1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 24

1 Cor. 11:17-24
This passage is about the Lord's Supper or communion which is a symbol of Christ's death. When we celebrate it, we are to remember His great sacrifice for our sins, and we are to look forward to the time when He will return.

Paul warns here about some of the abuses that we taking place during the Lord's Supper in the church at Corinth. First of all, they had divisions among them which should not be. These divisions do not reflect the love that Jesus had and still has for His church.

It was their custom at that time to have a meal or feast along with the Lord's Supper. Some were selfishly eating and drinking to excess (even to the point of drunkenness!) and not sharing with members who might be poor and truly hungry. Paul told them this was a disgrace. vv. 20-22

Then Paul goes on to remind them and us what Jesus Himself said and did about this. vv. 23-26
We are supposed to remember Jesus death through the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup. This is a solemn time. "So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord." This is why we should examine ourselves and confess any sins we are harboring. And I truly believe God will remind us of attitudes or actions that don't please Him so that we can confess them. If we do this without honoring Christ, God may have to judge us. vv. 29-30 This warning is not to scare us away from participating, but it is to remind us to make sure our hearts and lives are cleansed by God's forgiveness.

And so we are to examine ourselves so that God doesn't have to judge us. v. 31. Paul closes this section by encouraging the Corinthian believers to be considerate of one another in the matter of the Lord's Supper.

Psalm 24
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him." Since the earth is the Lord's, we should take care of it and maintain it the best we can, but we must not worship it. This psalm teaches us to worship the Lord!  vv. 1-6

vv.7-10 remind me of Handel's Messiah because Handel set this passage to music so beautifully and majestically. The Lord, strong and mighty, is indeed the King of glory! He is our King and worthy of our worship.