The Lord’s Supper is for sinners who see the true worth of the Lord’s death for them and have claimed his forgiveness.

Paul’s warning, in 1 Corinthians 11:27, about eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord "in an unworthy manner" had caused problems for some people who have felt that they must be "worthy" to come to the Lord’s Supper. If they feel themselves to be sinners or weighed down because of failure in the Christian life, they consider themselves "unworthy" to attend. But the exact opposite is the case! The Lord’s Supper is for sinners. To take the bread and the wine in an unworthy manner is to take it without regard to its true worth, to come without a care about your sin or your shame.

What he Apostle Paul makes clear, in 1 Corinthians 11:28, is that "a man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup." If any sin needs to be forgiven, then things must be put right with the Lord and with other people - 1 John 1:9 - before coming to the Lord’s Table.

• The Lord’s Supper is for sinners who know Christ as Saviour and are seeking to walk in fellowship with him.