Communion is about us, as a body of believers, coming equally together to remember how Jesus sets us free from our sins.

17Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it. 19For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. 20Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, 21for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. 22What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this, I do not praise you. 23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”25In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 27Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For the one who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. 30For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. 33So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is hungry, have him eat at home so that you do not come together for judgment. As to the remaining matters, I will give instructions when I come. - 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

When this is our main goal, we are able to stay free from legalism and liberalism. The first is a doorway that leads to sins of judgmental self-righteousness. The second is a wide open landscape of sinful activities. Either way, both lead to sin. So, when we lean into the Lord for relationship we live within the law and have freedom at the same time.

This is a lesson take from Doug Smalls boom titled, “Prayer; The Heart of it All”.

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

1Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? 2Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to form the smallest law courts? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? 4So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? 5I say this to your shame. Is it so, thatthere is not among you any one wise who will be able to decide between his brothers and sisters, 6but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? 7Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer the wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8On the contrary, you yourselves do wrong and defraud. And this to your brothers and sisters! 9Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Topic: Church Conflict

Big Idea: We should deal with confronting other believers with our hands fully extended. An open hand is a symbol of welcome and release. An extended hand shows honesty, the right attitude, navigation from the Holy Spirit, and decision.

Series Ideas and Talking Points:

Honesty: It's great to use the word "honest" when speaking about a healthy confrontation in the United State. As a culture, we struggle with the idea of healthy conflict. However, it is our biblical responsibility to confront each other (Matthew 18:15-20). The Corinthian believers were not handling conflict among themselves. Rather, they were using the Roman court system.

Attitude: The single and best way to influence others is with an exemplary attitude. The world's way of dealing with conflict is about "looking out for number one" and having that statement refer to the individual saying it. As Christians, Jesus is number one and we should always look to His guidance. When we do, we will have an attitude of grace and mercy toward one another.

Navigation: We should have the Holy Spirit as our internal navigator rather than our emotions. The world is lead by their emotions and they make their own set of rules. Their way leads to destruction. Paul gives examples in the passage. Our way leads to life and it should be lived as an example.

Decide: God guides and leaves it up to us to decide. His ways are an invitation to a possibility. This is not the easy way. This is the way of the Lord. Our choice to be Christians is a choice to pick up our cross and follow Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1–21; 13:1–14; 14:1–21

Topic: Love, Unity, Fellowship, Honor, Ethics

CATCH THIS: Our foundational life in Christ influences everything we do.

Apply it this way: Be transformed every day and grow in every way.