Truly Corporate Worship

your meetings do more harm than good… 1 Corinthians 11:17 your meetings do more harm than good… you eat and drink judgment on yourselves… a number of you have died…

BQ: What would God have Hope Community Church learn from this passage about our own worship gatherings?

Keeping Up with the Corinthians

Keeping Up with the Corinthians The Good: They lacked no spiritual gift (1:7) The Bad: Infighting and Divisions (1-4) The Ugly: Gross Misappropriation of the Gospel (5, 7)

What’s at Stake?

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

1 Corinthians Commentary “Assembling for worship, the central event of their life together as a church, is intended to move them from the plane of their old life into the new plane of existence as people called by God. Instead, their life together is damaged by the very way in which they assemble.” ~Robert Nash: 1 Corinthians Commentary

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and I believe the report. 19 No doubt there have to be cliques among so that the ‘esteemed ones’ could be made much of.

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for in your eating, each one devours his own private supper. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have died. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34 33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should welcome one another. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

1 Corinthians 11: 17-22; 33-34 Meetings in Corinth Divisions in the Church Consumed with Consuming A Different Kind of Eating Questions this Raises

Meetings in Corinth 17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

1 Corinthians Commentary “When Paul refers to the Lord’s Supper at Corinth, he is not talking about a liturgical ritual celebrated in a church building. At this early date, there were no separate buildings for Christian worship. The Lord’s Supper was an actual meal eaten by the community in a private home… Christians accustomed to experiencing the Lord’s Supper only as a ritual “in church,” removed from a meal setting, will need to discipline their imaginations to keep this original setting in mind.” ~Richard Hays: 1 Corinthians Commentary

What Paul says about the Lord’s Supper specifically, we can apply to corporate worship generally

Divisions in the Church 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and I believe the report. 19 No doubt there have to be cliques among so that the ‘esteemed ones’ could be made much of.

Consumed with Consuming 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for in your eating, each one devours his own private supper. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

Consumed with Consuming 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for in your eating, each one devours his own private supper. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

Pliny the Younger ~Letters “The best dishes were set in front of himself and a select few, and cheap scraps of food before the rest of the company. He had even put the wine into tiny little flasks, divided into three categories, not with the idea of giving his guests the opportunity of choosing, but to make it impossible for them to refuse what they were given. One lot was intended for himself and for us, another for his lesser friends (all his friends are graded), and the third for his and our freedmen.” Pliny the Younger ~Letters

The Way it Was in Corinth The wealthier members took the places of honor The wealthier members took the best food and drink for themselves The wealthier members took far more than they needed

The Difference the Gospel Makes Each one would be seated with no regard to social rank or class Each one would contribute according to their means Each one would partake equally of the food and wine

What is Paul’s Solution?

A Different Kind of Eating 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

A Different Kind of Eating One kind of eating for the home/every day life, and a different kind of eating for corporate worship

A Different Kind of Eating One kind of eating for the home/every day life, and a different kind of eating for corporate worship When you gather together, satisfying the needs of the self cannot be the primary goal

A Different Kind of Eating 33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should welcome one another. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

A Different Kind of Eating Come prepared

A Different Kind of Eating Come prepared Look to those who are in need, and consider how, as a part of the body of Christ, God might be moving you to serve

Questions this raises: What qualifies as “Gathered Corporate Worship?”

Questions this raises: What qualifies as “Gathered Corporate Worship?” Are we supposed to act like we have it all together when we come to church?

Questions this Raises: What qualifies as “Gathered Corporate Worship?” Are we supposed to act like we have it all together when we come to church? Can you promise me that I won’t get hurt when I open up to people?

Questions this raises: What qualifies as “Gathered Corporate Worship?” Are we supposed to act like we have it all together when we come to church? Can you promise me that I won’t get hurt when I open up to people? What about those of us who are just “kicking the tires” of Christianity?

Questions this raises: What qualifies as “Gathered Corporate Worship?” Are we supposed to act like we have it all together when we come to church? Can you promise me that I won’t get hurt when I open up to people? What about those of us who are just “kicking the tires” of Christianity? Are there things Hope should do to better facilitate this “for others” posture on Sunday mornings?

Just a Closer Walk With Thee Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Questions this raises: What qualifies as “Gathered Corporate Worship?” Are we supposed to act like we have it all together when we come to church? Can you promise me that I won’t get hurt when I open up to people? What about those of us who are just “kicking the tires” of Christianity? Are there things Hope should do to better facilitate this “for others” posture on Sunday mornings? Does this cover all of the questions?

Gospel Application When we come together, do we actually come together? Are we intentional about having robust worship in our everyday lives? Do we welcome the “distractions” and “inconveniences” when we gather for worship?