Message Type:  Immediate Listen

Return To Message Page
Click Here To Hear Message Now   Click Here To Request Message on CD
"Preparing Yourself For Communion" (I Corinthians 11: 27-29)
Originally Delivered: October 30, 2011Question Of The Week
Message Length: 30 min.
Abstract - Communion - some churches hold it once a year, others once a quarter or once a month.  Still other hold it each Sunday.  But what is Communion and who should or should not take it?  Do you know that if you do not examine yourself in a way that Paul speaks about you may be bringing judgment on yourself of immeasurable consequences.  Want to understand how to judge yourself for Communion?  Listen is as Elder Steve Vlasak answers these questions and more about Communion.
 

Introduction -

 

o       Each and every Sunday we take Communion

o       Today we will ask and answer the following questions:

1.      What is communion?

2.      Why is it that we at LCCC serve communion every Sunday? 

3.      Who’s permitted to take communion?

4.      What does Paul mean to “examine yourself prior to taking part in communion”?

  1. What is Communion?

He then takes the bread, gives thanks, brakes it, and then giving it to them he says "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."   He then takes the cup of wine, gives thanks and says “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  “The covenant”? – It’s a commitment, sealed by the blood of Jesus, where He states that if you proclaim me as your source of eternal life I will promise you the sweetness of eternal life.  “The emblems”? – Ordinary meal items at any other time, but during Communion become special.  This process is forever known to Christians as Communion.

  1. Why is it that at Lake Country Christian Church we serve communion every Sunday? 

Caution to not become a ritual.

                                       i.      Looses its meaning

                                     ii.      Young Christians (walk and age) partake without knowing its meaning

                                    iii.      Communion should be recognized as a time of the closest relationship between you personally and your savior. 

  1. Who’s permitted to take communion?

o       Closed Communion

o       Open Communion

o       Close Communion

We must be able, or have the capacity, to “examine ourselves”, and we must discourage those who have not accepted Christ as their Savior from partaking.

What about children?

  • Children are tender to Jesus’ heart.  (Matthew 19:13-15)

  • But they too are held to the same standard for communion as adults!

    • . . . must be able, or have the capacity to recognize the body of Jesus

    • understand what the loaf and cup represents

  • It’s alright to tell your child they need to wait a little longer before partaking in communion

    • What ever it might be, to their age of accountability

    • After they except Jesus as their savior through baptism.

  1. What does Paul mean to “examine yourself prior to taking part in communion”?

The English rendering of this verse (A man ought to examine himself) softens the Greek writing considerably. The Greek stresses that every person has to examine him or herself before partaking; there is no choice in the matter; self-examination is a command from the Lord.  It’s easy to examine others but self examination is difficult at best for many people.

To recognize the body of the Lord means, first of all, that those who come to the table will need to discern that the Lord's Supper is more than just a Sunday morning snack. It is, in fact, participation, by faith, in the body and blood of Christ given for the life of His people. To partake without seeing Christ, to partake without recognizing Christ, is an unworthy partaking.

Bottom line – if you can’t, or don’t recognize communion as honoring Christ for his sacrifice to provide eternal life for all of us . . . Don’t take communion.