Ready for Communion and the Marriage of the Lamb

Summary

This communion service centers on how we approach the Lord's Table. Before we share the bread and the cup, we must examine ourselves, reconcile with anyone who holds something against us, and judge our own hearts, so that the supper becomes a blessing and not a judgment. Paul warns that whoever takes it unworthily becomes guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

The preacher ties together two suppers - the communion we keep on earth and the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven. They cannot be separated. Just as people set aside a day of fasting and self-searching before communion, we must live ready every day for Christ's return, because He comes at an hour we do not expect, and the door closes on those who are not prepared.

Preparation means letting go. As wheat is parted from the chaff and grapes are pressed into wine, the trials of life refine us into one bread, one body. We are joined vertically to God and horizontally to one another, and no one can claim to love God while refusing to love a neighbor. Calvary is not only our past; it is our present and our future.

Key Points

• Examine yourself before the Table and reconcile with anyone who has something against you.
• Taking communion carelessly turns a blessing into judgment; discern the body of the Lord.
• The supper on earth and the marriage feast of the Lamb are inseparable - prepare for both.
• Live ready every day, not only before communion, for Christ returns at an unexpected hour.
• Stop excusing sin by blaming your family or your past; in Christ you are a new creation.
• Like wheat and grapes, we are refined and shaped into one bread; let go of what divides us.
• Love for God is proven by genuine love for the neighbor He has given you.