Articles
What To Expect In Our Worship
The Bible is very clear that there are specific times when believers focus their minds and hearts in specific reverence towards God. When we are worshipping God we are basically telling Him that He is worthy. Worship is never done accidentally; it is always on purpose! There are many ways that our church worships together, but we also worship daily on our own. Although Jesus said that in the church it no longer matters WHERE we worship the Bible has always taught that it matters HOW we worship (John 4:20-24). The following is a list of the types of worship that we participate in as a church.
Eating The Lord’s Supper
Before Jesus was arrested, he took two of the emblems of the Passover and turned them into something very different for His disciples (Matt. 26:26-29). Christians partake of the unleavened bread, which represents His body, and the fruit of the vine (grape juice), which represents His blood (1 Cor. 11:23-34). Following the example of the early church, we partake of this memorial feast on the first day of every week (Acts 20:7).
Collecting A Freewill Offering
We practice, just as did all of the early churches, a voluntary giving of funds every first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2). This money is not saved up and hoarded, it is to be used for the reasons authorized by God. We spend our money for many things, all with the same purpose: to bring glory to God. Money is used to help needy brethren (2 Cor. 8:4) and to help spread the Gospel (Phil. 4:16). We are in control of ONLY our treasury. We choose to use it as we best see fit to glorify God according to HIS authority. This is a work of our church, and is not expected of non-members.
Teaching Of The Scriptures
Paul wrote to Timothy so that he would “know how one ought to conduct himself in the House of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Our group of believers places a strong importance on both personal and public Bible study because we use the New Testament as the pattern for everything we do. Paul told Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). We strive to do the same.
Praying To God
We can have boldness and confident access to the throne of God through our prayers because Jesus intercedes on our behalf (Eph. 3:11-12). We strongly believe in the power of prayer, and pray to “Him that is able to do far more beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). We believe in prayer that comes from the heart that is not full of vain repetitions (Matt. 6:7-8). Prayer can and does have a powerful effect on the outcome of events IF we are a God-seeking individual (Jas. 5:16; 1 Pet. 3:12; 1 John 3:22).
Singing To God And To Each Other
Our congregation believes, and the Bible teaches, that we are to all join together our voices in song to praise and thank God, as well as to teach one another. Our singing is supposed to come from a true knowledge of the Word (Col. 3:16). This passage also teaches that what we do in song is supposed to be for furthering our knowledge and encouragement. In other words, we sing not because it is entertaining but because our singing caries a teaching message and meaningful praise to God. Our congregation practices acapella singing. It was not until many hundreds years after the influence and teachings of the Apostles that man added instruments to their Church worship.
