I CORINTHIANS 11: 17-33
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND MAY 26, 2002
INTRODUCTION: MEMORIAL DAY AND SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
U.S. holiday. Originally held in commemoration of soldiers killed in the Amer. Civil War (1868), its observance later extended to all U.S. war dead. Most states conform to the federal practice of observing it on the last Monday in May, but some retain the traditional day of celebration, May 30. National observance is marked by the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning) AS SUNG BY ALAN JACKSON
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day
were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry
VERSE
Did you weep for the children who lost there dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below
Did you burst out with pride for the red, white and blue
And the heros who died just doin’ what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters
CHORUS
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I,m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus, and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young.
Faith, hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love.
VERSE
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Or driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause your a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother to tell her you loved her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages
Speak to some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie your watchin
And turn on I Love Lucy reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
or stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
And thank god you had somebody to love
Chorus x2
And the greatest is love.
And the greatest is love.
TRANSITION THOUGHT: Memorial Day and The Lord’s Supper have one major thing in common. They both call us to remember that all we have is a gift from those who gave of themselves that we might enjoy all that for which they sacrificed themselves. Our text speaks to us of the reality of humanity and the struggle that we as a Nation have experienced in the past and present. The struggle is truly a lack of remembrance! We forget so quickly and fail to realize that nothing of value comes with out great sacrifice!
THESIS SENTENCE: Forgetting what lies behind cripples us from attaining what lies ahead.
So what is it that our text speaks of that will help us in our struggle of forgetfulness? FIRST, WE ARE CALLED TO…
I. REMEMBER UNITY (VV. 17-22)
A. UNITY: Coming together and coming apart
1. What’s the problem? The Church is getting together to worship and celebrate the Lord’s Supper, so why this rebuke?
2. The culture, of course, is different than ours. Church was in homes and the Lord’s Supper was not just bread and juice, but as it was with Jesus and His disciples, a whole meal.
3. The word the Apostle Paul shares is that this group was only together in location, but not in heart. Disunity was the key word!
B. DISUNITY: Corporate or Private
1. As the group came together there was a disunity of economic status. The problem was that a wealthier member would open their house for worship and meals, but then would segregate the group based on economic status.
2. The poor of the group would come to the pot luck only to get the scraps of the wealthier. Instead of being unified around the Table of the Lord, this group was set up as clicks! Did you know there could be clicks in a church?
3. Is the church of today any different than the troubled church of Paul’s day? 4. The real issue of the Corinthian church and of the church today, even our church, is whether or not will be one or will we be clicks within the Body of Christ? If we choose to be clicks, we choose to no longer be the Body of Christ!
SCRIPTURAL FOCUS: Jesus prays for His disciples in John 17, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have give them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (vv. 20-23).”
Paul goes on to encourage this group of believers in chapter twelve: “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body… As it is, there are many parts, but one body (vv. 12-15, 20).”
TRUTH: DISUNITY KILLS THE BODY OF CHRIST!
THOUGHT: AS AMERICANS, ARE WE UNIFIED? The bumper stickers and window stickers read: “UNITED WE STAND.” Why is it that only in tragedy do we stand together? Disunity Kills a Nation!
SECOND, WE ARE CALLED TO…
II. REMEMBER THE SACRIFICE (VV. 23-26)
A. HIS PART
1. Here the Apostle Paul recounts for us why we meet. We meet because Jesus laid down His life that we could have life.
2. The wording here is interesting and a little confusing. We often think of Judas handing over Jesus to the High Priest.
3. But what the Apostle Paul is really talking about is not betrayal, but “Handing Over.”
4. The Greek word can be translated “betrayed” or “Handed Over.”
5. The Focus is on what God has done for man, not what Man had done to God.
SCRIPTURAL FOCUS: In Romans Paul makes this clear: “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” And “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things (4: 25, 8: 32)?”
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all… Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53: 6&12).”
6. He did His part!
B. OUR PART
1. Our part is to remember!’
2. Memory is the key word here and to Remember is the command!
3. Exodus 12: 14, “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – a lasting ordinance.” This was in reference to the Passover. We are to remember!
4. Our part is to proclaim the sacrifice (VERSE 26)!
TRUTH: HIS EXAMPLE MUST BE OUR EXAMPLE
THOUGHT: REMEMBER THE SACRIFICE AND PROCLAIM IT! MEMORIAL DAY IS A DAY TO REMEMBER THE SACRIFICE AND PROCLAIM IT!
FINALLY, WE ARE CALLED TO…
III. REMEMBER THE JUDGEMENT (VV. 27-33)
A. JUDGEMENT NOW
1. Sin is always the issue with God. Do you ever get tired of hear this truth. Well, the reality is that God is still holy after all these years and He expects no less of us!
2. The Sin issue here has been somewhat mistreated. After that Holiness comment, I think I better qualify. Must we be perfect to participate in the Lord’s Supper? No, but we must understand our place.
3. The Apostle Paul is here referring to how we treat the Body of Christ. We, as the church, are the body of Christ. If we mistreat each other, we are mistreating Jesus himself.
4. All of this goes back to the first discussion in verses 17-22. The call on these believers is to rectify what is wrong. No longer should social status or economic status be an issue. All must be treated with respect and with honor. As the body of Christ, we all belong to him and to each other.
5. Paul states, “When we are being judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.”
6. In other words, you can get it right now, or you can pay the eternal price later!
B. JUDGEMENT LATER
1. If we sin against the Body of Christ, we sin against Christ.
2. “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself (v. 29).”
3. The judgment of God is something we never want to experience
4. Therefore, “So, then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other (verse 33).”
5. The word for “wait” can also be translated “receive.” How ever you translate the word, the point is THIS IS A COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WHO ARE TO HONOR EACH OTHER AS THEY WOULD HONOR JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. HOW ARE YOU FAIRING IN THE BODY OF CHRIST? HOW ARE YOU TREATING THOSE WITHIN THESE FOUR WALLS AND THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM OUTSIDE THESE FOUR WALLS?? HOW WILL YOU FAIR ON JUDGMENT DAY?
TRUTH: IT IS BETTER TO BE JUDGED NOW THAN LATER!
THOUGHT: AMERICA WAS FOUNDED ON “IN GOD WE TRUST.” WILL GOD JUDGE US AGAIN.
CONCLUSION: The stickers on cars and windows of businesses read, “UNITED WE STAND!” This morning we gather together to remember those who gave themselves for us that we might have the possibility of celebrating this day. As the community of faith we gather for the exact same reason Sunday after Sunday, to remember the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself freely that we might have the possibility of eternal life, the victory won. To truly celebrate, you are invited to the Table. At the Table of our Lord all are welcome. The Sacrifice was freely made for all. Our call is to come to the table in unity and faith. To come together as one, proclaiming the death of our Lord until HE returns. Are you walking in fellowship with God and with Man? Do you desire to do so from this day forth? If so, the table is prepared for you! COME AND DINE!
COMMUNION/ THE LORD’S SUPPER IS SERVED
