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NASB | 1 Corinthians 14:26 ¶ What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 14:26 ¶ What then is the right course, believers? When you meet together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation (disclosure of special knowledge), a tongue, or an interpretation. Let everything be constructive and edifying and done for the good of all the church. |
Subject: Order of Worship |
Bible Note: Hi Brad I'll answer your questions one at a time in the order you asked them. In saying that most congregations don't come close, I'm observing that the present institutional structure does not seem to follow the Biblical pattern. There is precious little interactivity in a typical Sunday morning "worship service." And with a predetermined order of worship, you vastly limit the Spirit's ability to guide the meeting. Christ is the head of the church. (Col 1:18) This truth should be reflected in how we go about our meetings. To clarify where I'm coming from, I'll tell you a little about what we do. Our family is involved in a house church with several other families. On a typical Sunday there will be 50 people or so at someone's home. The relatively small size and closeness of the group allows us to enjoy 1) a meal and 2) an open, interactive time of worship, teaching and prayer. We feel that this is closer to the Bibilical pattern. Concerning sermons.... I am indeed suggesting that sermons are not to be given, at least not in the context of a Sunday morning church gathering. As I said before, you will find that the sermons mentioned in the NT are evangelically inspired, i.e., they are directed "outside" to the lost. There really is no place on Sunday morning, among the saints, for someone to dominate the time to that extent. Another confusion in the church today is that many are going out of their way to bring in the unsaved using the Sunday morning service. I'm all for bringing in the unsaved, but Biblically speaking, this time when the church is together is to be reserved for the edification of the body. The simple gospel message is powerful, but we must go deeper. Paul presents the idea of an unsaved individual coming to the gathering as the exception. (1 Cor 14:23-24 / "If... there comes in one who is unlearned..." Now, to balance out my previous paragraph, let me make clear that teaching and doctrine are indeed vital for the church. The word needs to be taught. But we can't confuse teaching and doctrine with the form by which it comes. It doesn't have to be a sermon to be teaching. It doesn't have to be a monologue to be doctrine. Our time of teaching and worship will last 3-5 hours, with 3-4 of the men bringing 15 minute (avg) insights from the scriptures. More often than not, these insights from the various brothers tie together in a beautiful way, providing a vivid and powerful teaching for the day. Preaching the word is important, but, as in everything else, our minds must be transformed as to what that looks like. (Rom 12:2) Just to light another fuse, I'll add that we have no pastor. :) Thanks for your questions; this is a great discussion. I hope this note has clarified a few things. Let brotherly love continue! Aaron |