The first thing that we think about what a church does is Sunday morning worship. And that is because “the public worship of God” has been for centuries the focal point of the church’s ministry. John Wesley used this exact phrase “the public worship of God” when stating his six “ordinances of God” in the General Rules for the United Societies. And in fact, “the public worship of God” was the first of the six he gave. It is only my re-listing them that causes it to be the last of the six we consider.
The two passages for this Sunday get at some components of the public worship of God. Acts 2 describes a very early time in the life of “The Way”—the term used before the term Christian ever came into existence. Right before this passage is the story of Pentecost, where 3000 respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit, landing on the disciples as tongues of fire, and people gathered there from all over the known world hearing the message Peter speaks in their own languages. These 3000 become the first followers of the message about Jesus. Almost immediately after that story we get this: “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God.” (Acts 2:46-47a) They gathered at their homes and ate together—“with glad and generous hearts”—but first and foremost they worshiped in the Temple, every day, together.
A few key points. Worship is their first instinct, to praise God for this amazing message of forgiveness and love and transformation. Much time was spent in the Temple, together. Most of them were Jews, and the Temple was where they had always worshiped Yahweh God—and yet that these first followers of “The Way” gathered together both at home and when at the Temple surely had something to do with the direction their worship was headed. They still worshiped Yahweh God, of course, but understanding what Jesus’ death and resurrection meant to this new approach to what Yahweh God had done meant that their worship, although as they had always practiced it, had new and almost subversive dimensions. They needed each other, to be able to lift their praises together, and to grow in their understanding together. There was no blueprint for the construction of this faith. And yet they knew that Yahweh God was to be praised for what had been accomplished. Worship is in public; worship is with others.
Hebrews 10:24-25 echoes this. “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We meet together to encourage one another and “provoke one another to love and good deeds” so that we may better serve the God we love in loving others. We worship to then go forth from the worship better equipped to share that love of God with others.
NEW TESTAMENT Acts 2:46-47a
46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God.
NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.