How did you feel the first time you participated in communion? Do you take it for granted now? How would you react if the usher served you moldy bread at communion? Has communion or other practices of worship such as baptism, music, or preaching become trivialized? Would you serve an important guest a tv dinner? Do you offer Jesus less than your best in worship? This week's lesson is about the attitudes that are essential for meaningful worship. The observance of The Lord's Supper is highlighted due to its malpractice in the Corinthian church. In any corporate worship setting the focus of worshippers should be on Christ, not on others, or the mechanics of worship (music, preaching styles, etc.). The three sections of this lesson provide three guidelines that we all should use every time we participate in corporate worship.
We cannot be truly focused on worship and its only worthy Object when we are at odds with other believers within the church. The Corinthian believers were so focused on themselves that their alleged "love feast" preceding the Lord's Supper observance had turned into a meal of division. Those with means brought much and even became drunk! Those with little or nothing did without and were limited to watching others feast around them. All this in preparation for worship!
I remember homecoming celebrations in a church years ago that were like the Scripture passage above. The church had several families with long histories in the church and all their relatives would come out for homecoming. They would not come in for the service; they would sit outside in the shade and wait for the meal. Our instructions were to place all the food on the long tables outside so that all could share. This rarely happened. Families would keep their food together and eat around the food tables to keep everyone else from sharing what they had prepared. Many new families were left out and ended up eating what they brought in the church fellowship hall. It was painfully evident that they were not welcome.
When believers practice unity it allows the spotlight in worship to be placed upon Jesus. There will be no campaigning for prominence or complaining about who sings or preaches. When we are united in goal and purpose, all that matters is that Jesus is glorified and His gospel is proclaimed. Only He became the willing sacrifice for my sin, dying so that I could live. Jesus Himself was focused on others even on the evening of His betrayal. He instituted the observance of a memorial ritual we call the Lord's Supper; He encouraged His disciples; He even washed their feet, including the feet of His soon-to-be betrayer. Such humility and sacrifice reflected His focus on fulfilling the Father's will and rescuing us from an eternity separated from God. Jesus is worthy of our undivided focus and unadulterated worship! He is more important than who gets his or her own way or who is recognized in the service!
Before each opportunity for corporate worship, pause for self-examination. Are you approaching worship with a clean heart? Are you at odds with another believer? Are you jealous of those who were asked to participate in the service? Are you more focused on the mechanics or methods of worship than Jesus? The Apostle Paul declared to the Corinthians that some of them were suffering God's judgment because of their unworthy actions regarding worship in observing the Lord's Supper. Are you willing to risk God's judgment by viewing worship as something trivial?
BSFL Sunday School commentary for the week of March 28, 2010
Trivialized? 1 Corinthians 11
We cannot be truly focused on worship and its only worthy Object when we are at odds with other believers within the church. The Corinthian believers were so focused on themselves that their alleged "love feast" preceding the Lord's Supper observance had turned into a meal of division. Those with means brought much and even became drunk! Those with little or nothing did without and were limited to watching others feast around them. All this in preparation for worship!
I remember homecoming celebrations in a church years ago that were like the Scripture passage above. The church had several families with long histories in the church and all their relatives would come out for homecoming. They would not come in for the service; they would sit outside in the shade and wait for the meal. Our instructions were to place all the food on the long tables outside so that all could share. This rarely happened. Families would keep their food together and eat around the food tables to keep everyone else from sharing what they had prepared. Many new families were left out and ended up eating what they brought in the church fellowship hall. It was painfully evident that they were not welcome.
When believers practice unity it allows the spotlight in worship to be placed upon Jesus. There will be no campaigning for prominence or complaining about who sings or preaches. When we are united in goal and purpose, all that matters is that Jesus is glorified and His gospel is proclaimed. Only He became the willing sacrifice for my sin, dying so that I could live. Jesus Himself was focused on others even on the evening of His betrayal. He instituted the observance of a memorial ritual we call the Lord's Supper; He encouraged His disciples; He even washed their feet, including the feet of His soon-to-be betrayer. Such humility and sacrifice reflected His focus on fulfilling the Father's will and rescuing us from an eternity separated from God. Jesus is worthy of our undivided focus and unadulterated worship! He is more important than who gets his or her own way or who is recognized in the service!
Before each opportunity for corporate worship, pause for self-examination. Are you approaching worship with a clean heart? Are you at odds with another believer? Are you jealous of those who were asked to participate in the service? Are you more focused on the mechanics or methods of worship than Jesus? The Apostle Paul declared to the Corinthians that some of them were suffering God's judgment because of their unworthy actions regarding worship in observing the Lord's Supper. Are you willing to risk God's judgment by viewing worship as something trivial?