COMMUNION IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP WHEN WE EXPRESS OUR THANKS, PRAISE, AND TRUST:
The Lord’s Supper, sometimes also called Communion, is a specific act of thanks and trust. It is specifically designed to allow us to give thanks to God for offering Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins and to trust Jesus enough for that act of giving that we will obey Jesus Christ from our new birth until our physical death.
The Lord’s Supper had its origin in the Passover Feast, which the Jews celebrated annually. But, the biblical evidence shows that Christ wants His followers to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. Early church history shows that the Christians took the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. Let me show you how the NT substantiates that practice.
In Hebrews 10:25, the author tells Christians not to forsake the assembly as some were habitually doing. That verse shows that Christians were assembling on a regular basis.
1 Corinthians 16:2 shows us that the Christians were assembling on the first day of every week but does not tell us why they assembled on the first day of the week. Clearly, it was the day that Jesus rose from the dead, but…
1 Corinthians 11:20 does tell us why they assembled on the first day of every week. The word translated “Lord’s” here in this passage is not a noun as it is in English. The only other place this adjective is used in the NT is in Revelation 1:10, where John says that he was in the Spirit on the “Lord’s Day.” Bible scholars agree, almost unanimously, that the “Lord’s Day” refers to Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead.
So, these two verses connect closely together the “Lord’s Supper” and the “Lord’s Day.” There is no “Lord’s Day” without the “Lord’s Supper” and if you take the “Lord’s Supper,” it ought to be on the “Lord’s Day.” In fact, from 1 Corinthians 11:20, we see that the primary reason why we even assemble on Sunday is to take the Lord’s Supper. It is the one act of worship service that draws all Christians together in a given area, to worship. We come together on Sunday, to take the Lord’s Supper – a specific act, for a specific purpose, at a set time, dedicated to Jesus Christ. Acts 20:7 simply illustrates what we have said.
Communion is an act of worship when we express our thanks and trust in Jesus Christ.
GIVING IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP WHEN WE EXPRESS OUR THANKS, PRAISE, AND TRUST:
Giving as an act of worship is as old as Cain and Abel. There are a host of examples and references to God’s people throughout the OT giving to God, sacrificing animals and drink offerings to Jehovah God. God required Jews to give to Him first because that expresses our thanks and our trust more than anything else.
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If we go back to Acts 2:42, you see that the Christians continued to devote themselves to “fellowship / sharing everything.” In other contexts, this word refers to our contribution, which is how it is translated in 2 Corinthians 9:13.
But it is also done when we come together as a church, which is what we see in 1 Corinthians 16:2. That is, Paul says, when we come together as a church, to take the Lord’s Supper, when everyone is together, take up a collection. That collection could be used for any number of items. Specifically, we know it was used to help the poor Christians in Judea, it was given to support preachers of the gospel (1 Cor. 9), and in 1 Timothy 5, for Christian widows.
Our contribution is an act of worship when we express our thanks and trust in Jesus Christ.
PREACHING IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP WHEN WE EXPRESS OUR THANKS, PRAISE, AND TRUST:
Finally, studying the Bible and preaching and teaching the Bible as the Word of God is an act of worship as we express our thanks to God for what He does and has done for us and we trust Him to lead us into the future.
Out of all the acts of worship, some are mentioned in the book of Acts more frequently than others but preaching and teaching and studying the word of God are found most frequently. “Teach” or “preach” are found 39 times throughout the book of Acts and, in fact, almost half of the book of Acts is simply a sermon or Bible lesson in one form or another, a dozen chapters are dedicated to pure teaching the word of God.
When we study the Bible alone or when we assemble together as a congregation to study and focus on the word of God, we are worshiping God because we are showing God our thanks for His message and our trust that His message will lead us correctly.
Bible study is an act of worship when we bow our hearts to express our thanks and trust.
We, as the church of Christ, are true worshippers when we worship God as He directs: praying, singing, giving, communing, and studying.
Paul Holland
