Scripture referenced 18 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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1 Corinthians 11:17-34 the main passage preached through, covering the Lord's Supper rebuke and institution
17 But in giving you this command, I don’t praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse.
18 For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among you, and I partly believe it.
19 For there also must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealed among you.
20 When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
21 For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken.
22 What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly, and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
23 For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.
24 When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
25 In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
31 For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are punished by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.
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Keep this verse
1 Corinthians 11:17
you come together not for the better but for the worse
17 But in giving you this command, I don’t praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse.
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1 Corinthians 11:18
when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you
18 For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among you, and I partly believe it.
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1 Corinthians 11:19
there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized
19 For there also must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealed among you.
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1 Corinthians 11:20
when you come together it is not to eat the Lord's Supper
20 When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
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1 Corinthians 11:21
each one takes his own supper ahead of others and one is hungry and another is drunk
21 For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken.
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1 Corinthians 11:22
do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing
22 What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly, and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
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1 Corinthians 11:23-25
the institution of the Lord's Supper, received from the Lord and delivered to them
23 For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.
24 When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
25 In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”
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1 Corinthians 11:26
as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
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1 Corinthians 11:27
whoever eats this bread in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
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1 Corinthians 11:28
let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
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1 Corinthians 11:29
he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment, not discerning the Lord's body
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
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1 Corinthians 11:30
for this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep
30 For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
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1 Corinthians 11:31-32
if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged, but when judged we are chastened by the Lord
31 For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are punished by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
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1 Corinthians 11:33-34
when you come together to eat, wait for one another; if anyone is hungry let him eat at home
33 Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.
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Jude 12-13
spots and blemishes in your love feast, clouds without water, wandering stars reserved for blackness of darkness
12:12 These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13:13 wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
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2 Peter 2:13
they receive wages of unrighteousness, spots and blemishes carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you
13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you;
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Jude 24-25
closing benediction, to him who is able to keep you from falling and present you without fault
24:24 Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy,
25:25 to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message worked through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Paul's sharp rebuke of the Corinthian church for the way they were treating the Lord's Supper. Pastor Mark traced Paul's argument from the rebuke itself through the simple institution of communion, and then pressed the congregation toward self-examination ahead of taking communion together in two weeks.
What was said
Paul opens this section with no softening. Unlike the head-coverings passage just before it, where he offered a "yes, but" encouragement, here he says flatly that when the Corinthians gather, they would be better off staying home. That sets the tone for everything that follows. The word for "church" here is ekklesia, people called out of every culture, tribe, and background and into one body at the foot of the cross, and Paul's point is that what they were doing in Corinth was the opposite of that.
The two words Paul reaches for are schismata, the rips and tears opening up in the body, and heresis, which does not start out meaning doctrinal error but rather self-chosen opinion. Factions form when individuals elevate their own views until those views become the thing that divides. Pastor Mark noted the irony that one of the most fought-over self-chosen opinions in church history is the exact manner in which the Lord's Supper should be observed, the very thing Paul is trying to correct.
The wealthier members in Corinth were meeting in their own homes, arriving early, eating and drinking their fill before the working poor could even get there. Paul's rhetorical question lands hard: do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? The Lord's Supper was meant to be the one gathering where every distinction collapses, and they had turned it into the opposite, a display of the same social divisions that existed outside the church.
Paul then steps back and simply restates what Jesus did on the night he was betrayed. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said to eat it in remembrance of him. He took the cup and said to drink it in remembrance of him. Pastor Mark pointed out how straightforward this is, and how strange it is that the church has made it so complicated when Jesus himself said the whole point is remembrance of his broken body and shed blood.
The warning that follows is serious. Eating and drinking in an unworthy manner, meaning coming without any self-examination, without recognizing your own need, brings judgment on yourself. Paul says this is why some in the Corinthian church were weak, sick, or had died. The parallel to Ananias and Sapphira was noted. God cares enough about the purity of his church to chasten those inside it, and that chastening is different from condemnation.
The correction Paul offers is not complicated either. Examine yourself, wait for one another, welcome one another. If you are hungry, eat at home. Come to the table prepared to think about someone other than yourself. Author Michael Green's sixfold summary was offered as a way to hold the whole passage together: look back to Christ's death, look in through self-examination, look up to fellowship with God, look around to fellowship with others, look forward to Christ's return, and look outward in proclamation.
With communion planned for two weeks out, Pastor Mark asked anyone carrying something against another person to try to make it right before then. The all-praise service next Sunday was framed as part of the same preparation, a chance to gather, to let God inhabit the praise of his people, and to come to the table two weeks later ready.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Mark opened by having the congregation call out blessings, and said that a mindset of thankfulness changes your outlook and attitude. What is one blessing you named today, and how does naming it actually change the way you see your circumstances?
- Pastor Mark explained that the word 'church' comes from the Greek ekklesia, meaning people called out of the world and into God, and he pointed out people in the room from Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, Romania, the Philippines and elsewhere. What does it mean to you personally to be called out of your birth culture and into something that puts everyone equal at the foot of the cross?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 8,554 words
0:00
Upon life's billows you are tempest tossed. When you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord have done count your blessings name them one by one count your blessings see what God has done count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God has
0:40
done. Alright, anybody?
0:43
Shout it out. Healing. Family healing.
0:46
Family and healing. Wow. Heat. Friends. That's nice.
0:50
Jesus. Jesus. Amen. People who snow.
0:57
Carol Black has one that I can't hear.
1:00
Every day.
1:00
Every day. That's exactly good. Alright. Great. Dale?
1:04
Freedom. That's wonderful too.
1:05
I'm telling you,
1:06
when you start You're I should do this more often.
1:09
Mindset of thankfulness. Right? It just changes your outlook, changes the attitude.
1:14
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy? You are called to bear. Count your many blessings every doubt will fly and you will be singing as the days go by count your blessings name them one by one count your blessings see what God has done your blessings name them one by one count your many blessings see what God has
1:56
Alright. Any more that we didn't get? Grandchildren. Arms and legs. Amen.
2:04
Judy, thanks for the video this morning. That was wonderful. Reminds us to be thankful.
2:09
I'm thankful that Scott Eichen is back there in the back. I'm
2:12
gonna ask.
2:12
Amen. Hey, Scott. When it's time for the operatory prayer, I'm gonna invite you up here, okay? Just so you know. Alright.
2:17
Your little head start.
2:19
When you look at others, they're land and gold. Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold count your many blessings money cannot buy your reward in heaven nor your home on high count your blessings name them name them by one count your blessings see what God has done count your blessings name them one by one count your many blessings see what God has done so amid the conflict whether great or small do not be discouraged God is over all amen count your many blessings angels will attend help and comfort give you to your journeys count your blessings name them one and by one count your blessings see what God has done your blessings name them one by one count your many blessings see what God has done amen
3:47
amen does that it change your attitude all those little blessings I'm telling when you get down and get discouraged, start thinking of the things that are blessings in your life. Pretty soon, you're not so worried about those things and they don't get as big and your God is bigger. Amen?
4:02
True. We gather together.
4:04
Here we go. Together to ask the Lord's blessings he chastens and hastens will to make known the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing sing praises to his name he forgets not his own beside us to guide us our God with us joining ordaining his kingdom divine so from the beginning the fight we are winning and pray that thou still our defender will be let thy congregation escape tribulation thy name be ever praised, oh Lord, make us free.
5:43
Amen. That's what it says. It said, amen on the wall. Would y'all have a seat? And I will go through a couple of announcements, a few announcements this morning actually.
5:55
We are glad that you're here. I don't need to be reminded of that one. I'm glad that y'all are here. I'm glad to be here but we have a few. Happy Thanksgiving and that nice fall leaf right there was actually painted by Paschal.
6:05
I didn't mention it in the first service. I didn't want to embarrass her but she painted it and then we skipped fall altogether and went straight to winter. So, happy Thanksgiving this Thanksgiving week and several of the songs, I noticed this morning, several of these songs are obviously Thanksgiving themed but the passage today is about communion. It's about the Lord's supper. Now, we're not taking communion today but the word, it won't come up in the sermon so I'll mention it.
6:28
Eucharist. The Eucharist is EU which means good and then charis which means grace. Good graces. It means thanksgiving. Thankful for all the good grace that God has given.
6:40
So anyway, that's kinda cool. And this is what is sacred being offered to dogs right here. 06:15PM, Monday nights at First Bee are always going on but we're doing one this week and it is a Thanksgiving themed third annual Thanksgiving feast. So, if you'd like to come along, please bring some side dish with you. Do not bring the dogs.
7:01
I just thought that was funny. Awana is happening at the same time. Mondays at 05:45 is when we sign in about six, they get rolling. So Awana because kids matter to God, and that is a great great program, and y'all know it because about half of you in here help in some way with that, and we're thankful for it. This year, Operation Christmas Child, Samaritan's Purse Ministries, last week, KC stood up and mentioned it, and kind of we've had it in the bulletin for a few weeks.
7:29
We went 15 or 20 boxes more this year than we had last year, so we had a 115 boxes stuffed and packed and sent off all over the world, and a lot of y'all I saw in my email two different times that we had signed up to see where that box goes somewhere in the world. That'll be kinda cool to see. So, pray for those that each one of those people that receives it understands where it came from and out of what heart it was given. So, there's also a lady ladies Christmas luncheon that's coming up on December 12. From twelve to two.
8:01
That is a Friday. Normally, ladies have been meeting on Wednesdays, but this is a Friday, December 12. Please RSVP by the tenth, and that is an incredibly long email address right there, jackson hole women's Bible study or jhwomen'sbiblestudy@gmail.com. It's easier just to call the church. So, that number is the church number.
8:19
If you can call and let us know if you're coming. Also, this is considered to be an outreach event. So, you're welcome to come. If you've been coming to those, whether you've been coming or not to the Women's Wednesday worship and if you want to bring somebody or many somebody, call and tell us how many you plan on bringing with you. So thank you, and childcare will be available for that ladies Christmas lunch, and it'll be set up in here, and it's actually catered this time, but we do need to know how many people are coming.
8:43
So RSVP as soon as you can. And there is a double take. This is a Christmas pageant that is told... As told by Matthew and Luke, is gonna happen on December 14. Do you wanna say anything else about that, Shanna?
9:00
Nancy? Anybody? I could just tell them. It's on the nine and the eleven. We are gonna have a Christmas pageant basically, and it's humorous and it's mysterious and it's also reverent.
9:11
In different places, it's different things, but it's a really good retelling of the Christmas story. So, I'm looking forward to it, and not just because it's a day off, but I'm looking forward to it. So, it's at the nine and eleven on Sunday mornings. Tonight, Youth Alliance Meeting. Don't know if you all know as much about this but the Youth Alliance is primarily made up of Rivercross and Youth Group, First Bees Youth Group, who else?
9:37
Presbyterian Churches Youth Group, Episcopal Saint John's youth group too and they get together. It's important for kids to know that there are other kids that are Christians in this town, you know? We know the ones in our church sometimes but we don't always know but Jackson Hole Youth Alliance is one of the things that I believe is bringing together some fairly disparate groups and bringing them back to the center of the gospel. That'll come up a few times. It comes up every Sunday but from five to seven tonight, they're meeting at River Crossing and they wanted to get all the kids together before the holidays got into full swing.
10:07
So, five to seven tonight, if you know a uke, be glad to send them to Rivercross and you leaving from here, you carrying a van or? Yeah. That would be a good idea because that van would be squarely right now. Yeah. Okay.
10:20
Alright. So, we're glad that you're here. Would you would you stand and greet one another and we'll bring you back together with
10:26
a song. When we gather, we give thanks because he is deserving of our thanks. It all... It does us a whole lot of good to be thankful. But we do it for the purpose of bringing him glory and acknowledging where our blessings come from.
10:43
So let's keep that in mind as we sing this next song and kind of regroup together. I know it's like three of you actually listening right now but that's good. Alright, give thanks. One seventy in your hymnal if you're using the hymnal.
10:59
Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the holy one. Give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ his son and now let the weak say I am strong let the poor say I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us and now let the weak say I am strong. You know the words. Let the poor say, I am
11:42
rich. Because of what?
11:43
Because of what? The Lord has done for us. Give thanks. So, we're gonna do
11:52
it again.
11:52
Alright. Again. Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the holy one. Give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ his son and now let the weak say I am strong let the poor say I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us and now let the weak say I am strong let the poor say I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us give thanks
12:46
Amen. Scott, would you come on up and y'all can be seated and I'm going to ask the front line to, hey, wait just a second. Jesus, we just wanna thank you. We'll sing that one after the offering. How about that?
12:55
Amen. Hey, good to see everybody.
12:57
And the frontline team, would y'all come up too, please?
13:00
Yeah. Hey, let's let's pray and and give praise to our lord through our giving. Lord, we just thank you for this day you've made. We rejoice God that we're alive today. We thank you for everything you've given.
13:17
We know that every good and perfect gift is from you, our father. And so now Lord, please be glorified through our giving. We wanna cheerfully give. We wanna worship you through our giving. We pray all of this in Jesus name.
13:34
Amen.
13:47
Live from day to day I don't borrow from its sunshine for its skies may turn to gray I don't worry or the future for I know what Jesus said and today I'll walk beside him for he knows what is ahead many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand but I know tomorrow and I know who holds my hand every step is getting brighter as the golden stairs are climb and I know who holds my hand in and all about tomorrow it may bring me poverty but the one who feeds the sparrow is the one who stands by me and the path that may be portion may be through the flaming flood but his presence goes before me and I'm covered with his blood and I know who holds my
16:19
Are we going to sing that song? Let's sing that song. Jesus, I just want to thank you. Let's do that. It's on there.
16:25
Would you all stand up with us and we're going to sing it? Seven ninety one. It's on the wall.
16:28
We're functioning at the bit.
16:29
One more. Jesus, we just want to thank you. Jesus, we just want to thank you. Jesus we just want to thank you thank you for being so good Jesus, we just want to you Jesus, we just want to you, Jesus we just want to praise you praise you for being so good savior we just want to serve you serve you for being so good Jesus we know you are coming Jesus we know you are coming Jesus we know you are coming take us to live in your
18:16
home Amen. Thank you. Y'all can be seated. And as we progress through Corinthians, y'all know we're going through and doing expository type preaching through Corinthians and last week, I got to that uncomfortable subject for me, the head coverings, but I will say this, on that head covering issue, Paul started out the session by saying, now I want to praise you all for keeping the traditions which I taught to you. No.
18:49
He said, I am praising you for keeping up with the traditions just as I taught them to you, and then he got on to them, which sounds a little weird to us, but the first section from two to 16, he said, I'm praising you because you are sticking to what I taught you, but... And then he's, yes, but. Yes, but you could be better, and this is the way you could be better. I've read several commentaries and they say that Paul often uses yes but logic. Yes, but you could be a little closer on if you would do this.
19:21
He's encouraging them, but at the same time giving them a little bit of an exhortation too to get them in the right place. Now, I will not say that this is an exhortation. This one is a rebuke and a very, very strong rebuke. The next passage, especially... So first Corinthians eleven seventeen through 34.
19:40
It's about corporate worship and the supper of the Lord, the Lord's supper. So, the first section is verses 17 through 22 and this is a very very strong rebuke and after the strong rebuke, he goes into, this is the teaching. Now, you'll recognize if we get to this part. I left a couple of blank slides in there depending on time. I think I have enough time to go through the whole sermon.
20:04
The second sir or the first service, we did not. We praise God all morning long. No, I'm just kidding. I expanded this first section because I think it's something that we need to hear. 17 through 22 is an especially strong rebuke but it's also sets up the simple teaching of Jesus on the Lord's Supper, the simple remembrance ceremony.
20:27
And then after that, he goes into, this is what happens when this doesn't go well. He kinda tells in that last set of verses why this first rebuke is so strong. Does that make sense to you? So there are three major sections here. The first one's the first 17 through 22, and he says, now, in giving these instructions, that's as opposed to the instructions he gave last week about the head covering and how a headship works.
20:52
So he says, now, I'm giving these instructions presently, these that I'm about to say, I do not praise you. I am not praising you, progressive speaking. Since you come together not for the better but for the worse. Oh my goodness. He's saying that when you come together, you'd be better off staying home than coming to church and doing it the way you all are doing it.
21:13
So for the Corinthians, that's a very very strong rebuke just straight out of the box, first verse. You come together not for the better but for the worst, and the come together there is assembly. Soon... It's it's where we get the word synagogue from. I will say, this week got to be very academic for me.
21:29
I admit it out in the front. There are at least four Greek words that will come up. I think that they matter. That's the reason I'm gonna bring them up. So in giving these instructions, I'm not praising you for...
21:39
Because when you get together, when you assemble yourselves, it's not for the better but for the worse. You'd be better off not even getting together. First of all, he says first of all, and then he forgets to say second of all, third of all, and in closing. He just says first of all. Okay?
21:54
First of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. So he's already said when you come together in that first part, this is an assembly, y'all gather in yourselves, but he says, but when you come together as a church, and I wanna go into that, the word for church there is ekklesia, and that comes from two different Greek words put together. One of them is ek or ex. Anytime you hear express is ex press, ex is to get out of the press. Does that make sense?
22:29
Eck is to be out of and to, out from and to. So it's made up of eck and kaleo, and kaleo is to call. Like, if I did, deo. Yeah. That's right.
22:42
It's a call. It's a call and response. It's called out of something. That's pretty... Okay.
22:46
Y'all are with me. So, out from and to. So, he is calling out but it's not just calling out. I like the rest of this definition where it says, properly, it is people who are called out from the world, and I would go so far as to say from every tribe, tongue, and nation, from every culture, they're being called out of the culture that they were immersed in, born in, raised in, whatever. He's calling them out from where they are into another thing, which is the church.
23:15
The out of the world and into God, the outcome being the church, the mystical body of Christ. That body, church triumphant, that is all believers, anyone who's put their faith in Jesus and trusted in his blood to save them from their sin throughout all ages, past, present, and even into the future. That's the church, the mystical body of Christ. By simple belief that he did what he said he did. By his perfect life, perfect sacrificial death, resurrection, ascension, his command, the mystical body of believers, I e, the universal or total body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into his eternal kingdom.
23:58
That is what this is about. Ecclesia, that's what it's about. In this church right now, I was just looking around, we've got folks I know from Mexico, from Brazil, from Vietnam, from The United States, from Romania, and there may be others. Philippines, there may be others that I... Y'all were called out of those places and into the body of Christ.
24:17
It's amazing. This is an amazing thing. So he's calling us out of whatever our birth culture was, even if it was Southern Baptist. Even if it was Southern Mid West Central Georgia, you know. He's calling us out of one thing and into another thing, the church, and we are at the foot of the cross, all equal.
24:35
That makes sense? Alright. Ecclesia, called out, the called out ones. For first of all, when you come together, when you assemble yourselves, ecclesia, out of the world and into the church. I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part, I believe it.
24:53
He gives a little breathing room that if the shoe doesn't fit, then okay. But it's a very strong rebuke. He's saying, on the whole, this is true for every one of you. It's true. Some of you are already living by it.
25:06
I know it. There are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. He had gotten those reports from Chloe's household, he had another delegation of three or four sent to him, and he had gotten a letter from them. So he's gotten a lot of information about Corinth, and he says that I hear that there are divisions among you. Now the word for divisions there is schismata.
25:26
Schismata. What does it sound like? Schism. What is a schism? A separation, a dividing.
25:34
Actually, schism literally started off being a rent, divided, torn piece of cloth. So if I were to go, like that, and rip my britches right here, that would be a schism. Alright? A schism in my pants. So the schism is when something happens to divide, and he's saying that there is a schismata.
25:58
There are divisions among you. There are gaping holes that have been opened up because of a separation that has happened. Does that make sense? So I didn't put the definition up there, but I thought that the pants analogy would do that. So it's been divided asunder.
26:12
When you... When in a wedding you say that which God has put together, let not schismata, let not man split asunder, take apart. So, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part, I believe it. He's saying, I know that there are some good people in there, I know that, but the schisms are the obvious thing. The pair of pants with the big hole in it, it's hard to ignore.
26:36
Doesn't matter what the legs look like if the rump is ripped apart. Right? So, for there must also be factions among you, And I wanna stop right there. The factions in this case. For us in English, divisions and factions, they are two different words, but are they more or
26:51
less
26:51
synonymous? Do you think of them as being about the same thing? Okay. There's a division and then there are factions. Kinda.
26:59
Look at what... This is the Greek word for factions there. Heresis. Heresis. Heresis.
27:05
What does it sound like? Heresy. Sounds like heresy, and that is where we get our word heresy. Look at the primary definition though. It's not against the teaching of the church.
27:17
It's not what we might think of. It is a self chosen opinion. Is that what usually is, heresy that's going against orthodox belief? Something that is unorthodox and even heretical is a self chosen opinion, where we have made something to be incredibly important in our own minds. It's a self chosen opinion.
27:39
Now, it goes on to say a religious or philosophical sect, someone belonging to this opinion or that opinion, whatever. It's also discord or contention. So, discord or contention is usually what happens when someone has a self chosen opinion. When they, especially if they are a power broker. Now, we know from the first, second, and third chapters of Corinthians that there were some very powerful leaders.
28:07
Some of them were powerful because they had rhetoric on their side. They're great and persuasive communicators, the sophists. You remember I was talking about that? The sophists would convince people of their way and they had some kind of crazy thoughts, a lot of them. Do you remember that they were not following up on church discipline with a guy who was openly having an intimate relationship, sexual relationship with his stepmother and they were allowing him to just stay in the church and not saying anything about it.
28:36
They're not saying anything about it most likely because there was this, yeah, but the grace of God will cover it party. The self chosen opinion that said, yeah, we can do whatever we want to. We're free, completely free in Christ, completely libertine because they didn't want to be associated with these legalists over here that said, oh my goodness, all they care about is, no, we care about the word of God and it says that you should not do that. So, the legalist might go so far as to say, you can't do, you can't do, you can't do. They might get further and further over here, and the Libertines would just go further and further that way too.
29:14
The self chosen opinion about it, there's a huge difference in the New Testament in Sadducees and Pharisees. This is the example when I looked up this, Heresis. Pharisees are extremely letter of the law people and Sadducees are, let's do whatever our society... You know, we're we're still religious. We're still we're still Jews, but don't be ridiculous about it.
29:37
Okay? So heresies is a self chosen opinion. Discord or contention is usually the result. But look at why. For there must also be factions, heresy among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
29:55
Now, approved right there was really interesting in some versions, English versions of the Bible. It said so that the proven ones or the proven believers even in some, really communicative versions, that is what it's talking about. Those who are approved may be recognized among you. That's the next... I think it's the last, but it's next of the Greek words anyway.
30:16
So, Dokimas. I actually thought when I was reading this, hey, Greek. This is cool. Okey dokey. Okey dokey.
30:25
I bet that's where that comes from. So, look up etymology of okey dokey. Where does that come from? And it does not come from Dokimas. But they did actually said, they said, it said, no, it is a coincidence, but it's a beautiful thing.
30:37
Somebody else had had the same thought, I'm sure. It means approved, acceptable, tried, or genuine. One of the main ways that this was used when they're stamping coins. That was an old... You know, stamping coins in the olden days, they didn't have that kind of mints that we do now, and so when they're striking a coin, if it was right and perfect and acceptable, then they would use it.
30:59
It was good. It was good as currency. If it mistruck or didn't look right or double struck or whatever, they'd chunk it back into the furnace and make something better next time. They'd hope for better next time. But the document says approved, acceptable, tried, or genuine.
31:14
So these are talking about actual real Christians. If you go back and look, it says, there must also be heresis among you in order that or so that. It's a henna clause. In order that those who are proven, approved, genuine, true Christians may be recognized among you. The heresies is actually what shows up who is among you that is real.
31:41
Now, he's going to go on here and he's going to blast them a while longer. He's already talked about divisions and factions but he says, from this point, he starts to kind of repeat himself. Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. He's just warning them. What you're doing, yes, every time you get together, you do have wine and you do have bread.
32:06
Yes, but it's not the Lord's Supper. I don't want you to fool yourselves into believing that the way you're doing it is actually the Lord's supper. He follows that up with this next verse. For in eating, each one takes his own supper. So, not only is he saying, it it ain't the Lord's supper you're eating, it's your own supper and he makes it the own in there is like a really emphatic.
32:28
It's your own supper you're eating. You care more about yourself than you do about God. That's hefty. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of the others. Now, I've read a lot this week in commentaries and different things.
32:43
In this time, they probably would not have met in a church building. They would have been meeting in people's homes. Now, whose home you're going to meet in? If you got a meeting of 40 people, 30 people? Probably one of the bigger homes, which would have been the wealthier people have bigger homes.
32:58
Nothing, you know, some some things never change. That's the way it goes. So when they get together, they're already in their house. Sunday was not an established day off at this time. So, the poorer people would be the working class that work more longer hours, harder, getting there would not have been as easy for them.
33:17
And so he's saying, y'all basically are tailgating. You're hanging out, waiting on the game to start. You get there early. You're flipping brats. You're doing all of this thing.
33:27
That's the analogy that I see in my mind because... And I thought of the follies also. Y'all been to Jackson Hole Follies. Have you all ever been to that? It's a bring your own supper event.
33:39
They have the tables out there, you set up the tables, and then you bring your own supper or tailgating at a football party is the same way. You bring in whatever it is that you want to eat, and so people have taken it to some extremes. I looked up several videos, some of them were just filthy. When you try... When they're getting together for their team, they're so...
33:58
Their self chosen opinion. Right? There's a lot of religious stuff going on at football parking lots. People wearing their hats a certain way to bring about the favor of the football gods. People that have their receiver hitch barbecue grill where you put it in the receiver hitch and you're you're literally out there getting ready and flipping over steaks and whatnot, getting ready for the game.
34:19
And you get there way ahead of time, fill up completely, and drinking whatever you want, doing whatever you want, you're ready. And I and I think of this family that's barely had enough, They've been saving all year but they've got this. It's going be the family outing and they go to the football game and they get the tickets but that's all they can afford and they get on in. It's sad at a football game. How much more sad is it at church?
34:42
When you're called out from whatever culture it is, whether it's rich or poor, whether it is literate or illiterate, when you're called out from something into something else and we are, there's one baptism, one fellowship, one spirit. There's one, one, one, one, one, Jesus, when he prayed in the garden, he goes, father, may they be one, just as we are one. Unity is that important, and Paul is seeing that this is not unity. Divisions and factions he's been through at the beginning, he comes back to it again. One is hungry and another is drunk.
35:18
That in itself is a division. Right? They're the haves and the have nots, and the haves are not really paying attention to the needs, wants, or feelings of the have nots. So he goes on from there. Let me let me go actually for a couple.
35:31
Jude and Peter both chime in on this, and this is Jude twelve and thirteen, verses twelve and thirteen from Jude. These, and he's talking about the haves who are going in and they don't care. These are the spots, blemishes, in your love feast. While they feast with you without any fear, serving only themselves, they are clouds without water. It's a desert land.
35:53
Right? If you see clouds, you want them to be carrying rain. Clouds without water, carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Does that sound like those are true, acceptable, genuine, true, good, real Christians? No.
36:21
He's saying they're in your midst. Paul says that the divisions and the factions and the heresy, the self chosen opinions, making the majors, making the minor things major is one of the ways to spot whether this is true or not. Peter, in amazingly similar language, says in two thirteen and and they will receive the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to corral in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions, in their own. You see, own how much it comes up, the self chosen opinion, in their own deceptions while they feast with you.
37:00
The love feast, the agape meal was the center point of worship and it was supposed to be by Jesus's divine appointment. The thing that brought people together. It was the place where when you come here, everyone is equal. So he goes on from there. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk, and then he says, what?
37:24
Come on. What? Really? That's what he's saying. What?
37:29
Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? That's a rhetorical question with a expected yes answer or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
37:48
I am not praising you. I cannot congratulate you or say anything good about. This is not yes, but logic. This is no. This is not the way it's supposed to be.
37:57
Now, from 23 on down to 26 is what we use almost every time that we do communion. It's Jesus' institution of the Lord's supper. It's incredibly easy to understand. It's incredibly easy to do. But they were missing it and they were missing it bad.
38:17
What does this mean to you? Take a moment and consider this. A b c d c b a. What does this mean to you, Bible scholars? This is something that seminarians love looking for.
38:28
It's a chiasm. A chiasm. Chi is the Greek letter for X and so there's A here and A here, B here, and B here. It's a chiastic construction. It's a Hebraic way of thinking.
38:41
So, it's a Hebrew way of thinking that when you're going to talk about something, you kind of aim towards it from the beginning and then the closer to the center of your point you get is the d up there. Okay? D is the center of what you want to say. So you go a b c d, and then you repeat your other point, c b a. What identifies this, it is central to what it is that you're communicating.
39:06
So if we look at that passage, I'm... I color coded it. We look at that passage, they stand out sometimes. I hardly ever find them. I don't usually look for them.
39:16
I just take it as it's written and go through. If somebody else points it out, go, oh, kinda cool. That's neat. So I'm pointing it out for y'all. Y'all can go, oh, cool.
39:23
That's that's neat. Now, in giving these instructions, I am not praising you. Now, what's the last sentence say? What shall I say? Shall I praise you?
39:31
I am not praising you. That's a and a right there. The b up here is, you come together not for the better but for the worse. Down at the bottom, it's, do you despise the church and shame those who have nothing? Is that worse?
39:44
That's pretty bad. The pink, when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others and one is hungry and another is drunk. That's a division. But it gets you to the sinner.
40:00
There must also be factions among you so that those who are approved may be recognized. Now, where is it when we come together for the Lord's Supper? What is the thing? It is about the truth of our religion. This is the one place where we gather, all of us are absolutely equal at the foot of the cross.
40:20
There's no one who's without sin. No, not one. We only come upon the merit of his blood, and that's what we're remembering. His broken body. That's all we have to claim before Christ.
40:32
Don't let me boast. There's nothing that I can boast of. How smart I am, how professional I am, how I don't know in our day and time, unorthodox I am. Countercultural I am. Whatever.
40:44
We have nothing to boast of except in the blood of Christ. Let the blood of Calvary speak for me. That's what we're saying when we take communion, when we take the Lord's supper and we're saying that nothing else matters right now. I don't care where you're from. I don't care what your culture was, what your culture is, is gathering around the cross and realizing we're all needy people before him and he has offered this grace that we can accept and live as one.
41:10
Ecclesia. So, that was the end of the sermon in the first service but I got a lot of time left. So, we're going to keep on going. This is what I thought about this was it's incredibly simple. Like Paul, I've stopped four or five times explaining Greek verbs and everything else but when Paul says, I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you.
41:31
He's saying, y'all have screwed this up big time but I'm gonna take you back for a minute. When I was there, I received it from the Lord and I delivered it to you. That the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks, Eucharist, Eucharist, is when he had given thanks, Thanksgiving, after Thanksgiving, he broke it and he said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
42:05
That's simple. I don't need to explain any of that. Right? I could explain a little bit. Over the years, we've done this a lot of different ways.
42:13
A lot of different churches practice at different ways. We do it as a representative thing here. I think that first passage talking about the self chosen opinions, it's incredibly ironic and sad that one of the self chosen opinions that people have majored on the most is how exactly the Lord's Supper should be practiced. Whether the priest should communicate to the communicants, should stand up here and I offer it to you. I ask the blessing, I do this, and then I offer it to you.
42:44
Or should we all share an actual loaf? Should we sit around? Should we stand up? Should you walk down the aisle? Should we pass it all out?
42:51
Wait, and then I'll take it at the same time. All of the different ways that this has been practiced over the years, a lot of it is self chosen opinion and tradition. What Jesus said was amazingly similar in all of the gospels, well, three of the gospels, the synoptic gospels, and in Paul. It's very simple. On the same night he was betrayed, he took bread.
43:11
When he had given thanks, he broke it and he said, take eat, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. One of the biggest heresy, one of the biggest schismatas in the whole church is whether Jesus meant this is my body like it magically turns into it or whether this is a metaphor for my body. It's crazy. The center point of all of history, Christ's death.
43:41
Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. He says it's about remembrance. In the sentence, remember me every time that you do this.
43:52
In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper and saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this or this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. It feels weird to do this without having the thing in your hand, doesn't it? It feels weird to not be taken on right now this communion.
44:15
I honestly don't care how exactly you do this. I don't think that it matters. I think the point is doing it so that you will remember how we all have been called out and called into. Called out of whatever culture we grew up in, shaken off whatever past life we had, and being called into union with Christ and the mystical body of the church to do his will, to do God's will. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.
44:44
And that's the other place where I could cut the sermon off. The blank slide. The slug, they call it in the biz. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. He's saying, the only way that you can come and take this is by recognizing that you don't deserve it.
45:11
You don't merit it. If you come in any other manner than that, thinking you're you're it. Your opinion is it. God can't get along without you. Your opinion matters more than anybody's out.
45:26
Therefore, if you eat this bread that way, it is guaranteed you are not. Doki. Mas. You are not okey dokey. None of us are okey dokey.
45:41
Whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, thinking you're it, will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. It is about him, not about us. But let a man examine himself and so in this manner, in this way, let a man examine himself and so examining himself and seeing that he is coming up short, so in this manner, let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. It does not say, don't let an earth unworthy man take this. It doesn't say that.
46:13
We are all unworthy. It says, don't take it in an unworthy manner. Let a man examine himself and so in this way, let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner or unworthily eats and drinks judgement unto himself. Not discerning the Lord's body.
46:34
He's not even considering that broken body and that's what it's about. Jesus's broken body and shed blood, not discerning the Lord's body. He's drinking judgment. The old King James, maybe it wasn't, it's either this verse or the next instead of judgment. It says, damnation.
46:50
It's not damnation. It's judgment. He's bringing upon himself judgment. For this reason, many of you are weak and sick among you and many sleep. For this reason, many are weak and sick among you and many sleep.
47:02
Now, if you have been in a place where you have not been caring about others and you are one of the haves and you've not been caring about the have nots at all. That's a that's a dangerous position to be in. A life of excess is a dangerous place to be. If you are somebody that is all about self, that is weak and sick. He's talking about physically.
47:27
This reason many are weak and sick among you. That's hard for us to... That smacks a primitive religion a little bit for most of us. We don't like it, but y'all remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts? When their hearts were not pure before God, they were lying about what it was that they were doing, and they said...
47:44
And God just took them out, just like that. That's why that judgment up there is about judgment and not damnation. There are some true Christians that are being swayed into those factions and divisions, and they've trusted in Christ's blood, but they've gone after someone else's self chosen opinion. They've gotten off of Christ and onto somebody else and for this reason, many are weak and sick among you and many sleep. Paul says, God is so concerned with the purity of his church that he might take you out.
48:16
For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged in this way. He's saying, if we would judge ourselves and think about how we are unworthy, but in Christ, we are made right with God, We would not be judged by him. But when we are judged, we're chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. He's saying that looking at this and seeing our flaws is good. Recognizing that all of us come together with flaws in this one place, the unifying event.
48:51
We will not be condemned with the world. And these last two. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. The wait for can literally be wait for or can also be welcome. Welcome one another.
49:07
You ever show up late to something everybody else is already into it and you're not into it and you never quite get into it? He's saying, wait for one another. Welcome one another. Be good to one another. And if anyone's hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment.
49:21
He's not saying there's anything inherently wrong with being rich, but you don't have to flout it about, you don't have to tout it all the time, you don't have to rub people's nose in it, my goodness. Help who you can, but if you're hungry, eat at home. This is a different thing. This is about self examination, lest you come together for judgment, not for good, but for bad, or for worse. And this is funny to me.
49:44
And the rest, I'll set in order when I come. We'll worry about the rest of it when I get there. There's more. Oh, there's more. But we'll get that when I get there.
49:54
I like this. Michael Green, an author pastor, a long time ago, wrote a six fold summary of the theology of this whole passage and I like it. It is look back, look in, look up, look around, look forward, and look outward. Look back to Christ's death. That's what it's about.
50:13
Look in in self examination. Look up to fellowship with God which is made possible only one way through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Look around to fellowship with others. Doesn't matter where you come from, who your football team is, doesn't matter what you grew up believing, it does not matter. He's calling us out of and into, and it's fellowship with other people, very disparate cultural views.
50:40
Nothing is more fun than getting together with people at the center point of the cross. Have you ever been anywhere overseas or just, you know, South Of Thane where you get together and when you when you get together with people, you have something in common that's an immediate bond. It's a spirit that holds you together. That's that fellowship. Look around.
50:59
Look forward to Christ's return. We proclaim his death until Christ return. And look outward. What we are doing when we come together for the Lord's supper is proclaiming his worthiness, our unworthiness, and we're proclaiming God's word and the truth of it to others. So, I like that.
51:18
Look back, look in, look up, look around, look forward, and look outward and I think that's it. So, Judy, would you come on back up? And we are not taking communion today, which is a perfect lead in for it, but I also, the self examination phase of this was so strong and it was so much about getting right with God. I thought, we're going to we're going to actually take some time. Over the next couple weeks.
51:41
Next week is a fifth Sunday. It's a Sunday after Thanksgiving. We are going to do an all praise service in this service and in the first service. So, nine and eleven, we're doing all praise. There will probably be some little sermonic things that come out.
51:55
I'll probably say some things that are Bible based but I'm not going to do a full on sermon. So, please come. Ready with request next week for favorite hymns and that sort of thing because we're going to get together and praise God together. God inhabits the praise of his people and when we get together and we praise together, it's really hard to stay mad. In the first service, I asked this too.
52:16
If there's anybody that you have anything against, that you knowingly have something against them. I'm giving you a couple weeks. Okay? Try to make it right in between now and then. Try to make it right and say, hey, in humility, I I I can't keep this proud self chosen opinion anymore and I know that the truth of the gospel matters.
52:39
I know that the truth matters. I'm not willing to give on that as my understanding. That's this is the way I am but I can give grace that you're going from the same book. Does that make sense? If it's a Christian brother that you've got something against, would you go to him and just get together with him before we celebrate communion in two weeks?
53:00
I'm building up to that. Look in, around, up, backwards, forwards, all of those things. Judy, what are we singing? I need thee every hour. Would you all stand up and we'll finish off.
53:11
Scott, would you come on back up?
53:16
Need thee every hour most gracious lord no tender voice like thine can peace afford I need thee I need thee every hour I need thee oh bless me now my savior I come to thee I need thee every hour stay thou nearby most holy one oh make me thine indeed thou blessed son I need thee I need thee oh bless me now my savior I come
55:36
Amen. And I've got a blessing for you from Jude. It's the last two verses of the short little book of Jude. Now, to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God, our savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our lord before all ages now and forevermore. Amen.
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