Let's
come together at the communion table!
Scripture 1
Corinthians 11:17-34
In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi
wrote that during his student days, he read the Gospels seriously and
considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of
Jesus, he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the
people of India.
One Sunday, he decided to attend
services at a nearby church and to talk to the minister about becoming a
Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give
him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left
the church and never returned. Gandhi commented, "If Christians have caste differences
also, I might as well remain a Hindu." That usher's prejudice turned a person away from trusting
Jesus as Savior and meant he would never be able to feast together with other
believers at the Lord's table.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
In the following directives I have no
praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I
hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you,
and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among
you to show which of you have God's approval. When you come together, it is not
the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without
waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you
have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and
humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you
for this? Certainly not!
For I received from the Lord what I also
passed on to you: 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." For whenever you eat this bread and drink
this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
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. For anyone who eats and drinks without
recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is
why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are
judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned
with the world.
So then, my brothers and sisters, when
you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should
eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
FOOD ILLUSTRATIONS
1.
Last weekend people could have shared the little there was till more came.
2.
On the flip side, my first church potluck as a teenager, I didn't know we were
supposed to bring something to share, so a family who noticed adopted me for
the night so they made me feel like I was a part of what they brought, instead
of just saying - "don’t worry about it there is plenty" they made me
feel like a belonged.
FOOD AND HOSPITALITY AS YOUR LOVE
LANGUAGE
Do any of you have "food" as one of your love languages? Nathan does. He fixes our entire Thanksgiving meal from scratch - and I mean scratch. He doesn't even do what my family growing called the real cranberry sauce - you know - the kind shaped like a can…none of that for him. Or maybe you are the opposite and your love language is receiving food. That is 100% Skipper's love language - he loves receiving food any time anywhere. In either direction, my love language is not food.
A
closely associated love language is 'hospitality". How many of you have
this as a love language? You invite people to your home. You make sure everyone
is welcomed and comfortable no matter where you are? Diane Karoly has this as a love language. I
have been to their house for church meetings, a church picnic, a Christmas Eve
fellowship which she organized at the church this year, and today is
introducing what may become a once a month fellowship time after worship. Or
maybe your love language is receiving hospitality. I love being someone's guest
at a country club where someone comes to you with a golf cart and loads your
clubs for you and asks if you would like a beverage before heading out. Or,
being invited to someone's home for dinner, or a party, or a game night.
THE LAST SUPPER SHOWS JESUS' LOVE
LANGUAGE
Jesus
has food and hospitality as two of his many love languages. His last supper
makes that obvious. He made sure the room was acquired, the food was prepared,
and made sure everyone received his special part of the meal with the bread and
the cup. As to hospitality, he washed everyone's feet and addressed these men
as if they were his brothers. Jesus knew
Peter, Andrew, James, John, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, James-son of
Alphaeus, Thomas, Jude, Simon-the zealot, and Judas all by name.
DO YOU KNOW EVERYONE'S NAME?
How
many people's names do you know of those who are here this morning? The food is
prepared but the church provides the hospitality. Knowing someone's name is the
first sign of hospitality. In one church
I had a person who knew everyone's name - her name was Teddy. She introduced
herself to everyone who came to church and she wrote down the names of new
people in a little note pad she always had with her to help her remember. It
wasn't rocket science - it was simple hospitality.
How
many of you find it a little embarrassing if someone has told you their name
and you can't remember it? Or, you know that person has been coming for a few
months and you would feel embarrassed asking them their name? (Tara Williams)
The
first church I served, the deacons would meet new people and publicly introduce
them to the congregation. More embarrassing was asking people to introduce
themselves. We learned not to do that. However, I thought, maybe just this one
time we could do that. It will not suddenly make you know everyone's names, but
it might help you learn the name of a person or two you have been too
embarrassed to ask their name.
EVEYONE INTRODUCE THEMSELVES
COME TO THE TABLE IN UNITY
Last weekend I met a medical student who
was from India. I asked if he was a Hindu. He shared that he was raised as such
but believed that all religions were equal and one could serve you as well as
another. He added that he no longer actively participated in any religious
group setting. I shared with him the uniqueness of Jesus, that it is not about
following a set of rules or guidelines to be a better person, but was about a
personal communion between God and man that also brings unity between those who
choose to follow Jesus. Speaking to
someone from India, reminds me to do all I can to live in unity and welcome
everyone into our Ashland community. Not to ever treat anyone like that usher
had treated Gandhi.
Ben Kingsley starred as the main
character in the motion picture, Gandhi. He spent months preparing for the
role, visiting the various Indian locales Gandhi had frequented. He even
learned to spin cotton thread on a wooden wheel while holding conversations as
Gandhi did. The physical resemblance between Gandhi and Kingsley was startling.
After filming a scene in a village south of Delhi, Kingsley stepped out of a
car, and an elderly peasant knelt to touch his feet. Embarrassed, Kingsley
explained that he was merely an actor playing Gandhi. "We know," replied the villager, "but through you he will surely live
again."
Let me ask you, Does the Son of God live
again through us? Will they know we are
Christians by our love?
That's Jesus' prayer for us. That the
world will see Christ in us; through our unity and through our love.
Let us come together and partake of the one loaf - his body given for us, that
we might be his unified body for the world.
COMMUNION
(singing "Blest be the tie that binds")
SING: "The Blessing"
HINTS
FOR THE THEME
Why
do we have a yearly preaching theme?
What
do you think this year's theme might be?
What
clues would be helpful to guess the theme?
Who
do you think will be the central character of the theme?
This
year's theme might put you in Jeopardy.
Picnic with the Pastor
Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate the unity of the body of Christ.
Props: A hula hoop.
Lesson: Today I want us to play a game. It is called "Pass
the Hula Hoop." Do you want to play? (response) Okay,
let's stand up. Form a circle and join hands. Place the hula hoop on
one of the children's arms and then ask the children to form a circle holding
hands. If there is not enough room for a circle, form a straight line. The
object of this game is to make the hula hoop go all the way around the circle,
but you cannot let go of each other's hands. And you cannot touch the hula hoop
with your hands. You have to wiggle your body and step through the hoop in
order to pass it to the next person. Are you ready? Go! Allow the
children to wrestle with the problem. They will figure it out soon enough. Once
the hoop has successfully passed around the circle a couple of times, have the
children sit down. Did you like the game? (response) Good!
Let me ask you a question about the game. What were the different things that
you had to do in order to pass the hula hoop? (jump, bend down, move
the head, move the legs, etc.) Did you do all of those things at once,
or did you have to do them at different times? (response) Yes,
different times. And if someone on the other side of the circle was passing the
hoop, were you still doing something? (response) You were
still holding on, and some of you gave encouragement to those who had the hoop.
But you were still one group doing one task.
Application: In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminded the Christians
that the body of the church is one big body but it has many members. Your body
has arms and legs and a head and feet. They don't do the same things, but they
are still part of the same body. The same is true in your game. Not all of you
did the same thing, but you were part of the same group. In the church, many
people do different kinds of work, but we are all one church. Some people are
good at encouraging others, some people pray, some people spread the word, some
people help others a lot. But we are still part of the same church. All of you
have something that you can do for the church. No matter what it is you can do,
it is important. So I want you to think about what God wants you to do for the
church. And remember to help others when they are doing what God wants them to
do. Because the body is one and has many members.
No comments:
Post a Comment