And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 ESV
If you’ve been following along, you know we have been building a theology of worship, acknowledging Biblical principles in order to apply them to our practice of worship today. We began by pointing out the character of God, that He is deserving of worship. Next we discussed mankind, and discovered that we are made for worshiping. Now we will turn our attention to what our worship service might actually look like.
The Acts 2 passage is the earliest indication of how the first Christians worshiped. No specifics, but we do find 4 directions that can help to guide our worship services.
Gathering. It may sound obvious, but it’s significant nonetheless. Nothing in this context was done privately. They worshiped corporately and in community (fellowship, together, all things in common, attend temple together). We can draw the conclusion that as we worship, we must first gather.
What do we do as we gather? Keep in mind Gathering is about:
- being reminded that God is present,
- coming out from the world and into a holy place/time,
- uniting as individuals into one worshiping body,
- encountering God with clean hands and pure hearts, and
- preparing to be attentive to God’s Word proclaimed.
Therefore, as we gather we…
- Sing songs, pray, give testimonies of our faith
- Read affirmations of our faith from scripture
- Acts of greeting (some traditions observe the holy kiss)
- Confession of our sins to a merciful God
- Collect offerings
- Dance and other forms of artistic expression
How do you see these acts of worship represented in the first direction of our worship, Gathering?
The next direction of worship we shall discuss, drawn from Acts 2 will be, Teaching.
I am printing these articles, not only on my blog, but in Greenwood Christian's New Spirit (monthly newsletter) as well. Please follow along, subscribe to the blog, then share your pertinent and well though-out comments, questions, and responses as we go.
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