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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date February 1, 2026
Text I Corinthians 11:17-34
Pastor Paul Lehmann
A little girl asked her mother one day as she was preparing dinner. “Mommy, why do you cut off the ends of the ham before you cook it?” The girl’s mother turned and looked at her and said, “Sweetie, I’m not really sure, but I suppose you cut the ends off of the meat so that the meat can better absorb the juices and spices and make it more tender. Maybe you’d better ask Grandma since she was the one I learned it from. She always did it that way.” The little girl called her grandmother later that day and asked her the same question. Her grandmother responded, “I’m not really sure, I think it is so that the juices will be absorbed better. But why don’t you call Nana? She is who I learned it from. The little girl began to get a bit frustrated with the whole idea, but decided to call her great-grandmother anyway. “Nana, mommy was preparing dinner the other day, and she cut the ends off the ham before she cooked it. I asked her why, and she said that she did it because the juices would absorb better, making it more tender. She told me to ask Grandma to make sure, since she learned it from her. So, I called her, and she said the same thing about the juices and all, but that she learned it from you and that I should ask you. Nana, why did you cut off the ends of the ham before you cooked it? There was a long pause, and she thought she heard muffled laughter on the phone. “What’s so funny, Nana?” She finally replied, “Sweetie, I used to cut the ends off of the ham before I cooked it because my pan was too small.”
Many times, we end up doing things for the wrong reasons because no one ever bothered to ask why.
We have developed habits and traditions, sometimes based on nothing more than false information. This is especially true with theological and church-related traditions. We continue to believe things or do things without ever understanding why we believe them or do them, and we never ask the reason why. This happens in both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.
The title of my message this morning is;
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH COMMUNION and THE NEW COVENANT?
We want to look at the reasons behind why we do this. The Lord’s Supper, the only act of worship for which Christ gave special direction, is discussed by Paul in our text. In the early church, the Supper was usually preceded by a fellowship meal, called the Agape, or Love Feast. “Feast of charity,” they are called in Jude 12. Disorders at the love feast cause the Apostle to review past teaching. Because of the problem they were having at the communion services, Paul took the time to explain the reasons why they were taking communion. Paul justifies his rebuke by reviewing the real and true significance of the ordinance, tracing the teaching back to the Lord himself.
Their problem was that some were getting drunk on the wine. Some were gorging themselves on the bread and the food. Some were not able to partake at all because the others were being gluttonous. You know how that is; when the first people in line take almost everything, and by the time you get there, there isn’t much left!
In verses 33 and 34, we see that Paul wanted to make sure they would truly understand its meaning and to wait for each other as they ate. The bottom line of the problem: they didn’t understand what the “big deal was with Communion.”
Paul explained to them the reasons for communion, and told them it was more than a meal, it was a MEMORIAL.
There are three significant factors that are involved in partaking of the Lord’s Supper. In this passage, we see first;
THE RETROSPECTIVE IMPLICATION OF THE LAST SUPPER;
IT IS A TIME TO REMEMBER
Paul recalls Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. While Paul was not present, the Lord had revealed to him what happened there. In verse 23 we read; “…I received from the Lord….” Jesus was interpreting something old: the Passover meal that we read about in Exodus 12. This Passover feast included a lamb. Jesus is our Lamb who has been sacrificed for us. In I Corinthians 5:7-8 we read, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread, not with malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” Paul was referring to the sinfulness that was going on in the church. In the verses before, he is talking about removing the sexually immoral person from their fellowship. In the example from the Exodus, perhaps you remember that as the Israelites prepared to flee Egypt, they were commanded to prepare bread without yeast because they didn’t have time to wait for it to rise. And because yeast was a symbol of sin, they were commanded to sweep all of it out of the house. Christ is our Passover lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Because he has delivered us from the slavery of sin, we should have nothing to do with the sins of the past (that is, the old bread)
The Passover feast included unleavened bread and wine, though not specifically mentioned as a part of the original Passover meal. It is a very special meal because of its historical roots. The Passover meal commemorated Israel’s protection from the angel of death through the sprinkled blood and their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. We read in
Ezekiel 19-24 that the one who sins will surely die. Just like God told Adam at the beginning. But one who is righteous will LIVE. However, in verse 24 we see that if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does …they will die. When we were studying Joshua 6 the fall of Jericho) and then Joshua 7,(when the Israelites were defeated at AI) We found out why Achan and his whole family and possessions were destroyed because he was righteous and was brought into the land of Canaan but disobeyed the direct command that God had given them, and he took the devoted items which were to be destroyed (the robe) and the dedicated items that were for the temple (silver and gold).
Death often came to the Israelites because they turned away from God and worshiped idols, time and time again, so when they did that, they were destroyed. THIS IS BECAUSE:
THEY WERE UNDER THE OLD COVENANT
Because we are now under God’s grace because of Jesus, the judgment for those who rebel against God will be at the end times. Then they will DIE.
Jesus was instituting something NEW( THE NEW COVENANT) ; the Communion of believers as described in our text. This quickly became a frequent celebration in the church, not just something done once per year, like in the Old Covenant. The whole reason God instituted the Passover feast was so that they would remember; Exodus 12:17, 24-27. He told them, “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come…Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?—tell them, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.”
The whole reason Jesus instituted the Communion was so that we would REMEMBER HIM. The words “do this in remembrance of me, involve more than just memory. The words suggest an active calling to mind, and the phrase “of me” is wider than of my death. The person who did the work is the object of the calling to mind. We are not to just remember a historical event, as we would just recall any dramatic past event, like 9/11 or perhaps the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, for instance. But rather, Paul exhorts us to remember Christ and his atoning work on the cross, and this involves the whole work of our redemption in Christ. It also involves his resurrection because we are remembering a living Savior. The new covenant reminds us of the Old Mosaic Covenant, which could only condemn. The usual Old Testament word for “covenant” emphasizes the initiative of God in it. The new covenant provided an effective remission of sins. The phrase “in (or by) my blood” points to the basis on which we have this new blessing, that of forgiveness of sins. We are still condemned by the law and by sin, but now we have forgiveness through his shed blood. Some commentators will say the translation could be: “this cup is the new covenant, and it cost my blood.” Our salvation is free for us, but this liberation from sin was paid for by Christ through his shed blood.
Now not only does the Lord’s supper have RETROSPECTIVE IMPLICATION (that is, to remember), but it also has;
A PROSPECTIVE IMPLICATION ( verse 26)
IT IS A TIME TO REJOICE BY PROCLAMATION
Paul states clearly that we are to proclaim something. According to a Biblical dictionary, PROCLAIM means: to announce, to declare, to propagate, to make known; to proclaim publicly, to publish. According to Webster’s dictionary, proclaim means to declare publicly, typically insistently, proudly, or defiantly, and in either speech or writing.
ANNOUNCE IS, to give outward indication of, show to declare or declare to be solemnly, officially, or formally, to praise or glorify openly or publicly extol.
So we declare, or make known publicly and announce the death of Jesus.
We set forth, or exhibit in an impressive manner, the fact that he was put to death; we exhibit the emblems of his broken body and shed blood, and our belief in the fact that he died. This shows that the ordinance was to be so for public use, to be a proper showing forth of our belief in the death of the Savior. It should be public. It is one mode of professing attachment to the Redeemer, and its public observance often has a most impressive effect on those who witness its observance. And we can rejoice in this because it is where the perfect blood of atonement was spilt for our sins. That atonement was also for our healing. It is “by his wounds that we are healed.” We also proclaim Jesus Christ for the future. The supper has both a backward and a forward look. We are to remember and look back on Christ as our Savior, and we are to look forward to his return as our Lord and King. We thus partake of the bread and cup as a memorial to these two implications in relation to Jesus Christ. This proclamation is in anticipation of his Second Coming.
This demonstrates that it was the steady belief of the primitive church that the Lord Jesus would return to judge the world, and that it was designed that this ordinance should be perpetuated and observed until Jesus returns. In every generation, therefore, and in every place where there are Christians, it is to be observed, until the Son of God shall return; and the necessity of its observance shall cease only when the whole body of the redeemed shall be permitted to see their Lord, and there shall be no need of those emblems to remind them of him, for all shall “see him as he is.”
This tells the world that we believe that he has risen and will return for his Church. This is where we rejoice—knowing he is alive!
Then perhaps most important, we must consider;
THE INTROSPECTIVE IMPLICATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER (verses 27-28) ——– IT IS A TIME TO REPENT
When we share in Communion, we are given the opportunity to examine our lives before God and our brethren. There must be preparation before participation. We must understand what this involves. The words “unworthy manner” refer to our attitude when taking communion. All of us are unworthy, except for the reconciliation that is possible because of Christ taking our sins on himself when he died on the cross, but eating in an unworthy manner is the thing that we must guard against. It must be with an attitude of self-judgment, which leads us to confession of sin. Verse 28 tells us that we “should examine ourselves.” We should ask God to show us any unclean way in us. We should openly allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sinfulness and seek to be restored on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross. This should be a willingness to “turn around” to repent of what we have been doing. This is necessary because then we will not be held in judgment. It is at our communion service where we really are partaking in a worthy manner. What this passage is about is taking communion when we are living in known sin, and when we refuse to confess this and be forgiven, to eat the bread and drink from the cup without examining ourselves. It is then that we are held in judgment.
Having said that, this doesn’t mean that if we can’t remember a sin we have committed or if it isn’t brought to our attention by the Holy Spirit, that we are taking communion in “an unworthy manner.” You see, the only way that happens is when we are living in sin, we refuse to confess it, and still take communion. What Jesus did for us on the cross covers our sin. His blood covers our sin. The blood is powerful, we sing about. We “plead the blood and use it and the name of Jesus, so that demons will be cast out. And deliverance will come to those who are demonized. Praise the Lord that our unworthiness isn’t because we have a bad memory. Jesus provides the forgiveness if we let him.
Oftentimes, we may have the tendency to echo along with the disciples on the night when Jesus was betrayed, “Lord, is it I?” Have I betrayed you? Lord, do I need to judge my actions? Yes, it is every one of us. That has betrayed the Lord. It was not just the hand of Judas who betrayed Christ; it was all of mankind, therefore Christ submitted to the sacrifice. Jesus was not abducted by a gang of murderers; all the people who ever lived, and that ever are to live, gathered together so to speak, in that one representation, and betrayed the Lord.
Do you remember a time when you had an opportunity to speak for Christ and lost it? I do! It was then that we betrayed the Lord. Do you remember a time when two courses were set before you, the one dishonorable but leading to immediate success, the other honorable but meaning strenuous endeavor and doubtful success in a worldly sense, and you paused and took the course that led to satisfy self rather than God? I do! It was then that we betrayed the Lord. We betray the Lord if we talk ourselves out of giving 10% of our income (our tithe). We let Satan encourage us to give a smaller offering.
Examining our lives before the Lord doesn’t mean that we condemn ourselves, because the Lord doesn’t condemn us. The danger is if we do not recognize our sin and do not confess it and repent, this is when we will be judged before God.
I know that many churches today want to emphasize the GRACE AND LOVE OF GOD. They think people have been condemned enough. All they have heard is that they are a sinner. They call it “fire and brimstone” type of preaching. I tend to disagree. Most people haven’t heard either the GRACE OF GOD or CONDEMNATION, and certainly not the GOOD NEWS that God wants to save them if they place their faith and trust in his Son, Jesus. I’m sure that you have heard people say that they really don’t think God would send anyone to Hell. They are right. God doesn’t. He prepared Hell for the Devil and the fallen angels that were cast out of heaven with him (which are demons). He is not willing that anyone should go there; in fact, loves us because he IS LOVE, BUT HE IS ALSO JUST. He must punish rebellious sinners, but in fact, we send ourselves to Hell if we don’t accept him as our sacrifice for sin, and we don’t accept him as our Savior.
I remember some years ago, Jeannene and I were watching a movie on TV, and we were astonished to see a scene where a man and woman were eating in a restaurant. She was saying that her mother was always preaching at her, and saying, “God has a wonderful plan for your life.” Then she threw out the rhetorical question that may be deep in all of our hearts at some time or another, “What about my plans—weren’t they good enough for you, God? I had plans to be married, have a husband, have children, wasn’t that good enough for you, God?”—You see, the truth of her question is in the heart of everyone, even professing Christians, we think our plans are just as good as God’s plans, and as important as His, and in fact better than God’s plan for us, thus the rebellion against God. The answer to her rhetorical question was NO!. Her plans weren’t good enough for God because they left God out. Her desires were what God had in mind, though. All we need to do is surrender to him, –“delight ourselves in him, and he has promised to give us the desires of our heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
If we come to the communion table this morning with an introspective outlook on our hearts, judging ourselves for our shortcomings and asking forgiveness, this is all Christ asks. Then we will experience the fullness of joy this memorial offers.
If you have come to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and have been born again by His Spirit, we invite you this morning to share with us in fellowship around the Lord’s table.