Date:   10/14/2007

Text:   Acts 20:6-12

Title:   What Is Worship?

Theme: Since Jesus resurrected on the first day of the week, we are to celebrate this by worshipping him regularly.

Introduction:

  Several years ago, we went to visit the church we previously attended. With its new format, we could hardly recognize that it was the same church that we had worshipped in. During the last 15 to 20 years, great changes in worship had swept across churches everywhere. Just when we feel the dust may have settled, then came the Emerging church, with their own styles and focus. So, we have the traditional, contemporary and now the emergent styles. How do we decide which one to follow and for how long? What if I grow out of them, will there be another one I can go to? Even at HCC, some would say our music is too loud (like the parents complaining about the youth's music), another would say it is too dull, not energetic enough. Some would say the sermon is too long, another would ask how come so little time is given to preaching, compared to the singing? There seems to be the never ending discussion of what is worship, what is the essence of worship?

  Sometimes I feel that our confusion in this area may be due to the lack of specific instructions from the scripture. Therefore resulting in many discussions and FREEDOM in different forms of worship.

  Here in vs.6-12, we find the NT's earliest reference to a Sunday worship. However, as we study this and other passages in Acts, we need to remember that this is descriptive and not prescriptive. This means that we are not to copy all the details, such as meeting in a house, on the 3 rd floor, in the evening, using oil lamps or candles. It also means that we are not to omit what is not mentioned, such as: singing, praying and testimonies. This morning we want to identify some very basic principles of worship in this passage.

I.   The primacy of regular worship.

  Today, every country has adopted the 7-day week calendar. But in the 1 st century only the Jewish people divided the days into 7 days a week. Not so with the Greeks and Romans. Actually a Roman writer, Seneca scolded the Jews for wasting time on the 7 th day, which is Sabbath/Saturday, because of their rest from work.

  When Paul preached to the strictly gentile audience in Lystra and Athens, he focused on the creation doctrine. That is: God created the heaven and the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7 th day, th Sabbath, today's Saturday. This 7 day-week calendar was later adopted by the Roman empire, and today, it is universal.

  In vs.7 we read that the believers at Troas met on Sunday, the 1 st day of the week. They came together on Sunday evening to worship, most likely because they worked during the day. The Jews worshipped on Saturday in their local synagogues. After Jesus'' resurrection, we read in the book of Acts that the Jewish believers would still go to the synagogues on Saturday. Then they began to meet on both Saturdays and Sundays. They met on Sundays, the 1 st day of the week because this was the day Jesus resurrected from the dead. It was both a remembrance and celebration of Jesus' resurrection. And then later, they switched from Saturday to Sunday. And for the last 2k years, Christians, even under extreme hardship, come together on Sundays to worship God.

  The principle here is that there is a fixed day every week for worship. Regular and consistent Worship is an integral part of Christian living. However, some may ask, especially if we our work is in the service sector, that is 24/7, can we worship on another date? Can we have a worship service on Saturday evening? From the worship perspective, certainly Saturday or Wednesday is just as good as Sunday. Scripture does not forbid worship on other days of the week. However, the general pattern in the scriptures seem to instruct us of the special meaning of worship on Sunday.

  I know of Christians, who turned down jobs because they had to work on Sundays. Others negotiated with their managers to take off several hours on Sunday so they can worship. There are also individuals who would make arrangements with their Jewish or Seven Day Adventist friends to swap several hours work on Saturday so they can go to church on Sundays. Then there are also churches with evening services for those who cannot attend the morning service because of work schedules.

  We may not agree with many of the Islam's teaching, but I admire their commitment to praying 5 times a day. Devout Muslims would stop whatever they are doing, take out the prayer mat, kneel down and pray. This puts us to shame, right? As we firmly believe the reality of Jesus'' resurrection on the 1 st day of the week, we also remember the importance of regularly worshipping him on this day.

II.   The primacy of the Word in worship.

  Besides worshipping God on Sundays, the believers at Troas also listened to the apostle Paul's teaching of the Word. It was a rather long sermon. The Greek word preach in vs.7,9 seemed to point to more formal teaching or preaching. Vs11, uses the greek word: homily, meaning informal preaching/teaching. It could be Q/A session. Whether it is formal or informal, the emphasis here is on God's word. Since it is God speaking to us, therefore it is central in our personal life and also the life of the church. From the church at Troas and in other cities, we learn that the Word is also central when the Christians come together to worship. In every worship service, God's word must be read, clearly explained and pointedly applied to our lives.

  Last week we talked about Paul encouraging the 1 st century believers with God's word. They needed encouragement and instruction because they took their faith seriously. They refused to compromise with their society, resulting in isolation, loneliness and discouragement. Now, if they'd just go with the flow, do as the Romans do, without making a stand for their faith, and be tolerant to all other teachings, then they would be quite easy going, and there would not be any need for encouragement and instruction from God's Word.

The same is true with us. When Christians sacrifice the uniqueness of Christ in the name of tolerance, when we think there is no absolute but all are relative, then there is no need for encouragement and instruction from God's word. If we come to church with this mindset, then we've come to socialize with others and see how the music and sermons can entertain and inspire us.

  As we visit different churches, we find some with focus on the power of music. It can stir up one's emotion, excite and energize us. We depend on the power of music. So some church would hire the best musicians and singers to help lift up our souls. Good music is very important in any worship, but we must not turn them into God. it cannot take the place of God's word. Good music will point us to God and His Word.

Then there are times we focus on the power of experience. Last week I read about an event in a certain church in California. During their worship service, they had a famous former celebrity sharing how he became a Christian. It was told that the sharing, or his experience had a very obvious effect on the congregation. Sensing this, the pastor immediately gave an invitation to the congregation. Anyone touched by this testimony and would like to come forward to receive baptism on the spot. About 300-500 people came forward and received baptism. It is great that so many made the decision to want to get baptized. Yes, personal experience can be powerful, but it must never take the place of God's word.

  God's word, the gospel, alone is powerful. It has the power to save us from God's wrath. God's word is like the 2-edged sword, cutting through our most inner self, revealing our sinfulness and our need for Christ. It has the power to transform us. For this reason, at HCC we want to do our utmost best to make God's word the primacy in our worship. As pastors, it is our responsibility to diligently study the Bible, clearly explain the word and effectively apply to the congregation's life. We're to do our best to effectively communicate God's word, the Truth to you all. It is our prayer that God will, through our sermons, sometimes even above our sermons, to bring you transformation, comfort, encouragement and instruction as you faithfully follow Christ at home, at school and at your work place.

III. The primacy of Lord's supper in worship.

  In vs. 7 we're told that when the believers at Troas came to worship, there was also the Lord's Supper. I'd like to make several observations:

  First the purpose of the Lord's Supper is for the believers to remember Christ's love, death and resurrection. It is also called the Eucharist, meaning a celebrative and thanksgiving event. Secondly, in Christian faith, it is understood that God speaks to us first, through the Word, secondly through the sacraments: baptism and Lord's supper. It is said that baptism and the Lord's Supper are God's visible Word. You want to see the Word? Look at Baptism and the Lord's supper.

  We know that the Bible is God's word. God's word is good news to us, it is powerful to save us from his wrath. Do we want to see it with our eyes? Look at Baptism. This morning 7 individuals are baptized. Whenever we see baptism, we see a person being changed by the gospel message. Turning away from refusing or rejecting Jesus to become his followers. Baptism provides us with this visual demonstration of the power of God's Word.

  We know God loves us and died for us. Do we want to see it with our eyes? Look at the Lord's Supper. Every time we see the bread and cup, when we eat the bread and drink the juice, as we did last week, we see God's love. For this reason, the Lord's supper is not only a memorial, but the Spirit also works through this bread and cup to touch our hearts. We are being nurtured and renewed by this sacrament..

  You see, God builds his church through the audible and the visible. The Word is the audible; and baptism and the lord's supper are the visual. He builds the church also through declaration and drama. Word is the declaration, baptism and the lord's supper are the drama.

  In a worship service, there is the ministry of the Word, and the ministry of the sacraments as well. Some churches have communion every Sunday, others, like us, once a month. There are still others that observe the Lord's Supper twice a year. Again, there is no specific instruction on how often we should have the Lord's Supper. But there is clear teaching on the primacy of Lord's Supper when we come to worship Him.

  Of course, anyone who studies this passage notices the poor young man, listening to the long sermon in a room filled with smoke and oily smell, fell asleep and fell down from the 3 rd floor. He died. And then Paul came and put himself on top of the boy, and he was resuurected. Luke, the doctor wrote that he died, and then Paul performed a miracle. Just like Elijah and Elisha of the OT resurrected 2 young men. The resurrection of this young boy was also the last person raised from the dead in the Bible.

  As a pastor, I certainly understand what it is like to fall asleep while listening to the sermon. There are times, I almost laughed out when I saw how some of you sleep during the sermons. No one sleeps during the singing, only during the sermons. I still remember when I was in STL. I noticed a lady sleeping during my preaching. Well, who can I blame but myself? At the end of the service, I was at the door shaking hands with people. She came up and said, “thank you, pastor for a very good sermon.” I almost burst out laughing. I always get comfort from this thought. If the young man slept while Paul, the great apostle, was preaching, who am I to expect you stay awake all the time? I know that you have been very busy this past week and exhausted. I am glad that my sermon can help you get some rest. J Just make sure you don't fall off the pews.

Conclusion:

  This passage provides us with some very practical principles regarding worship. It instructs us that we are to worship God regularly. When we come to worship God, there God's word must be at the center. And there is also the primacy of the sacraments, which provide us with visual demonstration of the Word.

  There are more and more activities occurring on Sundays that inhibits us from worship on Sundays. Sometimes, it's our job, other times our children's sports, music or other activities. There could also be the Sunday football games on TV.

If we're to take worship seriously, we'll have to sacrifice something. When our children were young, before we enroll them in any baseball or soccer leagues, we always made sure there were no games on Sundays. It could mean that we could not enroll them in some better leagues.

Why are we to take Sunday worship seriously? Because it is on this day we remember and celebrate our Lord's resurrection.