The Worship of the Church of Christ
By Kojo Acquah-Beenyi
Man always wants
to worship or wants to be worshiped; it is an instinctive urge
within man to worship as it is to sleep or eat. Our manner and object of
worship, however, differ with our understanding and emotions. It is not enough
for us to worship, we must worship the right object in spirit and manner. God,
the Almighty, is the only true object to worship, and as He is spirit we have
to worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4.24.) This means all worship
can't be true.
The worship of the
Churches of Christ is simple because it is
based entirely on the worship authorized in the New Testament. We do not try to
improve on God's divine plan with pageantry or ideas of men; we strive to
engage in all worship and service with decency and order. (1 Corinthians
14.40.) Each item of worship is usually announced and often briefly explained
by the men who lead us in our worship. Our worship to God includes the Lord's
Supper, Giving, Singing, Teaching the Word of God or Preaching, and Praying.
LORD'S SUPPER
Jesus commanded the
apostles to go and teach all nations baptizing those who
obey the gospel in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to
teach them all things that He had commanded them. (Matthew 28.19-20.) And so
the apostles obeying these commands said in 1 Corinthians 11.23, “For I
have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord
Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he brake it and said, 'Take eat, this is my body which is broken for
you, this do in remembrance of me' After the same manner also he took the cup,
when he had supped saying, 'This cup is the new testament in my blood, this do
ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me'” This is the only feast
Christ instituted to be done in His remembrance. Acts 20.7 teaches that the
breaking of bread was done on the first day of the week and no other day. This
shows that the weekly observance of the Lord's Supper was a regular practice of
theirs and not monthly, quarterly, at lent, or only when the
“Reverend” is around. As we partake of the unleavened bread and fruit
of the vine, our minds are to be centered on the events of the cross. In this
act we have communion with Christ. (1 Cor. 10.16.) As the communion is passed
to each individual in the assembly, we each examine ourselves that we may
partake of it in a worthy manner. (1 Cor. 11.27-29.)
GIVING
Giving (collection) for
the Lord's work is another act of worship. By this
means, the gospel can reach everywhere, the Church can put up a meeting place
or help the poor. In this way a child of God shows his love for the Lord. God
gave to show His love for us (John 3.16), and so we are expected to give to
support the Lord's work. 1 Corinthians 16.2 says it should be done on the first
day of the week--the only day the Bible commands. Upon the first day of the
week we are to give as we have been prospered and not a certain amount. Nowhere
do we find an Apostle telling them that the law of tithing was binding; many
gave far more than a tenth. Each gave as he was prospered, as one purposed in
his heart. (2 Corinthians 9.7.) Nowhere do we read of the early Church taxing
each member so much, first Sunday of the month offering (Man $20.00, Woman
$10.00). Neither do we read of the early church staging parties to raise money,
harvest, payment of tickets, ”so mu bi,” Grace box, 'Kwesi ne
Esi,” payment for kissing cross, community begging, nor New Year offering.
None of these were engaged in during the time of the Apostles. Men in some of
the churches are allowed to give but not partake of the Lord's Supper because
of a particular sin (according to the Pastor it's a mistake) they are engaged
in. If in the sight of these so-called Pastors you are not worthy of partaking
of the Lord's Supper or to stand in the pulpit, do you think you please God
with your money? No!
SINGING
You will always
find the congregation of Christ singing as the churches of the
First Century did. A careful study of the New Testament will reveal that the
singing of the early church was not accompanied by any mechanical instrument.
Paul, teaching the Church in Ephesus, said the purpose of our songs is to
praise God and to teach and admonish one another.
(Ephesians 5.19, Colossians 3.16.) Men today use everything that Konadu's Band
uses in their worship and will say that Psalm 150 says so. The New Testament
does not authorize the use of mechanical instruments at worship. Christians are
not governed by the Old Testament. (Hebrews 1.1-2.) The Churches of Christ do
not have choirs to sing for us or any type of mood music to entertain us; our
vocal singing combines beauty with spirituality.
TEACHING
It is expected
of Christians to study the word of God so that he can abide in
the teaching of Christ (2 John 9), and also preach the gospel. (1 Timothy
4.16.) The verses below show that teaching or preaching was important and was
practiced in the Church's worship: Acts 20.7, 1 Corinthians 14.23-26, Romans
1.15. The purpose of preaching is to give spiritual instruction to people in
order that they might be saved. (2 Timothy 4.1-4.) This scripture shows that
women are not allowed to preach or teach publicly but to learn in silence with
all subjection. (1 Timothy 2.11-12.) Women can teach the children and other
women (Titus 2.35,) and also men in private situations. (Acts18.26.) Surely, a
child of God that needeth not to be ashamed will always rightly divide the word
of truth by studying. (2 Timothy 2.15.)
PRAYING
The only way a Christian
could speak with God is through prayers. Christ has
said that whatsoever we shall ask should be in His name. (John 16.23.) Also, we
are commanded to pray everywhere. (1 Tim. 2.8.) The apostles prayed everywhere
and in every situation. (Acts 12.5, 16.25; Romans 8.26; 1 Thessalonians 5.17.)
In keeping with an orderly fashion of worship, it is usually announced that we
will be led in prayer by a certain brother. Everyone does not pray his own
prayer out loud. We are led in prayer by a brother who speaks his prayer
publicly, and the rest of us follow him silently as we pray together. This
allows us to worship reverently and orderly. It also avoids noise and confusion
as there will be no shouts like:
“Christ, Jesus, God, my God, heal him, praise him, my leg, come down,
etc.” You can expect our public prayers to be led by men. Christ Jesus is
always ready to plead on our behalf if only we go to God with our
requests.
After a sermon you can
expect an invitation to become a Christian. The
opportunity is yours to express your faith in Christ Jesus. (Matthew10.32, Mark
16.16, Luke 13.3, John 8.24, Acts 2.38, Galatians 3.26-27.) The appeal will be
made to you to become a Christian from the pulpit. Then an invitation song will
be sung for your encouragement. If you
choose to obey the Lord we are always ready to assist you to become a
Christian. You can obey at any hour of the day or night by simply letting your
request be known. (Acts 10.30-33.)
Yes, the Church
of Christ today teaches the
same things the apostles taught, it worships in the same way, has the same
organization, wears the same names. We sincerely strive to be simply the Church
of the New Testament and not just a denomination