At bedtime on a Sunday evening, parents overheard their youngest pray, “Heavenly Father, church was great today. I wish you could have been there.” What makes church great? The first church worshiped, instructed, shared, and evangelized. From Luke’s description, we have taken the acronym W.I.S.E. church.
What would we have experienced if we attended worship in the early years of the church? Scholars like Larry Hurtado and Robert Webber have studied the historical descriptions from the early centuries of the church. But Luke shows us the first days of the first church. What did they do when they grew by a multiple of 26 from 120 to 3,120 in a single day?
First, they worshiped. Even in the word, “devoted themselves,” we hear something of their intentionality and intensity in worshiping. Reverence characterized their worship. Everyone was filled with awe. As the apostles performed wonders and signs, a holy hush fell over God’s people. Vance Havner said, “Too many services start at 11 o’clock sharp and end at 12 o'clock dull.” But not the first church. They wouldn’t miss because they expected God to do something great when they met.
In our worship service last night, we sang, “I stand, I stand in awe of you.” Not only did they stand in awe before God, but they rejoiced in God greatly. Luke tells us they continued to meet together every day in the temple courts, and ate from house to house with glad and sincere hearts, praising God (2:46-47). Their worship could not be confined to a single hour of the week. All of life was worship. They worshiped every day. They were glad to be together and they praised God.
Some of us prefer reverence to rejoicing. Others would rather praise the Lord than stand before him in silence. Which one is best? Yes. Both are essential. Worship the Lord today in reverence and with great rejoicing. In answer to the young one’s prayer, when we gather in his name, he is always there. How then shall we love him? With our whole lives!
