“The When of Worship, Part 1” (Ready to Worship S11E12)

April 10, 2020

Ready to Worship Season 11, Episode 12 for Friday, April 10, 2020

On this season of Ready to Worship, we are investigating worship by asking the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of a reporter. In this installment, we will begin asking the when question. There is much confusion in the religious world over the when of worship. Some argue that worship should take place on the seventh day of the week (the Sabbath day), instead of the first day of the week (the Lord’s day). Others argue that items of worship which are directly tied to the first day of the week, like the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), can be observed on other days in connection with special events like weddings. The above mentioned practices show an ignorance of Scripture (Acts 17:23); or worse yet, a disregard for Scripture (Mk. 7:8-9). It is clear from the New Testament that the early church met for worship on the first day of the week. In fact, the very first time the church met (Acts 2), it was the first day of the week. As you recall, the kingdom (the Lord’s church) came with power on the first Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection (Mk. 9:1; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 47). The day of Pentecost (as the name suggests) was the fiftieth day. It was the day after seven sabbaths (49 days). What day would that be? Since the Sabbath day was the seventh day of the week (Saturday), the next day was the first day of the week or Sunday! Not only did the early church meet on that first day of the week the first time that they met, they continued to do so on every other first day (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). On one occasion, Paul tarried to be with the saints on the first day of the week, even though he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem (Acts 20:1-7). Clearly, he knew when the early Christians met and what they would be doing. Did Paul wait a day longer than he had to wait? No! Did he wait to observe a memorial that could have been observed on another day or an earlier day? Again, the answer is, No! As we get ready to worship this week, let’s remember the when of worship under the New Testament. Let’s gather when the Lord commanded todo what He commanded.