12 Aug. How to celebrate the Lord's Supper
"We give thanks for the cup of blessing, which is a sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, because we all share that one loaf."
"When you come together, you are not really eating the Lord's Supper. This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink."
"The teaching I gave you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: on the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, 'This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.'"
"In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, 'This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.'"
"Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord's death until he comes."
"So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord."
"So my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. Anyone who is too hungry should eat at home so that in meeting together you will not bring God's judgement on yourselves."
(1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:20-34)
In Chapter 10 of his letter, Paul warns against worshipping idols and contrasts the blood-soaked rituals of sacrificing meat to idols with the substitution of wine for blood and bread for meat in Christian fellowship. “We give thanks for the cup of blessing, which is a sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16).
Paul goes on in the following chapter to criticise some of the believers for getting drunk when they meet as a church to share a meal together. It's important to realise here that Paul is describing the Lord's Supper as it was in the early church - a shared meal, not a church service.
So Paul lays down guidelines for the communal meal during which they remember the Lord’s Supper together (see also Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25 & Luke 22:14-20). When they break bread together they are to remember Jesus's words: "This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me". (1 Corinthians 11:24)
And when they share the wine, they are to remember that, at the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples, he said, "This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me". (1 Corinthians 11:25)
In this way they will remember Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, and bring this life-saving event to the notice of others: “Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
The photo (by Nheyob) shows a stained glass window at the church of St Michael the Archangel, Findlay, Ohio, USA.
You can read more details about the Lord's Supper @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/6-jesuss…/the-last-supper/