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Articles
Fellowship in Worship
We continue our study of worshipping in spirit and in truth, by looking at another act of worship found in Acts 2:42, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Let us look at some of what the Bible has to say about this matter of fellowship in our worship.
The word fellowship would suggests the idea of sharing, having a share, giving a share. Fellowship as an act of worship, is our giving to the work of the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." This passage sets forth the pattern of who, how, and when the collection is made. In answer to the who, Christians are the ones who are to give as they have been prospered by God. It is not proper for the church to go out and beg the general public to support it’s work. By the free will offerings of Christians, is how the work of the Lord is to be funded; as a collection is made, each saint has opportunity to have fellowship in God’s work. This passage also identifies when the collection is to be made, "upon the first day of the week." The NAS translation says, "On the first day of every week", thus we see a weekly collection to be made on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. The proper attitudes that is to be found in the heart of Christians, who do the giving, is found in passages like, 2 Corinthians 8:12, "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." and 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." Yes, let every Christian be a willing and cheerful giver to the work of the Lord every first day of the week.
