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Dr. Stephen W. Christian

Pastor Stephen W. Christian

The Meaning of the Lord's Supper, Part II - Dr. Stephen W. Christian

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Dr. Stephen W. Christian, Senior Pastor and Bishop, shares the message, “The Meaning of the Lord’s Supper, Part II” on Sunday, July 25, 2010.

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 KJV
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 NLT
So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.

Sometimes, we as the church get away from God by doing our thing instead of His thing. James describes conflict as an act of selfishness. At least one of the two parties in an argument is selfish or there would not be an argument. By disputes, arguments, discord, and disagreements in a body of Christ, we know that the church has drifted away from the heart of God.

The habits of Christian Disciples:

1. Bible Study is the most important of all of the disciplines. We would not know how to do the rest of the disciplines without being actively engaged in a bible study.
2. Solitude, or getting alone with God in silence. It’s not a time for us to talk to God, but for God to talk to us. We see in the scriptures that Jesus would take time alone with God for God to speak to Him. Jesus said, “I only do what the Father has told me and shown me to do.” We cannot hear God unless we learn how to turn everything else off and listen for ourselves.
3. Prayer Time When we take the time to talk to God. What do we say to Him? We like to use the model ACTS. Adoration : we bless Him and thank him in worship. Confession : We confess our sins AND we confess who God is. We cannot confess who God is a remained in a depressed state and feel like we are loosing our mind at the same time. We we talk about who He is, our problems start to get smaller. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Word of God builds up our faith. Thanksgiving : We show our thankfulness. Supplication : We go to God and ask Him to supply our needs. When we ask, we are sure to make sure that we seek His will and not ours.
4. Fasting When we break ties with all distractions and give our all to God.
5. Worship When we tell God how worthy He is and express our love to Him. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. Worship is never passive, it’s always demonstrative and active.
6. Fellowship — because of previous five disciples, we are now ready to interact with other believers.
7. Giving — Being connected with a fellowship of believers, we give to that fellowship.
8. Serving — We help, assist, and minister to one another so we are prepared for the next step…
9. Witnessing — Sharing the good news about Jesus Christ with those who do not know him

We also have been talking about getting back to Communion (the Lord’s Supper also called the Eucharist). We should prepare ourselves for the Lord’s supper.

How do I prepare myself for the Lord’s Supper?
Self-Examination
1 Cor 11:27 So if anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, that person is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord.
1 Cor 11:28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.

According to 1 Corinthians 11:28, the first way to prepare is to examine ourselves. No one can examine my heart adequately but God. For that reason, we go to God to have Him examine us. The heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9, paraphrased) Only God.

Confessing our sins
1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
1 John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

We also prepare by confessing our sins unto God.

Recommitment
Rom 12:1 NLT – And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?

Sacrifice is PAINFUL! Without pain, the act is not a sacrifice.

Restoring Relationships
Mat 5:23 NLT – “So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,
Mat 5:24 NLT – leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.
Mat 5:25 NLT – Come to terms quickly with your enemy before it is too late and you are dragged into court, handed over to an officer, and thrown in jail.
Mat 5:26 NLT – I assure you that you won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

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