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

Understanding the Lord’s Supper

We Come Together

1 Corinthians 11:20: When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.

We come together in one place because the Lord’s Supper is a family meal, where the church comes together.

1 Corinthians 10:17 For we, being many, are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread.

Just as a loaf of bread is baked and mingled together, God says we’re members one of another. This Lord’s Supper is a time of communion. It is not simply communion with the Lord, but it is also a time of communion one with another—the great sign of our unity in Christ.

We’re Reminded That We are Set Apart for Him

1 Corinthians 10: 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons: you cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

This table is for those who have bowed the knee to Jesus. It is for those who have clearly, plainly, openly, publicly, everlastingly said, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

We Honor the Memory of Jesus

1 Corinthians 11:24: 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.’

There is one message that the Bible says we must keep forever in front of the church, and that message is the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We Celebrate

This is not a funeral, it’s a feast. The first Lord’s Supper took place on the night of the Passover feast. This is not a moment of silence for a dead friend. It is a meal of celebration with Someone who is alive, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is not behind us on a cross, and He’s beyond us on a throne and He is within us in our heart.

We Proclaim

As we come and share the Supper we are proclaiming that Jesus died for our sins.

We Meditate On Christ’s Work

1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.

We examine and we search. We allow the Holy Spirit of God to come into our heart and look at our inmost being.

We Are to Prepare for the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I have delivered them unto you.

We Take it Willingly

We don’t see the Lord’s Supper as a duty; it is a delight. It is more than a command to obey. It is a blessing to enjoy.

We Need to Understand Who Should Take the Supper

1 Corinthians 11:27: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

Those Who are Redeemed

1 Corinthians 10:21: You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons.

Those Who are Reconciled

1 Corinthians 11:18: First of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbol of our oneness. If there is a division in your heart, a divisive spirit in your heart, you get it right or you abstain.

Those Who Desire to Honor Christ

Some were making an ungodly party out of it. As we come today, it is a joyful occasion, and it need not be solemn or lifeless. But it must be serious and with absolute reverence.

Those Who Have Repented

It is for those who are analyzing their lives to see their sin and confess it as what it is.

We Are to Enjoy the Lord’s Supper

We can enjoy our forgiveness in Him! As the Passover looked forward to our forgiveness, the Lord’s Supper looks back, and sees that it is done, completed.

We Are Reminded of The Future We Have With Him

Not only does the Lord’s Supper look back; it looks forward. We do show the Lord’s death till He come. We are reminded that He is coming back again for us and to take us to a place He is preparing for us that we will spend eternity with Him.