How Do Our Modern Worship Services Compare With the Early Church?

# 50 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) In N.R. Needham's book, “2000 Years of Christ's Power, Vol : Age of the Early Church Fathers,” he paints a picture of what the early church worship services were like from A.D. 101 -200. He says they typically lasted for about three hours and were divided into three sections. Section one was called the service of the Word and centered around reading God's Word, singing from the Psalms, and teaching. This portion of the service was open to all. (We might even call it the first seeker service!) The second and third portion of the service was open only to baptized believers and featured congregational prayers, and the Eucharist, or what some call “communion” or the Lord's Supper. In the congregational prayer portion of the service, the worship leader, (pastor, bishop, elder) would announce a prayer topic or concern, then the congregation would pray silently for awhile, and then the spiritual leader would sum up the supplication with a spoken prayer. Then he would announce another topic or concern and repeat the process. Needham says, “this was the lengthy part of the service.” (Prayer was deemed important by the church!) I often wonder what a first century Christian would say if they walked into one of our modern worship services in America. Aside from the cell phones and coffee cups, I think they might be shocked at the brevity of the worship service. We seem to be in a hurry in America. We need to get em in and out in an hour or less. Having said that, I think they would at least recognize these three elements of worship in most churches. There IS time spent on reading and expounding on Scripture! There IS a time or opportunity given for prayer, and many churches make it a point to celebrate the Lord's Supper every week. So take heart from this. Is your church reading and preaching from the Word of God? Are you making time for corporate prayer either in the service or sometime during the week? (Many churches use to have Sunday evening services or mid-week services with an emphasis on prayer) and are you observing the Lord's Supper on a regular basis? If so, you are doing well, and you are heeding Paul's exhortation to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks of primary importance.