you are actively participating in the crucifixion of Christ. But you are guilty of that. Family, we know we are all guilty of that. All of our sin caused Christ to go to the cross on our behalf.

But when we forget, when we neglect our sin and it becomes more important than the one who went to the cross, it steps us backwards. So how do we approach this? How do we address this? Paul gives them that in verse 28. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. To think of yourself in light of the meal and what it implies. To look on Christ and recognize that for those who have confessed Christ as Lord and Savior should live like Christ. Paul told them just earlier, the very beginning of chapter 11, imitate me as I imitate Christ. Look to him. Your meals should not reflect that of the culture, but it should reflect something new. There should be something that is vibrant about your meals. So think about what you’re doing and recognize where you’re falling short.

Here he told them in chapter 10 also to not think too highly of themselves, to be wary of how they could fall into temptation. This is a way that they were living thoughtlessly and needed some direct and loving correction. Paul says further in verse 29 that for anyone who eats and drinks without the discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. One of the things Paul is making clear is that if you’re going to be able to discern the body, you have to be able to see Christ. That is to have your eyes opened by him. So this is directed at believers. Listen, if you’ve made a profession of faith, he’s telling the Corinthians, you should be able to discern that this is about Christ. You should be able to see that this is about what he has done, that this bread is his body,

that this wine is his blood shed for you. But more than that, it’s also to discern that the body of Christ means all of the brothers and sisters who gather with you are the ones you are to look to and to care for. You discern Christ first and then you discern how you are part of his body. If you don’t do that, be warned that is something severe, that it will draw the attention and the judgment of the Lord. To discern correctly would be to submit ourselves under him rather than to submit ourselves as over him. There is a lot of wisdom that Paul is offering to the Corinthians. In some basic way, he’s saying that it’s better to refrain from taking this today. Don’t partake if you are not discerning. It is better for you to hold off and to recognize where you need to reconcile some sin and address

issues in your life, to take a second to take heed of how your sin impacts the whole body of Christ. For those who are in Christ, this is wisdom for us. Paul is not saying you have to come perfect, a sinless, free individual to the cross. You can come as a sinner, but if you are elevating your sin above Christ, hold on. You need to deal with some stuff. And family, we need to hear this today because we take communion every single week. There is no shame in not partaking of communion. There is wisdom in discerning and thinking through carefully how we are approaching this meal. And then Paul gets, in verse 30, to the consequences of what has happened for their actions. And he says that this lack of discernment that he just mentioned is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died.

We have to take super great care here, family. What is true is that God does use these things as a way of punishing his family, but we can’t take and attribute every single thing that happens to us or to what we see in the scripture as judgment for sin. God does not act in a vengeful way to get revenge on us for when we sin and don’t do his will. His punishment is for our good. It is to build us up. And so rather than trying to pick apart everything that goes wrong in our lives and say, okay, what sin can I attribute this to, it is better to contemplate how can I glorify God? Is there areas, are there areas where I need to grow? Is there sin that I am giving way to and feeding rather than putting to death? One thing to note here that I find extremely encouraging is at the end of 30, when Paul

says that some have died, in the original, this is more appropriately read as fallen asleep. Schreiner is super helpful because he says that this phrase, fallen asleep, only ever refers to a death of a believer, somebody who is in Christ. This phrase is never used for someone who is not already in Christ. The Lord loves his people and will not allow them to continue to walk in egregious error when they need to be making changes. So Paul tells them in verse 31, but if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. And in 32, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. To judge ourselves is to see ourselves truly in the light of the cross, to look at what Jesus has done and have a proper assessment of ourselves.

We are indeed in Christ forgiven of all sin, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still struggle with sin. We must be in regular practice of putting sin to death. Paul is telling the Corinthians to think of themselves with Christ in mind. Judge yourselves and think about how you are acting so that God doesn’t judge you. Are they identifying themselves in light of what they are doing at communion by identifying with him in his life, death, and resurrection? The Corinthians, they need to recognize where they have erred and repent and change. Christ is the ultimate judge and his rules and his laws are meant to be kept perfectly. And family, it is a grace that Paul talks about this discipline coming from the Lord. God disciplines his children so that we do not continue in sin. Hebrews 12, 7, and then later in 11, Paul says it is for discipline that you have to

endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Paul ends giving them a little bit of encouragement on how to interact with each other. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let them eat at home so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. How do they resolve divisions? Think of each other. Think of the other people around them as more highly than themselves. I appreciate what Andre said earlier from Philippians, to consider others as better than yourselves. That is the solution. That is how they beat what they are doing and put that sin to death.

That they would wait for each other. Paul encourages them, you should come together, you should eat. This is good. This is a proper practice for the church. But wait for each other. Think of each other as more highly than yourself. And if you’re hungry, eat at home. He doesn’t condemn folks who are coming wealthy for being wealthy. That’s not his purpose. His purpose is that, listen, if you are coming to flaunt your wealth in front of other people, don’t do that. Stop. Come and love your brothers and sisters. Consider them as better than yourselves. You can eat a full massive meal at home and be fine. But when you come together, that’s not what you should be doing. Look out for your brothers and sisters. Nobody should be going hungry when they come together for communion. There’s not a lot of clarity about the last sentence here when Paul says, about the other

Living the Meal

things I will give direction when I come. For all we know, Paul started this out with a massive list of things that he needed to address and stopped. Or this continues on into the next few sections that Paul addresses. He wants them to stop here and not focus on the things to come, but focus on what has just been said. Family, there’s a few points of application I think we can take from this text today. One would be to ask ourselves the question of how am I discerning before partaking of communion? One of the drawbacks is that we do this every single week and they become a habit rather than a gift. It can make it normal instead of extraordinary. The fact that we get to partake in the body and the blood of Jesus and by so doing make a statement that we are with Christ, we are in him.

We don’t belong to anything else in the world. It’s easy to forget the significance of what we do here on Sundays. It’s not just symbolic. It’s not just a time of contemplation, but this is a statement, family. It is a truth about who Jesus is and who we are. Do you taste of the bread and the wine and identify with Christ in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection? As you discern, as you think through that, as you approach the table of communion, are you thinking about the needs of the brothers and sisters around you? This is a communal meal. This is not an individual practice. This is something that we do together. Are we considering how those around us may be suffering or struggling? Family, I want to tell you, I’ve been extremely encouraged by you as a church. I see meal trains going up for families and they’re filled.

Folks are getting fed and taken care of. When they have injury or newborns in their house, you are there to meet those needs. I would encourage you to keep on doing that, continue. And then as you come, think through, Lord, are there other ways that I need to step it up? Am I giving appropriately to the Lord of my time, my resources? Family, one of the comments I keep getting from folks is how loving you are to one another. And I just want to encourage you, I see this, that you are doing a fantastic job in caring for each other. So do not hear this as a, hey, you guys are lacking sorely in this subject. But hear me saying, I totally, totally see the Lord working in you and through you for your good and for the benefit of the church. But it is always wise to check and see how am I doing, Lord, to appropriately assess

ourselves in light of what we are doing. We can ask the Lord, Lord, are there areas that I need to grow? Has it been a struggle to give financially? Has that not been a joy for me? Has that been more of a pain? Has it been a struggle to go and help somebody out when they just need some yard work done? Have I been neglecting that? Has it been a chore? Has it been just a difficult task that I can’t get over when somebody texts me and says, hey, we need to chat about some stuff. I’m really going through something. Family, may the Lord keep us all humble and reflecting on the great gift that he gives through his Son and that everything, all that we are and all that we have belongs to him. When I was reading this, I was getting super discouraged and so I wanted to do a little

bit of reading around. And I got into 2 Corinthians to see if Paul had any follow up in his second letter to them about this. And he did. He encouraged them. He saw how they had made dramatic changes and they had a desire to give and care for one another. So he encouraged them in 2 Corinthians to continue to grow and to continue to give as the Lord provided them the ability to do so. So as we come on a weekly basis, are we thinking about what this meal implies about us and about our brothers and sisters around us? And the last application, are we considering how are we proclaiming this drama? How are we declaring to the world around us what this actually means? And not just during communion, but are we taking the idea of this meal, the reality of this meal into our lives?

Or is this something that just stays here on Sundays? Do you have an eagerness to share with lost people in a dying world about how they can have life? They can have life to the full. It is something that you participate in, that you have been given the gift of. Family, the church is meant to be a light, a beacon in this lost and dying world. So that just as moths to a flame, people would flock to the church because of what Christ is doing, by how we radically love one another. What is provided for us in this meal in communion is a spring so effective that it causes us to overflow with worship and praise. So family, as you come to the meal, every single week, be thoughtful. Don’t rush it. This is a joyful meal. We talk about this every single week, that it is a joy to look on Christ and see what

He has done for us. But do not let the regularity and the habit of it make it so common that this is just a normal thing. The fact that this is what is true for us is unimaginable. That we who were dead in our sin and trespasses have been made alive together with Christ because of His work. Because what He did in living a perfect life, sinless, utterly and completely sinless, and yet chose to obediently die on the cross on our behalf. And then triumphantly raised to new life, defeating sin and death once and for all so that all who put their faith in Him may have His life. As we are considering and examining our lives and how we are living in light of what Christ has done, let us do so with joy, tempered with the sorrow that it is to think about

His death. But His death is one that was made out of love. It is love that led Christ to the cross and it is love that held Him there. And it is love that welcomes us to receive His forgiveness. If you were here this morning and you are not a Christian, if you have not given yourself to Christ, I would ask you to consider carefully what He has done for you. To come and partake in this meal would be declaring something that is not true for you. You need the one that this meal represents. It is more important for you to take in Christ than to take in this bread and this wine. Well family, as a way to wrap up today and to help us as we prepare to renew our covenant with the Lord and to partake of the Lord’s Supper, I want to read for us a prayer out

of the Valley of Vision. So would you meditate on these words and may it help prepare us to continue to worship in these acts. God of all good, bless thee for the means of grace. Teach me to see in them how thy loving purpose is and the joy and strength of my soul. Thou hast prepared for me a feast, and though I am unworthy to sit down as a guest, I wholly rest on the merits of Jesus and hide myself beneath His righteousness. When I hear His tender invitation and see His wondrous grace, I cannot hesitate but must come to thee in love. By thy Spirit enliven my faith rightly to discern and spiritually to apprehend the Savior. While I gaze upon the emblems of my Savior’s death, may I ponder why He died and hear Him say, I gave my life to purchase yours, presented myself an offering to expiate your sin, shed

my blood to blot out your guilt, opened my side to make you clean, endured your curses to set you free, bore your condemnation to satisfy divine justice. Oh, may I rightly grasp the breadth and length of this design, draw near, obey, extend the hand, take the bread, receive the cup, eat and drink, testify before all men that I do for myself gladly in faith, reverence and love, receive my Lord to be my life, strength, nourishment, joy, delight. In the supper I remember His eternal love, boundless grace, infinite compassion, agony, cross, redemption, and receive assurance of pardon, adoption, life, and glory. As the outward elements nourish my body, so may thy indwelling Spirit invigorate my soul until that day when I hunger and thirst no more and sit with Jesus at His heavenly feast. Family, would you pray with me?