1 Corinthians 11

Thanks, Amy and the band. Wow! You guys are so, so good at that! Thank you! That song… It’s aged well. Hasn’t it? Some of you were like, ‘I’d never heard that song. It must be brand new.’ It was written in 1999. I still had a goatee back then. Some of you still do. I was a youth pastor, and that was one of those songs that really drew us as a student ministry together to, as the title of the song says, “.. to the heart of worship.” It is really all about Jesus. These other things are helpful but not necessary for our worship. However, today we are coming together for something that points us to the heart of worship, to Jesus Christ, and therefore is necessary for us.

But we’re coming together on an important week for our country, right? Happy Fourth of July! Is that something that when I say that, you say it back? I’m never sure how that works. ‘Happy Fourth of July!’ ‘Happy Fourth.’ It feels weird, doesn’t it? Yeah, I know. I know. We are a country that’s 250 years old. That’s pretty amazing! We moved out of our British parents’ basement all that time ago, and we’ve been making our rules, and trying to figure out what it means to be an adult country… and we’re still trying to figure that out, right? How many of you were here 50 years ago when we celebrated 200 years, okay? Raise your hands. Yeah, you made it. You didn’t think you’d make it this far, did you? — but you did. 250 years. Fireworks last night… anybody showed, okay? Show me all the… some of you guys are just raising one hand. I know what that means. They’re like, ‘Yeah, we had some fireworks.’ There’s nothing that says patriotism more than a guy in a tank top and flip flops, lighting a firework, and then running back frantically to his lawn chair! It’s just… that’s America, baby, right there! That’s us! We love, love, love celebrations! — and Fourth of July is one of the biggest.

Actually, we love making a big deal of all kinds of important moments as humans, don’t we? — birthdays, anniversaries, of course holidays, milestones, when your national soccer team wins a game they shouldn’t have won. I mean, we celebrate a lot of things around here. In fact, if you’re hearing this right now, there’s a pretty good chance that you celebrated something recently, maybe even in the last few days. So think about this just quickly with me this morning. There’s simply something deeply human about celebrating. People just love a good party. That’s just part of who we are as humans. But most celebrations share the same basic ingredients, don’t they? We remember something important from the past. We pause life for just a little bit. We gather our people together, and then we celebrate something probably that someone gave up so that we can enjoy whatever it is that we’re celebrating. And most of the time there’s an element in that celebration, an element of thanksgiving or gratefulness when we’re celebrating. We’re genuinely grateful. And over time, what we choose to celebrate, and actually how we celebrate, actually says a lot about us. It reveals what we care about.

Celebrations shapes our identity. It helps us remember who we are in a sense. That is really what Independence Day does for us as a nation. It reminds Americans what freedoms we enjoy today, and actually that, those freedoms came and still come at a cost, right? So someone sacrificed, someone fought, someone gave something so that we could experience the freedoms, the liberties that we didn’t earn ourselves. And every year we stop and we gather people and we remember. We celebrate because we’re remembering those things that matter to us as a nation.

But what’s interesting is that Jesus understood the same reality about His people; Christians, the Church. Jesus knew that His followers would need regular reminders to stop their busy lives, and to celebrate the things that really matter. And so Jesus did something amazing. He gave His Church a sacred celebration, not just a routine religious activity that we go through without thinking about once a month, but something that’s deeply meaningful, a meaningful moment, where the people of God gather together to remember the greatest act of sacrifice in all of human history… the sinless life of Jesus meeting the sacrificial death of Jesus… and they come together at what we call the Lord’s Table. And just like our country pauses this weekend to celebrate Independence Day, we pause today to celebrate a far greater freedom, freedom from sin, freedom from bondage, freedom from death itself.

And in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the Apostle Paul reminds us what God intends for His people every time we gather around this table. Because the Lord’s Table, Communion, the Lord’s Supper isn’t just something we do, it’s a celebration that should define us as a culture of Christ followers. And that’s why we’re spending extra time every month this year to dig into the meaning and the mystery of what we call communion, to celebration.

And so this morning, before we take these elements… the bread and the cup… I want us to see four realities that should shape our celebration every time we approach the Lord’s Table, four realities that shape this celebration. So let’s start in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians chapter 11. This is the Apostle Paul talking specifically to the church in Corinth, but then by extension and by the inspiration of Scripture talking to us as well. Verse 17 of 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians 11:17-22

17 But in the following instructions (Paul says) 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, (Paul says)

19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. (And then he says)

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? Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing. (Paul says, “What am I supposed to do with you? Tell you good job?” No, I’m not going to do that.) I will not, he says.

And so Paul reminds us, first of all, that celebration unites us. Celebration unites us. And so our response to that is that we reconcile. Celebration unites us, so we reconcile. The first thing Paul tells us in this passage is something that may surprise you. The Lord’s table isn’t just personal. It’s deeply communal. I say that because most of you probably see the Lord’s table as a very personal and private moment between just you and Jesus. Maybe you’ve been taught that. No talking, no looking around. It’s just you and Jesus, right? It’s a time to personally reflect on what Christ has done for you. And for sure, that’s part of it. It is very personal. But notice where Paul begins in this passage. He doesn’t start with what we might expect, an explanation of the elements. He doesn’t even remind us to get right with God right away. Instead Paul begins by confronting issues, disunity within the church. Look at verse 18 again:

1 Corinthians 11:18, “… when you come together as a church,” (Paul says) “I hear that there are divisions among you.”

So there’s a problem. And this should get our attention because before Paul even addresses the Corinthians’ relationship with God, he addresses their relationships with each other, other brothers and sisters in the church. And so at this specific church in Corinth, where Paul’s writing to, the Lord’s Supper had been attached to a meal called the Agape feast or the Love feast. But instead of gathering in love, in unity, wealthy believers brought plenty of food for themselves while the poor believers went hungry. So selfishness had replaced sacrifice. Division had replaced unity. And Paul says something incredibly strong in verse 20. He says:

1 Corinthians 11:20,  “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.”

When you come together, it’s not actually the Lord’s supper that you’re eating at all. And you might say, ‘Paul, what do you mean? We’re celebrating the Lord’s supper.’ And he says, ‘Oh, you may be eating the bread. You may be drinking the cup. You may actually be in the same room. You may be going through the motions, but what are you all doing? You’re not celebrating communion. That’s not what it’s supposed to be. So this is sobering, right? It reminds us of something important about celebration. Celebrations unite people around a shared identity.

So this week our nation celebrated Independence Day, and Americans were reminded that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, bigger than our family, bigger than our neighborhood. We’re part of a nation. We share a story. We share history. We share freedoms that have been secured through sacrifice. And for a brief moment all across the country, people find belonging together around something that unites them. And that’s what communion should do for the church. Except on a far deeper level.

So communion, it reminds us that what unites us is greater than anything that could divide us. What unites us is greater than anything that could divide us. We’re not gathered here because we share hobbies or even backgrounds, opinions. We’re not gathered here in unity because we share the same economic status. We’re all here celebrating together, because what unites us is our need for the Gospel. That’s what brings us together. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. [Romans 3:23] And yet God in His love sent the world His Son, Jesus, to live and to die and to rise again, so that those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord will be saved. [Romans 10:9] That’s what unites us. It’s the Gospel. And that, Saylorville Church, is stronger than any preference, or any politic, or any President might ever be able to unite us under.

And before Paul tells the Corinthians to look upward in their relationship with Jesus, he first tells them to look around at each other, because how can we celebrate reconciliation with God while refusing to reconcile with one another? You can’t be good with God if you’re not good with each other. So, friend, before we come to the table this morning, maybe the first question that you need to ask isn’t, ‘Am I right with God?‘ We’ll get to that one. That’s an important question. But maybe before that we need to ask, ‘Am I right with the people of God?’ Am I right with the people of God? Are you bitter towards someone? You need to ask forgiveness from a brother or sister in Christ this morning. Is there a division between you and someone else that you need to resolve? Make it right! Make it right this morning. Before you come to the table, go to your brother and sister and make it right. Reconcile, because the Lord’s Table reminds us that we don’t stand here, we don’t celebrate as isolated believers. We’re better together… one body with the same head, one family with the same Father, one church with the same Good Shepherd, right?

Celebrations remind us that we belong to something bigger than ourselves. Independence Day reminds Americans, whether we feel like it or not, we are one people and the table, communion, the Lord’s Table reminds Christians we are one unified body. And before communion calls us to remember sacrifice of Christ. It first calls us to reconcile with one another because celebration unites us. So if you need to be reconciled, do that this morning. Celebration unites us.

But secondly, celebration honors sacrifice. It honors sacrifice. And so we remember. Look at verse 23, familiar verses to some of us. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

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.”

So the second thing that Paul reminds us is that every celebration exists because someone sacrificed… someone sacrificed. Think about it. The freedoms that we enjoy in this country didn’t just appear out of nowhere, right? Men and women, some of your relatives, my relatives, fought battles that they knew they might never survive. Families endured incredible loss. Generations before us, sacrificed comfort and safety and security, and in many cases their very lives, so that future generations, so that we here this morning, could have freedoms that they knew they might never get to enjoy themselves. It’s amazing! And every Fourth of July it reminds us of something important that freedom is not free, that that someone always pays the price, right? That’s why we get to celebrate.

And church, the same thing is true spiritually. Beginning in verse 23, Paul shifts from correcting the divisions in Corinth, and then he begins reminding these Corinthians of the very words that Jesus spoke on the night He was betrayed. Jesus says:

1 Corinthians 11:25b, “Do this… in remembrance of me.”

Remember Me. Are you a forgetful person? (laughs) I am, I really am. I leave things all over the place. Just ask my wife. Jesus knows that we are forgetful people. We all are. We forget what our sin actually costs. We forget how serious rebellion against a holy God really is. We forget how quickly extraordinary grace can begin to feel ordinary. We forget that the heart of worship is really Jesus Christ Himself. And over time, the greatest event in all of human history can slowly become all too familiar. The cross becomes a religious relic instead of a living reality to us. We sing amazing worship songs without stopping to think about what we’re singing and who we’re singing to. And we say things like ‘Jesus died for my sins.’ We say those things so often that we forget the weight of those words. They just sort of roll off the tongue. And so Jesus gave His Church communion, a regular reminder. “As often as you do this,“  Jesus says, just take a moment to un-forget, to un-forget, to remember through the bread that Jesus lived a sinless life, perfect in every way, obedient, perfectly righteous, perfect holiness. Jesus never had a sinful thought, a sinful word, a sinful motive.  [Jesus] is the only truly innocent person that ever lived. And then to remember in communion through the Jews that Jesus died a sacrificial death on the cross. The only innocent person in all of history took the punishment of every other person in all of history that actually deserved it. And just to be clear, every single sin that you’ve ever committed, every sin that you ever will commit. Every time you dishonor your parents, every time you lie, every time you have a lustful thought, a selfish motive, every time you choose yourself over God, every single one of your sins, and every single one of mine, and all of the sins from every human being that’s ever lived or ever will live, Jesus Christ took every one of those sins… and the punishment that belonged to me, that belonged to you, was poured out on Him on the cross.

And so church, when we drink the cup, we remember the sacrificial death of Jesus. We remember that our salvation took His sacrifice. Forgiveness wasn’t free. The grace that we enjoy, it cost Jesus His blood. And when we celebrate the Lord’s Table, it’s as if Jesus is saying to His people, ‘Don’t ever let the cross become commonplace. Don’t take for granted what was given up for you.’ — Because communion calls us to un-forget. Celebration honors sacrifice, celebration honors sacrifice, and so we remember.

And then the third ingredient of true celebration that Paul reminds us of is this.  Celebration produces gratitude. It makes us thankful, and so we rejoice. Okay, so think about this. Most of our celebrations happen when we stop and we recognize the blessings that we didn’t earn by ourselves, right? Someone once said that on your birthday, you should give presents to your mother. Why? — because you did nothing in order to be born! You literally did nothing to earn it. In fact, I would say for most of us, we did things during our birth that made it difficult for our mothers. (audience laughing) If we earned anything, it wasn’t a celebration. But for some reason, on your birthday, we give you presents.

And that’s exactly what our nation does every 4th of July. We celebrate… listen now… because of the blessings that we enjoy, that we ourselves did not earn. And that reality should make us really grateful. And now Paul says the exact same thing should happen every time the Church gathers around the Lord’s Table. Look at verse 26:

1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

So don’t miss this. Communion isn’t just a reminder of something that happened in the past. It’s a declaration of hope, of something that’s going to happen in the future. In other words, when Christians gather around this table, we’re not only remembering that Jesus died, we’re declaring that He won! — because the story didn’t end at the cross. The cross is empty because He’s still not dead! The grave is vacant because death was defeated. He rose again, evil was conquered. Satan was disarmed. Sin lost its power. Jesus Christ rose victorious over everything that stood against us! Christian, do you believe that?

And so we celebrate that this morning. Jesus rose, and He’s coming again! And that means that every single time we gather around this Table, we’re not participating in some kind of a memorial service for a dead religious leader. Get that out of your head! This is not a funeral today. The one we remember at this table is alive and reigning! And He’s coming back to take His followers, His friends, His children, back home with Him where we really belong. Look again at verse 26:

1 Corinthians 11:26b, “… you proclaim the Lord’s death…” (and then finish that) until He comes.”

So church, think about what that means. When we take communion together, we’re announcing Jesus died. We proclaim the Lord’s death, yes… but guess what? He’s coming back! We’re preaching this truth to each other and to the watching world around us. Our hope is alive! Our king is reigning! Our future is secure. Why? — because our Savior is coming back for us. That’s what we declare at communion. And unlike every other earthly freedom that eventually fades, the freedom that Christ secured for us can never be lost, because what Jesus did through His death and His resurrection can’t ever be undone. So yes, the Lord’s table causes us to remember sacrifice, but it also causes us to rejoice and to be so very thankful because celebration produces gratitude. So are you thankful this morning? Are you thankful? I hope so as we come to the Lord’s table.

And finally, this morning Paul reminds us that celebration shapes … identity. It shapes our identity. And so our response is that we repent. This is subtle here, but it’s strong. So stick with me, okay? Celebration shapes identity. Think about why nations celebrate holidays like Independence Day in the first place. They remind us who we are as a people. They reinforce our identity. See, celebrations say, ‘These are the values that we hold.’ ‘This is the story that shaped us.’ ‘We are an independent nation.’ ‘We fight hard for liberty and justice.’ ‘We’re not perfect, but we are one nation,’ right? — And in many ways, the celebration reminds us of what it means to belong as a nation.

And so communion does the very same thing for the Christian. Every single time we gather around the Lord’s Table, we’re reminded of who we are, or better yet, of Who’s we are. We’ve been bought by Jesus, so we belong to Jesus. And at communion, Christians are reminded that we don’t live for ourselves anymore. We have a new Master, and that’s why Paul gives us such a serious warning in verse 27. He says:

1 Corinthians 11:27, “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.”

Now, some of you see that phrase unworthy manner and you’ve been taught that Paul is saying that only “worthy” people can come to the Table. But I’m here to tell you that that’s not what that means, because if only worthy people could come to the Table, then…  guess what?… This room would be empty! None of us would be able to participate in the Lord’s Supper, because none of us is worthy. The issue isn’t worthiness like we think about it. The issue is really honesty. Don’t come pretending that everything is fine while ignoring sin in your life.

And so, friends, the Lord’s Table pictures our freedom from sin. If it pictures our freedom from sin, then it’s dishonest to come and celebrate that freedom while we’re still clinging to the chains of our sins. And that’s why Paul is warning us. Notice what he says in verse 28:

1 Corinthians 11:28, “Let a person examine himself (or herself)”

In other words, before we come to this Table of freedom we should stop and honestly ask ourselves some difficult questions. And here’s where you get right with God, right? You ask the questions:

Am I living like someone who belongs to Jesus, or am I living for myself right now?

Is there a sin that I’ve been protecting in my life?

Is there a pride that I’ve been refusing to surrender?

Is there a disobedience that I might have become comfortable with?

And let me say something important here. The purpose of this examination, of examining yourself isn’t to condemn yourself. It’s not to heap shame on yourself. The purpose of examining yourself is repentance. It’s to make things right with God. He’s not asking His people to come to the Table with pretend perfection. He’s asking us to come honestly, humbly, broken, dependent, and willing to confess sin and then to walk again in obedience. That’s what this celebration means. One of the most beautiful realities of communion is this. The table isn’t for people who have it all together. It’s for the broken. It’s for the needy. It’s for the hurting. It’s for the desperate. And friend, if you’re fighting sin, even if you’re struggling and you’re stumbling here this morning in your sin, but you’re looking to Jesus, then this Table is for you. This moment is medicine for the sick, not a prize for perfect people. It brings healing, because communion calls sinful, broken people to repent, and to be forgiven, because that’s all we are. Celebration shapes identity. It’s who we are. If you’re a follower of Jesus this morning, this table is a regular reminder of exactly Who you belong to. You are His. You belong to Him. You were bought by His blood. You’re forgiven by His grace. You’re adopted by Jesus into His family.

But I also know that in a room this size not everyone here belongs to Christ. At least not yet, maybe. And I want you to understand something this morning. If that’s you, if you’re not in Christ this morning, then everything that we talked about today… forgiveness, freedom, grace, salvation, even eternal life… none of those things are found in religious effort, or in church attendance, or by trying harder to be a better person. They’re found in one place. All those things are found in the arms of Jesus Christ. That’s the Gospel. The sinless Son of God came into this world and lived the life that you and I could never live. And then He willingly went to a cross and took the punishment for your sins and my sins. The sins that we deserve the punishment for. And three days later, He rose again. He defeated sin and death forever. And the Good News is that the Gospel is simply this. Anyone, anyone who turns from their sin and places their faith in Jesus Christ can be forgiven. You can be made new, you can be restored, you can become part of the family of God. And if you’ve never trusted Christ, then friend, that invitation stands open for you this morning. Do that this morning before we celebrate communion together. Put your faith in Jesus and then join the rest of us. And hey, we’re all broken people as we approach the Lord’s Table together.

You know, this week, our nation celebrates 250 years of freedom. But this morning, we’re together to celebrate a greater freedom that was won over 2,000 years ago, a freedom that no government can grant, a freedom that no enemy can take away. It’s a freedom from sin, a freedom from condemnation, a freedom through the sinless life and the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. And so today we gather to celebrate our Savior.

In just a few moments, some of our Saylorville servants will distribute the two elements of the Lord’s Table. And remember, there’s a gluten-free option in the back as well if you need to make yourself available to that. You can stand up and walk to the back and get that gluten free option. Remember, the bread represents the sinless life of Jesus. The cup represents the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf, and those two elements meeting in the greatest act of sacrifice in human history. And that’s why we come to the Table this morning.

So as we pause before we take the elements together in unity in just a few minutes, if you need to reconcile… reconcile. If you need to remember, take some time to remember. If you need to rejoice, rejoice in what God has done for you. And then if you need to repent, make things right with God before you participate in the Lord’s Supper together.

And when we’ve all had time to pause and reflect and do what we need to do before the Lord and each other, we’ll take these elements together in unison, celebrating the Savior who gave everything so that we can be free. And if that’s not you today, remember, if you’re not a follower of Jesus, it’s okay to just let those plates pass by. We’re really, really glad that you’re here. If you’ve got questions about this, we’d love to talk to you about this afterwards… or better yet, place your faith in Jesus before you even participate this morning in communion with us. Let’s pray together.

God, thank You so much for the celebration of the Lord’s Table, a great reminder of what You have done in sending Jesus to be born and to live a sinless, perfect, holy life, one that we could never live, and to die a sacrificial, substitutionary death on our behalf for us. And we come to this moment of communion celebrating together because of who Jesus is. It’s in His arms that we fall even right now. Thank You, God. Amen.

You have two cups in your hand, the one with the bread representing the sinless life of Jesus. Unleavened… He had to be sinless in order to pay the price for our sins. A sinner can’t be a substitute for another sinner. And in your other hand, the juice, representing the new covenant in Christ’s blood, a new relationship that He has with us, His sacrificial death, a substitute for us who deserved to die for our sins. Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, says:

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

23 ‘For what I received from the Lord Jesus, I also delivered to you, that Christ on the night when He was betrayed, with His disciples, He took the bread.

24 and when He’d given thanks, He broke it, and he said, “This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

Let’s eat the bread together in unity. (soft music)

In the very next verse Paul says to the Corinthians again:

25 In the same way Christ took the cup and He said, “This is a new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it and un-forget what I’ve done for you.’

Let’s do this in unison.

Will you stand with me and pray together?

God, we celebrate so many things in our lives, and yet sometimes we come to the Lord’s celebration, communion and we treat it as commonplace, mundane, maybe even flippantly. Lord, today, I pray we’ve spent just a little extra time, a little extra thought, a little extra understanding of what it means to celebrate our sinless, sacrificial Savior. It’s in His name we pray. Amen. [Music]