Since the Bible teaches we must have the authority of Christ for whatever we practice or teach (Colossians 3:17), our worship services will be conducted strictly in accordance with the Scriptural patterns set forth in the New Testament.  Jesus said, "they that worship [God] must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).  To worship God "in spirit" means to worship Him with the right attitude and motives.  In other words, the condition of the heart must be acceptable in our worship.  To worship God "in truth" means to worship Him according to the Word of God, for Jesus said that the Word of God was truth (John 17:17). In other words, all that we do in worship to our God must be regulated by the truth, which is the Word of God.  Jesus said that the truth was knowable (John 8:32), but we must be willing to diligently study God's Word to find it (2 Timothy 2:15, Acts 17:11, Matthew 7:7-8).  We must also be willing to receive the truth with meekness (James 1:21).  Indeed, Jesus expects us to understand and follow the truth, for He promises indignation, wrath, tribulation, anguish,  a fiery vengeance, and everlasting destruction for those who do not obey the truth (Romans 2:8-9, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

Following are the five items of worship found in the corporate worship of the Church in the New Testament.  As we have stressed above, each item must be carried out with the right attitude and must be regulated by truth for our worship to be acceptable.  The Church assembles, or comes together, in one, undivided assembly, for corporate worship, which we believe we must do to follow the New Testament pattern (1 Corinthians 11:20, 14:23).

SINGING

The Bible teaches by divine example that singing should be a portion of our worship service (Hebrews 2:12).    Christians are also commanded to sing and make melody in the heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).  Because the Bible only authorizes vocal music in our worship, we believe it would be an addition to His Will if we added and employed instrumental music.  We sing a cappella, "the way of the Church," without instrumental music.

TEACHING

Because we recognize the preeminence of God's Word, we believe the teaching should come from that precious source (1 Peter 4:11), and center around the gospel of Christ, which is "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16).  The teaching service must be handled by able, faithful men, speaking one at a time (1 Corinthians 14:31).  We believe the Scriptures teach that, regardless of age, "all may learn, and all may be comforted" in the scriptural, undivided assembly (1 Corinthians 14:31).

The Bible plainly forbids the woman to take up the role of a public teacher in the worship of the Church (1 Timothy 2:11-12, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35); therefore, only male members are allowed to instruct the assembled Church.  The teacher has a responsibility to convict and edify with God's Word, "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15).

PRAYING

The Bible teaches and the Scriptures repeatedly affirm the necessity and immeasurable value of frequent, heartfelt prayer (1 Timothy 2:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:17).  According to (Acts 2:42), prayer was one of the things the early disciples continued in steadfastly.

The Bible teaches that through the mediation of Christ, we now have bold access to the Father's throne through the avenue of prayer (Hebrews 4:16).  Our prayers should be fervent (James 5:16), consisting of our thanksgiving for God's rich blessings and our requests for God's continued help (Philippians 4:6).  The Bible teaches prayer is a precious spiritual blessing in Christ through which we cast all our care upon the One who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).  These things should be kept in mind by the male member leading the prayer during the worship service, and by the rest of the Christians who follow along in their minds.

CONTRIBUTION

The Bible teaches the "collection for the saints" must be gathered only once a week, on the first day of the week (the Lord's Day), according to the divine pattern given to the Church at Corinth and the congregations at Galatia (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).  At this time, each disciple is to give of his means in a cheerful manner as he has been prospered, and as he has purposed in his heart (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Those who are not members of the Church are not required to give.

The Bible teaches that these funds are to be utilized for the work of the Church, for the support of evangelists, elders, and widows indeed, and for the assistance of needy saints (1 Corinthians 9:14, 1 Timothy 5:3, 17-18, Romans 15:26).  The Bible teaches that God requires Christians and congregations to be good stewards of  the blessings, be they material or otherwise, bestowed upon them (1 Peter 4:10).

THE  LORD'S  SUPPER

The Bible teaches the communion, or Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20), is the "joint participation" of Christians in the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16).  The early disciples continued steadfastly in the observance of the Lord's Supper (Acts 2:42).  The frequency with which they observed the Lord's Supper can be ascertained from (Acts 20:7), where the Bible informs us that the disciples came together upon the first day of the week to break bread (observe the Lord's Supper).  Thus, in accordance with this scriptural example, we believe we must come together every first day of the week to observe this solemn memorial.

We believe, as the Scriptures record, that on the night of Christ's betrayal, He took a loaf of unleavened bread, blessed it, broke a piece off, and told His disciples, "Take, eat.  This is my body which is broken for you."  Likewise, He took a cup containing the fruit of the vine, blessed it, took a drink, and told His disciples, "Drink ye all from it," and, "this cup is the New Testament in my blood" (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:17-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

We believe we must observe the communion in the same manner as the Lord instituted it and observed it with His disciples.  We believe we must keep this divine pattern with all diligence, for the apostle Paul said in (1 Corinthians 11:2), "Keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you."  He then went on to deliver unto them the proper way in which they were to observe the communion (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).  He received this pattern from the Lord, and it was the same pattern recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  We believe this divine ordinance must be kept as it was delivered still today.

Since we must keep it as it was delivered, we reject the use of a plurality of drinking vessels, which are an innovation born out of a desire for sanitation, and we reject any other corruption of the scriptural method of observing the Lord's Supper.  We believe the Lord set His table many years ago in the upper room, and no man has the authority to change the way he set it in any way!  (Additional Study on the Communion)

We earnestly contend for "the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3), pleading for the restoration of New Testament Christianity, standing upon the firm foundation of the Holy Scriptures and a "thus saith the Lord!"

Please direct any questions or comments you may have regarding the items above to the following e-mail address:  gospel@NewTestamentChurch.org