1 Corinthians 11:17-34 - Audio - a podcast by Steve Feden

This Sunday we continue in 1st Corinthians chapter 11, picking up in verse 17 and going through the end of the chapter.Communion? Eucharist? Lord’s Supper? Some of you might be so new to Christianity that you have no idea what these words mean. Others are very familiar with the practice in some form or another. If you come to CCF from a Catholic or more formal church background, the way you participated in the Lord’s Supper might be much different than if you come from a Baptist background. At CCF we have the little plastic cups and little morsels of Matzah while others have a common chalice and priestly officiants!Is there a right way or a wrong way? Let’s have a moment of honesty: have you ever felt like you were just going through the motions of a ritual? You know it should be meaningful but it doesn’t feel meaningful. Everyone takes the elements and the priest or pastor says the right words in the right order and we eat the dry cracker and drink the little sip of grape juice…..ok, there, we did it! Is that what it is supposed to be?Well, thanks to our friends in Corinth and their messy church life, we get the most comprehensive passage on the Lord’s Supper in the Bible! Paul is a bit irate, to say the least, about the way they were coming together to remember the Lord Jesus. They were coming together at least. But in this extremely instructive passage you will discover with me that Paul’s correction has nothing to do with the form of the ritual, but the heart with which they came and the relationships they had with each other.It was so bad, in fact, that Paul tells them that the way they behave when they come together is actually hurtful to their lives and in no way honoring to Jesus! Have you ever thought about that? Sometimes we can get a bit superstitious about this whole communion thing. We can think to ourselves“I just need to do it because Jesus said to do it and as long as we perform the ritual like we are supposed to then everything is ok”, right? WRONG!What’s going on with these Corinthians? What is the problem at the Lord’s Supper? Oh my! You need to listen in to this message to get the whole story!

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