Today, we continue answering the question—what function do individual church members serve in the church and the community? In previous articles, we concluded that God desires and deserves to be worshiped; therefore, it is man’s responsibility to facilitate proper worship to Him. From that conclusion, we formulated another question to help us better accommodate the fi rsthow do we facilitate proper worship to God? In attempting to understand this, we found that the first step is obedience to God. Therefore, in facilitating worship to God, we must strongly desire to understand the requirements of God for His worship. From this desire, we must endeavor to learn from the Scriptures the proper way to worship. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Last week, we learned by example of the Scriptures that God desires preaching in His worship. “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7). From this same Scripture, we learn that God also desires the Lord’s Supper to be taken on the first day of the week, when the disciples meet. In First Corinthians 11:20, we find that the disciples met together for the purpose of taking the Lord’s Supper, even though in this instance, Paul is rebuking them because they were not properly observing it. “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27).

The Scriptures clearly record the purpose of the disciples gathering—for the purpose of coming together to break bread (the Lord’s Supper Acts 20:7). We can rightfully conclude that this was not a normal meal, because Paul would not have given his blessing to the people here in Troas and then rebuked the people of Corinth for the same action. “For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? 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 do not praise you” (1 Cor. 11:21-24).

From Acts 20:6, it can also be concluded that the disciples were meeting together every first day of the week, because Paul arrived in Troas and then waited seven days for Sunday to come, because he expected the church to meet at that time. “But we sailed away from Philippi after the Day of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days” (Acts 20:6). This also demonstrates how frequently the disciples took the Lord’s Supper, because they met for this purpose, which suggests that every time they met, they would take it.

If we desire to facilitate proper worship to God and not vain worship (Matt. 15:9), then we must follow the example of the Scriptures for how it facilitates proper worship (1 Cor.15:1-3). We properly worship the Lord when we rightfully take of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week and remember Him as He commanded (Luke 22:19- 20). If we take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, Paul says we “will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27). Paul warned the Corinthians, “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor. 11:29). Therefore, we need to examine ourselves, before we eat and drink, to make sure we are facilitating proper worship to God (1 Cor. 11:28).

Just something to consider.