Getting more from Lord's Supper
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
The last and the first
The last and the first
(Last Supper picture inserted here)
(Illustration: Christ on the Cross, beaten, unrecognizable, stripped, crowned, spat on, cursed at, believed to be a curse)
All that before He shed his blood, gave up His Spirit, died, was buried, rose again for our forgiveness of sins. All before that, he had an evening with his Apostles, what is known as the Last Supper.
The Lord Himself instituted the Lord’s Supper (Lk22:19) and it is been recorded, retold, painted and today we are going to see what we can do to get more from the Lords Supper. First some history then the usage in the assembly and finally how we may get more from it.
Instituted, established by the Lord (Lk22:14-20)
14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
The Lords desire was to eat this Passover with them before He suffered (Lk22:15)
Not just desire, but earnest desire.
16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves;
He stated he will never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God (Lk22:16)
18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Not drink of the fruit until the kingdom comes (Lk22:18)
20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
The cup that was poured out is the new covenant in His blood (Lk22:20)
(Lord’s Supper picture inserted here- again)
(Transition) So the Lord instituted it and you notice that it was directly connected to the kingdom of heaven and that the cup was the new covenant, in His precious blood.
Paul retells the story in our passage this morning, but historically in the early teachings of 1st century in writings such as
the Didache (about AD95) it records that Christians were to come together on the first day of the week to break break.
Justin Martyr ( about 150AD) records how Christians assembled on Sunday to partake of the Supper
Other early writers such as Barnabas, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Cryprian all record the church partook weekly on the first day of the week. - that comes from a quote from BW Johnson, Peoples New Testament.
(Transition) it is an institution that was abused in the early church as exampled in 1Cor11:17-22, and can become meaningless because of the frequency with grave consequences (1Cor11:27).
Paul addressed that it can, and was, abused even in the early church (1Cor11:17-22)
17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. 20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,
21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
But, when taken properly, when observed with right motive, and heart it can be, will be.
It is a spiritual act of worship
A source of fellowship and great blessings
A key element of More, please, getting more from the assembly which is what this series is all about.
Our hope, our desire should be that it is reverenced and not ritual, that it is done in the right manner, with right purpose.
May we now look at
Lord’s Supper in the assembly
Lord’s Supper in the assembly
The Lord established it, commanded it, Paul retold it and we participate in it, so what does it mean, what is the reason we do it?
It is a memorial (1Cor11:23-25, Mt26:28; Heb9:16; Eph1:7)
Paul’s account as the Lord gave to him.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which 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 He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
we eat the bread in memorial of his body that was sacrificed for us
we drink the cup in memorial of His blood shed for us
We commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross when we partake of it
28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Commemorate for a purpose, for forgiveness of sins (Mt26:28)
16 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.
Commemorate his death which makes the new covenant possible (Heb9:16)
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
From from His act we have redemption through His blood, we have forgiveness of sins (Eph1:7)
(Transition) Now we know when Jesus instituted it, it was at Passover, for passover a memorial commemorating Israel’s deliverance from Egypt that also came through the blood (put on the door posts, it was for their deliverance (Israel) and a memorial for us today of our deliverance from the bondage of sin.
It is a proclamation (1Cor11:26)
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
We are proclaiming what we believe, we do it often so we don’t forget until He comes!
When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we are looking back (to the cross) and looking forward (til He comes).
Its a communion (1Cor10:16-17; 1Jn1:7-9)
Communion (N) The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. 2 The service of Christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared.
16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
It is a cup of blessing. It is sharing in the body of Christ (1Cor10:16)
(Transition) We are communing with the Lord, and with each other when we share the Lord’s Supper together. What a great reminder we have of the blessings we have in Him through His blood.
IF you remember Paul was speaking of first importance is what he passed on as was given to Him (1Cor11:23-25) now look what John has to say.
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
It is a reminder of the cleanings of our sins (1Jn1:7)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So a fellowship, a communion, a cleansing, a forgiveness that sounds like a blessing, doesn’t it?
(Transition) so one bread, one cup, many blessings, as we partake with the Lord and with each other, so now here are some suggestions on how to get more from the Lord’s Supper.
Suggestions to get more
Suggestions to get more
More, please, that is this series and today we have been looking at how to get more out of the the Lord’s Supper so here are some simple suggestions, thoughts and of course scriptures to consider.
Make it a time of reverence (1Cor11:27-29)
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
To be taken in a worthy manner (Implied) 1Cor11:27
Or “worthily” in the KJV, some have misunderstood this verse.
This is dealing with how we are to take it, not our worthiness
IT should be taken, observed, celebrated with respect for the sacrifice and the suffering of Christ
Do not bring on condemnation on yourself by not taking in a worthy manner, understanding what He did, why He did it for you. For according to the passage if we do we will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord and bring judgment on ourselves.
(Transition) - This is all a reminder that taking the Lord’s Supper is an act of worship and we do not want vain worship do we? We should not make light, or make ritual this holy thing.
Make it a time of reflection (1Cor11:24-25, 28, 2Cor5:18-6:1; 2Cor5:14-15; Gal2:20; Heb10:26-29;
A time of reflection for the suffering He endured for us
If you want to reflect on His suffering you can turn to passages like Ps22 or Isa53 as well as the Gospel accounts.
A time of reflection by the song we sing prior to the talk given prior to prepare our minds and our hearts for it.
A time of reflection of our own spiritual condition (1Cor11:28) as we mentioned before.
Question to ask yourself: Am I living in a manner that shows appreciation for His sacrifice for me?
Question: Have I accepted the grace of God in my life (2Cor5:18-6:1)?
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—
Paul, proclaiming on behalf of himself and the apostles on the commission they were given, commission of reconciliation between man and God, he urges the Corinthians not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Question: Am I living for Jesus who died for me (2Cor5:14-15; Gal2:20)?
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
and add to that one
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Question: Am I guilty of wilfully sinning (Heb10:26-29)?
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Ouch, I know hard passage to think about much less reflect on at all.
(Transition) the Supper is a very private thing between you and the Lord, it is a time of reverence and a time of reflection on the death of Christ for you! what does it mean for you! Do I understand His sacrifice? For it then becomes a time of reunion too.
A time of reunion (Act20:7; 1Cor11:33; 1Cor10:16; Eph2:13-16)
Union with each other, it was time they all came together according to Act20:7 for them to do it together.
When they came together they were to wait for one another, so they could share together (1Cor11:33)
For when they do, they demonstrate they are one body!
16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?
One body, a unified body, a together we can body, together we can sup together remember that tis is through Christ’s death that we are able to share in it.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
As we get read to sing this song of preparation may we reflect on the words, reflect on the meaning, reflect on the supper we are about to share together, after we are done I will come back and wrap this up.
(insert Lord’s Supper Song here)
(Lords Supper) (Offering)
We have looked at how to get more out of the Lord’s Supper today.
Making it a time of
Reverence
Reflection
Reunion
We have taken it in a worthy manner, may we consider these things each time we take the Supper together.
lead to invitation (Invitation slide) invitation (Song) (Prayer)