The Mindset to Participate at The Lord’s Table Exclusively

The Mindset the Church Needs Now

Pastor Scott welcomed us back after the ice and snow, noting how easy it is to be distracted and anxious in our fast-paced, noisy world. He shared from his own early-morning devotion and set the tone: we are invited to pause, to remember who God is, and to let God’s value and love anchor us, especially as we come to the Lord’s table. The title is long, Pastor joked, but on purpose: he wants us to hold a mindset that fits the gift and weight of communion.

"What it does is it reminds us that we are to have a particular mindset after we meet Jesus."

Before meeting Jesus, he said, we are frustrated by the world’s evil and hopelessness. But even after coming to faith, temptation remains, especially the temptation to find loopholes, searching for a way to keep what is destructive while clinging to God.

What He Saw in the World and in Himself

Pastor Scott was frank about the evil he sees in the world, sometimes even on the news, and sometimes in areas Christians try to play down. He named violence, sexual immorality, addiction, even the way superstition or occult practices sneak into ordinary life. He described the way he grew up: a home wrapped in superstitions that promised control but only added layers of bondage. He saw clearly, even before faith, how empty those practices were. Coming to Christ, he said, was the moment something actually changed.

"Nothing in our lives ever got better by luck or anything like that. It was by Jesus Christ that my life changes around."

But he also lamented that Christians, himself once included, can start searching for Christian freedom as an excuse to keep returning to what Christ has rescued us from, mistaking that for real freedom. He wants us to hear this as a whole congregation call, a community question, not just for individuals to sort out privately.

The Problem in Corinth, and Here

Turning to 1 Corinthians 10:1-22, Pastor Scott showed how the Christians at Corinth tried to claim freedom as a license for old behaviors. He gave context: the Corinthians thought that since the physical world didn’t matter as much, they could take part in old pagan rituals, even while claiming Christ, they could visit the temples, eat food offered to idols, and even participate in immorality, thinking what really mattered was inside.

Pastor Scott reminded us Paul’s honest response was that we are "bought with a price," that our whole bodies and lives now belong to God. Paul told them: freedom isn’t being able to do whatever we want. Real freedom is the new power to choose what is right, to follow Jesus, and to build up one another, not indulge ourselves.

"Freedom is when through Jesus Christ because of what he's done for you. Freedom exists when you can choose and you get the opportunity to do what is right to please God."

Corinth wanted loopholes, just like people do now. But Paul’s warning was clear: participation at the Lord’s table is exclusive. You cannot participate in evil and belong to Christ at the same time. The things Jesus saves us from should not be what we run back to for comfort, pleasure, or identity.

The Warning, Remembering Israel’s Story

Scott spent time walking us through how Paul used Israel’s history. The Israelites were saved from slavery, witnessed miracles, received food from heaven, but still kept longing for Egypt. The turning point was not just a weak moment but a decision to go back and even try to replace Moses and return to bondage.

"Because their hearts were still set on their old way of life, they were to go and spy out this promised land. And it was the moment of truth."

Paul uses this grave example: God scattered their bodies in the desert, they experienced God’s rescue, but wanted to keep the patterns of what destroyed them. The caution is not about a harsh God’s anger, but to remember that setting our hearts on the old ways keeps us from the life God intends. This is not just about Old Testament people; Paul brings it into the church, as a living example for us.

Exclusive Participation, Why Communion Matters

Bringing us back to the Lord’s Table, Pastor Scott reminded us: in communion, we mark ourselves as people bound to Christ, and bound to one another. Sharing communion is not just a private spiritual meal; it is a public act, identifying ourselves with Jesus and with His body on earth, the church.

"Because the body is one loaf, it is the people of Jesus Christ. We are all who have Christ in us. We are Christ in the flesh again."

Communion shapes our mindset: we cannot belong partly to Jesus and partly to the world. We are called to give ourselves, all that we are, exclusively to Christ. There is no room for dividing our lives between what God calls holy and what He has named as bondage, deception, or evil.

The Present Danger of Self-Deception

Scott pressed into the ways deception works now: Christians can be tempted to minimize or justify practices that open the door to destructive influences, whether through media, music, popular culture, or even things we call harmless fun but that are opposed to God’s heart. He does not ridicule, but he does ask: who is warning us? Who is teaching our kids? Are we willing to let go of what’s holding us in bondage, even if it’s been culturally or personally routine?

"You cannot share in the sacrifices at the table of demons while you're at this sharing in the sacrifice at the table of Jesus. You can't do that."

For Scott, this means not playing with horoscopes, occult games, or seeking out what he called spiritual 'shortcuts.' These, he said, are ways Christians put one foot in the world, while wanting the blessings of life with Christ. He named that for what it is, deception, not freedom. The call is not to shame, but to invitation: God gives us the power, in Jesus, to say no to what destroys and yes to what gives life. And the church’s witness in the world depends on our willingness to live honestly in this way.

"Our mindset has to be as a people of God, we don't share ourselves with evil. We don't do that."

Living It Out

The living response Pastor Scott urged was practical and clear: if there is anything in your life, your home, your mind, or habits that you know is not of God, name it and ask God for help. Renounce the old way, let it go, and do not return to it or flirt with its comforts. This is not about legalism or making lists, but about a genuine desire for freedom, for belonging to God in joy and wholeness, together with the church. He called us to honestly inventory our hearts and households in light of the exclusive belonging of communion, asking God to help us say, “I am Jesus’s. I am not available to anything else.”

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Discussion Questions

1. How do you see the temptation for "loopholes" in following Jesus show up in your life or in our church?
2. In what ways have you experienced the difference between true freedom in Christ and the world’s idea of freedom?
3. What would it look like for you (or us as a church) to respond to communion by releasing something that keeps you from belonging fully to Jesus?