Sunday Morning Worship

"Let all things be done decently and in order"

During the Sunday morning worship service there is generally a sequence of procedures adhered to, somewhat like the following:

  1. Opening hymn/anthem
  2. Two readings from the Bible Com­panion
  3. Announcements
  4. Prayer
  5. Introductory hymn/anthem to the exhortation
  6. The word of exhortation
  7. Breaking of bread hymn/anthem
  8. Remarks by the presiding brother leading into the memorial service.
  9. Partaking of the bread and wine (preceded by prayers)
  10. Collection
  11. Closing hymn/anthem
  12. Prayer

Some ecclesias move the collection to a spot closer to the opening of the service, but generally speaking, the procedure outlined above is followed by most Christadelphian Ecclesias. The time allotted to each aspect of the worship generally allows 30 minutes for items 1 through 5, 30 minutes for item 6, 20 minutes for items 7 through 9, and 10 minutes for items 10 through 12.

Each part of the worship procedure is rather distinct from the others, although, of course, blending in and harmonizing with the general tenor and spirit of the service.

The Presiding Brother

The part performed by the presider is most important. His demeanor and presence of mind on the platform can either increase or diminish the spirituality of the worship service. He must be responsible for the even flow of the meeting and be as inconspicuous as possible. The progression from one aspect of the ser­vice to the next should be done in a natural and appropriate manner, drawing only minimal attention to himself.

His remarks between the various parts of the morning service must be perten­ant, but relative few. A lengthy commentary on the exhortation is not only unnecessary, but presumptious as well. The speaking brother in concluding his remarks has, to the best of his ability, made a fitting ending to the subject matter of his exhortation. A second conclusion or further exhortative material by the presiding brother is redundant and excessive. Such conduct on the part of the presider suggests that the exhorter has to a degree missed the mark and requires the assistance of the presider to straighten out his thinking. It is most disturbing not only to the exhorting brother but also to the other members of the ecclesia to sit through five or ten minutes of unwarranted and superfluous dialogue following an exhortation, before the presider finally leads the congregation into the breaking of bread.

“Do This in Remembrance of Me”

This command of our Lord is given specifically in Luke’s gospel account (22:19) and twice repeated in the instructions recorded by Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians (11:24, 25). Although both Matthew and Mark record in some detail the institution of breaking of bread service, neither writer mentions these particular words. However, they are implicit in the Lord’s ex­planation of the significance of the em­blems when he said, “This is my body . . . This is my blood” (Matt. 26:26, 28, Mark 14:22, 24).

What is said by the presiding brother should pertain to that end and move the meeting into the significance of the em­blems. This whole procedure should take but five minutes or so, and condition the minds of the congregation to the importance of this part of the assembly.

It must always be held in mind that this part of the morning worship is dedicated solely to memorializing the death of our Saviour. All aspects of this brief twenty minutes must be centered about and fulfill the command of Jesus to “do this in remembrance of me.” No one would deny that this is specifically the purpose of this short portion of the Memorial service.

In spite of the foregoing, there seems to be an increasing tendency on the part of those controlling this segment of the worship service to bring in extraneous material; not only by the presiding brother but also by the prayers offered for the bread and wine (more about prayers follows).

Every part of the worship is important and must achieve its own objectives.

In the fulfilling of these purposes care should be exercised not to lapse over and intrude on other objectives of other parts of the meeting. For example, it would be totally out of place for the reading brethren to launch out into an exposition of the written word, or to embark on exhortative material. The Recording brother must not, in the course of giving the announcements, suddenly enter into the significance of the memorial emblems. Such adventurous pursuits would be totally out of place and result in great discomfort and embarrassment to all in attendance. Of course, in these segments of the Sunday morning service, the lines of demarcation are clearly understood and observed. It is only in respect to the breaking of bread portion in which an unperceived yet gross neglect of purpose is made. Often, this is due to simple lack of discernment on the part of the presiding brother in the conduct of the meeting.

Prayers

The opening hymn, readings and announcements are fitting preliminaries before the presiding brother leads the brethren and sisters in the first prayer. This opening prayer is the most comprehensive of the four prayers usually made at the Memorial service. It represents the first formal approach to God and includes a variety of particulars not covered in the others, such as the expression of thanks and worship and praise of God, confession of and petition for forgiveness of sins, intercession for those not present, God’s blessing on the assembly and the speaker, special requests resulting from the announcements and other items appropriate to the occasion. This prayer, above all others, is the most all-inclusive and exhaustive. Because of the broad assortment of subject matter to be included, it will be of necessity the lengthiest supplication of the entire ser­vice.

The presiding brother should see to it that all preliminary matters are encompassed in his opening prayer. The danger here is not necessarily in making his petition to lengthy, but incomplete due to his failure to deal with important facets of the first prayer. Being certain that the customary and usual elements as well as specific requests are included will prevent the necessity of their being alluded to in other prayers where they would be out of place.

For the Bread and Wine

The invocations preceding the partaking of the emblems should be limited to the purpose at hand. It is not the time for the mention of incidental or irrelevant matters. This portion of the assembly is to remember Jesus in the manner which he has prescribed. The bread and wine represent the body and blood of Jesus, as the Lord has told us, and should therefore be the sole object of petition. It is on the time to comment on the exhortation or to mention and pray for those not present. Nor is it appropriate to reminisce about our failures and success in keeping the Lord’s commandments.

Thanks for, observations and expansions on the word of exhortation will be included in the closing prayer. Mention of those not present for whatever reason has already been the subject of petition by the presiding brother in his opening prayer (if not, the closing prayer should include them). Self-examination and personal walk is the duty of the exhorting brother. To include these items in prayers for the bread and wine would be as inappropriate to the occasion as for the presider in his opening prayer to include petitions for the bread and wine. Yet, there is an increasing proclivity on the part of those leading the brethren and sisters in prayers for the emblems to do just that. This drift is due to lack of thinking or careless disregard of the purpose at hand. This part of the Sunday worship must be confined to memorializing the death of our Saviour. It occupies a brief 20 minutes, most of which is in silence while the emblems are being distributed. In actuality a total of 8 or 9 minutes is occupied in comments leading to and prayers for the tokens of our redemption. Is it not reasonable and in true obedience to the Lord’s request that we should dedicate these few moments solely to remembering him?

Closing Prayer

The final petition which brings the assembly to a formal conclusion, like the opening one, may involve more than just a closing. Items not specifically included (but should have been) in the first prayer should then be dealt with. In addition, an allusion to the subject matter of the exhortation is not out of place. A prayer for continued guidance and blessing from the Father as the assembly is concluded is most appropriate.

In most cases, a repetition of the elements already mentioned in other prayers, would be out of place and redundant. Again, the brother leading the assembly in closing prayer should be cognizant of his responsibility and certain that the object of his petition is fulfilled.

Self Examination

Allusion to self examination at the same time when the emblems are being taken has already been made. However, because of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians following his directive on the proper procedure to be adhered to at the Memorial service, it is necessary to again look at this subject. The apostle warns the Corinthian brethren, “But let a man examine himself, and so eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” (1 Cor. 11:288).

Did he mean that before the breaking of bread service one should pause and make a self examination, possibly to be certain he is worthy to partake of the emblems? If he did, which of us would declare his conduct during the past week is such that he is “worthy”? Was the apostle talking about personal deportment or did he have something else in mind, A careful reading of the entire chapter will reveal that Paul did not mean that this scrutiny of one’s past conduct should take place at this moment of our Sunday morning worship service. The rebuke and admonition was made to the Corinthian Ecclesia where a gross violation of the whole purpose of this ritual was being countenanced.

Several deficiencies in which the brethren were celebrating the Lord’s Supper prompted this directive. Gluttony, drunkenness and a total disregard for the poorer members of the ecclesia made their observance of the death of Christ a meaningless ritual — worse, they were eating and drinking “damnation to themselves, not discerning the Lord’s body.” It was the manner in which they were celebrating the Lord’s death which was totally unacceptable to God, which required examination. The word, “unworthily” is an adverb which modifies the way they were observing the memorial service, not the individual himself.

Paul does not speak of the members being “unworthy” (an adjective), but “eating and drinking unworthily.”

The procedure practiced by the brethren and sisters today preclude the possibility of eating and drinking condemnation to themselves, for they do not hold a drunken feast before the breaking of bread service. There is an urgent need for personal analysis of our conduct which should be done continually on a daily basis. But, this is not to be done just prior to the partaking of the em­blems. Neither should it be mentioned in the prayers at this time since this is part of our service devoted uniquely to the remembrance of our Saviour.