The Gathering: Remembering Christ Together

In the following directive, I have no praise for you.

For your meeting, do more harm than good.

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions

among you.

And to some extent, I believe it.

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper you eat.

For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.

One remains hungry, other gets drunk.

Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you for this?

Certainly not.

For I receive from the Lord what I also pass on to you.

The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper, he took the cup, saying,

This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in the unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks of the cup.

For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizes the body of the Lord, eats and drinks judgment on himself.

This is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

But if we judge ourselves, we will not come under judgment.

When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.

If anyone is hungry, he shall eat at home, so that when you meet together, it may not result in judgment.

And when I come, I will further directions.

Well, please keep your Bibles open at 1 Corinthians 11.

And we're going to be looking at verses 17 to 34.

And let's pray together.

Our Father God, as we celebrate, as we remember together the death of the Lord Jesus Christ,

we ask that you would use these words that we look at together to prepare our hearts.

So that we may benefit richly from the grace and mercy, forgiveness and hope that flows from this simple meal of remembering Christ's death.

So please help us all as we gather and remember.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, when I was growing up in our family home, we had a rule when it came to mealtimes.

You might have the same rule even today.

The rule was this.

We were not allowed to start eating until everyone was served.

In fact, we weren't even allowed to leave the table until everybody had finished.

Sometimes, I think, in our house, people deliberately took their time so that everybody had to wait.

And to a hungry teenager like me who saw mealtime as simply nothing more than a quick refueling stop, it was ridiculous.

It was a stupid rule.

However, over time, I began to see the reasoning of my parents.

For mealtime is much more than just eating food.

It's family time.

It's about sharing, talking, growing in the family relationship.

Now, it seems that the church in Corinth were treating the Lord's Supper as just another meal.

At best, it was a quick, personal reflection before God, which had nothing to do with their relationships to each other.

So, in verse 17, Paul responds to something he's heard about in the church.

In the following directives, I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

Their table manners at the Lord's Supper were dreadful.

In fact, their behaviour was so bad.

Look at verse 20.

When you come together, it's not the Lord's Supper that you eat.

Yes, they were eating the bread and drinking the wine.

But really, it had nothing to do with the death of the Lord Jesus.

You see, when God saves us, he saves us into his church.

God not only forgives us, he welcomes us into his family.

And as God's family, we are to gather together as one people.

So, look at verse 18.

He says,

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as church.

Or verse 33.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat.

You see, the church is not a collection of isolated individuals.

We are the forgiven family of God who gather together.

That's why we're all here right now.

That's why we've made it our priority to be here.

And one of the central things we do together as family is to share in this simple meal that is set out before us today.

The Lord's Supper.

It's not a personal refueling exercise where we come individually to get a little bit more grace and a bit of forgiveness until the next time.

No, this is a deeply intimate and communal meal where we gather together as family.

So, what should happen when we gather to celebrate the Lord's Supper together?

Well, three big things we're going to look at.

First, as we gather round the Lord's Supper, we need to root out any division in Christ's body.

Root out any division in Christ's body.

Look at verse 18.

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as church, there are divisions among you.

And to some extent, I believe it.

Instead of being united as one, the church is breaking and falling apart.

No doubt there has to be difference among you to show which of you have God's approval.

Sadly, he's saying, there's always going to be some kind of division.

Because, well, God's family is made up of sinners like you and me.

Messy people.

And we do, from time to time, fall out.

But that is not an excuse.

The desire should always be to root out any division in Christ's body, the church.

And sadly, the division was most evident when they gathered to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Verse 20.

So when you come together, it's not the Lord's Supper you eat.

For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.

One remains hungry.

And another one gets drunk.

Now, to understand this, we've got to have two things in mind.

But when the church gathered in the first century to celebrate the Lord's Supper,

it was usually part of a much bigger meal,

where they would have a lot more food,

and they would share that with one another.

The other thing we also need to remember is that Sunday was just like any other working day.

For us, it tends to be a holiday.

We don't necessarily go to work.

So for those who were in the church and had very little,

those who weren't wealthy,

well, you see, they had to go off to work on a Sunday.

For others who had a bit more wealth,

well, they could afford not to go to work.

They could take the day off.

Or perhaps they could even finish up a little bit early.

So we can begin to see what was happening as the church gathered.

The wealthy who didn't have to go to work,

well, they all gathered together for their meal.

Some nice roast lamb,

some nice crusty bread,

and a few bottles of fine wine.

There they sat,

feasting away and enjoying themselves.

Then we could imagine throughout the evening,

after a hard day's work,

the less well-off,

well, they would then arrive.

And by this time,

all the food was gone

and half the congregation were drunk.

At some stage in the meal,

a leader somewhere along the line

had given thanks to God for the bread and for the wine

and then promptly finished off the bottle.

It was a mess.

Verse 22.

Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God

and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you for this?

Certainly not.

Now, we might be sitting comfortably this morning

and think,

that is an absolute disgrace.

I would never do anything like that.

Well, let's just think about it for a minute.

Generally speaking,

we are able to gather at the same time.

Most of us do have a Sunday off

where we don't have to go to our normal work

so we can gather together.

We all sit,

as we are right now,

in a very dignified way,

ready to come and share in the Lord's Supper together.

The perfect family meal.

Or is it?

You see,

we share in the meal,

but as soon as it's finished,

we're out the door

and we forget each other.

Oh, we might invite somebody back to the house for lunch,

but we only invite those that we like.

We certainly don't invite them

because, well,

they're different.

And socially,

if they did come,

it would be just,

you know,

a little bit awkward.

We all take the bread and the wine together,

but as soon as we get home,

the gossip starts.

Can't stand the way they do that.

Oh, we ask God for forgiveness

of all of our sins,

but we hold grudges

and nurse resentment.

We humbly remember

that Christ died for me,

but we also remember

their sin

and what she said

and what he did.

We ask God for grace

and accept his mercy,

but see no reason

why we should bother

to help somebody

who's struggling.

Oh, we're not,

we're not like

that Corinthian church

in the first century.

We'd never turn up

on a Sunday morning

drunk

and celebrate

in the Lord's Supper.

No,

no,

we're much too dignified

for that.

we share

in

the perfect family meal.

Or do we?

Look at verse 22.

Do you despise

the church of God

with our behaviors?

Shall I praise you

for division

that might exist?

for pushing

certain people out

and not letting

other people in?

Certainly not.

Root out

any hint

of sinful division

that exists

within Christ's body.

the second thing.

We must keep central

the remembering

of Christ's death.

As we come to celebrate

the Lord's Supper,

keep central

the remembering

of Christ's death.

Verse 23.

So Paul says,

I received from the Lord

what I also

passed on to you.

You see,

the celebration

of the Lord's Supper

is to be practiced

by every church

in every age.

It's the Lord's way

of making sure

that we do not forget

the death of Christ,

but keep it

at the very center

of our lives.

Verse 26.

For whenever you eat

this bread

and drink this cup,

you proclaim

the Lord's death

until he comes.

Now there's two things

the death of Jesus

should teach us

in the context

of this passage.

The first is this.

This meal

reminds us

that we are united

to God

through the death

of Christ.

We are united

to God

through the death

of Christ.

Look at verse 23 again.

The Lord Jesus,

on the night

he was betrayed,

picture the scene,

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.

The bread

that we have here

on this table

is a picture

of the physical

body of Christ

who was torn apart

for you

and for me

when he died

on the cross.

For when Jesus died

he took my sin

and your sin

on himself.

He was punished.

He was broken

for us

so that we

could be forgiven,

reconciled

and united

to our Father God.

Because of the

death of Christ

we can now

enjoy

oneness with God.

No longer

in separation

but united

with God

through the death

of Jesus.

the second thing

it should teach us

is that we are

united

to each other

through the death

of Christ.

Verse 25

In the same way

after supper

he took the cup

saying

this cup

is the new covenant

in my blood.

do this

whenever you

drink it

in remembrance

of me.

The wine

or the juice

as we have it here

is a picture

of the blood

of Christ

that was shed

on the cross.

The blood

of Christ

which seals

and confirms

our new covenant

or that new

everlasting

unbreakable

relationship

with God.

But this new covenant

relationship

that we have

with God

is not just

an individual

personal experience

it is a family

experience

for together

we are

the new covenant

people

brothers

and sisters

in Christ.

In other words

we are united

to each

other.

Paul has

already addressed

this issue

if you go back

to chapter 10

and verse 16.

Have a look there

chapter 10

and verse 16.

look at verse 16

now as we read

we are going to

come across a word

which says

participation

I am going to

translate it as

fellowship

because that is

what it really

means

it is a sharing

in

a fellowship

in

with God

and with others

so verse 16

is not the cup

of thanksgiving

for which we

give thanks

a fellowship

in the blood

of Christ

and is not

the bread

that we break

a fellowship

in the body

of Christ

in other words

that as we eat

and drink

we share

in the fellowship

with God

with his son

we are together

with him

but not only

are we with him

and enjoy him

it also has a

knock on effect

verse 17

because there is

one loaf

we who are many

and we're many

here today

but yet we are

one body

for we all

partake

of one

loaf

so you see

we are not

just united

and have

fellowship

with God

we're also

one body

we have

fellowship

with one

another

so as we

in a minute

will come

to celebrate

the Lord's

Supper

when we

hear

the words

this is

my body

this is

my blood

when we

see the bread

broken

the wine

poured

out

when we

touch

the bread

and hold

the cup

in our

hands

when we

eat

of the bread

and drink

of the wine

all of our

senses are

engaged

to remind

us

so that we

never ever

forget

that we are

united to

God

and as a

consequence

we are now

united

as brothers

and sisters

with each

other

so

root out

any division

in Christ's

body

keep

central

the

remembering

of Christ's

death

and the

third big

thing

as we

come to

celebrate

the Lord's

supper

we need

to prepare

ourselves

to gather

at Christ's

table

now we need

to think

this through

carefully

each one

of us

there's

three ways

I think

this text

is pushing

us to

be prepared

first

personal

examination

we must

examine

the

motives

in our

own

lives

examine

the motives

in our

own

lives

look at

verse 27

of chapter

11

therefore

whoever

eats the

bread

or drinks

the cup

of the

Lord

in an

unworthy

manner

will be

guilty of

sinning

against

the body

and the

blood

of the

Lord

for us

to come

to this

table

that is

before us

in an

unworthy

manner

means

not to

come

without

sin

it means

to come

with an

unrepentant

heart

an unworthy

manner

means to

come with

an attitude

that ignores

our sin

rather than

confronts

our sin

in other

words as

we come

to the

table

we must

come

ready to

deal with

the sin

in our

lives

confess to

God

what is

really going

on

and ask

God to

change

our sinful

hearts

us

verse 28

a man

or a

woman

ought to

examine

himself

before he

eats of

the bread

and drinks

of the

cup

so before

we even

eat or

drink

check

your

motives

this is

not about

trying to

uncover

every

possible

sin we

may or

may not

have

committed

in the

last

day

this is

about

examining

our

hearts

to see

if I

am really

serious

about

dealing

with my

sinful

nature

am I

ready

to root

out the

grudges

that I

hold

the

anger

the

bitterness

the

unforgiveness

that is

festering

away

am I

ready to

deal with

that

today

do I

truly

desire to

break the

cycle of

destructive

habits

whether it's

pornography

or alcohol

or greed

do I

really want

to root

those out

of my

life

will I

surrender

what takes

the place

of Christ

whatever the

cost

be it

my career

or my

relationships

with one

another

before we

eat of

this bread

or drink

of this

juice

examine

our

motives

love

love

the

second

thing

we need

to do

in

preparation

is to

look at

our

family

relationships

we

must

sort

out

any

broken

relationship

with

each

other

verse

29

for

anyone

who

eats

and

drinks

without

recognizing

the body

of the

Lord

eats

and

drinks

judgment

on

himself

now

when it

says

there about

recognizing

the body

of the

Lord

the body

of the

Lord

not only

means

Christ

himself

but

the body

of Christ

the church

so

if I

eat

or

drink

without

recognizing

the

church

then

I

eat

or

drink

judgment

on

myself

so

if I

have

fallen

out

with

another

brother

or

sister

in

the

Lord

I

need

to

sort

that

out

before

coming

to

the

table

I

can't

eat

of

this

bread

and

thank

God

for

dying

for

me

and

at

the

same

time

pretend

that

the

way

I

spoke

to

my

brother

or

sister

doesn't

matter

I

can't

sit

here

and

drink

of

this

cup

and

ask

God

for

the

forgiveness

in

my

life

and

at

the

same

time

ignore

the

way

I

treat

certain

people

because

they're

not

like

me

you

see

coming

to

this

table

is

not

a

private

personal

experience

it

is

a

family

meal

and

we

cannot

start

this

meal

without

first

putting

right

what

is

wrong

so

that

means

that

it

might

be

that

what

we

have

to

do

is

we

need

to

be

calling

somebody

during

the

week

and

asking

look

can

I

meet

up

with

you

not

texting

that's

not

reconciliation

we

need

to

come

face

to

face

say

sorry

where

we

need

to

say

sorry

ask

for

forgiveness

before

we

eat

or

drink

we

need

to

sort

out

our

family

relationships

so

in

preparation

personal

examination

think

about

our

family

relationships

and

the

third

we

need

to

listen

to

God's

serious

warning

look

at

verse

30

that

is

why

many

among

you

are

weak

and

sick

and

a

number

of

you

have

fallen

asleep

literally

people

have

died

in

the

church

in

Corinth

this

is

how

seriously

God

takes

sin

and

how

deeply

he

loves

his

church

God

will

not

put up

with

believers

who

persistently

remain

unrepentant

God

will

not

tolerate

broken

relationships

that remain

undealt

with

you see

if we

don't

take

sin

seriously

if we

don't

deal

with

broken

relationships

well

then God

will

verse

31

if

we

judged

ourselves

we

would

not

come

under

judgment

in

other

words

if

we

did

what

we

were

meant

to

do

then

there

would

be

no

need

for

God

to

intervene

and

judge

us

now

as we

read

this

I

know

that

it

can

cause

great

concern

and

it

can

trouble

us

unnecessarily

but

we

need

to

understand

clearly

what

they're

saying

so

let

me

just

say

two

things

about

this

warning

in

verses

30

to

32

the

first

thing

I

want

to

say

to

us

is

this

not

every

illness

ache

or

pain

is

a

sign

of

God's

judgment

on

our

life

because

of

some

sin

in

our

life

that

would

be

very

wrong

to

say

that

we

may

have

repented

of

sin

we

may

know

the

joy

of

forgiveness

we

may

be

in

right

relationship

with

each

other

and

in

right

relationship

with

God

but

you

know

what

we

can

still

have

aches

and

pains

and

be

sick

not

every

sickness

is

because

of

sin

second

it

may

be

that

God

allows

or

uses

some

illness

in

our

life

to

awaken

us

to

our

unrepentant

hearts

look at

verse

32

when

we are

judged

by the

Lord

we are

being

disciplined

so that

we will

not be

condemned

with the

world

in

other

words

God

can

allow

me

to

be

weak

or

sick

in

some

way

so

it

causes

me

to

stop

and

face

up

to

ignored

sin

or

a

broken

relationship

this

is

not

a

sign

of

God's

anger

but

a sign

of

his

love

and

mercy

upon

his

church

look at

the end

of verse

32

so that

we

will

not

be

condemned

with

the

world

so that

we

would

not

be

separated

from him

for an

eternity

God

would

intervene

in our

lives

and cause

us to

stop

and check

God

loves his

church

and he

loves us

enough

not to

leave us

in the

mess of

unrepentant

undealt

with

sin

so

before

we

eat

of

this

bread

and

drink

of

this

juice

listen

to

God's

serious

warnings

we

are

together

here

to

celebrate

in the

Lord's

supper

together

look at

verse

33

so

then my

brothers

and

sisters

when

you

come

together

to

eat

wait

for

each

other

this

is not

some

private

personal

experience

where we

come in

for our

top up

of grace

and to

get a

little

bit of

forgiveness

and then

go off

and do

whatever

we like

and forget

each

other

no

this

is a

deeply

intimate

family

meal

where we

remember

that through

the death

of Jesus

we are

united

to God

and we

are united

to

one

another

it is

the place

where we

can come

openly

and freely

and come

and receive

the forgiveness

to know

that cleansing

and the

washing away

of our guilt

and shame

to come

and do

business

with God

to change

our hearts

to be more

like him

we are

going to

continue

in celebration

of the

Lord's

Supper

we are

going to

sing a

song

you can

remain

seated

as we

sing

we sang

it

I think

even

last week

but I

think it is

appropriate

for us

to sing

we will

sing it

a couple

times

as we

are

gathered

Jesus

is

here

he is

present

with us

by his

spirit

and his

presence

with us

is

demonstrated

in the

symbols

of the

bread

and the

juice

reminding

us

that

Christ

has died

for us

so we will

remain

seated

as we

sing

and

him

in

his

bridge

he

and

he