These slides explore the Structure and worship of the Earliest churches. It also explores the very definition of 'church' and its practical application to Christian life.
Finally we explore what it means for true worshippers to Worship in Truth and Spirit.
"For God's temple is holy, and Y O U are that temple" - 1Co 3:17
1. Early church Structure
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship
him” - Joh 4:23
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2. The History of the First church and the First
Memorial Service - A large upper room
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3. The History of the First church and the First
Memorial Service – A large upper room
Luk 22:8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover
for us, that we may eat it."
Luk 22:9 They said to him, "Where will you have us prepare it?"
Luk 22:10 He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man
carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he
enters
Luk 22:11 and tell the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, Where
is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'
Luk 22:12 And he will show you a large upper room
furnished; prepare it there."
Luk 22:13 And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they
prepared the Passover.
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4. The church of the first Apostles – Their
first meeting – The Upper room again
Act 1:13 And when they had entered, they went up to
the upper room, where they were staying, Peter
and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and
Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
Act 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting
themselves to prayer, together with the women
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
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5. The House of Mary
Act 12:11 When Peter came to himself,
he said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has
sent his angel and rescued me from the
hand of Herod and from all that the
Jewish people were expecting."
Act 12:12 When he realized
this, he went to the house of
Mary, the mother of John
whose other name was Mark,
where many were gathered
together and were praying.
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7. The Upper Room – A common feature? –
Doubled as Motel?
Act 9:37 In those days she became ill and died,
and when they had washed her, they laid her in
an upper room.
Act 9:38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the
disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two
men to him, urging him, "Please come to us
without delay."
Act 9:39 So Peter rose and went with them. And
when he arrived, they took him to the
upper room. All the widows stood beside
him weeping and showing tunics and other
garments that Dorcas made while she was with
them.
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8. Rooftop worship
Act 10:9 The next day, as they were on
their journey and approaching the city,
Peter went up on the housetop
about the sixth hour to pray.
Twelve o'clock at noon – A bit Hot?
To be private and alone
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9. The Upper Room advantage
Spacious | Practical | Gifted?/ Owned / rented)
Act 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were
gathered together to break bread, Paul talked
with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he
prolonged his speech until midnight.
Act 20:8 There were many lamps in the upper
room where we were gathered.
Act 20:9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the
window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer.
And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third
story and was taken up dead.
‘Many lamps’ Evening / night meeting after the day’s job was
done
Such rooms were often set apart as halls for meetings
Oops!!9
11. Paul and Silas in Thessalonica @ a
Synagogue
Act 17:1 Now when they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to
Thessalonica, where there was
a synagogue of the Jews.
Act 17:2 And Paul went in, as was his
custom, and on three Sabbath days he
reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
Act 17:3 explaining and proving that it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus,
whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ."
The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi, India
(believed to be built in 1568)
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12. @ The Hall of Tyrannus
he withdrew from them and took the disciples
with him, reasoning daily in the hall of
Tyrannus.
Act 19:10 This continued for two years,
so that all the residents of Asia heard the word
of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
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13. Paul in Athens
Act 17:19 And they took him and brought him to
the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new
teaching is that you are presenting?
Act 17:22 So Paul, standing in the midst
of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I
perceive that in every way you are very religious…
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14. Preached In public &
in Houses
Act 20:20 how I did not shrink from
declaring to you anything that was
profitable, and teaching you in
public and from house to
house
Act 20:21 testifying both to Jews
and to Greeks of repentance
toward God and of faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
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15. A place of prayer to any place
Act 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the
riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat
down and spoke to the women who had come together.
Act 16:16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met
by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much
gain by fortune-telling.
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16. Persecutions caused preaching
Act 11:19 Now those who were scattered because of the
persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia
and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except
Jews.
Act 11:20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and
Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists
also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:4 Now those who were scattered went about
preaching the word.
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17. The Disciples of Jesus Church
Where are we? | Where are we headed?
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18. Church?
Definition - Greek ekklēsia
From a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, that
is, (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation
(Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or
saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church. – Strong’s dictionary
Example:
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they
met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the
disciples were first called Christians. - Act 11:26
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19. The Grandeur of the building defines
the glory of the church for the majority
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21. 1Pe 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect
exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia,
1Pe 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
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22. ‘The Upper Room’ - Suggestion
The Jews had such an upper room for their devotions
In the houses of Jerusalem such apartments were provided
for those who came up to keep the feasts.
Our upper room can be
A house
A building
A rented home
Etc.
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23. Early structure
Preaching in public, etc. but met at homes
Every Day They met together in the
temple courts:
They broke bread in their homes and
ate together with glad and sincere
hearts,
Small Groups: in Homes
praising God
and enjoying the favor of all the people
The Blessing and power of the spirit
“And the Lord added to their
number daily those who were being
saved.”
Act 2:42-47
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24. Spirit &
Truth Worship
Worship - devoted themselves to the
Apostles' teaching
Fellowship,
Breaking of bread
Prayers.
had all things in common
distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (charity)
praising God and
having favor with all the people.
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,
for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” -
Joh 4:23
[
People who go to a building to worship
an do not know the person next to them
lack ‘fellowship’
]
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26. Jesus is the head
of the church
Mat 18:18 Truly, I say to
you, whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Again I say to
you, if two of you agree on
earth about anything they
ask, it will be done for them
by my Father in heaven.
Mat 18:20 For where two or
three are gathered in my
name, there am I among
them."
Power of the church is
Jesus
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27. The foundation of the church
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter replied, "You
are the Christ, the Son of the living
God."
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!
For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father who is in
heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I tell you, you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and
whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven."
Eph 2:19 So then you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but
you are fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the
household of God,
Eph 2:20 built on the
foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone,
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28. The Error of the ‘Roman’
Catholic Church
The Popes try to inherit the key from
Peter
They first make Peter a Roman.
How?
Assuming Peter ‘died’ in Rome
Build a grave for Peter (St. Peter’s church
and grave)
Now he is a Roman citizen
Peter’s Jewish son has no right to inherit
the key.
The Roman Popes rather inherit the Key
The power of ‘binding’ is with Jesus,
apostles and the church
Peter’s belief in Jesus as the Messiah
lays the foundation of the church
Peter as the apostle is given the ‘key’
but this key is not intended to be
inherited by an individual but by the
whole church
The church is empowered
Mat 18:18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven
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30. Foundation: Jesus built his church on
‘people’ starting with Apostles
Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ
Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
The church is about people worshiping God in
truth and spirit built on the foundation of the
apostles (including Peter) and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone
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31. The Body of the Church
Eph 2:21 in whom the whole structure, being joined
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Eph 2:22 In him you also are being built together into
a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
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32. The Body: You are God's temple (house)
1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's
Spirit dwells in you?
1Co 3:17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's
temple is holy, and you are that temple.
The Power of Your Own BODY
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person
commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person
sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your
own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your
body. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (ESV)
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33. You and You and You are the the HOUSE
of God
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36. The memorial of Christ
1Co 12:12 For just as the body is one and has many
members, and all the members of the body, though
many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a
participation in the blood of Christ? The bread
that we break, is it not a participation in the body
of Christ?
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