sun morning 20 2 2022 Sermon

Summary

The sermon reflects on 1 Corinthians 10:15–22 and 11:17–34, presenting the Lord’s Supper as a gift of grace and a practice that creates fellowship with Christ and with one another. The preacher describes the Supper as thanksgiving, remembrance, proclamation of Christ’s death, anticipation of his return, and a sign of the new covenant. Its central emphasis is communion: Christ gathers his people, gives them the benefits of his saving work, and joins them as one body.

Drawing on John Calvin’s teaching, the sermon describes the sacraments as a “visible Word.” The bread and cup remain bread and wine, yet through them believers meet Christ and receive assurance of his grace. The Supper does not repeat Christ’s sacrifice; it invites believers to share in the benefits of his once-for-all self-offering.

The sermon then applies Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthians, identifying two ways they contradicted the meaning of the Supper:

• Compromising fellowship with God: Some Corinthians participated in pagan feasts while also coming to the Lord’s table, seeking to preserve social ties or material advantages. The preacher applies this more broadly to compromises people make for status, relationships, pleasure, or financial benefit. The Lord’s table calls believers to loyalty and holiness rather than divided allegiance.
• Breaking fellowship with one another: The Corinthians’ communal meals were marked by divisions and unequal treatment. Instead of sharing as one body, people separated along lines of social status, culture, ethnicity, gender, and wealth; some had plenty while others went hungry. The sermon argues that Christ’s table should dismantle such barriers, not reproduce them. Christian unity does not require everyone to be the same; it means people with different backgrounds and qualities belong together in Christ.

The sermon interprets Paul’s warning about eating “in an unworthy manner” as a warning against carelessness, disdain, and failure to recognize the meaning of the Supper—not a demand that people earn the right to come by being morally perfect. The appropriate response is self-examination, repentance, restored fellowship, and then joyful participation. The Supper is both a warning against sin and an invitation to receive grace.

Practical Response

The sermon encourages believers to:

• Examine themselves before participating by considering their relationship with God and their conduct toward others.
• Turn away from divided loyalties and compromise that undermine fellowship with Christ.
• Repent and seek restoration rather than treating the Supper as an ordinary meal or meaningless ritual.
• Reject divisions and exclusion within the church, recognizing the dignity and belonging of people who differ from them.
• Come to the table with reverence, gratitude, and joy—not because they have earned it, but because they need Christ’s grace.
• Receive and share Christ’s life: Nourished by Christ, believers are called to serve others as a source of care, blessing, and refreshment.

Speakers and Sources

• Unnamed preacher: Delivers the sermon and leads the prayer. He thanks Pastor Youssef, the pastors who invited him, and Pastor Andrea.
• The congregation: Invited to read the Scripture passage together.
• The Apostle Paul and First Corinthians: The sermon’s primary biblical source, especially 1 Corinthians 10:15–22 and 11:17–34.
• Jesus: Quoted in Paul’s account of the bread and cup at the Last Supper.
• John Calvin: Cited on fellowship with Christ through the Supper and on the sacraments as the “visible Word.”
• Reverend Fahim Aziz: Cited for describing Paul’s account of the Lord’s Supper as its deepest theological description.
• John Newton: Referenced through the hymn “Amazing Grace.”