One thing you will appreciate about worshiping with us is the SIMPLICITY of it all. By following the biblical pattern for worship we are able to have an edifying time of worship without the added distractions so popular among some “progressive” groups of today. God has asked for His worship to take place in a certain way and as members of His church, we are more than happy to comply! We will not go into great detail about the items of worship but give some quick and simple (and as always, biblical) explanations about why we do the things we do. As always we ask that you read carefully the scriptures provided, for it is God’s word, far above our own, that is the most important.
SINGING
When we sing, we do so as a congregation. We do not have choirs or soloists, as it is not the purpose of our services to entertain an audience, but for the congregation to worship God! How better to worship God than to sing to him with your own voice, just as he has asked His followers to do? Paul to the Ephesians:
“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” Ephesians 5:19
We are to speak to one another, not be spoken to! It is each Christian’s duty to sing praises to God! Notice also how it is that we are to make melody when we sing… Paul, should we sing and make melody on a piano? On a drum? On an organ, a guitar, harmonica, banjo, tuba, harpsichord, violin, etc? NO! We are to make melody “IN OUR HEARTS” to the Lord! No place in the New Testament are we instructed to use any manmade instruments in worship to God, but to offer Him simple music with our voices with the melody playing in our hearts as we rejoice in song. Come and sing with us, you will enjoy singing “acappella” with the spirit and the understanding also. (I Corinthians 14:15) See also Colossians 3:16 Those who are visiting our congregation would not be expected to participate in the singing however anyone is welcome to sing along if they wish to do so!
We are first introduced to the early church in the book of Acts. It is here that prayer first appears as part of the worship of the New Testament church.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42
Paul simply tells the brethren at Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17) This of course does not mean that we are to literally pray all day and all night without ever taking a break, just that there should never be a time in our lives when we stop praying to God each and every day. Since James tells us in James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” We take the time in every service to pray to God and make our needs known as well as those other things that we have a duty to pray for. We would ask visitors to humble themselves in some way (bowed head, kneeling, etc.) as the appointed brother of the congregation speaks to God on the congregation’s behalf.
TEACHING The bible never gives us the example of a congregation paying one man to do all the teaching for them and calling this man “pastor” or “reverend” or such like. The bible does teach that all men in a congregation who have the ability to preach God’s word should do so when needed. I will simply supply a list of the verses that teach the principle of shared teaching. Emphasis placed on certain parts of these verses is added by this writer…
Romans 14:19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
Romans 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.
Hebrews 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Hebrews 10:24,25 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
This should suffice to let anyone who respects God’s word see that teaching is a shared and mutual task in the new testament church. Of course there are some rules that must be followed in the assembly. 1 Corinthians 14 shows us that in an assembly of the church there must be one speaker at a time (v 27), the one teaching must be able to do so in a way that is edifying (v 26), The teaching must be done by men of the congregation (v34,35), and everything must be done decently and in order (v40). The goal of this article is not to go into depth on any of the above points… the fact that the bible says it will suffice and we will go into more detail in future articles. One who endeavors to teach in his congregation must take this responsibility seriously as it is his duty to have a “thus saith the Lord” for his remarks and to make every effort to edify all. James tells us that one should seriously consider becoming a teacher, for such a one is subject to a stricter judgment (James 3:1). Following these guidelines we can assure you that if you visit our services you will hear a lesson directly from God’s word that has been carefully considered by the teacher to help the congregation learn God’s will and be uplifted, exhorted, admonished, or whatever the need may be.
COMMUNION
There are three important items mentioned in the accounts of the Lord’s Supper or communion that we read of in the bible.
1. Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." (emphasis mine JW)
The first important item is the bread, which represents Jesus’ body.
2. Mark 14:23-25 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. "Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." (emphasis mine JW)
The second important item is the fruit of the vine, which represents Jesus’ blood.
3. 1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (emphasis mine JW)
The third important item is the cup, which, when combined with the fruit of the vine represents the new testament, ratified by Jesus’ blood.
Acts 20:7 shows us that the early disciples regularly came together to “break bread” which refers to the Lord’s Supper and the day they came together to do so was the first day of the week. The verse reads as follows: Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
For this reason we commune together every Lord’s day and the table is set with one loaf of unleavened bread (Mark 14:1) which is blessed for the purpose of representing Jesus’ one body. We also set it with one cup filled with fruit of the vine (grape juice) which is blessed for the purpose of representing the one covenant (cup) that was ratified by Jesus’ shed blood (fruit of the vine).
Those who are not members of the church of Christ would not participate in this part of the service as one of its purposes is to remind us of the sacrifice made for our salvation. (CLICK HERE to go to our Q & A page. On this page there are some questions from our website surfers about the Lord's supper and thegospelfortoday.com's responses)
CONTRIBUTION
1 Corinthians 16:1,2 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
It doesn’t get much simpler than that. On the first day of the week, those of us who are saints (Christians) are to “lay by in store.” That is to say we must give a portion of our income into the treasury of the church to be used for the work of the church. As a visitor to the congregation, you would not be expected to participate.
The above items will all be observed if you visit us on a Sunday morning. On Wednesday and Sunday evenings we engage in singing, teaching, and prayers since the Bible teaches us to engage in the communion and contribution on the first day of the week and we fulfill these obligations in our Sunday morning service. Before and after services you will receive a warm welcome as you will truly be our honored guest! If you have any questions about anything that took place or anything that was taught during the service, don’t hesitate to ask one of our members! We will not shrug off your question or treat you like you’ re stupid but strive to answer any questions as best we can and with scripture to back it up! Our worship services are truly simple yet fulfilling because we do not add any manmade forms of worship but simply worship God as He Himself directs. Won’t you come visit us and see what simple, scriptural worship is all about? The Lord will be glad that you came and so will we!
(CLICK HERE to read a question from one of our website visitors on the topic of the contribution and thegospelfortoday.com's response)
Please read THIS ARTICLE from our tract rack for further study on the subject of worship
