“Worship that Centers in the Lord” – a message from 1 Corinthians 11

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our preaching series entitled “God’s Grace for an Imperfect Church: 1 Corinthians.” In this message from 1 Corinthians 11, I explored Paul’s discussion of worship around two topics: head coverings and the Lord’s Supper. Intertwined with those topics, I explored what it means to read the Bible well around this concept: “How we read the Bible shapes the way we live the Bible.”

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

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“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you…” (1 Corinthians 11:23)

Basics of Interpreting the Bible

Exegesis – what did the biblical text mean ‘then and there’?

• Three areas to explore: history, literary genre, and biblical context/canon

Hermeneutics – what does the biblical text mean ‘here and now’? 

Paul, Creation, Culture, the Gospel, and Worship (11:2-16)

Head coverings in worship and prevailing cultural customs 

The complex range of the Greek word “head” (Greek: kephalē / κεφαλή)

Paul affirms both gender difference and gender equality

Paul praises the Corinthian church for empowering women to lead along with men in the public gatherings but exhorts them to do so in a way that does not dishonor God or one another 

Paul, Inequality, the Church, and the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34)

The Corinthian context of gathering and the Roman villa 

The heart of the Lord’s Supper: remember, encounter, anticipate

Paul modifies his earlier praise with a critique of how the Corinthian church causes divisions in the way they celebrate the Lord’s supper when they gather 

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Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:

• This past Sunday we celebrated communion at Eastbrook. What does the communion meal mean to you? Why is this meal important in the life of a local church community? Write your thoughts and share it with a spouse, friend, or small group member.
• Explore these additional resources:
  • Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth
  • Bible Project, “Why Is the Lord’s Supper Significant in the Bible?”: https://bibleproject.com/articles/lords-supper-in-the-bible/
  • Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future Worship