1 Corinthians 11
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 to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. 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!
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.
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 themselvesbefore 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.
Last night our share group met and partook of the Lord’s Supper together. Derrick shared this passage.
The Church in Corinth was coming to gether. The wealthy would arrive early and the day laborer would arrive after his work was complete to find all of the food was gone.
I was struck by how much I related to the day laborer. I worked hard to get to the gathering of the believers and when I arrived nothing was left for me. In essence I was asked not to return. I know, melodramatic again, but I really do feel betrayed by the church. My life has had more hurt in the past two years than I remember in any other 24 month period. And the greatest hurt is feeling like I am unwanted and I have nothing to offer.