What to Expect in Our Assemblies
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Eph 3:20
We recognize and embrace the fact that the church should have one primary focus around which everything we do revolves… to bring glory to God. What you’ll find in our assemblies might be familiar, or it might be a lot different than you are used to, depending on your background. Whatever your background, we hope that you’ll see our singleminded focus on glorifying God. “…to Him be glory in the church…”
A FOCUS ON THE WORD OF GOD
We understand that for God to truly be glorified, our worship must reflect an attitude of reverence for Him, and obedience to His will. After one famous act of disobedience in Leviticus 10:1-3, God’s people needed to be reminded “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.” Nadab and Abihu clearly failed to obey the instruction God had given them, and by doing so, they failed to regard God as holy, or glorify Him. We take following God’s will seriously, as Nadab and Abihu should have. So you will find that we have a strong focus on understanding the Bible and the instruction God has for us in it. We must remember that worship is not about our preferences. Worship is all about honoring and glorifying God in the ways he prescribed. So we seek to follow the pattern for the church that God has given us in the New Testament, nothing more, nothing less…
OUR WORSHIP
Our assemblies are intentionally simple, yet full of depth… Our worship is intentionally reverent, yet full of adoration for the God who has done so much for us… The activities that compose our worship reflect the instruction given to the church in the New Testament, and our earnest desire to stay within the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). If you choose to visit one of our assemblies, you’ll find the following aspects in our worship…
1. PREACHING AND TEACHING
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Lord’s church has always emphasized the importance of learning the will of God as it was revealed through the Apostles and prophets of the early church. Our goal is unchanged. We are seeking to teach the scriptures and nothing but the scriptures, understanding that the Scriptures thoroughly equip us for everything that is good (2 Timothy 3:16). Whether the lesson is an encouraging reminder of our hope of heaven, or a challenging call to eradicate sin from our lives, the objective is the same… to help people serve God better through the life-changing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. SINGING
Ephesians 5:19 speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.
God has given us a wonderful way to express our worship to Him in singing. Our singing also serves to teach and admonish each other in the words of our songs. Our singing is purely a capella, without any instruments, as this reflects the instructions that God provides for worship in the New Testament. Every New Testament passage that mentions music in worship specifies singing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Romans 15:9; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13). God has been clear that he is pleased with singing in our worship to Him. We try to be careful not to go beyond what He has prescribed. In Ephesians 5:19 the only instrument that God desires to hear melody from is the human heart.
3. LORD’S SUPPER
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 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.
Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
The centerpiece of our worship is our observance of the Lord’s Supper, a remembrance of the sacrifice that Jesus made so that we might be redeemed from our sins, and restored to a relationship with God. Jesus instituted this memorial before his death, the unleavened bread symbolizing his body, and the “fruit of the vine” symbolizing his blood. It is a solemn and bittersweet observance, as we reflect on Christ’s suffering and God’s incredible love toward us, even when we were sinners (Romans 5:8). We observe this memorial each Sunday, just as the church in New Testament times met on the first day of the week for this purpose (Acts 20:7).
PRAYER
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
We believe in the power of prayer, and recognize the awesome privilege we have to bring our prayers to the God of heaven. Just as the New Testament church continued steadfastly in prayer, we do the same within our assemblies.
We believe that this is worship as God intended it, because it is as He described it in His word. We recognize it is a bit different than things you’ll find in many other religious groups today… there are no bands, puppet shows, doughnuts or multimedia extravaganzas. While God certainly intends for worship to be enjoyable and uplifting, we need to remember that it really is not all about us… it is about giving glory to God. And the only way we can truly honor God is by following his word.
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THE COLLECTION
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
We recognize this as a responsibility of members of the church, and do not solicit any contributions from visitors. We do not conduct a collection during the worship service. You may not even notice a collection taking place, as we try to conduct the collection in a manner that respects the privacy of the giver and their gift, and that doesn’t pressure anyone to give.
