New Testament Worship: When and Where

As we have learned from looking at what worship really means in the Old Testament, it has a wide range of meanings and application in life. Worship did not have to be a formal occasion, though it often was. Sacrifices would be made at the temple as the Levites would praise God in song. Worship happened through festivals and special occasions celebrated by God’s people. During the second temple period after the exiles returned from captivity, we see an increase in synagogues being built. These would be gathering places where Jews would pray, hear instruction, and fellowship together. Communities of all sizes would have them. The temple was rebuilt and a place of enormous significance as still the place for sacrifices and rituals to be done. However, they did not have to meet at the temple to worship, they met in separate synagogues spread throughout the diaspora. 

This was the time Jesus and the apostles were born into. They grew up going to synagogue every week and meeting with their fellow community members. They grew up going to the temple and hearing about its destruction and how it was rebuilt. Every Sabbath they would attend synagogue and have the meal in their family homes. For them it was never about “going to church” as we think of it today. They were following their family traditions and God’s law. When Jesus came onto the scene, a shift did start to happen. When Jesus started teaching that he was Lord of the Sabbath and when he allowed the disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath the legalistic views of the Sabbath started to change. Views about the Sabbath and about meeting together changed but were not obliterated. After Jesus’ resurrection, we see some followers of Christ doing something different than what had been done before. Let’s look at some key points when discussing when and where the first century church met after Jesus’ resurrection. 

The first place we see a description of Christians gathering together for anything remotely close to what we would call “church” today is in Acts 2:46, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts”. 

• When: Every day
• Where: Temple courts. Outside large public areas where gatherings were often held.
  • They also met in their homes to observe the Lord’s Supper and share meals 

The second place where we get a clear description of where and when Jews and Gentiles are meeting is in Acts 13. Paul and Barnabbas enter a synagogue on the Sabbath. They preach about Jesus and then the congregation was dismissed until the next Sabbath. This is just as most Christian churches meet today, however, most are on Sunday and not on the Sabbath. It is clear that many still attended synagogue on a weekly basis just as we do. 

• When: Sabbath- weekly
• Where: Synagogue 

There are other descriptions such as Acts 20:7, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people”

• When: First day of the week- Sunday 
• Where: Upper room of a home in Troas

1 Corinthians 16:2 

• When: First day of the week- Sunday
• Where: Houses (Chloe’s household (1 Corinthians 1:11)

There are several references to “churches” that meet in individual’s houses: 

• Romans 16:3-5
• Colossians 4:15
• Philemon 1:2

So as we can see, we have many different circumstances under which the first Christians met. Some Jews continued to go to synagogue on the Sabbath, some met everyday when they first believed. Others met in houses on the first day of the week. There is no direct command on when to worship but most have decided to follow the pattern many Gentile Christians set (Sunday). Any day of the week is just as good as any other, but if one decides to hold one day more sacred in their heart, that is their choice. Where to meet is also not a direct command in Scripture. We see many meetings in outside places or in homes in the New Testament. Most today meet in buildings designated to meet as a congregation called “churches”. Whether we meet in a church building or in a home or public place does not matter. What matters is that we do not stop meeting together as the writer of Hebrews exhorts, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:25).