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In Practice...
Worship in the church of Christ consist of 5 spiritual areas:
Preaching/teaching; prayer; singing; the Lord’s Supper; and the
giving of our means.
Preaching/teaching.
Preaching takes place each and every Sunday,
and always by Christian men (1 Corinthians 14:34; 1 Timothy
2:12). Safeguards are taken to make certain that what is being
taught is not only authorized by God’s word, but free from
personal opinion and interpretation, as is humanly possible. One
safeguard is to give proof-text (book, chapter, verse), for
everything that is preached. Another safeguard is to exhort and
admonish the listeners to "..try the spirits whether they are of
God" (1 John 1:4). In other words, to read it for themselves!
Priority is given to being right with God, over being liked by
man (Galatians 1:10).
Prayer.
Prayer also takes place in our worship to God. Public
prayer and supplications are made every time the church meets (1
Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18). This too, is done by
Christian men.
Singing.
One of the most unique items of our worship is our
singing. It is done in A cappella. In other words, our singing
is without instrumental accompaniment. Simply stated, this is
why. We find no scriptural authority for the use of instrumental
music in worship to God. We do however, find authority for
singing; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16-17.
Lord’s Supper.
We partake of the Lord’s supper or communion upon
the first day of every week as example dictates (Acts 20:7). The
unleavened bread and unfermented fruit of the vine are the
emblematic of the body and blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew
26:26-29).
Giving.
Every first day of the week, we also give of our means.
Not according to the Old Testament teaching concerning the
tithe, but according to the teaching of the New Testament which
says, "...lay by in store as God has prospered you..." 1
Corinthians 16:1-2; We are to give as we purpose in our
hearts,…willingly and cheerfully (1 Corinthians 9:6-7).
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