Preparing for the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:23-35

Today, we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Celebrate is an interesting word. We often think of a light-hearted party, or some other festive event. The Lord’s Supper, certainly, is not light-hearted or festive, but it is a celebration. It’s a somber celebration. Christ-followers rejoice in the confidence that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection bring us, but we must also be somber—serious—knowing that it was our sin—our breaking God’s law—that made His death, burial, and resurrection necessary.
1 Corinthians 11 is the go-to Scripture for many, if not most, observations of the Lord’s Supper. Paul most likely wrote this letter to the Corinthian Church before any of the Gospel writers wrote their works, so this probably the first written description of the Last Supper (Communion, Eucharist, Lord’s Table).
In this description and instruction, Paul is directly confronting the Corinthian’s lack of respect for the commemoration, and even more importantly, their lack of respect for the Lord there were professing to be commemorating.
This is not a problem confined to the Corinthians. We, too, can easily find ourselves going through the motions of communion without ever actually communing with Christ. We can eat the bread and drink the cup without really remembering the Savior those elements represent.
So, for the next few minutes, we will unpack this passage as we prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Supper.