New Testament Worship: Public Reading of Scripture

When it comes to practices of the early church, many think about their church services today and what happens during them. Most protestant services consist of songs, prayers, and preaching. Some might include the Lord’s Supper, others might have liturgy or testimonies included. When we look at the first century church, we are going to explore what happened when the Christians came together. 

Scripture Reading, Prayer, Teaching

When we look at the book of Acts, the Jewish synagogues would have met on the Sabbath and included reading from Scripture, prayers, and teaching from the Scriptures (Acts 13:15; 15:21).  In Acts 2:46 and 20:7 followers of Jesus observed the Lord’s Supper when they came together and this often included preaching or teaching. They would first come together to share the communal meal and then there would be teaching at that time. In Acts 2, the believers in Jerusalem also dedicated themselves to generosity and fellowship. 

Public Reading of Scripture 

The reading of Scripture out loud in a communal gathering was an ancient and routine practice. Even way back to the time of Moses, God had his prophet read the law or Torah to the people. That was then repeated by Joshua and some of the kings of Judah. It was then established when the exiles came back as Ezra read from the law. During the time of Jesus, when Jews would go to synagogue every week, the leaders would read from what we now call the Old Testament. They would read from Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Isaiah, etc. They would often read large chunks, not just a few verses as we are more familiar with today. After this they might interpret the meaning of the Scripture read. Paul continued this practice when he would go into synagogues or meet in homes. 

As Paul was writing his letters, the way word spread throughout each house church he wrote to was for that letter to be read aloud to the believers in that church. The letter would then be passed around to other churches to be read aloud. This was done with letters like Colossians and 1 Thessalonians. He also encourages Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture in the church he was overseeing. 

In his second letter to Timothy,  letter Paul says the very word of God is meant for instructing, correcting, rebuking and training (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If this idea is kept at the center of the gathering, it keeps the voices and opinions of man low and upholds the word of God in the gathering. When the word of God is read aloud repeatedly and the focus remains on the Scriptures, the assembly becomes more unified and humble in heart and action. The Scriptures were meant to be read aloud, not kept a secret. When God’s word is read aloud, the believers are instructed as a group, corrected as a group, rebuked as a group, and trained to be servants of God as a group. This verse is often taken in the context of individual disciples or ministry. But if Scripture was always read aloud and meant to be heard publicly then these purposes of God’s word find fulfillment in being read out loud in a community of believers and these things happen and transform the community.