Regarding 1 Corinthians, how do I apply this to myself?
In class we examined the discussion by Paul concerning the "Lord's Supper." I note here the importance of the Lord's Supper for me. There is something about Communion that always reminds me that I have been blessed because Jesus gave of Himself.
Regarding 1 Corinthians, how do I apply this to my community?
In this book Paul addressed the problem of people taking more than their fair share of the Lord's Supper. The shortage today seems to be with people who partake in Communion from our community. On one youth retreat I was on about six years ago, I noticed that many students did not go up front when the Lord's Supper was served during the Sunday morning worship. In the Anglican denomination, which was running that retreat, you are supposed to be baptized before you can take the Lord's Supper. And that was gently announced that morning. Apparently many of those students were not baptized, since many of them were friends with students who were active in Anglican churches.
First things first, these young people need to be told about Jesus so they can make a decision about whether they will receive Him. No such public invitation was made to students on that retreat that I recall. On such youth retreats, students need to be told the Gospel, and they need to be invited to receive Jesus. For those who believe, they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. And then we need to give them an opportunity to be baptized with water! And then they will have the blessing of partaking in the Lord's Supper the rest of their journey in this world!
Hunter Irvine
