Sermon Tone Analysis

Essentially you become guilty of shedding the blood of Christ: i.e. you place yourself, not in the company of those who are sharing in the benefits of his passion, but in the company of those who are responsible for his crucifixion.

Essentially you become guilty of shedding the blood of Christ: i.e. you place yourself, not in the company of those who are sharing in the benefits of his passion, but in the company of those who are responsible for his crucifixion.

‘The context implies that his self-examination will be specially directed to ascertaining whether or not he is living and acting “in love and charity” with his neighbours.’21

The process of self-examination is, etymologically, again linked with the root word dokimos.22

Each Christian is obliged, not to reach some moral or spiritual standard of perfection (imaginary or otherwise), but to pursue rigorous and honest self-scrutiny.

Essentially you become guilty of shedding the blood of Christ: i.e. you place yourself, not in the company of those who are sharing in the benefits of his passion, but in the company of those who are responsible for his crucifixion.

17 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.

18 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,

19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.

21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal.

One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

22 What!

Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this?

No, I will not.

23 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,

24 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.”

25 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.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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.

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—

34 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 directions when I come.

iv.

Conclusion (33–34)

So Paul concludes his heartfelt plea to the Corinthians about two aspects of their life as a worshipping community.

He was so perturbed about the way they were exposing themselves to the judgment of God in their approach to the Lord’s Supper, that he underlines its nature as a love-feast: wait for one another … if any one is hungry, let him eat at home (33–34).

It is conceivable, according to Schlatter, that this marks the beginning of a separation between the love-feast and the eucharist.

This may not be correct, but it is a timely reminder that Christian worship in Corinth was of a more informal nature, took place (in all probability) in private homes, incorporated both liturgical and spontaneous elements, and was not confined to one hour’s devotions in a specially-constructed building which remained virtually unused for the rest of the week.

Some further implications of this kind of worship Paul proceeds to tackle in chapters 12–14.

Play Thor Clip: Thor being cast out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3d9MEjq_S4

17 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.

18 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,

19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.

21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal.

One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

22 What!

Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this?

No, I will not.

23 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,

24 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.”

25 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.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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.

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—

34 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 directions when I come.

Introduction: Thor Analogy

Inside this clip , we find Marvel’s character Thor and his father King Odin in dispute.

Thor has disobeyed his father’s command to refrain from fighting and to keep peace amongst the realms.

Thor has great power.

He is skilled in hand-to hand combat, he has an extended lifespan, he is immune to conventional diseases, he has enhanced endurance, he has superhuman strength, he has an extreme resistance to injury, and he could control lightning amongst many other powers.

Thor is the firstborn son of Odin, heir to the throne of Asgard, born to be a King, but despite all of Thor’s powers and his birthright to be king, because he is selfish, cruel and self-consumed his father deems him to be UNWORTHY of his power, of his title and his loved ones.

Thor is destined to be royal, but he does not have royal character.

On this first Sunday, we are gathered here to commemorate, to remember, what Christ has done for us on the cross.

It is because of what he has done on the cross, that we too have great power.

We have the power to live an abundant life.

We have the power to walk in joy even in times of hardship and pain.

We have the the power to walk in hope even when it seems like all hope is lost.

We have the power to overcome depression and insecurity.

We have the power to cast out demons and to pray where people may be healed.

We have the power to forgive even when someone has stabbed us in the back 490 times (the Bible readers will catch that on the way out), we have the power to walk in holiness and the power to resist the attacks of Satan.

It is because of what Jesus did on the cross that we have great power.

It is because of what he did on the cross that we can hold the title of royal priesthood, to be son’s and daughters of a king, to be heirs to the throne grace.

It is because of what he did on the cross, that we are able to wake up everyday to experience and to walk in the agape, unconditional love of God.

It is because of what he did on the cross that we we have the power that we have, the title that we have and the love that we have.

Transition: Before we get into what it means to come to the table worthy, let us work our way up by first dealing with the consequences of not coming to the table worthy.

But the question here today as we come to the table of the Lord which reminds us of what Christ did on the cross, is are we worthy of the cross?

Are we worthy of such power?

Are we worthy of such title?

Are we worthy of such love?

Transition: Before we get into what it means to come to the table worthy, we are going to work our way up by first dealing with dealing with the consequences of not coming to the table worthy.

What Happens When We Don’t Come to the Table Worthy

What is It?

What Happens When We Don’t Come to the Table Worthy

1.

The Lord’s Supper Becomes Just a Formality (vs.

20-22)

The first consequence is found in verse 20-22.

It reads: