Lord, Teach Us To Pray
Series: Part 3
The Biblical Order of Public Worship
gtcotr/ws100406
What if you had never been to church before - or better yet - what if there had never been church before. No pattern or example of how a group of believers in Jesus as Messiah should conduct their corporate time of worship.
If you were leader, what would you do? What would hold first priority and what would be excluded from the list of potential activities? What is the bible way? Are there scriptures which tell us how to conduct a church service and if so, are we following heaven’s instructions?
As the scriptures tell us, God does not leave us without witness.
Paul, the declared Apostle to the Gentiles, used by God to give inspired direction to personal and church life, counsels his spiritual son Timothy to pay close attention to the order of public worship times in the church Timothy oversees.
Lets look at this passage of scripture in the book of First Timothy.
1 Timothy
In the AD 50’s and early AD 60’s the number of churches and their respective sizes grew ever increasingly placing a demand on more and more leaders to be identified, qualified and placed into service. In this respect much room was suddenly made for individuals newly come to the faith to give opinion as to the doctrine and practice of the church.
The Apostle Paul, forced to leave Ephesus under much pressure, was driven out before he was able to set the church in complete order. Later it fell upon Timothy’s shoulders to bring structure to the congregation as the Apostle Paul provided clear and concrete instructions for him to follow. This is the book of 1 Timothy.
The reason for Paul writing this letter is contained therein:
1 Timothy 3 NIV
14 ¶ Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that,
15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
What a true blessing it is to have this Divine guidance preserved in writing so that we too may know how we are to conduct ourselves in the house and household of God, the Church. So without further comment, lets look at the book of 1 Timothy to see where prayer fits into:
The Biblical Order of Public Worship.
1 Timothy 1 (NIV)
1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.
5 ¶ The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk.
7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
9 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
10 for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
The Apostle Paul here has made a defense of the Gospel according to the revelation given him by Christ Jesus. He upholds the doctrine he teaches as the true word of Almighty God.
12 ¶ I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18 ¶ Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
So ends the first chapter of 1 Timothy. Here Paul has denounced those who teach meaningless and legalistic sermons as false teachers who don’t know what they are talking about.
He says that the goal of sermons is not to promote controversies but to teach love, pure heartedness, good consciousness and sincere faith. Now there is a good four point sermon.
Let’s continue with chapter two to see where prayer fits into the biblical order of public worship.
1 Timothy 2
1 ¶ I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—
2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour,
4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle— I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
8 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
Where does prayer come into play in the biblical order of public worship? It comes in FIRST!
First of all:
Request - Needs
Prayers - Devotion of Self to God
Intercession - Intervention from Evil
Giving of Thanks - Praise and Thanksgiving
For everyone from Kings to common authorities
Because God wants all men to be saved and to be disciples
Men everywhere should be lifting up holy, clean and pure hands to the Lord in prayer without frustration, anger, resentment or doubt.
We find that the two pillars of public worship are prayer and preservation of doctrine. The word of God and prayer.
This is not only the directed pattern of the Gentile Believer’s Church in Ephesus, but also the inspired order for the Jewish Believer’s Church in Jerusalem as declared by the Apostles there:
Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. (KJV)
Prayer is the first pillar and first order of the church!
Ministry of the word comes in second place with a strong command to preserve the doctrine once delivered to us through the holy scriptures.
