The
Worship of the Church #2
The Doctrine of the
Church - Lesson # 10
I. The Lord's day and the assembly
A. Remember that everything the church
does in the assembly is not worship in the narrower sense of praise and
adoration of God. Also, the church as a corporate body and Christians as
individuals can worship at other times than the assembly on the Lord's day.
Nevertheless, there is a special significance to worship in the assembly on the
Lord's day.
B. The importance of assembling
1. "The
New Testament has a rich doctrine of the Christian assembly and shows that the
coming together of believers is important. Faith may be private or individual
in the sense that someone cannot believe for another, but faith has a community
expression and involves a group. If one can sustain one's faith without the
support of common worship, then it is not the Christian faith that is
held" (Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ, 231-32).
2. "come
together" - 1 Cor. 11:17, 33-34; 14:26; "in church" - 1 Cor.
11:18; "in the same place" - 1 Cor. 11:20; notice all three
expressions in 1 Cor. 14:23; "gather together" - Acts 4:31; 11:26; 1
Cor. 5:4; also see Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 14:23; Acts 2:44, 47
3. "The
assembly exemplifies the doctrine of the church....To be a church [assembly],
it must meet....A family is not a family if it is never together or at least
bound in memory of past gatherings and hope of future reunions. The church may
survive where there is a poor program of religious education, little
evangelism, virtually no benevolence; but it will not survive where it does not
meet. In assembly, the church becomes itself. It becomes conscious of itself,
confesses itself to be a distinctive entity, shows itself to be what is it—a
community (a people) gathered by the grace of God, dependent on him, and
honoring him" (Ibid., 235).
C. The day of the assembly
1. Acts
20:7; Rev. 1:10; 1 Cor. 16:1-2
2. Why
was the first day of the week chosen as a day for assembling rather than the
Sabbath day of Judaism? - Mt. 28:1; Mk. 16:1-2; Lk. 24:1; Jn. 20:1; Acts 2:1
D. Acceptable behavior and the assembly
1. "Not
everything acceptable in other contexts has a place in the church
meeting....Paul makes a distinction between behavior that is appropriate
elsewhere and what can be done in the assembly, between outside activities and
assembly activities....Paul does not support the idea that if something is
right or good at other times it may be done in church" (Ibid., 243) - 1
Cor. 11:20, 22, 33-34; 14:19, 34
2. What
implications might be drawn from this principle? Can you think of some
activities which are appropriate in other settings but would not be appropriate
for the Christian assembly?
II. Some assembly activities
A. The Lord's Supper
1. 1
Cor. 11:20-34
2. Some
people call the Lord's Supper the "eucharist." Try to find the
background for this designation.
3. What
is the background for the term "communion" for the Lord's Supper? - 1
Cor. 10:14-21
4. What
are some proper attitudes for a person to have while participating in the
Lord's Supper?
5. What
ways can you suggest for our improving our communion service?
B. Prayer
1. 1
Cor. 14:14-15; 1 Tim. 2:1-2; Col. 4:2; Mt. 6:9-13
2. What
are some different forms or types of prayer? E.g. praise, thanksgiving.
3. How
can we improve our public prayer service?
C. Singing
1. 1
Cor. 14:15; Jas. 5:13; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16-17
2. Discuss
some different types of songs, e.g. songs addressed to God, songs of
confession, and songs to teach or encourage one another. What sort of balance
is needed between these various types of songs? Note: The different types of
songs in Eph. 5:19 are not clearly distinguished. These words are virtually
synonymns.
D. Giving - 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8, 9
1. What
attitudes should be present in our giving?
2. How
much should we give?
E. Bible reading, teaching, and preaching
1. Col.
4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27; 1 Tim. 4:12-16; 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:1-2; 3:10, 16; Rev. 1:3
2. Some
New Testament books (e.g. Hebrews, 1 Peter) may be a sermon in written form
adapted into an epistle.
3. What
are the chief purposes of Bible reading and teaching in the assembly? - 1 Cor.
14:3, 5, 6, 19; Heb. 10:24
III. Memory verse - Heb. 10:25