Who's at Your Table? | Uncommon Unity | Pastor Greg Ford

ICEBREAKER:

If you could know how and when you were going to pass away, would you want to know? And if yes, what would you do the night before?

MESSAGE NOTES:

[Luke 22:15]

Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.

[Luke 22:17]

Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves.

[Luke 22:19]

He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

[Luke 22:24-27]

Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

[Luke 22:42]

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

[I Corinthians 11:17-18]

…it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church

[I Corinthians 11:20-21]

When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.

[I Corinthians 11:23-26]

For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

[I Corinthians 11:27-29]

So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

The Last Supper reminds me that I belong at the Lord’s table. It reminds me that the other 11 disciples belong there too.

[John 17:20-21]

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

[I John 3:16]

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters

“He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world a benefit when he dies.” - Tertullian

“See how these Christians love one another.” - Tertullian

“One in mind and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives…” - Tertullian

Jesus designed the Last Supper to connect all of the dots of the cross.

Communion is about 2 things. It’s about what Jesus did for us, and it’s about what we should do for each other.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

QUESTION 1: What is your biggest takeaway from the Easter story?

QUESTION 2: What do you want people to remember about you? What do you want to last and leave behind?

QUESTION 3: From a maturity standpoint, how do you evolve from wanting to prove something, to desiring to improve something?

QUESTION 4: How can we apply the diversity of Jesus’ table, to our tables?

GUIDED PRAYER:

God thank you for inviting me to your table! Thank you for what you did for me on Easter weekend. Lead me in all that I do, living out the freedom that you have afforded me via your death and resurrection. Help me to sit boldly at your table, and invite others around me to do the same. Amen.

One ChurchApril 11, 2023