ST. JOHN'S MISSION STATEMENT
As the body of Christ, we strive to make disciples of all, focusing on the next generation, through growing....
UP in God's Word and Sacraments
OUT into the community by caring for physical and spiritual needs
TOGETHER in fellowship to build lasting relationships in Christ
Memorize it! Get used to it! Live it! It is YOUR mission statement as a member of St. John's Lutheran Church!
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DEVOTION: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (ESV)17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."[c] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
Evidently the Corinthian Christian church had some problems and misunderstandings. First it had divisions, probably between poor and rich people. Secondly, they treated the Lord's Supper like any other meal. They all went ahead and ate as much as they wanted to fill their bellies instead of treating it as a sacred meal, set apart for the purpose of the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith.
The main thing here is what Paul says about the real presence of the body of the Lord. He says, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself."
This is why, to this very day, we practice closed communion in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. We don't want anyone, whether willingly or unwillingly, to sin against the body and blood of the Lord. We don't want anyone to eat and drink judgment on himself. We want everyone who partakes of the body and blood of Christ to receive God's forgiveness, life, and salvation in and through this sacrament.
So if anyone asks you why we treat the Lord's Supper like we do, and why we take it so seriously, and why we don't let everybody take it right away, point them to the passage above and understand it for yourself as well.
Prayer: Lord help us to treat your supper how you want it to be treated, as the means of grace and the holy meal that it is. Amen.
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