Why We Share Communion
With Pastor Timothy G. Porter
Scripture Reading:
Introduction:
A little girl asked her mother, “Mommy, why do you cut the ends off the meat before you cook it?”
The girl’s mother told her that she thought it added to the flavor by allowing the meat to better absorb the spices, but perhaps she should ask her grandmother since she always did it that way.
So the little girl found her grandmother and asked, “Grandma, why do you and Mommy cut the ends of the meat off before you cook it?”
Her grandmother thought a moment and answered, “I think it allows the meat to stay tender because it soaks up the juices better, but why don’t you ask your Nana? After all, I learned from her, and she always did it that way.”
The little girl was getting a little frustrated, but climbed up in her great-grandmother’s lap and asked, “Nana, why do you cut the ends off the meat before you cook it?”
Nana answered, “I had to; my cooking pot wasn’t big enough.”
We do a lot of things in life, and seldom stop to ask why. We develop habits and traditions, and if we’re not careful, we can forget why we do certain things...
So, this evening as you can see we are gonna to doing things quite differently from the way many churches do them, and the way you have ever done them before. We should be willing to do some crazy things to reach out to people and love them into life-changing encounters with God.
Not that everything we do is different. We still do some things traditional way, and one of those is sharing communion together on a regular basis.
We make communion available every 5th Sunday, and include this habit of sharing bread and grape juice together as part of our Sunday morning celebration, but this time we are going to do it in evening
I wanna be careful to explain why we do what we do, so that even someone who’s new to the Christian faith might understand completely.
So . . . why do we celebrate communion?
Why do we take itty bitty portions of
grape, juice and crackers together?
What’s THAT about?
Good question. (Illustrate what sin sounds like; with the apple wedge.)
Have you ever wondered what sin sounds like; l will let you hear it. Because of Adam and Eve not obeying God in the Garden of Eden, we all have a sinfull nature. There is nothing we can do about it we are born with it.
So, for the next few moments, before we par take in communion, let me explain. And, in order to do so, l want you to turn your copy of God's Word, to the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians, the seventh book of the New Testament,
where we’ll look at chapter 11, verses 23-29. . . .
So, let’s get started. First, the reason we have this symbolic “meal” together is . . .
I.) To Remember
Look at verses 23-25:
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NKJV) (23) For 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; (24) 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." (25) 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." Paul is describing the last supper, of course, and interestingly, at his last supper:
A.) Jesus interpreted something old
Jesus was interpreting the Passover meal
Ex. 12 describes the 1st Passover, which included:
• a lamb ~ For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed 1 Corinthians 5:7
• pure bread, called “unleavened”
• wine, though not specified in Ex. 12, was a part of the meal
B.) Jesus instituted something new
A ceremony that quickly came to be celebrated in His church much more regularly than the annual Passover
We Have This Meal
II.) To Rejoice
Look at verse 26: 1 Corinthians 11:26 (NKJV) (26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
Not just a looking back, but a pointing forward also: when we share communion, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
As at Easter: “He is risen/He is risen indeed," / So in communion: “He died for you/He died for you”
We Have This Meal
III.) To Repent
Look at verse 27-28:
1 Corinthians 11:27-28 (NKJV) (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 the bread and drink of the cup.
Sharing communion provides you, the opportunity to examine yourselves and, if the Holy Spirit shines his piercing light on anything in your lifes that is unworthy of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, you have the opportunity to repent and experience his forgiveness and cleansing so that you might truly celebrate.
We Have This Meal
IV.) To Reconcile
Look at verse 29:
1 Corinthians 11:29 (NKJV) (29) For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Meaning that anyone whose heart there is not right or has hatred, bitterness, contempt against anyone . . . as he comes to the Table of our Lord, eats and drinks unworthily.
“So for us to par take in communion we have to be right with our brethen because Christ died for the also.
when you observe the Lord's Supper, He is present. Yes, He is! This is not just a symbol. It means you must discern the body of Christ. You have bread in your mouth, but you have Christ in your heart.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [1Cor. 11:30].
They suffered sickness and death. Why? Because they had participated in the Lord's Supper unworthily -- that is, in an unworthy manner.
Vs.31 says For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
This is a serious time not for childern that are not saved and it is to be taken in reverance and
We share this ceremony not as 2 different churches but as one body and one family
1. To Remember
2. To Rejoice
3. To Repent
4. To Reconcile
This altar is open, I encourage you to come and kneel here to make things right with God or you neighbor.
as we begin worship in a moment, you can come forward singly or in groups or family units
to take the bread and the cup that proclaim the loving sacrifice of Jesus for everyone here . . .
I encourage you to calm your spirit, (explain how to open)
take your time, approach these moments of worship carefully and prayerfully, and come forward whenever you’re ready.
Do the ceremony:
