To worship in spirit and in truth, worship must
contain several specific activities. We are to observe the Lord's
Supper, give of our means on the first day of the week, sing, pray,
and study God's word.
The Lord's Supper. The night before Jesus
was crucified, he instituted the observance of the Lord's Supper.
See
Matthew 26:26-29.
Jesus broke bread, which represented His
body; and He drank of the cup, which represented His blood. Acts
20:7 is an example of when this observance was to take place:
"Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread..." Also,
1 Corinthians 11:23-29
tells what our attitude should be when we partake of this
memorial.
Giving of our means. New Testament
Christians gave of their means to a common treasury to meet
certain needs within the church. A weekly collection was
instituted in
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
to provide for the needs of the
saved. Principles for giving were taught in other passages, too,
such as
2 Corinthians 8:12-13
and
2 Corinthians 9:7.
The funds
collected were used to help Christians in need and to support
those who devoted their lives to preaching the Gospel. There is no
Bible authority for using the Lord's money for other causes, such
as family life centers, shelters, or colleges.
Singing.
Ephesians 5:19
discusses the use
of songs to speak to one another, which suggests that Christians
sang songs when they gathered. In addition,
Colossians 3:16
discusses how we can teach and admonish one another through song.
Praying. Prayers were offered in the
assemblies of the first-century church.
Acts 12:5,
in which the
church prayed for Peter while he was in prison, is an example.
Hearing God's word.
Acts 2:42
refers to the
church that was established at Jerusalem continuing
"steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine." Assemblies were
used to hearing God's word, as seen in
Acts 20:7
and in
Colossians 4:16.
