Lord’s Supper Service
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Nov. 1, 2009
Scripture Reading (1 Corinthians 11:23-32)
1. As we think about these verses tonight, the first thing we need to do is reflect on our own life...
*Paul points this out in vs. 27-29:
27. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.
29. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
*We reflect so that we will repent... The only way to properly receive the Lord’s Supper is to search our hearts and repent of any sin in our lives... -- All of us need to do this, because all of us have sinned.
*As C.S. Lewis once said: -“A Christian is not one who never goes wrong, but one who is enabled to repent and begin over again after each stumble... -- Because of the inner working of Christ.” (1)
*All of us need to confess, repent and claim the promise Jesus gave us in 1 John 1:8&9:
-“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
*Please join me in a time of silent prayer, as we search our hearts, confess to God and repent of our sins.
2. Tonight we reflect and we remember.
*Two times in these verses Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of Me.” It is always a good thing to remember what the Lord has done for us. And the Lord’s Supper helps us do that.
*Not long ago, I saw the story of something special that happened when the Apollo 11 astronauts first landed on the moon. The moon lander touched down at 3:17 Eastern Standard Time, Sunday, July 20, 1969. Buzz Aldrin had brought with him a tiny communion kit that had been given to him by his church. It had a silver cup and wine vial about the size of the tip of his finger.
*During the morning he radioed, "Houston, this is Eagle. This is the LM (Lunar Module) pilot speaking. I would like to request a few moments of silence. I would like to invite each person listening in, whoever or wherever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the last few hours, and to give thanks in his own individual way."
*Buzz Aldrin later wrote: “In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the cup our church had given me. -- In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup.
*Then I read the Scripture, ’I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit.’ The moon lander’s metal body creaked. I ate the tiny piece of bread and swallowed the wine. -- I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility.
*It was interesting for me to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements." (2)
*That was a special Lord’s Supper, but in the most important way, no more special than this... -- Because we are here tonight to remember what Jesus did on the cross for us.
(Deacons Come Forward to Serve the Elements)
*Jesus wants us to remember His Body. So on the night before He went to the cross, He took some bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.”
*Jesus wants us to remember. We remember His Body with this bread, because Jesus is the Bread of Life. As He said in John 6:35 & 47-51:
35. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
47. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
48. I am the bread of life.
49. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
51. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
(Prayer to Bless the Bread)
(Passing of the Bread)
Paul said: “I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Corin 11:23-24)
(Taking the Bread)
*We remember the Lord’s Body and we remember His blood.
*The Apostle John wrote these words in Rev 1:4-6: “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
*We remember His Blood, because He “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. . .” The Blood of Jesus Christ paid the price for every one of our sins. This cup represents the Blood of Jesus Christ, -- the Blood that He shed when He died on the Cross for us.
(Prayer to Bless the Cup)
(Passing of the Cup)
*“In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” (1 Corin 11:25)
(Taking the Cup)
3. Through the Lord’s Supper we remember what Jesus Christ has done for us. And we reveal the truth about Jesus.
*So vs. 26 says: “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
*Tonight we have revealed the truth of Jesus Christ through the Lord’s Supper. God help us to witness every way we can.
(Benediction)
1. SermonCentral illustration contributed by Robert Leroe
2. Adapted from story found online at EVIDENCE FOR GOD
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/communion.html#3LeiI5lJi2nO
