Worship
Our worship is just as found in the Bible. We take to heart the scripture: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24). This tells us several things:
- First, worship is for God, not for us. We must worship Him as He has commanded in scripture, not according to our own wishes.
- Second, we have to worship Him "in spirit", that is, with our whole heart, will, and mind.
- Third, we must worship Him in truth. Pilate asked, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). The Bible answers this question: "Thy word is truth."(John 17:17).
So what does God's word tell us that He wants from us in worship?
What day are we to worship? The first century Christians, those who had been with Jesus and intimately knew His apostles, came together on Sunday (John 20:7), the first day of the week to worship.
There are five acts of worship described in God's word:
- The Lord's Supper - The first Christians observed the Lord's supper, the communion of the body (the bread) and the blood (fruit of the vine) of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16) during the worship service. They were to eat in remembrance of Jesus' death for mankind's sins on the cross until He returns (Mat. 26:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:23-28). How often do we observe the Lord's supper? We follow the example of Paul and the other early Christians, who came together on the first day of the week steadfastly (Acts 20:7: Acts 2:42).
- Giving - Also, on the first day of the week the disciples were commanded to give back to God as they had been blessed by Him (1 Cor. 16:1-2) for the work of the church. They gave willingly and cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:1-7). We follow their divine example.
- Preaching - We know from Acts 20:7 that they had preaching during their worship services in which God's word should be preached (2 Tim. 4:1-5). We have preaching at our worship services just as they did, teaching God's word and only His word (2 Tim. 3:14-17; Gal 1:8-9).
- Praying - God speaks to us through His word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We speak to Him by praying through His Son Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17). The first disciples prayed when they met together (Acts 2:42). As the Lord commands (1 Tim. 2:1-5; 1 Thes. 5:17), so we do.
- Singing - We also sing praises to God when we meet together as God has commanded (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Whatever one does in worship, it must be done only as authorized by the Lord (Col. 3:17), in His name (by His authority) and must be done as His word directs (John 4:24). Jesus and His apostles sang (Mat. 26:30, Mark 14:26). In the New Testament, only singing (without mechanical instruments) is ever mentioned in the worship of the church (Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:15; Heb. 2:12; Heb. 13:15; Jas. 5:13). For almost 1000 years from the time of Christ, singing was done without the instrument, "a capella", or "as in the chapel". God's word has not changed since the first century, so we continue to sing without musical instruments (Acts 17:24-25) as directed by His word (Rom. 14:23).
Please join us as we strive to worship God in spirit and in truth!