(#053) - 1 Corinthians 11 - The Lord’s Supper Celebrates Sacrifice

Class Outline:

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Words take life through our actions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!  

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Welcome to this Bible lesson!  Well the future of the republic, the United States of America, is going to be revealed this week…and it has quite a few people worried.  Yet it does not worry Christians.  We are comforted by the Word of God and its promises…like Hebrews, Chapter 1, Verse 3…

 

HEBREWS 1:3

And the Lord Jesus Christ is the radiance of God the Father’s glory and He is the exact representation of the Father’s nature, and JESUS CHRIST UPHOLDS ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF HIS POWER. When Jesus had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty (God the Father) on high…

 

Nothing happens in this life without the Lord’s permission, including the installation of evil governments.  We are comforted by the Word of God and its promises…like Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 37 to 39…

 

ROMANS 8:37 

…in every situation imaginable, believers in Christ keep on overwhelmingly conquering through the Lord…xwho loves us unconditionally. 

 

ROMANS 8:38 

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life...nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons...fallen angels)…nor things present nor things to come...nor powers...

 

ROMANS 8:39 

...nor height nor depth…nor any other created thing…will be able to sever us from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

God loves us so much that He gives us the victory in all things through Himself.  We are comforted by the Word of God and its promises…like Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

ROMANS 8:31 

What then shall we believers in Christ say face-to-face with all these things? If God the Father is for us believers in Christ, and He is, who is ever going to be successful in opposition against us?

 

ROMANS 8:32 

God the Father, who did not spare His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), but delivered Him over for us all…how will the Father not also, with our union with Christ, freely give us all things?

 

As Christians we aren’t looking for a savior in human beings…we already have a Savior in Christ.  Amen?

 

At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God.  As the Lord He is 100% Deity…He is God the Son, a member of the Triune Godhead.  He is also 100% human just like you and me, and His name is Jesus Christ.  The Lord…God the Son…became flesh…Jesus Christ...and lived among us.  He is the uniquely born One…100% God and 100% man in one Person forever.  He is the Sovereign God of the Universe.  He is the Jewish Messiah.  

 

At Barah Ministries, we make a difference by teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from man’s perspective.  As those who make Barah Ministries our spiritual home, we are Christians.  Being a Christian means we believe in the DEITY of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with Him.  

 

God has an enemy, Satan, whom God made “the ruler of this world.” He is a

liar who deceives the whole world, including you and me.  He doesn’t want us to get to know God, and he interferes with our chance to know God. Satan’s strategy against the human race is religion, which is designed to make us either indifferent or antagonistic to God.  Religion deceives many into thinking they are saved when they might not be.  And it works!

 

The Word of God is the truth…and it informs us about Satan’s insidious 

deceptions.  As believers in Christ, we are in union with Christ, and we have

 the victory over Satan through our Lord, who has overcome the world. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebrates Sacrifice

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

It was twenty-two years, one month, and eight days ago that my mother went home to be with the Lord…September 24, 1998 at dinner time.  And there is still a burning hatred inside as I reflect on her life.  The hatred is directed toward my siblings…my two brothers and my sister…because they never bothered to get to know Mom.  They didn't understand her, and in my view, they didn't even try.  I can point to specific evidence that inform this viewpoint.  If I were to categorize the evidence, they could be summarized in a word…SELFISHNESS.  They were so concerned with self that they couldn’t see what she offered them.  They certainly didn’t honor it.

 

I have no right to hate.  Perhaps it is selfish of me.  Yet contempt for them burns in my breast, in the depths of my heart.  Perhaps it is better described as righteous anger.  Forgiveness?  That happened long ago…there’s no need to hold on to a feeling such as this as if payment for their evil ways will be coming sometime soon.  The Lord will see to that.  Perhaps it is not so much hatred of my siblings as it is hatred of SELFISHNESS and its source… Satan, the enemy of God, and the ruler of this world.

 

When I think of my Mom, I think of SACRIFICE.  She inculcated a sacrificial spirit into us.  It was not something she talked about.  It was something she demonstrated…in her work as a medical social worker…in her parenting as a single mother of four ungrateful children.  I was determined to repay her with my life…to be a  reflection of her sacrificial spirit. 

 

In today’s lesson, we see a contrast between SACRIFICE and

SELFISHNESS…the Lord’s life of sacrifice contrasted with the selfishness of the believers in the church at first-century Corinth, as they celebrated the Lord’s Supper.  The Lord intended that their conduct would be a reflection of His sacrifice.  Instead, their conduct was a reflection of their own selfishness, inspired by the enemy of God.  When you think of your own life, does it demonstrate sacrifice or selfishness?  The mirror of reflection is available in today’s lesson.

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

I joke about it quite a bit, but as Christians, we truly are blessed.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 28 tells us so…

 

ROMANS 8:28 

…we believers in Christ know that God the Father causes all things to work together for good to those who love God the Father…to those who are called according to God the Father’s purpose.

 

All believers in Christ are called to a purpose…and occasionally that purpose involves suffering.  So it was in Laura Story’s life…and when it dawned on her that God was working all these things together for her good, she wrote this beautiful and amazing song…BLESSINGS…let’s listen. 

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

BLESSINGS

Laura Story

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, You truly are perfect…and Your plan for all mankind is perfect… and Your plan for each one of us is perfect…and we don’t always understand Your plan because we don’t have the same information or the same power or the same wisdom that You do…yet we trust You and we know that You will reveal all to us at the proper time because You are not a God of confusion…today, Father, we pray for our Royal Family in Florida who are hurting badly today…and we join them in hurting and in grieving because You’ve decided to take two of Your servants home to be with You…

 

..we ask you to heal the pain…to comfort us in grieving…and to give us the insight as we move on, one step at a time…let us be comforted by the things You teach us today about the unity you embed in each Lord’s Supper Celebration…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebrates Sacrifice

 

We continue our study of First Corinthians, Chapter 11, verse-by-verse.  As we study this passage, what you’ll notice this structure…

 

THE STRUCTURE 

First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 17 to 34

 

The People Abuses Going on in the Church (Verses 17-22)

 

The Tradition Celebrated in the Church (Verses 23-26)

 

Paul’s Recommended Solution for the Abuses (Verse 27-34)

 

In this passage, Paul is rebuking the conduct of the believers at Corinth.  What is a rebuke?

 

REBUKE

The expression of very strong disapproval…a reprimand.

 

Last week, we studied the first part of this passage which highlighted the abuses Paul is addressing…First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 17 to 22…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:17

But in giving this instruction (about women and their headwear when praying and prophesying in the first sixteen verses of First Corinthians, Chapter 11), I (Paul) do not praise you…because you come together (as a church) not for the betterment (not for the good of all of you)…but you come together for the worse (to harm…to mistreat each other).

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:18 

For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you…and I (Paul) believe the report.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:19 

For (it’s inevitable) there must also be factions among you (that you are causing)…so that those who are “elite” may become evident among you.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:20 

Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:21 

…for in your eating each one takes his own supper first (in front of everyone else)…and one is hungry (the poor ones with no food or less food) and another is drunk (the “elite” ones with the expensive wine).

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:22 

Wait what?! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing (the "have-nots")? What shall I say to you?  Shall I praise you?  In this matter, I will not praise you.

 

SELFISHNESS!

 

Paul uses the Lord’s Supper Celebration as a contrast that reflects the Lord’s intent…SACRIFICE. This is the part of the passage we’ll reflect on today… First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 23 to 26…these are verses you have heard before…and if you are consistent in studying with this ministry, you hear them all the time…hopefully, today you will hear them differently…

 

 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:23 

For I (Paul) received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took a loaf of bread…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:24 

…and when Jesus had given thanks, He broke the bread and said, “This is My body, which is broken for you…keep on doing this in remembrance of Me.”

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:25 

In the same way, Jesus also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant (a new testament) in My blood…keep on doing this, as often as you drink it, do it in remembrance of Me."

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26

…for as often as you eat this bread (representing His body)…and as often as you drink this cup (representing His blood)…as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration…you proclaim as a reality and you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross…and His resurrection from the dead…until He comes again at the second coming.

 

SACRIFICE!

 

When you think of your own life, does it demonstrate sacrifice or selfishness?  When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take your offering, and then we’ll see what insights we can gain from what the Lord is teaching us through this passage.

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebrates Sacrifice

 

In First Chronicles, Chapter 29, Verse 14…King David was astonished at the generosity of his people…the Jews…and he had this to say about it in prayer…

 

FIRST CHRONICLES 29:14

“But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to make an offering as generously as this? For all things come from the source of You Lord…and from Your hand (what You have given us) we have given back to You.”

 

Let’s not forget the SOURCE of our generosity…the Lord.  We are able to give because the Lord gives first to us.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with today’s offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

ROMANS 8:15 

For you believers in Christ have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as adult sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Don Moen

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord’s Supper Celebrates Sacrifice

 

As we take a look at the verses we’ll study today, a song comes to mind from the Carpenters.  The refrain of the lyrics goes like this…

 

THE CARPENTERS
Hurting Each Other

 

We go on hurting each other

We go on hurting each other

Making each other cry

Hurting each other

Without ever knowing…why…

 

That’s what the Corinthian believers were doing…they were hurting each

other…through SELFISHNESS…let’s take a look at the passage verse-by-verse…First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 23…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:23 

For I (Paul) received from the Lord (as the authoritative Source in this matter) that which I also delivered to you…that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed (the night when he was turned on through Judas’ treacherous wickedness…the night He was handed over to a corrupt government…the night He was served up for slaughter)…He took a loaf of bread…

 

We blame Judas for betraying the Lord…but it was Satan who was at the source of his treachery…Judas simply duplicated the same selfishness that Satan demonstrated in the angelic realm…betrayal of the highest magnitude.  On the other hand, we have a Lord who teaches SACRIFICE!  Paul used The Lord’s Supper Celebration as an example…a contrast between what Jesus did…SACRIFICE…and what the Corinthians were doing… SELFISHNESS…First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 24…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:24 

…and when Jesus had given thanks, He broke the bread and said, “This is My body, which is (broken) for you…keep on doing this (sacrifice) in remembrance of Me.”

 

It is the sacrifice that the Lord wants us to remember…it is the sacrifice that the Lord wants us to emulate…an unselfishness toward others that is awe-inspiring…just as He did by offering up His body as a sacrifice for us…Matthew, Chapter 22, Verses 34 to 40…

 

MATTHEW 22:34

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

 

MATTHEW 22:35 

And one of the representatives of the Pharisees, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question, interrogating Him…

 

 

MATTHEW 22:36 

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Mosaic Law?”

 

MATTHEW 22:37 

And Jesus said to the lawyer, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”

 

MATTHEW 22:38 

“This is the great and foremost commandment.”

 

MATTHEW 22:39 

“The second is just like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor unconditionally just as you love yourself…unconditionally.’” 

 

MATTHEW 22:40 

“Upon these two commandments hang the whole Mosaic Law and all the teaching of the Old Testament Prophets.”

 

As the author of the Mosaic Law, the Lord Jesus could easily summarize it in a couple of sentences. Continuing in First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 25…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:25 

In the same way, Jesus also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant (a new testament) in My blood…keep on doing this…and as often as you drink it…do this in remembrance of Me.”

 

It is the sacrifice that the Lord wants us to remember…it is the sacrifice that the Lord wants us to emulate…an unselfishness toward others that is awe-inspiring…just as He did by pouring out His blood as a sacrifice for us.  The Lord was broken….He bled…He was delivered over…He was given up… He paid a price…these are the words that describe a sacrifice beyond belief with an impact that defies measure…First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26

…for as often as you eat this bread (representing His body)…and as often as you drink this cup (representing His blood)…as part of The Lord’s Supper Celebration…you proclaim as a reality and you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross…and His resurrection from the dead…until He comes again at the second coming.

 

What’s your choice, SACRIFICE or SELFISHNESS?  Do you see why all this social consciousness crap we’re going through is so stupid?  It is motivated by selfishness.  It is motivated by the source…Satan himself!  He could care less about any of us!  To Satan, no lives matter.

 

The Corinthian believers were engaged in conduct that was about social status, divisions, and rivalries…an unconcern for others…drunkenness… mistreatment of others…SELFISHNESS.  The Lord's Supper represented the opposite…SACRIFICE.

 

Like my brothers and my sister, the Corinthian believers had no respect for sacrifice.  Do you respect the sacrifice of those who have brought you to where you are in this life?  Think about that!

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

If you don’t yet have a relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you have the chance to be precious in God’s sight…Psalm 116, Verse 15 says…

 

PSALM 116:15

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones (His saints… believers in Christ).

 

The fact that GOD WANTS YOU is a great thing to know as you get older because there will be a day when it is apparent to you that no one gets out of this life alive.  What's going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life?  Will you go to heaven or will you go to hell?

 

God has an enemy…Satan…the ruler of this world…and he has distorted Christianity by creating counterfeits to Christianity…religions…designed to mislead you into thinking you’re saved when you might not be.  Roman Catholicism is one of those counterfeits.  Here is an excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church…

 

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (Paragraph 2010)

Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then MERIT FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS the graces needed for our sanctification…

 

Satan wants you to think you can work your way to heaven…he wants you to think you can earn your own salvation and that you can earn the salvation of others.  He’s lying.  You can’t.  Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says… 

 

ROMANS 11:6

But if salvation is by grace, and of course it is, it is no longer on the basis of your works…otherwise grace (as a free gift from the source of God) is no longer grace (free).

 

If you have to work for a free gift then the work makes you deserve the gift.  In salvation, there is no work you could do that is impressive enough to God to save you.  

 

The Lord provides us with the Bible to illuminate the path to heaven…John, Chapter 20, Verses 31…

 

JOHN 20:31 

…these things written in the Bible have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (The Jewish Messiah) … the Son of God (in human form) … and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life in His name.

 

The Bible contains the Lord’s exact thinking.  It is your “owner’s manual”

for life, and it obliterates the delusion that any of us are good people in God’s eyes.  The Bible says we’re all “bad people!”  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

ROMANS 3:10

…it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22 says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

…all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

Your condition at physical birth IS NOT YOUR FAULT, but it is your circumstance.  

 

The good news is that the Lord Jesus Christ did something about your problem…He has a plan for your life because He doesn’t want anyone to go to The Lake of Fire… Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 says…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead He is patient toward unbelievers…not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

So, how can you get to heaven?  Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

The ONE WAY…the ONLY WAY to get to heaven is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ…John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4… 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance the gospel message I also received… that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…

 

Believing in Jesus Christ is your acknowledgment that you can't do a thing

 to get to heaven on your own.  It's your confirmation that being “a good person” does not get you to heaven. 

 

It's wise to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind.  John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…

 

JOHN 10:28

“…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

 

You can’t lose your salvation.  If ANYONE tells you that you can lose your salvation, they are lying to you.  

 

So, heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

You can join me and a host of your believer friends in heaven when you close your eyes in this life! Choose it now!  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  Are we worthy of a “so great” salvation?  Yes!  And for one reason only…it's because the Lord says we are.  Matthew, Chapter 10, Verses 29 to 31…

 

MATTHEW 10:29

Are two sparrows not sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from (the permission of) your God and Father.

 

MATTHEW 10:30

And even the hairs of your head are all counted.

 

MATTHEW 10:31 

So do not fear…you are more valuable to God than a great number of sparrows.

 

Here is June Murphy to declare our worth in her song WORTHY.

 

CLOSING SONG

WORTHY

June Murphy

 

CLOSING VERSES

 

         A Doxology of Praise to Our God

 

EPHESIANS 1:3

Worthy of praise is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us believers in Christ in eternity past with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (a place of permanence)…through our union with Christ…

 

God wants us to enjoy His gracious provisions…

 

 

 

 

 

EPHESIANS 1:7-8

In Jesus…we have redemption (deliverance from slavery to sin) through His blood…the forgiveness of our trespasses…according to the glorious wealth provided by His grace…which He lavished on us…including as a gift, wisdom and insight…

 

EPHESIANS 3:20

Now to God the Father…who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask or imagine (more than is humanly possible) …according to the divine power (omnipotence) that works within us…

 

EPHESIANS 3:21

…to Him be the glory…through the church age believers in union with Christ Jesus…and to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

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Thanks for listening!

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