Title
The Origin of the Traditional Church Service
Scripture
“Now all the people gathered together as one man...”
(Nehemiah 8:1)
Devotional
Here we have the model for the traditional church service. Let us look at it: The assembly stood during the reading of God’s Word. They met from early morning until midday. Ezra stood above all the people on a raised platform. All the people answered amen and the elders helped the people understand the Law.
In summary, the entire purpose of the church service was to give the Word of the Lord, glorify His name, and edify the people. The most important aspect of the tradition was that, “All the people gathered together as one man.” Let us not forget that the traditional church service is not a religious ceremony, it is a living organism serving one purpose.
The book of Ephesians puts it this way, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith.”(1)
(1) Ephesians 4:11-13