Sunday Service of Worship
Introduction
- Acts 20:7-12
A fairly typical church service in the second century (A.D. 101-200, N.R. Needham’s 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power, Vol. 1: Age of the Early Church Fathers) based on descriptions and instructions found in the early Church fathers.
The service of worship on Sunday lasted about 3 hours in total, with the typical posture being standing throughout. There were no musical instruments, and the Lord’s Supper was observed every week.
The first part, “The Service of the Word,” was open to three groups: (1) baptized believers; (2) those receiving instruction in the Christian faith; and (3) (probably) those who were merely curious about Christianity.
The second part of the service, “Prayers and the Eucharist,” was only open to believers who had been baptized. The rest had to leave. Needham writes that the early church understood congregational prayer as “participating by the Holy Spirit in the glorified Christ’s own heavenly ministry of prayer”—something unbelievers could not share in since they did not have the Spirit.
Part 1: Service of the Word
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Opening greeting [a solemn beginning, versus "hey guys! its time to start!"] by bishop and response by the congregation. Often, the bishop would say “The Lord be with you” and the congregation would respond, “And with your spirit.”
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Old Testament Scripture reading. Usually read or chanted by a deacon. [2 Samuel 12:1-14]
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Psalm or hymn (I). Chanted or sung. [Psalm 51:7-13]
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New Testament Scripture reading (I). This first NT reading was from any NT book outside the gospels. [1 Corinthians 11:17-34]
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Psalm or hymn (II). [Amazing Grace]
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New Testament Scripture reading (II). From one of the four gospels. [Luke 22:13-20]
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Sermon. Delivered by the bishop, while seated. [Meaning of 'Service (the people's work) & Communion=Memorial,Remember/Eucharist=Thanksgiving && Taking Communion Home with them]
- Unconsumed bread and wine would be taken home by church members to use for celebrating communion at home during the weekdays.
- Dismissal of all but baptized believers.
Part 2: Communion
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Congregational prayers. The prayer leader—the bishop in the West; senior deacon in the East—would announce the first topic. The congregation prayed silently for a while. Then the leader summed up the petitions with his own spoken prayer. Then he would do the same pattern again with a new topic. This was a lengthy part of the service. Early Christian art suggests that a typical posture from praying was standing, looking heavenward, with arms outstretched and palms up.
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The Lord’s Supper. Here’s the order:
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(1) the bishop/elder offered a greeting;
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(2) the congregation responded;
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(3) there was a “kiss of peace” (men to men, women to women) / SHARING THE PEACE;
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(4) church members brought their own small loaf of bread and flask of wine from home; the deacons took these and spread them out on the Lord’s table, emptying the flasks of wine into one large silver cup.
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(5) The bishop and the congregation engaged in a liturgical “dialogue” with the congregation;
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(6) the bishop led the congregation in prayer;
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(7) the bishop and the deacons broke the bread and distributed the cup to the congregation.
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(8) Something would be said to each member as he or she received the elements (e.g., “The bread of heaven in Christ Jesus,” with the response of “Amen.”)
- Benediction. E.g., “Depart in peace,” spoken by the deacon.
What We Call It
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"Taking Communion" "Sharing Communion" "Keeping Communion" "Holy Communion"
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eucharist = greek thanksgiving
The word “eucharist” means “thanksgiving” and was an early Christian way of referring to the celebration of the Lord’s Table.
- Holy Sacrament (intinction? the act of dipping bread in the wine so that )
- The Lord's Table - The Lord's Supper - Last Supper
The Elements - What ARE They exactly?
1. Simply
- Bread & Wine/Grape Juice
- Passover in Exodus
- "Memorial Offering"
- Luke 22, Last Supper & subsequent death of Christ
- Acts
2. Theologically
a) We get Jesus.
What ultimately is happening? How do you sum it up?
It teaches love, unity, forgiveness, remembrance, and hope. Jesus referred to himself as the bread of life, emphasizing our relationship with Him.
John 6:48 — I am that bread of life.
"We get Jesus." — ---
b) Mystery
For about a 1000 years, Christians everywhere as best we can tell, kept communion in obedience to Christ's command without necessarily digging more deeply than that for the most part.
- communion and union
Central to Christian worship, Important and communicated, but necessarily philosophically dissected.
c) Schools
- TRANSUBSTANTIATION ()
- CONSUBSTANTIATION (Lutherans)
- MEMORIAL (Zwingli)
d) Christ is Present
I Corinthians 11:23–34 — v.26 "ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."