Date Preached __________
Where Preached __________
Why Do We Do What We Do?
Why Do We Take Communion Each Week?
1 Corinthians 11:17 -34
A little girl asked her mother one Sunday morning as she was preparing lunch, “Mommy, why do you cut off the ends of the ham before you cook it?” The girl’s mother turned and looked at her and said, “Oh, sweetie, I’m not really sure why, but I suppose you cut the ends off of the meat so that the meat can better absorb the juices and spices and make it more tender. Maybe you’d better ask Grandma since she was the one I learned it from. She always did it that way.” The little girl called her grandmother later that day on the phone and asked her the same question, “Grandma, why do you cut the ends off of the ham before you cook it?” The little girl’s grandmother responded, “Oh, sweetie, I’m not really sure. I think it is so that the juices will be absorbed better. Call your Nana. She is who I learned it from.” The little girl began to get a bit frustrated with the whole idea, but decided to call her great-grandmother anyway. “Nana, mom was preparing lunch the other day and she cut the ends off of the ham before she cooked it. I asked her why and she said that she did it because the juices would absorb better, making it more tender. She told me to ask Grandma to make sure since she learned it from her. Well, I called Grandma and she said the same thing about the juices and all, but that she learned it from you and I should ask you. Nana, why do you cut the ends off of the ham before you cook it?” There was a long pause in the conversation and then the little girl heard what sounded like muffled laughter coming from the other end of the line. “What’s so funny, Nana?” “Oh, sweetie, I cut the ends off of the ham before I cooked it because my pan was too small!”**
Many times, we end up doing things for the wrong reasons because no one ever stopped to ask why. Every Sunday, we take a few minutes to partake of the Lord’s Supper and some don’t even know why. Why do we take the cracker and drink grape juice every Sunday.
Let’s look at our scripture today and see what God says about communion. 1 Corinthians 11:17 -34: 23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
On the yard of a little church in Germany stands a statue of a lamb that has an interesting story to tell. A group of men were working on the roof of the church one day when one tripped and fell to the ground. Quickly, the other men ran down the latter expecting to see him dead. But he was alive!
As he fell to the ground there was a lamb that was feeding bellow. The man fell on it and crushed the lamb. He was so grateful that he had a statue of a lamb built in the very place where he fell. It reads; “MEMORIAL TO THE CRUSHED LAMB". This is in essence what the Lord’s supper/Communion is all about. It’s about Jesus, God’s lamb that was crushed for us, So that we may live eternally.
When I talk about a little lamb being crushed, what do you feel inside? No doubt part of you says, “Poor lamb, that’s awful.” Yet, what is your feeling when we come to this table? For some of us, this may just be another religious observance. For others, this table may really present a lot of questions. What does it mean? Why do we do this? Can I participate? Others of us, cannot come to this table without tears.
What does communion mean, and why do we have it as a part of our services each week. but let’s talk about the basics.
1. The first reason that we take communion weekly is that we are to Remember:
Look at verses 23-25:
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NIV).
Jesus was giving the Disciples something to think about and remember. Jesus began to use the bread and the cup to talk about remembering what He was about to do at the cross. When Jesus broke the bread and held up the cup and referred to his broken body and the blood He would shed, He made a covenant or an agreement with us. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal. When we take communion we are remembering Jesus’ death for our sins.
During the war in Vietnam, a young West Point graduate was sent over to lead a group of new recruits into battle. He did his job well, trying his best to keep his men from ambush and death. But one night when they had been under attack and everyone ran to safety except for one man.
This soldier had been severely wounded. From their trenches, the young lieutenant and his men could hear him in his pain. They all knew that any attempt to save him – even if it was successful—would almost certainly mean death for the would-be rescuer. Eventually the young lieutenant crawled out of hiding toward the dying man. He got to him safely but was killed before he could save himself.
After the rescued man returned to the States, the lieutenant’s parents heard that he was in their vicinity. Wanting to know this young man whose life was spared at such a great cost to them, they invited him to dinner.
When their honored guest arrived, he was obviously drunk. He was rowdy and obnoxious. He told off-color jokes and showed no gratitude for the sacrifice of the man who died to save him. The grieving parents did the best they could to make the man’s visit worthwhile, but their efforts went unrewarded.
Their guest finally left. As the dad closed the door behind him, the mother collapsed in tears and cried, “To think that our precious son had to die for somebody like that.”
That’s what Jesus did. That’s what we are to remember today: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. We share in Communion to remember!
2. The second reason we take communion each week is that we are to rejoice!
Look at verse 26:
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26, NIV).
“What we must realize is that every time we eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, we reenact in our minds the death of the Master. And every time that we come around the Lord’s Table we need to be drawn back to the Last Supper again and again until the Master returns.”
Communion is not only about looking back. It is also about looking forward. When we share communion, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” There should be a spirit of rejoicing that comes with communion. We are celebrating and proclaiming His death and His power to change lives until He comes back. We look forward to the day when we celebrate communion with Jesus at the head of the table.
MAX LUCADO, in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away—across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed it was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. They were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He punched a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke out into a cheer and followed him across.
That’s exactly what Jesus did! He told the people of His day that they need not fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe.
He touched a dead boy and called him back to life. They still didn’t believe. He whispered life into the body of a dead girl and got the same result. He let Lazarus spend 4 days in a tomb and then called him out and the people still didn’t believe Him. Finally, He entered the river of death and came out on the other side. And this is what we celebrate in today’s Communion and every time we come to the Lord’s Supper. We are here to rejoice at both his death and resurrection and to make this proclamation until he returns!
We need to focus our rejoicing and make sure it is on the right thing. We rejoice in communion because we wait for the return of our risen Lord.
3. We take communion because we need to Repent from our Sins!
Look at verse 27-28:
”Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28, NIV).
Rob Hawk says, “Communion allows us to examine ourselves and if the Holy Spirit shines his light on anything in our lives that it unworthy of the body and blood of our Lord, we have the opportunity to repent and experience his forgiveness and cleansing in a new way that we might sincerely celebrate communion.”
State employment officials in Tucson, Arizona, posted an interesting sign over a full-length mirror. Directed to all job hunters, it read, “Would you hire this person?” In another office a mirror and sign posed this question: “Are you ready for a job?”
Self-evaluation was what the apostle Paul called for in 1 Corinthians 11. We need to look at ourselves weekly if not daily. In the Corinthian church, the “appearance problem” was especially serious. Those Christians “looked” awful. They were actually getting drunk and quarreling among themselves while going through the motions of celebrating the Lord’s Supper. So Paul said, in effect, “Look at yourselves. What a mess! If you don’t get your lives straightened out, the Lord will have to do it for you.” Then the apostle added the sobering fact that God had already begun to cleanse the church by sending some of them to an early grave. This is a hard truth, but one the church still needs to hear today.
We need to confess our sins when we come before the Lord in communion. This is a great time to ask for forgiveness. As we come to the table maybe we need to ask ourselves some questions. Questions like:
How have I walked with God this week?
Have I acknowledged Him as Lord of my life?
Have I surrendered my life to Him or am I holding back a part of my life for myself?
Have I offended someone?
Have I said things that need to be repented of?
Have I done something that is clearly a violation of God’s word?
Have I refused to make peace with my neighbor?
Is there any hidden sin that only God knows?
We share Communion each week to remember, rejoice, repent and finally
4.We need to Reconcile weekly!
“Reconcile” means to restore to friendship or harmony. In Communion, we are given the opportunity not only to repent, but also to be reconciled. There are times that we need to be reconciled to each other but each week we need to be reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. Colossians 1:22 – “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
Look at 1 Corinthians 11:29:
”For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself “(1 Corinthians 11:29, NIV).
We are all a part of the one body—The church of Jesus Christ. If I have resentment toward even one person here I really am judging myself. I’m no better than anyone of you here. At this table we all are on equal ground.
It was related that once when the Duke of Wellington remained to take communion at his parish church, a very poor old man went up to the opposite aisle, and reaching the Communion table, knelt down close by the side of the Duke. (Immediately, tension and commotion interrupted the silence of the church.) Someone came and touched the poor man on the shoulder, and whispered to him to move farther away, or to rise and wait until the Duke had received the bread and the wine.
But the eagle eye and the quick ear of the great commander caught the meaning of that touch and that whisper. He clasped the old man’s hand and held him to prevent his rising; and in a reverential but distinct undertone, the Duke said, “Do not move; we are equal here.”
James chapter five encourages us to “. . . confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of person living right with God is something to be reckoned with.”
5. We need to reflect on what God has done for us!
Philippians 4:8-9 says: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” We need to think back what God has done for us in the past, but we also need to thank Him for what He is going to do.
Last week in small groups I asked the question, “At what point in the worship service are you closer to God than any other part?” There were a lot of people who said communion. I think that if I were to ask that question here this morning, I think I would find the same answer from most of you.
I would like for you to go deep in your memory banks this morning and remember a communion service that really touched you and you have held on that memory for a long time. If I were to ask you what that communion time was what would you say? And why was that time so important for you. For me I can think of three different ones. The first one was during my first ministry at Bedford Acres Christian Church. It was during a youth group when we were at one of the kid’s home on a Sunday night. We were talking about how God provides for us in every situation. When we finished we were going to take communion and we couldn’t find anything to have communion with. So some of the kids went to the neighbors to see if they could borrow a little grape juice and another youth group member went to another house asking for some bread. When they came back with all of the supplies it was obvious that God had provided even in the smallest of situations.
Another time that communion was so important was when I was doing my internship at Kingsway Christian Church in Indianapolis. It was the summer of 1986, and the North American Christian Convention was there that year. This was the first time that the Missionary Convention and the North American Christian Convention came together and the leaders wanted to be able to share in communion with people from all over the world. There were over 30,000 people there that year. But they passed out the communion and had everyone to hold the communion and we would partake in unison. But when we took the bread and the cup and just knowing that we were taking with people from all over the world at the same time in that building sent goose bumps up and down my spine because it gave me I think for the very first time a picture of what Heaven is going to be like.
And the third time was 2 years ago this coming January when we were iced in from coming to church. We had a family service at home. The four of us sang songs and then had a time where we read the Bible and then had a family devotion. All of that was fun but when it came time to have communion, I looked outside and it started snowing hard at that very instant. And that reminded me how God has washed our sins as white as snow, and that was a great reminder as we were taking communion.
Robert Tinsky was raised in Judaism. Dissatisfied spiritually, he visited a Christian Church for the first time, seeking some religious truth. He was amazed by the observance of the Lord’s Supper. He didn’t understand it. He asked some young people seated near him what it meant. They faithfully told him the gospel story as portrayed in the loaf and cup. He was amazed that there was a God who loved humankind enough to give His Son to die for us and at the wisdom that originated such a living memorial. He became a Christian and a faithful preacher of the gospel.
When we share in Communion we are doing what almost all Christians do: celebrating a relationship with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, by taking seriously his own words on the night before he died—“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood poured out for you.
These five r-words are the reason that we take communion each week. We need to remember, we need to rejoice, we need to repent, we need to be reconciled, and we need to reflect upon what God has done. And the more we do these five things then the closer that we get to God!!!
