Sunday Gatherings

Introduction

After such a long prayer… and the third prayer already this morning… I wonder if some of you think we spend far too much time praying on Sundays.

As a matter of fact, I’d like you to consider with me today every aspect of what we do as a church on the Lord’s Day.

Do you think we should sing more songs or less? Do you think the songs we’ve sung today are appropriate? Would you prefer other songs?

Do you think we should definitely bring back the formal “greeting time” during the first part of our church service, or should we keep encouraging everyone to greet one another informally before and after the service?

Do you think our teaching/preaching is as it should be, or would you like to see us incorporate dramatic performances or skits (or maybe at least a TV or movie illustration on the big screen every once in a while)?

Do you think we should continue to encourage parents to keep their children with them during “big church,” or would you rather see us segregate the children to some other part of the church campus during the Sunday service?

Underneath all of these questions are some more foundational questions: Where should we turn to find answers to these questions? And who should make all of these decisions?

Today, we’re going to consider the WHAT and the WHY of all we do each Sunday.

Some of us have probably never asked such questions before… You just do the stuff you’ve always done because that’s what you’ve always done.

Some of us probably didn’t think there is an objective WHY to the stuff we do (or don’t do), so some of us might think the WHAT question is completely up for grabs… We might assume, “The Bible doesn’t really tell us WHAT or WHY about Sunday church meetings in 2021, so we should just do whatever makes us feel closer to God… without getting too crazy.”

I want to argue that neither the constraints of tradition nor the whims of whatever feels right should guide or influence our decisions about what we do each Sunday. Instead, I want to argue that God actually cares very much about what we do when we gather, and God has graciously given us pretty clear instructions.

Today’s topical message will begin in 1 Corinthians 11, but it’s not going to stay there long. I’m going to be making a lot of Bible references. Ask me for my notes if you want all of them, but you’ll find many of them on the handout in your bulletin.

Let’s begin in 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, and let’s notice the repeated refrain “when you come together.” After that, we will dive much further into this concept, which runs all throughout the Bible.

Scripture reading

1 Corinthians 11:17–22 (ESV)

17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.

18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

Message

1. The Scattered Church Gathers

“When you come together”

Three times in these five verses, Paul references the “coming together” of the church in Corinth.

One might argue that most of 1 Corinthians is devoted to Paul instructing the church members on their conduct and attitude when they “come together” (or gather) on the Lord’s Day. It’s especially the focus in chs 10-14, which can be summarized by Paul’s words, “when you come together… all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:26, 40).

Regularly “Coming Together” (or Gathering) is REQUIRED

The New Testament commands Christians to “come together” or “meet together” regularly for mutual upbuilding and encouragement.

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23–25).

From this we can deduce:

The local church gathering is significant to God.

The gathering is regulated by God (there is a biblical order).

The gathering is purposeful (God has a purpose – or purposes – in regulating it the way He does).

Because God is supremely good and wise, and because we are naturally sinful people with confused ideas about what is good and right, and because God is actively aiming for the health and growth of His people, Christians should joyfully submit to the biblical regulations for when they “come together” as a church.

BUT We are only occasionally gathered

The New Testament commands Christians on how to live and behave, both when they are gathered and when they are scattered.

2. What Should the Scattered Church do?

Work Good Jobs and Start Good Businesses

Just a handful of NT examples: Luke was a doctor (Col. 4:14), Paul and Aquilla were tradesmen – tentmakers (Acts 18:1-3), Peter and his brother were fisherman (Mk. 1:16-17), and Simon was a leatherworker (Acts 10:6).

Many Christians were poor (Acts 2:45; 1 Pet. 5:9), but some were wealthy enough to afford homes and lands that could host the regular weekly gathering of the whole church (Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15), which often included a full meal along with participation in the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:27-34).

Writing to the church in Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul said, “we urge you, brothers… to aspire to live quietly… and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one… If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat… such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (1 Thess. 4:10–12; 2 Thess. 3:6–12)

Make Disciples

I recently (1st Sunday in January) listed eleven practical means for using your time throughout the week to make disciples.

Be present on the Lord’s Day (but we’ll talk more about this in a bit).

Eat meals with one another.

Do chores with one another.

Schedule times to meet with or call one another.

Read the Bible with one another.

Read good Christian books with one another.

Study a catechism with one another.

Pray with and for one another.

Share personal details (budget, calendar, goals) with one another.

Praise holiness and obedience in one another.

Confront sin and challenge error in one another.

Give our Time, Treasure, and Talent in Love for Neighbor

Jesus told a parable about what it looks like to “love your neighbor” in Luke 10:29-37 where Jesus described a “good Samaritan” who went out of his way to help an injured and abused man. Then Jesus said that His hearers should “Go, and do likewise” (v37).

We might open our own home (or at least our dinner table and wallet) to someone we personally know in need.

We might give time and/or money to a homeless shelter or food bank.

We might give our own time to serve alongside other volunteers in some formal effort to help those in poverty (HiWay 80, Mission Texarkana), to rescue those in abusive situations (House of Hope in Longview), or to aid those with urgent needs (Diana United Fund).

We might start a non-profit organization of our own to address communal needs or problems in our own community and beyond.

In Our Context, We should be Active in Government

In the New Testament, we read about one Christian who was a “court official” (Acts 8:27), another who was a “proconsul” or a chief governing administrator of the whole town of Cyprus (Acts 13:7-12), and another who was a “jailer” or warden of the state prison in Philippi (Acts 16:25-34). Cornelius was an especially notable Christian convert; he was a “centurion” – a commanding officer for somewhere between 600 and 1,000 full-time soldiers (Acts 10)

Christians are not merely to “be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1), but in a representative democracy, Christians can and should be personally involved in electing and serving in those governmental offices that wield authority.

We might campaign for and even help fund a particular candidate in a given race.

We might run for local school board, for county tax-assessor or sheriff, for a state office, or for a federal office.

We might seek to be appointed by an elected official to some role of influence regarding policy writing or implementation.

3. God Tightly Regulates What We Must Do When We Gather

Because we have such freedom as individual Christians (scattered) to serve and follow Christ in the world, and in order to maintain that incredible freedom, we must be very careful to distinguish between “that stuff we might do when we’re scattered” and “that stuff we must do when we’re gathered.”

We don’t want everyone to sign up for a call scheduling sheet, so that we can make sure that each member is giving and receiving discipling calls each week… We want every member to be making disciples, but we want to leave lots of room for freedom as to the details.

We don’t want to set up a campaign table in the auditorium for your favorite candidate or political party… We want every member to be appropriately involved as citizens, but we want to leave lots of room for freedom as to the details of how you vote or even run for public office.

We don’t want to start an oil-changing or lawn-mowing or baby-sitting ministry as an official and budgeted program of the church… We want every member to use their time and talents to invest in the community, but we want to leave lots of room for freedom as to the details.

Furthermore, because gathering on the Lord’s Day is compulsory for all Christians (it is expected for all church members),[1]we must limit the stuff we do to those elements we find commanded and/or compellingly exemplified in Scripture.

And this limitation is called the regulative principle.

The Regulative Principle

The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 says, “The acceptable way of worshiping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.”[2]

Therefore, the regulative principle is the idea that, as Ligon Duncan says it, “the first things – the central elements, the principle parts, the essentials [of what we do when we’re gathered] – [must] have positive warrant [in Scripture]. [And] the incidentals and accidentals will be guided by scriptural principles.”[3]

In other words:

The central stuff we do should have a biblical command or example.

There must be a positive biblical warrant, not just an absent prohibition.

The peripheral stuff we do should be upheld by biblical principles.

There must be a clear and sensible case, not mere personal preference.

Inevitably, someone is going to decide what we do when we gather.

No effective regulation means we are at the mercy of the strongest voice in the room on any given day.

Mere tradition keeps us trapped within the culture and preferences of a previous generation.

The normative principle exposes us to numerous errors by giving opportunity for the very whims and traditions we want to avoid.

The regulative principle frees us from these errors and traps, and also encourages God-honoring worship and edification.

4. Five Things We Must Do When We Gather

Read The Word

A Scriptural Call to Worship

A reading from a passage of Scripture evokes and instructs our gathered worship (Ps. 95:1-5).

Clint read: “Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11–12).

Why should we praise God? Because He spreads His protection over His people, and He blesses and covers His people with favor!

What should we do to praise God? We should take refuge in Him, rejoice in Him, sing for joy to Him, love His glorious name, and exult (revel or gloat) in Him.

Scripture Readings

The Bible commands Christians (and especially pastors/elders) to “devote” themselves to the public (and likely also the systematic) reading of God's Word (1 Tim. 4:13).

The primary way we do this is by usually reading the full text that is to be preached each Sunday, but we should probably include more and various readings from Scripture as part of our regular gathering.

Pray The Word

Prayers of Praise and Thanks

The Bible instructs us to pray and gives us examples of prayers to the triune God, voiced on behalf of the congregation, praising and thanking Him for who He is and what He has done, especially for what He has done for us through Christ (Eph. 1:3-14; Col. 3:15-17).

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim. 1:17)

Prayers of Confession

The Bible instructs us to pray and gives us examples of prayers to God, voiced on behalf of the congregation, confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness for Christ's sake (Neh. 1:4-11; 1 Jn. 1:9). And there is assurance from Scripture that the repenting sinner is forgiven and cleansed through Jesus Christ (Ps. 32:5; Phil. 1:3-6).

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

And Brad offered us biblical assurance from Isaiah 57:15. “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

Prayers of Intercession (or supplication, i.e., the pastoral prayer)

The Bible instructs us to pray and gives us examples of prayers to God, voiced on behalf of the congregation, asking for God's will and work to be done in the church, in our individual lives, and in the world (Matt. 6:9-12; 1 Tim. 2:1-6).

“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:1–2).

Prayers of Illumination

The Bible instructs us to pray and gives us examples of prayers to God, voiced on behalf of the congregation, asking Him to help us understand His Word by His Spirit (Ps. 119:18; 1 Cor. 2:12-16).

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law… Make me understand the way of your precepts” (Psalm 119:18, 27).

Sing (and Speak) The Word

Congregational Singing

The Bible commands and provides examples of God’s people corporately singing the truths of Scripture, giving praise to God and edifying (or building up) one another (Ps. 95:1-5; Eph. 5:18-20).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16)

Congregational Confession of Faith

The Bible provides examples of God’s people corporately confessing the essential truths of Scripture (Deut. 26:1-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Tim. 3:16). Historically, Christians have often summarized core biblical doctrines in the form of concise confessions (including the ancient Apostle's and Nicene creeds, and the modern Ligonier statement on Christology).

1 Timothy 3:16 provides us with what appears to be an early Christian confession of faith, and the Apostle Paul seems to assume that this concise affirmation was “confessed” among all Christians.

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

Preach The Word

Sermon/Preaching

The preaching of God's Word is giving an explanation of Scripture and aiming to help those listening apply it to themselves. It includes a particular focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ (Lk. 24:25-27; 1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:1-2).

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist [a proclaimer of the gospel – focus on the person and work of Christ], fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:1–5).

See The Word

Baptism

This is the first of two church ordinances commanded by Christ in which the believer is immersed in water. It signifies a believer’s inward repentance and faith in Christ, union with Christ in His death and resurrection, cleansing and forgiveness of sins, and rescue from the wrath of God. It also serves as the initiating oath-sign of one’s transfer of citizenship into Christ's Kingdom and admittance of membership into the visible church of God (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 6:1-14).

The Lord's Supper

This second of the church ordinances involves members of the church eating bread and drinking the fruit of the vine. It signifies their present faith in Christ, their communion with God through the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, and their communion with one another in Christ, as they anticipate the Lord's return (1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:23-34).

Other Biblical Elements

Benediction

This is an appeal to God and a pronouncement of the blessings of God's grace in Christ. This often includes an encouragement to live faithfully in light of God's Word and grace (2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 13:20-21).

The Apostle Paul signed off his letter to the church in Rome: “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel… to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen” (Rom. 16:25–27)

Congregational Giving

This is an offering we all give as a grateful response to what God has done for us. The Bible teaches us to give generously to support the ministry of this church and the broader mission of Christ (2 Cor. 8:1-9).

“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper” (1 Cor. 16:1–2).

Why is the Regulative Principle WONDERFUL and not REPRESSIVE?

God cares so much about what we do when we gather that He has given us instructions and examples in His word; therefore, we must be careful to avoid prioritizing preferences or fads and to joyfully prioritize the biblical pattern.

5. Five Realities that Make the Regulative Principle Wonderful[4]

It frees us from bondage to whims, sentimentalism, and fads.

It connects what we do (worship/edify) when we gather to who we are (a church, an assembly/gathering of the people of King Jesus in the world).

It acknowledges and addresses the fact that the god we want and the God who is are often not the same.

It confronts the deepest problem of humanity, which is not atheism but idolatry.

It resists our impulse to add to God’s Word, which inevitably takes away from God’s Word.

May God help us to joyfully prioritize the biblical pattern so that we might live in freedom and also enjoy the wonderful benefits of worshiping God and edifying one another according to God’s instructions.

Bibliography

9marks. What's the goal of service planning? [Blog post]. 9marks.org. https://www.9marks.org/answer/what039s-goal-service-planning/

Dever, M. (2007). What is a Healthy Church? Wheaton, IL. Crossway.

Duncan, J. L. (2020). Does God Care How We Worship? Phillipsburg, NJ. P&R Publishing Company.

Hendrix, N. Abdallah, P. (2020). Defining the Stuff We Do On Sunday Mornings: A Congregational Worship Glossary [Blog post]. 9marks.org. https://www.9marks.org/article/a-congregational-worship-glossary/

Jamieson, B. (2014). Biblical Theology and Corporate Worship [Blog post]. 9marks.org. https://www.9marks.org/article/biblical-theology-and-corporate-worship/

Johnson, T. (2011). What Does the Regulative Principle Require of Church Members? [Blog post]. 9marks.org. https://www.9marks.org/article/journalwhat-does-regulative-principle-require-church-members/

Leeman, J. (2013). Regulative Like Jazz [Blog post]. 9marks.org. https://www.9marks.org/article/journalregulative-jazz/

Endnotes

[1] The expectation of participation in the weekly gathering on the Lord’s Day has exceptions. Some members are physically unable to participate, some are prevented from participation by some circumstance beyond their control (sickness, job schedule, family crisis), and nearly all members will be absent when they travel for work or pleasure. However, these exceptions should in no way alleviate the weighty responsibility every member should feel to participate regularly in the weekly gathering. The absence of any member on any Lord’s Day is undesirable, even if necessary. [2] Duncan, 13. [3] Duncan, 15. [4] These five points are taken directly (though modified and interpreted a bit) from Mark Dever’s citation of Ligon Duncan in the foreword of the book “Does God Care How We Worship?” See it in the bibliography.