What Does the Scripture Say?

Interestingly when I did a search for the terms “worship” and “service” in the NASB, the two results demonstrate a huge contrast between old and new covenants.

Basically in the OT, they “performed” physical acts of worship by going to a physical place and offering up physical sacrifices. In the NT we are told to offer up spiritual sacrifices (not physical bulls, but spiritual self) which is a part of our spiritual worship. This spiritual worship of offering up spiritual sacrifices (like thanksgiving of praise) can and should be “performed” any and everywhere we are. Today we don’t have to go to a physical place to worship God. In John 4 Jesus tells us that the Father is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. He’s done looking for physical worshippers.

I think that it is in man’s flesh to want to perform works that will somehow merit favor with God. Part of motive for many “worship service” goers is that they hope this physical act will earn favor with God. I really dislike the term “worship service” as to my mind it engenders the idea that Christians physically go to a physical place to do their physical service of worship. I rather like the term ‘meeting of the church’ or ‘the assembly of the brethren’, etc. Instead of “What time does the worship service start?”, how about “What time do the brethren start to meet?”

Another big concept is the question “What is the purpose of the church gathering together”? Many Christians might say, “To worship God”. But does that really have biblical support? Of course when we meet, an element of the meeting is worshipping God, but it seems to me, the main purposes of the body assembling together is found in Acts chapter 2.

So four fold 1) apostle’s teaching  (preaching)

2) Fellowship (real heart level koinonia)

3) Breaking of bread (either Lord’s Supper or simply a meal)

4) Prayer

To substantiate that a primary purpose was the Lord’s Supper look at 1 Cor 11:17-22

But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

From 1 Cor chapters 12 and 14, I would say another main purpose is edification of the brethren. 1 Cor 14:26 summarizes

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

But the goal of the church meeting does not seem to be with the explicit purpose of “worshipping God”. Of course those 5 biblical points I found should be done as acts of spiritual worship, but so should the laundry, fixing computers, changing diapers, etc. Perhaps another underlying issue is that I believe the Scriptures teach that the meeting of the church is for believers, not non-believers. It seems to me that the church gathers to fellowship, etc. and be edified by one another’s spiritual gifts to the point where they are built up to go out and preach the gospel to the world. Then when by the grace of God a person comes into the family of God, they are brought into the church to become edified, spiritually matured. This doesn’t mean that we should prohibit non-believers from coming, but it means they are not the primary purpose of the church meeting, so the content of the meeting does not need to be geared to them, but rather to believers.

One of the blessings of Heritage is that a primary purpose of our church meeting together is to edify and equip the fathers to do the work of ministry in their families. Fathers are encouraged to be the primary disciplers of their wives and children. We are done with outsourcing our parenting (to the government) and outsourcing our spiritual responsibilities (to the youth pastors/youth groups). I enjoy the fact that fathers/husbands are the ‘target audience’ for much of the church meeting , specifically the preaching part. Since we have our children with us during this preaching time, many of them will have questions and that gives fathers the privilege and responsibility to answer them (either there, on the way, or at home after further study).

Another concept that has become confusing is the idea of ‘worship’ in a ‘worship service’ basically being the music part of the meeting. The term worship in some circles simply refers to the music/singing. Of course singing and making melody in your heart or with instruments should be a part of your worship to God, but it is not the only nor primary means of worship. In some churches, it seems that the ‘worship service’ gives an emotional or spiritual high that once the person leaves the church building, they start dropping down low and they can’t wait to get that ‘high’ from the ‘worship team’ the next Sunday. By the way I find the term ‘worship practice’ very humorous. As if before strumming their guitars the ‘worship leader’ looks up to Heaven and says, “This one’s not for real. It just practice.” In fact, the term worship comes from the old English “worth-ship” that is, we are acknowledging the ultimate worth of God and ascribing to God the supreme worth that He deserves. We can do that almost anytime, anywhere and in any physical activity.

All this to say I believe our real worship service should be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our spiritual worship service is constantly presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, which is well-pleasing to God because we stand in the righteousness of His Son.

This guest blog is brought to you tonight by Christy.
 
Today was our dear sister Carol’s celebration service.  She went to be with her Lord on Monday after battling stage 4 liver cancer for 6 months.  It was a time as pastor Holt said of rejoicing at her going home to be with the Lord and a time of grieving because we will not see her again this side of heaven.  There was a wonderful time of testimony to the transforming power of God’s saving grace in her life.  The Holy Spirit led the service with lots of sharing from numerous people that Carol had an impact on.  I think the main thing that stuck out in my mind was how honoring to the Lord the whole service was.

We received a wonderful portrait of Carol through knowing her and the testimonies of those she impacted.  Carol came to know the Lord later in life and after years of running the household handed over the reigns to her husband.   This was not easy to do for she was a very strong woman who was quite capable I’m sure.  Once confronted with the Lord’s pattern for women she humbly sought to surrender to His will and deny her own will.   Her husband Bob shared about her desire to be conformed to the woman God wanted her to be and her desire to share with younger women.  Carol home schooled their three children, two of whom went on to attend West Point just as their father and grandfathers had done.

As their son Brett shared, his mom really sought to live excellently for the Lord and passed that on to her children, never letting them get away with doing things other than excellently. He also shared a time when his mom said that she would never let go of him even though he wanted to go the other way.  He was able to lay next to his mom several weeks ago and tell her that she had fought hard for them, and although not able to say much at that point she whispered out “yes, I fought hard.”

Carol had a wonderful time of training her daughter Mandy for her future as a wife and mother.  Mandy shared that she sometimes wondered why she was still at home, what the Lord’s plan was.  She now sees that she was at home to learn and grow close to her mom, she only had 5 years with her from when she graduated high school.  She shared that she hoped that she could be half the wife and mother as her mom was.  Chad shared the never-ending love his mother had for all of them and her strong spirit.  It was touching what each shared regarding how special she was.

The thing I take away is what kind of testimony will I have?  Will I hear “well done my good and faithful servant” as I’m sure that Carol heard?  She certainly did a lot in the time the Lord gave her on earth.  I want to leave a sweet fragrant aroma of Christ to those around me, my husband, children and others that the Lord puts in my path.  Our time here on earth is indeed short in comparison to eternity, even if we are given 80 years. 

Pastor Holt shared a wonderful story of a couple down the street from him missing out on getting the house they now live in (which is a wonderful house to home church in!).  The couple told him that they really liked that house on the cul-de-sac and hoped someday it would be theirs but missed out on buying it, why? Because he said they later told him they waited too long.  Will we miss out on the mansion that the Lord has prepared because we waited too long?  Whatever our age I pray we commit to Him our lives by repenting of our sins and living totally for Him.

Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

Beloved friends and family, our dear friend Carol has gone home to be with the Lord this morning. She was a strong witness for Jesus Christ in her talk and her walk. Praise God that she is in a better place now. 2 Cor 5:8 tells us that for the Christian “to be absent from the body, is to be at home with the Lord”.

Though she and we are rejoicing with her as she is with the Lord now, we also grieve because of our great loss here and now. Please continue to pray for Bob, Chad, Brett and Mandy. Especially pray that this would draw Chad to a godly sorrow that leads to true repentance. Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant the Wetherill family peace in this and every circumstance. The Lord be with you all.

The Lord has blessed my family in a tremendous way. He has given us a real church home, filled with His love and people. There are so many wonderful things that I love about our little fellowship. Here are just a few, this is not an exhaustive list by any means, nor is it in order of importance. Interspersed in random order are a few pictures of the church on Sunday.

1) Jesus Christ and His work on the cross are preeminent in teaching, singing and fellowship
2) The preaching is verse by verse, expository through books of the Bible
3) We have an extended prayer time where fathers are encouraged to pray for each family member by name. We all get to pray for each other by name.
4) We meet from house to house which provides an intimate, homey atmosphere
5) We have an interactive sermon which lends itself to great questions, biblical answers and authentic relationships
6) We have godly elders who walk in humility and don’t lord it over us
7) We encourage families to worship together during the assembly
8) We sing the hymns of old, filled with rich, biblical doctrine
9) We share a meal together every week which allows time for sweet fellowship
10) There is an understanding of the biblical principles that lead us to educate our children at home
11) The meeting is geared to equip the fathers to disciple their wives and children
12) There is a great emphasis on reaching out to and supporting widows and orphans
13) There are a variety of family sizes and ages within the body
14) The more experienced ladies are eager and willing to engage in Titus 2 type of relationships
15) There is an acceptance and love for each other that covers a multitude of sins and even dissimilarities in minor doctrines
16) There are a multitude of godly, capable men who teach the Word
17) The relationships we have with each other are very real, there is a transparency and genuineness that is hard to find
18) Children get to experience corporate worship with their families
19) The young men are included in the impromptu and more formal men’s meetings, thus learning how to become godly leaders one day
20) We don’t solicit for funds (there is a ‘plate’, but it doesn’t get ‘passed’) but rely on the Lord to place on each family’s heart what to give
21) Since we don’t have to pay for a building, more money can go directly to orphans, widows, missionaries and helping those in need
22) An email is sent out each week with prayer requests, what verses of Scripture we’ll be covering, which hymns we’ll be singing, etc. This is a real catalyst for families to have a family worship time during the week where fathers can go over the Scriptures and all can practice the hymns, sitting still, etc.
23) A different family each month gets to select the hymns, which is a real treat
24) People in the church seek out opportunities to witness. There’s a real sense of evangelism and we spur each other on with our gospel sharing experiences.
25) The name of Jesus and the things of the Lord are upon our lips in conversations around the table and throughout the day
26) Children get to be with their friends, yet not unsupervised; an adult or two seem to always be in ear shot
27) Children and even grandchildren get to see their fathers teaching others the Word
28) The ladies share home schooling tips and home keeping experiences with each other
29) There is much counsel from man to man on raising children for the Lord
30) We purposely meet only once a week thus avoiding a building centered ministry and the family break up that usually ensues
31) We gather for prayer, the apostles’ teaching, fellowship and the breaking of bread; all things are done to the glory of God and the edification of the saints
32) The meeting of the church is so wonderful and the fellowship in the Lord so sweet that many times my family doesn’t get home until after 5pm! (we start at 10am)

For all these reasons and so many more, we praise our God and Savior Jesus Christ for building His church and the blessings of being a part of it.

Friends and family, we have a dear sister in the Lord named Carol who has been battling cancer. Many of you have already prayed for her, but I would ask you all to lift up our sister, her husband Bob and her three adult children to the throne of grace. It seems humanly impossible for her to make it to Christmas, but first off, I would ask you to pray for a miracle, because our God is sovereign over all flesh and is in the business of making miracles happen. At the same time, of course we all should rest in the sovereignty of God, knowing that if it is time for Carol to go home and be with our Lord Jesus, we can have peace in His wisdom and timing.

Please continue to pray for the entire family, that God would strengthen their faith in Him even through this trial. Pray that they would learn all that God is teaching them through this time. Pray as the Lord leads you for this precious family. Carol has been such a blessing to Christy as a Titus 2 type of example. Carol homeschooled their children and has been faithfully serving from the home since they graduated. Their two boys went on to West Point and their daughter started volunteering at AiG a while ago now (which is how we got to know them all).

I have had numerous precious conversations with Carol and have thoroughly enjoyed her like-minded spirit on so many issues. She loves the Lord with all her heart and walks the talk of the Christian life. Thanks friends, for praying for them.

We had a wonderful time with the church again today. It is such a blessing to have sweet fellowship with believers who love the Lord with all their hearts and seek to do what is pleasing to Him. We are currently in Romans 14 and we had a great teaching time from Pastor Holt. Afterwards we discussed the issues more in depth for a few hours and had a great time wrestling with the application of Scripture.

There were a number of helpful thoughts. One was that we need to be careful about going beyond the Scripture. In other words, calling something a sin that the Bible does not or not calling sin what the Bible declares is sin. I think the main admonition of our text is that we accept one another because God has accepted each of us. We are not to judge/condemn one another because God is the judge, not us.

In our fellowship time we talked a lot about smoking, drinking and different foods. I do not believe that it is inherently sin to smoke a cigarette or drink alcohol. In light of the message and passage we looked at, my main thought is that those who do consider those things to be sinful are still my brethren and I fully accept them and not for the purpose of passing judgment on their opinions. Those who drink and smoke in their liberty as Christians I also do not judge (i.e. regard with contempt). Personally I do not smoke nor drink, but again do not believe it to be inherently evil. There may come a certain time or situation where I would do one or the other for the glory of God (i.e. to not be a stumbling block to a brother).

For example if I were a missionary to a remote tribal village in a third world country and they had many customs of which I was willing to be a part of (because they were not sinful, they were simply tribal traditions) in order to reach the people for Christ. Suppose one of those was that as the leaders of the tribe sat around the fire discussing the direction for the tribe, they passed a pipe around of tobacco. If I were to deny the request to take a puff, it could totally turn them off to me or my message. Since I believe that the Bible does not make smoking an inherently sinful action, I could with a clean conscience take a puff.

To be clear if the same tribe swapped wives, I could not take part in that no matter how much it would offend them because I believe the Scripture makes it clear that is inherently sinful. Anyways, just some thoughts. Hope it helps. Feel free to leave comments. May the Lord be glorified in our thoughts and lives as we seek to please Him in all things.