early church service look like

What early Christian worship looked like?

There’s certainly a lot we can learn simply from reading the New Testament. By surveying the various depictions in the book of Acts, as well as the references to Christian practices in the epistles, we can piece together quite a rich picture.

But we should also expand that picture to learn more about the cultural background of first-century Judaism and the broader Greco-Roman society. After all, the New Testament assumes a lot of cultural background that most twenty-first century Christians know nothing about or don’t always appreciate enough — especially the Jewish background of the earliest Christ-followers.

Without that context, we can easily glance right past important details in Scripture, since it is not our culture nor are we living back then. That historical cultural information tells us more about things like first-century synagogue practice and the writings of the earliest Church Fathers about ancient Christian worship, basically how the first Christians “did church.”

Let's look at one of the most detailed New Testament passages about early Christian worship: Acts 2:42-47.

Devoted to the Prayers

The passage starts by saying that the first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Now right here we run into an issue because some popular translations say that they simply devoted themselves “to prayer.” But the Greek text reads “the prayers.” This language suggests that the disciples were committed to some form of set prayers in a more liturgical context.

And that would make perfect sense considering these Jewish disciples were used to ritual prayer in the synagogues every Sabbath. Jesus himself gave his disciples one example of such a set prayer (the “Lord’s Prayer,” in Matthew 6:9-13). Notice also that Acts 3:1 continues the story by reporting that the apostles Peter and John went to the Jerusalem Temple “at the hour of prayer.”

Jewish customs from the Temple and synagogues form an important backdrop to our knowledge of early Christian worship, so it’s worthwhile to know a little about those customs. 

Jews worshiped every Sabbath (our Saturday), with fixed patterns including the reading of Torah (on a one-year or three-year lectionary cycle) and of the prophets, usually followed by a sermon on the day’s readings (see Luke 4:16-21). There were also formal prayers and blessings recited. As church historian Skarsaune points out,

“In the days of Jesus the wording and sequence of the elements of the synagogue service had attained such stability that we are fully justified in speaking of a synagogal liturgy. The echoes of the synagogal prayers in the Lord’s Prayer and other early Christian prayers demonstrate that this was well known to Jesus and the early disciples. We should not think that the early Christians were antiliturgical in their worship gatherings.” — In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity (InterVarsity Press, 2002), 125.

Darrell Bock tries to strike a balance in his commentary: “ The use of set prayer is likely in light of the facts that (1) set prayers existed in Judaism, (2) a tie to the temple where set prayers were made is expressed in 2:46 and 3:1, and (3) the Lord taught the disciples such a fixed prayer (Luke 11:2-4). The setting here of the community functioning by itself apart from a temple rite suggests, however, that the reference to prayer is broad, although it may well have included such set features”.

It is reverant, orderly and organized, not chaos and confusion. 

So as we read the New Testament, it’s vital to keep in mind that the first Christ-followers did not immediately cease to follow the Jewish pattern, because it was how they originally worshipped God.

That said, with the arrival of the New Covenant brought about by Christ’s ministry, there were certainly some things that changed. Especially now that the Holy Spirit had been given to all of Christ’s followers (see Acts 2:1-4, 38-39), we quickly begin to see movement away from the Levitical system of sacrifices in the Temple [Since Christ was the sacrifice all those things pointed to] and it was re-centered around Christ and around the meal table in homes, (until they outgrew that and worshipped in a building). There around the table Christ’s ultimate sacrifice was remembered in the Lord’s Supper (more on that below).

There was an immediate, shift from worshiping on the Jewish Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) to worshiping on “the Lord’s Day,” or Sunday (the first day of the week), in honor of Jesus’ resurrection on a Sunday. We see this evidenced in Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, and Revelation 1:10; (also further research here), and in Justin Martyr’s First Apology, in chapter 67: “But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.”

Teaching, Fellowship, and Breaking Bread

Since ancient Jews tended to mark sundown as the start of the day, it’s possible that the first Christians actually gathered in the evening to share a meal and participate in worship. This would mean that what we consider Saturday night was actually the start of their Sunday.

Interestingly, we see in 1 Corinthians 11:21, 33-34 that the apostle Paul had to rebuke certain Christians for refusing to wait until the whole church was gathered before starting the common meal. Many Gentile Christians in the early church would not have had any kind of day off from their labor, and so the poorer members of the community would be coming in after work later than those who were well off.

The church’s fellowship meals may have been something like a potluck, where everyone was supposed to contribute what they could for the benefit of all. These were sometimes referred to as “love-feasts” (Jude 12). Acts 2:44-45 describes how ancient Christians who had an excess would give generously to support fellow believers who had need (see also 2 Corinthians 8-9). Deacons (the Greek word for “servants”) and deaconesses were appointed to help facilitate the meal and to ensure that food was distributed to those who were unable to be there in person (see Acts 6:1-7; Romans 16:1; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8-13).

During these gatherings, there would be public reading of Scripture, followed by a lesson or sermon, much like in synagogue practice (see 1 Timothy 4:13), along with the singing of psalms and hymns (1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16) and the organized way of sharing of prophetic words with interpretation, and orderly way of speaking in tongues [while those gifts temporarilly existed] (1 Corinthians 14:26). If a church community happened to receive a letter from an apostle (or later, a regional bishop like Clement or Ignatius, etc.), it would be read publicly for the congregation’s instruction (see Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27).

At the high point of the meal would be the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, in which Christ’s sacrificial death was memorialized; reverantly remembered. Whoever was presiding over that local church gathering (an elder — Greek presbyteros — see Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5:1) would pray a blessing over the bread and wine and presumably read Jesus’s words, as well as offer other set prayers of thanksgiving.

We have an example of such prayers from the first century preserved in the early church handbook called The Didache (or “Teaching”), chapters 9-10:

“Now concerning the Eucharist, give thanks as follows. First, concerning the cup: We give you thanks, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You have made known to us through Jesus, Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. And concerning the broken bread: We give you thanks, our Father, for the life and knowledge that You have made known to us through Jesus, Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. Just as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains, and then was gathered together and became one, so may Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever. But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist except those who have been baptized into the name of the Lord, for the Lord has also spoken concerning this: ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs.’ …But permit the prophets to give thanks however they wish.” — Didache 9; 10:7. Translated by Michael W. Holmes, in The Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Third Edition (Baker Academic, 2007), 360-61.

Following the meal and any concluding prayers or instructions, as well as any additional planning for the financial offerings and food distribution, the congregation would depart. Though in the earliest days described in Acts such meetings took place daily (Acts 5:42; 6:1; 17:11), by the mid-second century they were typically done weekly on Sundays (again, see Justin Martyr, First Apology, 65-67). But after the reformation and in modern times the Church meets, studies and worships on Sunday evenings and Wednesday nights as well.  

One thing you will notice is it was every gathering is an orderly service. Not chaos. Not people running around the pews babbling "noises" that are not from God, not flopping on the floor or behaving demonically posessed, not people blablashflahahaing during sermons, or singing or prayer time (distracting the congregation). Those things and experiencism & emotionalism are not part of biblical Christian worship nor Christianity. 

 “For God is not a God of disorder” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Further Resources 

God is a God of order

Sermons related

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