The Power and Purpose of Communion

The church in Corinth was like other churches in the first century in that they met at night and had a tradition of gathering for a church fellowship supper prior to their worship service. Apparently their pitch-in dinners provided not only an occasion for fellowship but gave the wealthy a chance to share their abundance with the poor. That might have been the best meal some of the slaves and unemployed members would have all week. Then, after the meal, they had a worship service and served communion. But over the course of time, as often happens, what was intended for good deteriorated into irreverence. The rich got tired of waiting for the late-arriving slaves who worked until sunset, so they just ate early leaving only the scraps for the poor. Others got to bickering among themselves over who really ran the church and they split up into separate cliques that always ate together. Some drank so much wine at the fellowship meal that they got drunk. When the worship time came they were so inebriated that the Lord’s Supper was meaningless. And while we don’t tend to have those problems, there is potential for a problem today. Perhaps you’ve experienced it: Communion can become just another thing we do without really thinking about why we do it or why it’s so important. This week Mike will be sharing how Paul reminds us why, how we take communion, is important to God.