Category: Worship

ARE YOU MAD, SAD, OR GLAD?

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Shelby G. Floyd

 

Psalm 122:1 | joshtinpowers | Flickr

David, the second king of Israel wrote most of the Psalms. These Psalms indicate that David was a very spiritually minded man of God. For example he wrote:

Psalms 122: 1
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
NKJV

David was glad when someone said, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Some today may be sad or even mad, instead of glad, when it is time to go into the house of the Lord.

For Christians “the house of the Lord” is “the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15). We should be glad to be present with the assembled people of God. If our hearts are filled with gladness we will enthusiastically join our brothers and sisters in regularly stated worship. How can we be glad if our seat is empty at worship about half the time?

It is very difficult to build up the local congregation unless every member is interested in doing so. Today, as it always has been, some are zealous for the Lord’s cause while others are lukewarm (Revelation 3:14-16). We must encourage each other to be zealous for knowledge and the work of seeking and saving the lost:

Romans 10:1-2
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
NKJV

Zeal is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm means that we are on fire for the Lord because God is in us. Nothing worthwhile was ever accomplished without enthusiasm. The greatest work we can do is to work for the Lord during our short pilgrimage on the earth. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV). When we zealously devote ourselves our work will never be in vain.

The early Christians were called “devotees” because they were fully devoted to the cause of Christ: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Let us all be so devoted that we will be glad to go to the house of the Lord. 



Shelby G. Floyd, Minister, Heartland Church of Christ, 1693 West Main Street, Greenwood, Indiana 46142

SING A NEW SONG

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Shelby G. Floyd

1--Sing New

What a beautiful day for all of us to come out to worship God, to sing these beautiful hymns, and to study God’s eternal word. Thank you for coming and we hope that you will enjoy and profit from our study today. I am speaking to you on the topic: “Sing a New Song!” From the 1930s to the present day I have always attended worship. My mom and dad made sure that we were there every time the doors were open, and I have been singing songs written long ago and songs that are new to us today. We like some new songs and old songs. The old songs ties us to the church in the past and the new songs anchor us in the church of the 21st century.

David said in Psalms 40:3, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.” So even David in the long ago enjoyed singing a new song that God had put in his heart and in his mouth! All of us here at Heartland enjoy good congregational singing. We sing some of the old songs and we sing some of the new songs. And we need to sing some new songs because our experiences today are not the experiences that our parents and grandparents had many years ago. It requires patience and practice to sing a new song. Once we learn the lyrics and the melody in our minds, the song is not that difficult to sing, and you did a great job in singing all these hymns today. Continue reading “SING A NEW SONG” →

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN WORSHIP

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Shelby G. Floyd

The church that Jesus said He would build upon the Rock of His Divinity (Matthew 16:13-19), worshiped in spirit and truth: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24), and worshiped in music with “singing and making melody in the heart” during the apostolic period (33-100 A D). The early Christians came from many different backgrounds that used the instruments in their worship—worship connected to idolatry and immoral practices, like that of the Israelite’s at the foot of Sinai—“the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (1 Corinthians 10:7; Exodus 32:6). But these early Christians did not adopt this kind of music! Why? Continue reading “INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN WORSHIP” →

WORSHIP AND THE SUNDAY BIBLE CLASSES

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Shelby G. Floyd

The religion of Jesus Christ must be taught to every person who would be a Christian. This religion is not inherited by a fleshly birth (John 1:11-12; 3:3-5), but it is obtained by faith in Christ Jesus (John 20:30-31). Since faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), the word must be taught. In giving the great commission, Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). A person then must enter the school of Christ to be instructed in the gospel in order to be a child of God. Jesus taught that, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (John 6:45).

However, this instruction does not end with conversion, but extends throughout the Christian life. After the apostles baptized the disciples; Jesus instructed them to teach the disciples to observe all that he had commanded them (Matthew 28:20). The three thousand on the day of Pentecost who gladly received the word, and were baptized, did not stop their instruction in the knowledge of Christ: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). We have access to the grace of God through the teaching of Christ and his apostles (Titus 2:11-12).

The Sunday school with classes for every age is one of the best ways the church can obey the great commission. The Sunday school contributes largely to the number of persons who are baptized each year. The teachers of each class should realize they have a weighty responsibility to edify the body of Christ. One of the purposes of the Sunday school then is to teach the gospel to those who attend the services, but are not yet members of the church. Those who are members need to attend the classes on Sunday in order to obtain knowledge of the Christian religion:

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:2-3).

Unless each Christian advances in grace and knowledge there is reason to believe that person will be carnal minded and a detriment to the church (I Corinthians 3:1-3). Each congregation needs to equip and train more teachers and evangelists to preach the word. The Sunday school classes provide an excellent means to do this. Any Christian aspiring to be a teacher of the gospel will not be absent himself from the Bible classes conducted in the church. The teachers can train other teachers by committing the gospel to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). Many members of the church who should be teaching others need to be taught themselves, because they have become dull of hearing (Hebrews 5:11-14).

Each Christian is commanded to, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The Bible is “…given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is therefore the text book in every class in the Bible School.

Copyright © 2019 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142
shelby@thefloyds.net

WORSHIP THAT COSTS SOMETHING

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Shelby G. Floyd

When we worship the Almighty, it will cost us in time, energy and devotion: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Continue reading “WORSHIP THAT COSTS SOMETHING” →

WINDOW INTO WORSHIP

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Shelby G. Floyd

Today, the first day of the week is my favorite “coming together” time of the week. Our lesson today involves a man who fell asleep in a window. How many of you have ever fallen asleep during worship? I know I have to raise my hand of being guilty. Falling asleep during worship has been going on since the beginning of the church. Continue reading “WINDOW INTO WORSHIP” →

WORSHIP ON THE LORD’S DAY

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Shelby G. Floyd

lords-day

The New Testament clearly outlines the essentials on worship. These are: the Lord’s Supper, the contribution, prayer, preaching, and singing. However, in the matters of judgment or incidentals the New Testament does not have a lot to say. This indicates that God leaves it up to our human judgment as to how we should carry out what he has commanded when he has not specifically stated how we are to carry it out!

A Window into Worship

In our text, we have a window through which to see a worship service of the New Testament church. This worship took place at Troas on Paul’s third evangelistic journey (Acts 20:1-12).

As Paul traveled around visiting the churches he encouraged them with the word of God. Comfort and encouragement mostly comes from the word of God: “He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece” (Acts 20:2).

First Day of the Week Worship

We notice that worship at Troas was on the first day of the week. This is what we call Sunday. Why was worship on Sunday and not on Saturday or any other day of the week?

“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7 NKJV).

Why did the New Testament church worship on Sunday instead of Saturday, which was the day of worship for the Jews? They worshipped on Sunday because Jesus Christ himself sanctified the first day of the week, by his own resurrection from the dead on the first day the week (Luke 24:1).

John Worshipped in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day

John the apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos, probably by Domitian (84-96 A. D.). He was away from the church on the mainland of Asia Minor. But on Sunday—the first day of the week, John described himself as being in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10). This means, that he was in heart and soul with the congregation that worshipped on the first day of the week. On Sunday all Christians need to be present in body and spirit to worship the Lord.

Let us also be devoted to taking the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week, to remember the salvation we have in Christ. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

Copyright © 2011-2016 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd

Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142

WORSHIP THAT COST SOMETHING

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Shelby G. Floyd

worship-cost-something

King David once said, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24). He then bought the threshing floor of Araunah at a price and made his offering unto the Lord:

“So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings” (2 Sam. 24:24-25).

Continue reading “WORSHIP THAT COST SOMETHING” →

Worship on the Lord’s Day

Published on by sgf1964Leave a comment

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Shelby G. Floyd

Lords Day

The New Testament clearly outlines the essentials on worship. These are: the Lord’s Supper, the contribution, prayer, preaching, and singing. However, in the matters of judgment or incidentals the New Testament does not have a lot to say. This indicates that God leaves it up to our human judgment as to how we should carry out what he has commanded. In our text, we have a window through which to see a worship service of the New Testament church. This worship took place at Troas on Paul’s third evangelistic journey (Acts 20:1-12).

Window into Worship

As Paul traveled around visiting the churches he encouraged them with the word of God. Comfort and encouragement mostly comes from the word of God. “He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece” (Acts 20: 2).

First Day of the Week Worship

We notice that worship at Troas was on the first day of the week. This is what we call Sunday. Why was worship on Sunday and not on Saturday or any other day of the week? “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight” (Acts 20: 7). Why did the New Testament church worship on Sunday instead of Saturday, which was the day of worship of the Jews? By his own resurrection from the dead on the first day the week, Jesus Christ himself sanctified the first day of the week, not the seventh day (Luke 24:1).

The Lord’s Supper Observed on Sunday

Let us also be devoted to taking the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week to remember the salvation we have in Christ. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2: 42). The apostle John was exiled on the island of Patmos and declared he “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” This was definitely Sunday the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

Copyright © 2014 Shelby Floyd All Rights Reserved

Shelby Preaching

Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142