We seek to follow the examples of what God desires. We can know what God instructs by examining the New Testament.
The Lord's teaching was not merely for the first century. He gave it for all time. And, that teaching is preserved for us in the written form in the New Testament so that people in every age might know God's will. What God desired in the first century, He desires in the twenty-first. If the Lord gave us this model in His Word, shouldn't we follow it? Jesus said in Luke 6 and verse 46, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?" Because we call Jesus our Lord, we follow Him and obey His words.
As members of the Lord's church, our heart's desire is to believe in and to obey the Lord Jesus. We don't want to add to His words or take away from them. We want to believe and practice everything He taught and nothing else. When we became Christians, we recognized Jesus Christ as our only Lord. Colossians 3:17 says,
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
We act in His name and by His authority. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, should you visit us on a Sunday morning, you'll find a warm welcome. We consist of families who gather together with a common faith, hope, and love.
We gather each Lord's day, which is the first day of the week or Sunday, to worship the Lord. We look to the Scriptures to see how God wants us to worship as a church. We pattern our worship today after the examples and instructions that were given in the New Testament.
Worship is a time to draw near to God and to express our love, our praise, and our thanksgiving for all that God has done for us. Worshiping God reminds us of how holy God is and how we stand in need of His grace and forgiveness. Worship is a time of humility and of reverence toward God.
Christian worship to the Lord consists first of prayers. First Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2 says,
"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made in behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."
As Christians we pray for everyone in need. We thank God for all His blessings and for peace. We pray for strength, courage, and comfort. We even pray for our enemies. We pray especially that God will open a door for the Word, so that men may learn the will of God.
During worship we enjoy the reading of the Scripture. Paul, you remember, told Timothy in 1 Timothy 4 and verse 13,
"Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching."
Scripture nourishes our hearts and builds us up. Paul told the elders of the church at Ephesus in Acts 20 and verse 32,
"And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."
God's Word builds us up and gives us our inheritance. And, we need God's Word in our lives every day.
Churches of Christ sing from their hearts, because they want to praise God and to edify one another. Ephesians 5:18 to 19 says,
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord."
Colossians 3:16 says,
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you; with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
The music in Christian worship in the New Testament was by means of vocal singing, and every member of the congregation participated. The New Testament gives no example or instruction for Christians to worship with instruments of music. We seek to follow the New Testament teaching in all things, so we simply sing. We know this pleases God, because the early church didn't use instruments of music in worship for many centuries. Since our worship is to glorify God, our desire is to please Him by following the instructions of the New Testament for Christian worship. Hebrews 13, verse 15 says,
"Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."
Each Lord's Day, the first day of the week, we commune together in the Lord's Supper. Paul said in I Corinthians 11, verses 23 to 26,
"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."
The Lord's Supper is a simple memorial meal, and every member of the church partakes. Christians remember the body and the blood of Jesus sacrificed for them so they might have the forgiveness of sins.
Each first day of the week we as Christians contribute to the Lord for the work of the church. We believe II Corinthians 9, verses 6 to 7 where Paul said,
"Now this I say, (that) he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."
Churches of Christ do not send bills or expect a tithe of ten percent. We urge members to give cheerfully as they have been prospered and as they purpose in their hearts.
During worship a preacher or minister will preach the word of God to build up and to encourage brethren to live faithful and holy lives, to know the Lord and His truth, and to keep on doing good and reaching out to others with the gospel. Paul urged Timothy in II Timothy 4 and verse 2 to
"preach the word; to be ready in season and out of season; to reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."
Preachers have the responsibility of persuading the lost to come to Jesus and of strengthening the brethren. They must teach the whole counsel of God, and that means they must speak against what is false and what is immoral. They must call men to repent of their sins and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church is a family that's made up of brothers and sisters. In fact, I Peter 2 and verse 17 tells us to "love the brotherhood." No one is above or better than anyone else. Each member of the body is loved and valued. The Lord Jesus said to the apostles in Matthew 20, verses 25 to 28,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The church that Jesus built wasn't divided into clergy on one hand and laity on the other. In fact, each congregation had its own leadership, and no leader held power over several congregations. Now, in the New Testament a plurality of elders or shepherds oversaw the work of each congregation. They didn't have one bishop over the elders in a local church. Now, when Diotrephes in III John put himself first and tried to run the church, the apostle John rebuked him.
The Lord Jesus refused to let His followers assume a title that put them above others as some of the Jews did. You remember, the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 23, verses 8 to 12,
"But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors (or masters or teachers), for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you (He says) shall be your servant. (And) whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
For this reason, ministers and others in the church of Christ refuse to be called "Reverend" or "Father."
In the Lord's church every member is called a "saint"; there isn't any special class of Christians that are above others. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1 and verse 2,
"To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours."
You see, every person washed in the blood of Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit is a saint.
In the Lord's church every member is a priest. Peter said to the whole church in 1 Peter 2 and verse 9,
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
Israel may have had a special tribe of priests among the Levites, but the church doesn't have that! According to I Peter 2 and verse 5, every Christian is a priest offering up
"spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
Every Christian has the task as a priest to serve God, to worship, and to teach others about God.
