Lord’s Supper sermon outline

Text

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

1 Corinthians 11:23-28 · Read the chapter →

Introduction

In Corinth, the Lord’s Supper had become a place of division: each one ate before the others, one went hungry and another got drunk. Paul did not answer with a new rule. He retold what he had received from the Lord: what Jesus did on the night he was betrayed.

1. Remembering what Christ did for us

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

1 Corinthians 11:23-25 · Read the chapter →

Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said it was his body, broken for us; then he took the cup, the new testament in his blood. Doing this in remembrance of him is not just recalling an old event: it is receiving again, with gratitude, what he did for us.

Application: Before you take part, thank God for one specific thing the cross means to you.

2. Shewing the Lord’s death till he come

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

1 Corinthians 11:26 · Read the chapter →

As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we shew the Lord’s death till he come. The table is a sermon without words: it points to the cross and, at the same time, to Christ’s return.

Application: Take part in the Supper knowing that, as you eat and drink, you too are proclaiming that Jesus died and will come again.

3. Examining ourselves, and so eating

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 · Read the chapter →

Paul warns against eating and drinking unworthily and tells each one to examine himself — and so eat. In Corinth, the unworthiness lay in despising the brothers and sisters at the table, who went hungry while others ate. The examination is not meant to keep sinners away, but to bring them to the table repentant and reconciled.

Application: Before you come to the table, consider whether there is someone you need to be reconciled with.

Conclusion

Paul ends by asking that, when the church comes together to eat, they tarry one for another. The Supper is personal, but never individualistic: being many, we are one body, for we all partake of one bread. Come to the table remembering, proclaiming and examining yourself — together with your brothers and sisters.