John 4:23-24
The Lord’s Supper Is Worship
I have selected an unusual Bible verse to begin the Lord’s Supper. Normally,
I would read from 1Corinthians 11 or maybe Luke 22. But are these such strange
verses for the Lord’s Supper? They talk about worshipping God, and what is the
Lord’s Supper if it is not an act of worshipping God.
Let’s consider some thoughts about the Lord’s Supper.
I. The Lord’s Supper Is A Worship.
A. Worship is an eternally important and challenging act.
1. We say that we go to church to worship God, but do we?
2. For most people, church is a time of ENDURANCE not worship.
3. Even for those who are good and godly, church can become little
more than ENTERTAINMENT and EDUCATION.
B. Worship is the act of adoring and exalting God.
1. Under no circumstances can someone worship God passively.
2. Worship demands that the participants expend their energy, their
effort, and their emotions toward God.
C. The church of Corinth had many faults concerning the Lord’s Supper.
1. For some, it had become a drunken festival.
2. For others, it had become a feast.
3. For others, it had become an opportunity to show off one’s
position.
4. However, you can rest assured that in the beginning, the one fault
they all had was they had ceased to adore and exalt God in this
service.
5. That one fault lead them to all the others!
D. Will you spend any time in worship tonight?
II. The Lord’s Supper Is A Communion.
1Cor 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of
the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of
the body of Christ?
A. The word COMMUNION comes from 2 Greek words meaning UNION WITH.
1. Anytime members of the body of Christ meet together, Christ is in
their presence.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them.
2. In fact, the day you were saved, God moved inside of you.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you?
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.
3. Yet, there is something special and unique about breaking of bread
together, with Christ in our midst.
a. This service was designed by Jesus. It is the only service
which was.
b. This service was commanded by Jesus. It is the only service
which was.
c. And this service has the promise of fellowship with Jesus,
both in His suffering and in His glory, like no other service
has.
B. It is my belief that tonight, at this service, if you are willing,
Jesus will come sit beside you and love on you in a way that is
unique and different.
1. You need to open yourself to that possibility.
2. You need to adore and exalt Him, worship Him.
3. You need to actively give of yourself to God tonight.
III. The Lord’s Supper Is A Remembrance.
Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them,
saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
A. It is human nature to forget.
1. The Greeks used to say that “time wipes all things out of memory,”
as if the mind were a writing slate and time were the eraser.
Taken from http://preachersfiles.com/true-worship-4-the-lords-supper/
2. The memory can play tricks on us unless something is done to keep
it straight.
3. Important things must be remembered on purpose.
4. It is our privilege and responsibility to to keep our memory clear,
straight, and focused.
B. By remembering, we connect the past to the present and the future.
1. By remembering the past, we are anchored in fact and truth.
2. By remembering the past, we are presently set on a correct
course.
3. And by doing both of these two, we end up where God would have
us in the future.
C. It is my belief that one of the most important things we can do tonight
is to remember!
1. Remembering itself is not worship.
2. But remembering can stir our hearts to worship.
D. What should we be remembering?
1. We should be remembering what Christ gave up to come to this earth.
2. We should be remembering what Christ endured while He was on this
earth.
3. We should be remembering how Christ died.
4. We should be remembering what His death has already done for us.
5. And in all of this, we should be stirring our soul and spirit to
adore and exalt God!
IV. The Lord’s Supper Is An Examination.
1Cor 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup.
A. The Lord’s Supper is holy ground.
1. When Moses meet God beside the burning bush, he was commanded to
remove his shoes in the presence of God.
2. When Joshua meet the Captain of the Lord’s Host outside of Jericho,
he fell to his face and worshipped God.
3. When Daniel had a vision of God, he fainted and was sick certain
days.
4. Make no mistake, to be afforded an opportunity to meet with God is
no small matter.
B. Our church practices an open communion, meaning that anyone may partake
of this service. However,
1. If you have never been saved, you should not partake of it.
2. If you have been saved for a length of time and have not been
baptized, you should not partake of it.
3. If you know that things are not right in your heart or life, you
should not partake of it.
What you should do is make things right with God—whatever it takes—so that you
can partake in this service.
And if things are well with you and God, you should worship Him.
I pray that you will.
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