We look to the word of God for all we do, following the New Testament pattern in word and deed. "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus...Col 6:17
WHERE DO WE MEET?
God’s word teaches us that the church built by Jesus is a spiritual house. Not a “physical building”, but rather a house made up of living stones…1 Peter 2:5 for we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. We happen to meet Sunday evenings at 6:00 at the Comfort Suites in Altoona, but the church could meet anywhere. They often met in one another’s homes in Philemon 2 we are told..."to Appia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house Also, in John 4:20-24 a Samaritan woman asked Jesus, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father...but the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
WHY DO WE COME TOGETHER?
1. for the Lord’s Supper -
in Acts 2:42 we are told..."They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer...this "Breaking of bread" is in reference to the Lord's Supper. We can also see the example of them meeting on the 1st day of the week (Sunday) for the Lord's Supper in Acts 20:7 "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread," ...Since we have this example, we meet every Sunday and partake of the Lord's Supper. We can understand more about what this breaking of bread entailed. Consider what Jesus did when he instituted the Lord's Supper in Matt 26:26-28 "While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."
2. to preach/teach -
We read about preaching and teaching as the early church gathered on the first day of the week. Paul preach to these Christians in Acts 20:7 "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." We also see it was their practice to devote themselves to the apostles teaching in Acts 2:42 "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching."
3. to sing -
Col 3:16 "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. " We are instructed to sing with thankful hearts and Paul says in Eph 5:19 to make melody with our hearts... Eph 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.
4. to pray -
Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. Paul's instruction to the Church of the Thessalonians in 1 Thes 5:17 "pray without ceasing."
5. Collection -
1 Cor 16:1-2 "On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper…" This was done when they met (Sunday) on the 1st day of the week to do the work of the church authorized by the word of God for Evangelism, Benevolence, and Edification.
2 Cor 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
Since these things are being written to help you to know what to expect when you visit with us, you should know that a collection plate will never pass through your hands. The collection is the opportunity given to the saints in Altoona to do Gods work in this place.
It's our hope that this will take away some of the mystery of what to expect when you visit with us. Hopefully, you also can begin to see what we mean when we say "we are following the new testament pattern."
