What are the general and specific qualities to the command "rejoice"? What are the boundaries by which I must confine my expression of joy and delight in the Lord?

Sincerely,
Bursting

Dear Bursting,

The word ‘rejoice’ means ‘to be glad’.  Php 4:4 says that we should rejoice at all times in Christ.  That is a blanket statement about the attitude we ought to have as christians.

However, you also asked a second question.  You asked what ways we are allowed to express that joy.  That is a separate issue.  Many religious groups break into all sorts of ludicrous behavior (shouting, wailing, rolling in the aisles, etc.) in the name of rejoicing.  In order to see what ways are appropriate to show our joy (especially during worship), you need to go to other verses.  A good article to read on worship is “Order Of Operations”.

Why do we take the Lord's Supper?

Sincerely,
Not Hungry

Dear Not Hungry,

Christ told us that whenever we take the Lord’s Supper, we should do it in remembrance of Him (Lk 22:19). In the book of Acts, we see how often the church observed the Lord’s Supper. In Acts 20:7, we see that christians ‘broke the bread’ in remembrance of Christ on Sundays. That is when they did it, so that is when we do it.

Paul says that we are to take the Lord’s Supper when the church is gathered together (1 Cor 11:20). Taking the Lord’s Supper is an act of worship done by every congregation of the Lord each Sunday. When we take a look at all the teaching on the Lord’s Supper, we get the truth (Ps 119:160). Christ commands that we do it in remembrance of Him (1 Cor 11:23-28), the church gives us the example of doing it on the first day of the week, and Paul teaches that we should do it when we are assembled as a church.

Where I meet with fellow christians, I have observed the following pattern:  fifteen to twenty minutes prior to the start of class, members will be gathering, talking, and socializing.  During the fifteen-minute break, there is more gathering, talking, and socializing. After the sermon, for minutes to an hour (or more), there is once again more gathering, talking, and socializing.  Comparing the use of the building:

• 1 - 1.5 hours socializing
• 1.5 hours worship

Should this be concerning?  How can we be more consistent?

Sincerely,
Consistency

Dear Consistency,

There is nothing wrong with the pattern you have described – it perfectly matches what you would expect from a healthy, vibrant, and loving family of saints.  God tells us that when we assemble to worship that all things should be done decently and in order (1 Cor 14:40).  That means that we need to plan a time to meet and be diligent to organize services in a way that is cohesive, beneficial, and above all, biblically accurate.  Your congregation’s leadership has decided that in order to do those things to the best of their ability, it takes one and a half hours.

Whenever you create a routine, there will be people that show up early to be on time (a sign of commitment) and people who stay after to take advantage of the time with others (a sign of devotion to others).  What you have described is a sign that not only are people committed to attending, they are committed enough to show up fifteen to twenty minutes early, show up for both classes and services, and remain afterwards to spend time with others because the people matter so much to them.  This is exactly the sort of attitude you would expect of those who are faithfully committed to the Lord and His people (Heb 10:24-25).

I am a mother of two, and we don't attend church.  I tell them as much as I know about God and Jesus and the Bible.  I am scared, though, every time I start to think about the end of days… not because I am not saved but because I heard that when the rapture comes, in heaven you will not know anyone.  I want to know my kids.  I want to watch them grow up and have babies of their own.  I think I may be misunderstanding something.  Please help me understand what is going to happen and if we are all going to be together and know each other.  Please, I get so sad about all of it.

Sincerely,
Maternal Instinct

Dear Maternal Instinct,

The Rapture isn’t a biblical teaching, and it won’t actually happen (read our article “Up In The Air” for a detailed explanation of what the Bible teaches about the Rapture).  However, you are still left with your concern about what heaven will be like (heaven is still very real! – 1 Pet 1:3-4).  In heaven, we have every reason to believe we will know each other.  In fact, if the transfiguration is any indication, we will know everyone in heaven, not just those we have known in this life.  When Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Olives, both Moses and Elijah appeared and talked to Christ (Lk 9:30).  The remarkable thing is that Peter recognized both of those men even though they had been dead for many centuries (Lk 9:32-33).

Now, if we may, we’d like to address your statement that you don’t go to church.  It is a sin to not attend church; the Bible says so (Heb 10:24-25).  God uses the church to strengthen each of us individually, and He expects all of us to provide our effort to help strengthen others in His church (Eph 4:16).  The church is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  Every faithful christian of the Bible was commanded to be a member of a congregation because God knew that we shouldn’t stand alone.  It is a wonderful thing that you are teaching your children about Jesus and training them up to love Him (Pr 22:6).  We would be happy to help you move forward in your service to Christ by putting you in contact with a faithful congregation in your area.  E-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and let us help you fill in that piece in the puzzle of your spiritual life.

When is the Sabbath?  The Bible says its the seventh day.  Why do so many keep Sunday as the Sabbath?

Sincerely,
A Day To Remember

Dear A Day To Remember,

Saturday is the Sabbath day… but christians don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath.  The word ‘sabbath’ means ‘rest’.  The Sabbath day was a day that the nation of Israel was told to rest, stop working, and make holy to the Lord (Ex 31:15).  This rule was so strict that a man was once stoned for collecting firewood on Saturday (Num 15:32-36).  However, this was a Jewish command, not a Christian one.  The Sabbath was part of the Old Testament law – a law that christians are no longer under (Gal 3:23-25).  We are specifically told not to let anyone bind the Sabbath on us (Col 2:16).  Christians worship Christ on the first day of the week – Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We are not bound by the strict rules of avoiding all work like the Jews were, but we are told to treat Sunday as “the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10).