Total Time: ~2 to 2.5 hours
Focus: Reframing the Lord’s Supper from a somber, religious ritual into a joyful, celebratory family meal where we remember Christ’s finished work, proclaim His victory, and anticipate His return.
🧱 Session 1 — The Institution: A Meal of Remembrance and Proclamation (45–60 mins)
Theme: At its core, the Lord’s Supper is a simple, powerful act of remembering what Christ has done and proclaiming that good news to the world.
📖 Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 — Paul recounts the words of Jesus on the night He was betrayed, establishing the purpose and practice of the meal.
📖 Key Passages
- 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 – “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:26 – “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
🔍 Word Study Suggestions
| KJV Word | Original Language | Original Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remembrance | Greek (NT) | ἀνάμνησις (anamnēsis) | Not just a passive memory, but an active, conscious recalling that brings the past event into the present reality. It’s a memorial. |
| Shew / Proclaim | Greek (NT) | καταγγέλλω (kataggellō) | To announce, declare, proclaim publicly. The Lord’s Supper is not a private, secret act; it is a public sermon preached with bread and wine. |
| Testament / Covenant | Greek (NT) | διαθήκη (diathēkē) | A formal, binding agreement. The “New Covenant” is God’s unbreakable promise, sealed by the blood of Christ, to forgive sins and write His law on our hearts. |
📚 Historical & Cultural Context
- The Passover Meal: Jesus instituted this meal during the Passover, the Jewish festival celebrating God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. By reinterpreting the bread and wine, Jesus was declaring that a new, greater exodus was happening through Him—a deliverance from the slavery of sin and death.
🗣️ Discussion Questions
- Jesus commands us to do this “in remembrance” of Him. What specific aspects of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection does this meal help you to actively remember?
- Paul says that when we take communion, we “proclaim the Lord’s death.” How is this simple act a powerful sermon? Who are we proclaiming it to?
- The cup represents a “New Covenant.” What was the Old Covenant, and what makes this new one so much better? (Hint: See Hebrews 8:7-13).
🧱 Session 2 — The Problem: Forgetting the Family (60 mins)
Theme: The primary error the Corinthian church made was forgetting that this is a family meal. They turned an act of unity and grace into an occasion for division, selfishness, and pride.
📖 Reading 1 Corinthians 11:17–22, 27–34 — Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their selfish and divisive behavior during the Lord’s Supper, which was causing harm rather than blessing.
📖 Key Passages
- 1 Corinthians 11:21 – “For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:22 – “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not?”
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 – “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
🔍 Key Concept Study
- “Discerning the Lord’s body”: This is the heart of Paul’s correction. In this context, it doesn’t just mean recognizing the bread as a symbol of Christ’s physical body. It means recognizing the church as the body of Christ. The Corinthians were “not discerning the body” because they were ignoring and shaming their poor brothers and sisters, failing to see them as equal members of Christ’s body.
- “Unworthily”: This refers not to our personal sinlessness (none of us are “worthy”), but to the manner in which we take the supper. To take it “unworthily” is to take it in a spirit of division, pride, or contempt for others in the family.
📚 Theological Framework
- The Horizontal Gospel: This passage is a powerful reminder that our vertical relationship with God is inseparable from our horizontal relationships with each other. To claim we are celebrating God’s grace to us while simultaneously acting without grace to our brother or sister is a profound contradiction.
🗣️ Discussion Questions
- The wealthy Corinthians were eating their own fine meals while the poor went hungry. How does this behavior completely contradict the message of the Gospel?
- What does it mean to “examine” oneself before taking communion? Based on this passage, what should we be examining?
- How can we ensure that our modern practice of the Lord’s Supper is a celebration of unity and family, not just a private, individualistic ritual?
🧱 Session 3 — The Celebration: A Feast of Joy and Hope (45–60 mins)
Theme: When rightly understood, the Lord’s Supper is not a funeral, but a feast. It is a joyful celebration of a finished work and a hopeful anticipation of a future wedding supper.
📖 Reading Luke 22:14–20 and Revelation 19:6–9 — The institution of the supper and the future fulfillment it points to.
📖 Key Passages
- Luke 22:15 – “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:”
- Luke 22:19 – “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them…”
- Revelation 19:9 – “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
🔍 Word Study Suggestions
| KJV Word | Original Language | Original Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gave thanks | Greek (NT) | εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteō) | To be grateful, to give thanks. This is the root of the word “Eucharist,” a common name for the Lord’s Supper. It emphasizes that the meal is grounded in thankfulness. |
| Desire | Greek (NT) | ἐπιθυμία (epithymia) | A strong desire, a longing, a passion. Jesus was not somber or reluctant; He was deeply passionate about sharing this final, meaningful meal with His friends. |
🧠 Reflection & Application
- Jesus “gave thanks” before breaking the bread that represented His broken body. What does this tell you about His posture and focus, even in the face of the cross?
- The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the “marriage supper of the Lamb.” How does viewing this meal as an appetizer for a future wedding feast change its tone from somber to joyful?
- How can you personally approach the Lord’s Supper with more of a spirit of “play”—of joyful, thankful celebration—rather than “work”—of somber, religious duty?