 And I'll begin reading here in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 at verse 23, I'll read to verse 25, we'll get into our study. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 beginning at verse 23, Paul writes, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And same manner, he also took the cup after supper saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Verse 26, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Now, let's begin by laying a foundation here. We'll look at verse 23, how he says, I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you. So that's how he begins here. He's actually about to bring a word of correction. And what he's doing is he's been moving into that as we saw last time because there are things that are going wrong in what has been called the agape feast that the church would at one time have. And so what was happening is they were beginning to dishonor the body of Christ and dishonor the Lord during that dinner. And so he had been asking why if you're going to dishonor the Lord and dishonor one another, are you having these agape feasts at all? You see, this meeting, this agape feast was actually to be what we would today call a somber meeting. But he's saying what you're doing is you're actually just gathering to eat and to drink. And that's why he had said, could you not eat and drink at home? In other words, why are you having an agape feast at all? You see, the well to do were eating before the poor were arriving. They were thinking only of themselves and they were also over drinking. They were getting drunk. They were forgetting about things like brotherly love and it incited division in the church. And so that's why Paul said, are you expecting me to praise you? He had said that in verse 17 when he says, in giving these instructions, I do not praise you. Then he was saying, what do you think I'm going to congratulate you for the things that you're doing? You think that I can approve your carnality? Don't you understand that the word agape in the Greek language speaks of love? The love feast that you're having is supposed to be a place where love is shown to one another. Don't you understand that your carnality has replaced the spirit of God? And what has happened is you are desecrating what has been called the communion service. And so what happened is their activities there at the agape feast, which would include a time of what we call communion, which we'll be looking at tonight. What had happened is the communion service lost its sacred meaning. And it became just a ritual, if you will. It was just something that was tacked on to that evening. It was just a religious ritual. Kind of like Christmas and Easter here in the United States for many has become. It's a religious ritual that has been emptied of its sacred meaning. So there are people who will celebrate Christmas who have no relationship with God. There's no love for Jesus Christ. They're not rejoicing at the birth of the Savior of the world. It's simply an opportunity to party. And the same is true for Easter, where families gather together. Sometimes they'll go to church together, but there's really no sacredness to it. Just Easter egg hunts and ham with the family has replaced the sacredness of remembrance of what Jesus Christ did. And so that is what happens when you allow carnality to enter in and interrupt the point of gathering together in the first place. And so he's dealing with that now. And he's saying, I need to share with you and remind you just exactly what communion is. Now he begins in verse 23 by saying, I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you. When he says I received from the Lord, he's speaking of his apostolic authority. I've been given from the Lord the authority to communicate and to deliver to you God's revelations. I have received through the apostolic authority that I have teachings that I communicate to you so that you might know the things that are being said are not things that Paul would say that he had created. The gospel message wasn't something that he made up. That gospel message that he's proclaiming isn't something that came from his own mind. He's saying I received this from the Lord as one for God's authority to proclaim to God's message. And this came from the Lord that these are the things that I'm communicating to you. So I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you. And so what he's going to speak about while he's speaking really concerning communion but he's looking at some of the things that are related to communion that find their origin in what is called Passover. He wants to communicate to them the things that God gave to him to communicate. They have asked questions of him concerning the various things including this and so he wants to answer that. What is communion? And so he's giving some practical instruction. Notice verse 24. It speaks concerning verse 23 rather in the same night that Jesus was betrayed he took bread. And so he's saying I want you to know that the historical setting for this and how communion came about was really at a Passover supper. And so I'm going to give you the historical setting and the circumstances of the origin of communion is what he's saying. We know that when we study the New Testament we look in the gospels and the gospels contain the story of Jesus's last night with his apostles prior to him being crucified. We know that Jesus celebrated the tradition of Passover and so he and his disciples were gathered together celebrating Passover. What's interesting and I want you to see this because it's something you might not notice. Notice how it says I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread. There's a reason why he's saying on the same night in which he was betrayed and that is because Judas was present on that same night that he was betrayed because Judas was the betrayer and so at that original communion service as Jesus was about to institute the ordinance of communion there was a false believer present and that false believer's name was Judas. He's referred to in the gospels very often as the one who betrayed him and you find the same thing being said by Paul here. So when Judas is being spoken of he normally will be referred to as the betrayer. In this context he's saying the church gathers together and in the church gathering together in the original nucleus of the church celebrating that communion service amongst the real was the fake. Amongst the genuine was the Judas. So the inference for us even as we're studying this 2,000 years later is that whenever the church gathers together and in context when the church gathers together to have the communion service it is very distinctly possible that amongst the real there will be that one who's not, that one who answers more to a Judas than one who would answer more to the appellation disciple of Jesus Christ. That's the reason by the way whenever we have communion that's why before we celebrate it that's why you'll hear me say this is a service for believers in Jesus Christ. This is not a service for those who've never committed their hearts to Jesus because what I'm really referring to is the fact that Judas was there amongst the real but he himself was not real and sometimes when people take communion even in circumstances like when we have them here there are people taken of the bread and taken of the juice they're doing it lightly because it doesn't mean anything to them and I'm actually asking them and warning them not to do that and you'll see why in just a moment but he's pointing out that Judas was there that night and the night that he was betrayed. Judas is a type of the false believer present at a love feast. As I mentioned he appeared like a follower of Jesus Christ but in fact he's a betrayer and he's saying you are actually acting like Judas because his works were evil and he disregarded Jesus Christ and when you have partying and drinking and carrying on like that you're acting more like Judas than any believer and so he's beginning to share about that and now he speaks concerning it in verse 24 it says when he had given thanks he broke it and said take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me. Now the bread that he's referring to is what is called unleavened bread. It's unleavened or it's without yeast or leaven because leaven in Scripture very often is used as a type of sin and so the unleavened bread is symbolic of the fact that the true bread from heaven Jesus Christ is without sin and so he's speaking concerning this bread that was broken and Jesus took that bread and he broke that bread and he said in verse 23 he said, rather he said this bread is to represent my body, this is my body this is my body verse 24 which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me. That bread that we have when we come in half communion together represents the body of Jesus Christ. In John chapter 6 verse 51 Jesus said I am the living bread that came down from heaven if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever this bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world and so when we gather together to take of communion the bread doesn't become the body of Christ that is unfortunately an error that crept into the church where some would believe that the bread actually becomes the actual body of Christ. Jesus was not teaching that. Jesus is instituting what we call a memorial feast do this in remembrance of me. He is not saying that when you hold that bread and you speak certain words over it that it becomes, well the term is in the Catholic church transubstantiated it changes from the bread and becomes the actual body of Christ, the actual presence of Christ that's not what Jesus was teaching. Jesus was teaching what we call a memorial service do this in remembrance of me and understand what the bread symbolizes what the bread symbolizes is the body of Christ Jesus who is without sin and because he is the true bread from heaven what we do in our partaking of it is by faith we've received the true bread Jesus Christ and been saved so when we take the bread in communion and partake of it in a physical sense what it is would be almost like a point of contact it's one of those acts that gives to us the ability to have a sense of communion with the Lord in a very personal way so when you get that bread when it's handed to you it's not changing into the actual body of Christ but it represents the broken body of Jesus when you look at the bread it's unleavened because leaven represents sin yet Jesus had no sin when you look at it closely the bread that we use has marks in it from the oven if you will and that reminds us by his stripes we are healed when you look at the bread that we serve here it also has holes in it because he was pierced for us and so there's a symbolism involved in communion where we're understanding that Jesus Christ the true bread from heaven has given his life for us and so that we by faith have taken of him and we have become born again and receive our life from Christ so when we take the bread and we partake of it we're simply remembering what he's done that's why he said do this in remembrance of me we're remembering what he did on our behalf and we don't take it lightly because we take into consideration all that he went through how he lived a perfect and sinless life how that he suffered was beaten and died how that he was buried but was resurrected and so when you do these things in remembrance of him it's not just the activity that he went through for us but the meaning of that activity that has a very special ring to our own souls when a Jewish person would consider the word remembrance there were times very often that the word remembrance meant more than simply recollecting some past experience that you have remembering some things by just drawing from your memory some certain facts about something oh yeah I remember my first day of school or I remember when I got my license or I remember my first date and that's not what it's talking about in this context to remember is more than just remembering certain facts it is also calling to your heart the experience and emotions that you had at that time there are certain things in other words that if I say you know where were you on a certain date you might say oh I was in a certain place but there are other things that I might say to you do you remember when you and perhaps something that would be of a great personal memory do you remember what it was like when you had your first child or your wedding day or you know something that was significant and if you stopped for a moment you might begin to think yeah I remember not only remember that but I also feel the emotions of that very often when I'm teaching here in our church and you'll see me stop for a moment and I'll have an emotional moment it's because I'm doing something called remembering I'm actually not just drawing up the memory but I'm revisiting the emotion and as I revisit the emotion that emotion comes out of me as I'm sharing with you that's basically what he's saying don't do this in remembrance of me what are you saying don't ever let it get stale don't let it become a ritual don't let it become something you just do don't do it that way when you take communion remember remember what I said remember what I did remember your fellowship with me remember all that you saw and what you experienced remember and that's what the Lord would call us to do we prepare our hearts before we have communion that's why we don't just grab a piece of bread and grab some juice and just eat it we actually prepare our hearts that's why we have worship as the bread and the juices being handed out because we're preparing our hearts to meet the Lord in a special way and communion is intended to do that when he speaks about this his body that was broken it would refer to his crucifixion the beatings that he endured it includes the stripes that he received it's remembering that his body was broken beaten he was ultimately killed Isaiah 53, 4 and 5 says it like this surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows yet we considered him stricken by God smitten by him and afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed in 1 Peter 2, 24 the apostle said he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness by his wounds you have been healed this is my body which is broken for you I became flesh for you I suffered and I died for you and I did all of this for you in 1 Peter 3, 18 it says Christ died for sins once for all the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God and so he speaks concerning the bread he also goes on in verse 25 to say in the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me or as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes this cup this cup is the new covenant the new covenant he says in my blood now to understand this when he refers to the cup we have to consider Passover and let me read to you some things that I brought out I stole from other people that will help you the Passover supper the Passover supper is a celebration of deliverance from Egyptian bondage in the Passover meal well it begins with the pronouncing of a blessing over the first cup of red wine and then passing it to the others who are present there are four cups of wine that are passed around during the meal the four cups represent various promises that God gave to Israel you might want to mark this Exodus chapter 6 verses 6 through 8 says this therefore say to the Israelites I am the Lord I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians I will free you from being slaves to them and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment I will take you as my own people and I will be your God then you will know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob I will give it to you as a possession I am the Lord and so these four cups represent four promises and they're drunk at strategic moments of the meal the Passover meal called the Seder begins with a blessing that is recited over the first four cups Blessed art thou, Lord our God King of the universe who has created the fruit of the vine and that's what Jesus himself blessed in the first cup as is recorded in Luke 22, 17 and 18 after the first cup was drunk bitter herbs dipped in fruit sauce were eaten and a message was given on the meaning of Passover then the first part of a hymn was sung the halal was comprised of Psalm 113 to 118 the first part sung usually was either Psalm 113 or Psalm 114 after the second cup was passed the host would break and pass around the unleavened bread then the meal proper which consisted of a roasted sacrificial lamb would be eaten the second cup is to remind them of the ten plagues and the suffering of the Egyptians when they hardened their heart to the Lord in order not to rejoice over the suffering of our enemies they spill a drop of wine which is a symbol of joy as they recite each of the ten plagues thus remembering that the joy is diminished at the suffering of others the third cup is the cup of redemption and it is had after prayer and then it's passed and the rest of the halal is sung the third cup is taken after the meal it's called the cup of redemption which reminds them of the shed blood of the innocent lamb which brought Israel's redemption from Egypt in this we see that Jesus took the third cup in Luke 22 verse 20 and it's mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11-25 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 this was not just any cup it is the cup of redemption from slavery into freedom that's the cup that's spoken of that's the cup that Jesus blessed then you have the fourth cup which celebrated the coming kingdom that was drunk immediately before leaving the fourth cup is called the cup of praise and believers see in the beautiful high priestly prayer of John 17 that Jesus took time to praise and thank the Lord at the end of the Passover Seder his last supper the spotless Passover lamb had praise on his lips as he went to his death now Matthew recorded the events of that night while they were celebrating Passover it says in Matthew 26 verses 26-28 as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed it break it and gave it to the disciples and said take, eat, this is my body and he took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins for the release from bondage or imprisonment so this new covenant is the covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ the covenant of redemption so when we gather together and we eat the bread in our communion service we are considering the broken body of Jesus the body that was given for us when we drink of the cup it is the cup of redemption symbolizing his blood that was poured out on our behalf we have not been saved by any good works our sins have been forgiven because he poured out his blood for us and covered our sins with his blood in 1 Peter 1 18 and 19 it says for as much as you know that you are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot and so Ephesians 1 7 reminds us that Jesus' blood has been poured out for us for the remission of our sins he shed his blood and we have been purchased by it so when we gather together and have communion it is a holy time every time the church gathers it should be regarded as a holy time as a matter of fact if we began to think of our relationships with our brothers and sisters as always being a holy convocation you probably would have more edifying conversations find better things to do together if you realize, if we as a church realize that when the body of Christ gathers together it's not always in a building like this on a church grounds but it's when brothers and sisters go out for coffee at Starbucks or when we go to some meal somewhere and when there's brothers and sisters together if we understood that we're really together celebrating our relationship that we have together because of Jesus Christ it would change a lot of our relationships for the better, it really would we would begin to understand that we were bought with price we would understand that Jesus poured out His blood for us we'd actually become more edifying we'd treat people better even when the waitress comes up and all we'd be kinder to her we'd be nicer, we'd actually leave a tip and things like that Marie, my wife used to be a waitress she used to work at Bob's Big Boy and before she was saved she was a college student and she worked at Bob's and when she got saved we were dating and she began to speak to me and she shared with me something she said, you know I used to work at Bob's Big Boy and there was a church that was close by she says I really didn't like to work the lunch crowd on a Sunday morning why is that? she says because the church people would come in and never leave a tip they always left tracks she said I just didn't appreciate that because I can't pay my bills with a Bible track I can't put a gallon of gas in my car with a Bible track and yet so many times the church is not you, I'm not speaking to you I'm just speaking of the church in general but so many times believers I've seen this to be true believers can be some of the most stingy people on the face of the earth it's true this is in here can you raise your hands if I have any please don't worry about it I'm not going to make you look bad there we have some I'm telling the truth aren't I they're cheap aren't they they're nodding but they don't want to they think you're going to kill them it's true we need to do good to our brothers and sisters who wait our tables we need to have a generous spirit we need to understand these things listen if the Lord has worked in our lives this is what he's supposed to do communion is a remembrance of the things that Christ has done he died on a cross for us he poured out his blood for us and these people are gathering together and instead of understanding the cup of redemption and the blessing that Christ gave they began to eat and to overeat and they started to eat early so when the poor who had really little or nothing showed up partaking in any meal a meal that would have been the best meal that they'd have had that week but the people who had were keeping from those who didn't and they were doing it in an unfair way and it was dishonoring their brothers and sisters but they were drinking and over drinking at church services and getting drunk and that's why Paul said am I supposed to praise you I don't praise you because when you get together you're not better than yours don't you understand he's saying to the Corinthians don't you understand the significance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ don't you understand that when you gather together and dishonor the poor amongst you that you're forgetting what Jesus Christ did how that he came to save how that he came to lay down his life because he loved us to pour out his blood so that we might be saved don't you understand that that is the essence that is called his new covenant a covenant that was actually established by the blood of Jesus Christ and so he's saying when you gather together you need to remember what Jesus said he said do this in remembrance of me recapture in your mind not only the event but the emotions the reality and the significance of such an act he says in verse 26 for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes whenever we eat communion partake of communion we remember his death we remember what he did and we look forward to the promise that he would return for us now notice verse 27 therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord examine self and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself not discerning the Lord's body for this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep for if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged but when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord therefore my brethren when you come together to eat wait for one another but if anyone is hungry let him eat at home unless you come together for judgment and the rest I will set in order when I come these are interesting scriptures what is he talking about in verse 27 whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner what is the meaning of the body and blood of the Lord what are you talking about I don't know let's look at verse 28 no what is he talking about guilty of dishonoring speaks of be guilty of dishonoring the entire meaning of communion you are missing the entire point what you are doing by partaking of it in this fashion is you are dishonoring the entire meaning of Jesus's life and Jesus's grace when you gather together and eat in such a fashion you are forgetting the whole purpose it is interesting when you look at Hebrews 10.29 the writer said how much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the son of God under foot who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the spirit of grace you are dishonoring the entire meaning of communion you are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord because you are dishonoring what Jesus Christ did for you and in taking it in such a fashion may very well be demonstrating that you don't even know its purpose its meaning and more than likely have not partaken of it in a personal way that's why he says in verse 28 let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup that's why when we have worship before communion that's what we ought to be doing as we are waiting for the bread to be handed to us and the juice to be given to us we ought to be preparing our heart to meet the Lord we ought to be saying Lord thank you for your forgiveness I receive and I confess to you my need and that's what I do that's what I do up here as we are worshiping as I am confessing and saying God cleanse me, God work in me make of this with a sense of the somberness that it's requiring here he says in verse 29 for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself not discerning the Lord's body for this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep for if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged that's a very powerful portion of scripture there are teachings that are just related to that that are very deep and it's difficult for me to really grasp the depth of those teachings I can give you a couple of thoughts as it relates to this though when he says you're bringing judgment to yourself not discerning the Lord's body there's one application that is very practical and that would be that it's not that you're looking at the bread itself and seeing the actual body of Jesus but you're not discerning the activity of the spirit of the Lord in the body of Christ amongst you right now as we're gathered here in other words if you're born again believer you're part of the body of Christ so if I take communion in an unworthy fashion in essence I'm actually disregarding you I'm disregarding the fact that you are part of the body of Christ and therefore I'm dishonoring you in my unworthy participation of communion because I'm not regarding the work that God has done to cleanse our sins to make us one in Christ and therefore I don't value the church itself there's another application and that would be that not realizing the work of Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross and disregarding that or looking at it as being without value will put me in a position where God chastises me and God can deal with me there is a sin 1st John 5 tells us that leads not into death I do not say that you should pray for it John speaks of sins that actually can lead to God's chastening where he might even remove an erring brother or sister from the body of Christ in a merciful way through taking them home to be with him let's see if I can make sense of this because this is really something I wasn't planning on saying because I don't know if I can say it clearly Jesus Christ is the bread of life by faith I have partaken in him in him I am alive I've been made alive when I see the ministry of Jesus Christ I see him as one who does many things including the healing of my body when I do not regard him by faith and when I begin to reduce him from who he is and what he can do I can actually find myself being placed in a position where I don't call upon him to touch my body when it's in need of healing much of that is going to be built on my disregard for the actual presence and power of Christ when we gather together as the church there have been times in the past I haven't done this recently but I used to do this fairly often where I would say there may be some here in this room right now who have a physical need to be touched by God and I would say as we're about to take communion may I encourage you if you need prayer for a healing as we close our eyes right now raise your hand and I'd like to pray for you because Jesus is not physically present in the bread but he is spiritually present amongst his body and it's especially significant when we're celebrating communion and so what I would do at that time is I would say as we're thinking of what he has done and what he's doing and we look forward to what he will do in the future why don't we open ourselves up right now to what he wants to do in our lives and you may right now have a need for God to touch you and we would do that during communion and people would open their hearts because we were regarding what Christ could do in our life but when you don't think of what Jesus can do when all that is is a meal and it just becomes some bread and some juice then you're really not going to be asking God for anything because you don't expect him to move and so there's a whole lot more going on at this agape feast that Paul is upset about than what meets the eye he's saying you are disregarding all that Jesus did you're not thinking about his broken body for you you're not realizing that you're part of the body of Christ and by his stripes you have been made whole so you're not asking God to touch your body in the event that he might desire to heal you because it's become just a meal it's just a ritual and it's devoid of his presence and because he's concerned about that he's saying you need to understand that and that means not that you're asleep you're in church services else I'd have that every time but he's saying some of you have died some of you have died some amongst you have died because you have not taken advantage of God's promises to meet your needs if you but ask and so the result has been in the reducing of who Jesus Christ is in your midst you're missing the blessings that God wants to bring upon you because your carnality quenches the Holy Spirit and so it's symbolized by the way they're treating communion you don't remember you're not thinking of what Jesus has done and therefore you're dishonoring Christ and dishonoring the body and this he's saying is a great great sin it has to be corrected he says in verse 32 when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned to avoid God's chastisement you need to discern the purpose of communion you need to discern the Lord's body and you need to take his chastening properly so that you might repent and return to him therefore my brethren when you come together to eat wait for one another but if anyone is hungry let him eat at home unless you come together for judgment the rest I will set in order come down to one thing guys and we'll close with this simple thought always comes down to one thing love one another show regard for one another God help us to do that God help us to do that I had somebody I'll close with this and then we'll pray I had somebody say to me something and I can say it on Sunday night because you can see that I don't give invitations often on Sunday nights but I can say it now because in the event that in the future I give one you'll be aware of this if you return after tonight and that is they said you know when you give an invitation on Sunday morning and even Wednesday nights and people come forward they were telling me and their follow-up ministers were speaking to me they said when the people come forward and you pray with them and then we're about to close people start leaving when the new believers are walking up the aisle and they begin to walk with the new believers this happens all the time and what happens is the new believers who who've been asked to follow this guy so he can spend a few moments with them and help them to understand gets confused and they said we have seen people who've come forward following these other people out the door because the people who got up for whatever reason and it may be a good reason hopefully it is who got up and walked out and joined these people and we're walking with them actually are leading them out the door and not back to where the follow-up minister can care for them and they said could you please make mention of this so that the church understands that what they're doing is actually disrupting the flow of the spirit and do you understand what I just said and that's really what happens guys it really does and so he asked me that weeks ago and you can hear if you've been in church I haven't mentioned it except for tonight because it came to mind because that's what happens when we close our services guys like tonight when we close our services and we stand and we say let's have one more song please remember that that's your last you're kissing the face of Christ in your worship that is not your time to get up and interrupt other people who are worshiping him so that you can get your children first or get in the car first hope that doesn't sound cruel but it's true because sometimes people just get up and think and I know that other fellowships I know that there are other churches that the last song is the dismissal song I understand that I do but for us it's our last worship song and for those who are new here perhaps and don't know that our last song is not the dismissal our last song is our opportunity together one last time is the body of Christ to sing our praise to Jesus Christ and it's not the time for people to get up and hurry out it is the time for us to one more time together to remember who we are and that means we're honoring Christ and we're loving one another does that make sense to you? that's what we're trying to do here I want you to know that because I really I really don't want you to think that I'm like getting on your case I can do that I have no problem doing that but I'm not doing that right now what I'm trying to do is explain for our visitors so that you might understand and maybe for some of you who've never heard me say this so that you might understand it's our chance to worship Jesus together as we are about to leave go into that world so when people get up and get saved it's not my chance to step in the line with them and hurry out so I can get to where I'm going that's disrupting what the Spirit wants to do and I know you don't want to do that and that's why I'm presenting it like this I know that you want to honor the Lord and you want to love one another because that's what it's all about isn't it to love God and to love one another and that's what Paul is speaking about you get together it's not for the better it's for the worse because you're forgetting the reason that you've gotten together it's to celebrate what Jesus Christ did when he poured out his blood and gave up his body and that's what makes you one in Christ so love one another and honor one another that's really in a nutshell what he's saying and that's what we should be doing too