Is it okay if you have to work on every Sunday?  I don’t have any time for church, but I do believe in the Lord.

Sincerely,
Busy

Dear Busy,

We always make time for the things that are important.  If someone told you, “I don’t have time to eat, but I believe in proper nutrition”… what would you say to them?  If we say that we believe in something, but then we don’t act upon that belief – it is a dead faith (Jas 2:17-19).  God tells us that part of being a christian is assembling with His people (Heb 10:24-25).  It is impossible for you to get the proper spiritual nutrition if the Lord’s people aren’t a priority.  If you need help finding a faithful congregation in your area – please feel free to e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

First of all, thank you for all y'all do for the Kingdom of God.  I know there are biblical requirements in order to be an elder, deacon, or preacher.  Are there any requirements for a man that is just leading a prayer or doing a devotional during worship times?  Or standing and speaking to the congregation?  Example: if a man is living in adultery (meaning he is not living his life as Christ would want), should he be leading prayer or preaching a lesson or be serving the Lord’s Supper?

Sincerely,
Vetting The Leadership

Dear Vetting The Leadership,

The only requirement for a man to participate in worship services is that he be living a faithful life.  You gave an example of a man living in adultery; this man would be disqualified from service because of his sinful lifestyle.  1 Cor 5:1-5 makes it clear that someone who has returned to ungodly living is to be disciplined by the church, not embraced.  The church has the responsibility to reprimand, exhort, and if they won’t repent, withdraw from christians who have returned to sin (1 Cor 5:11-13).  If someone is actively engaged in a sinful lifestyle, that would exclude them from any leadership position in worship until they repented.

Will I be blessed with a kid soon?

Sincerely,
Potential Parent

Dear Potential Parent,

We can’t give you the answer to that question – only God knows.  What we can tell you is that other faithful people have faced the same desire to conceive and wondered just as you do when that special blessing would come.  One of the greatest examples of this is Hannah.  In 1 Samuel 1:4-8, we see how desperately Hannah wanted a child, but yet she waited.  Hannah’s solution?  She prayed fervently to God (1 Sam 1:9-10).  God heard her prayer and eventually gave her that wonderful child she had prayed for (1 Sam 1:20). The power of prayer is incredible.  We can’t tell you when you will be blessed with a child (after all, we aren't prophets), but we can tell you that if you pray to the Lord, He is faithful and will cause all to work together for good (Rom 8:28).

Is it a sin to work on Sunday?  I want to go to church, but I have to work to support myself.  I tried to get off, but my job won’t let me.

Sincerely,
Employed

Dear Employed,

It isn’t a sin to work on Sunday, but it is a sin to forsake the assembly of christians (Heb 10:24-25).  Many christians face the same issue that you do – balancing work and worship.  We are commanded to worship God on the first day of the week so that we can take the Lord’s Supper (Act 20:7) and remember His death (1 Cor 11:20-26).  Sunday is the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:9-10), and we can’t neglect it.  You have a couple of options.  One option is to find a way to work and still make it to services.  Some christians find ways to come in early, take midday shifts between services, etc.  Others, after becoming christians and realizing that their job now conflicts with their spiritual goals, have started to look for employment elsewhere.  It has been our experience that when people prioritize the spiritual over the physical, God provides (Gen 22:14).  If your job consistently forces you to miss services - the job isn't really supporting you.

The Corinthian church had a lot of problems that Paul had to correct.  One of their deviations from the truth was the way they were taking the Lord's Supper (or communion).  1 Corinthians 11 tells us they weren't treating it as the holy memorial that it is.  In verses 21 and 33 of that chapter, they were rebuked for not waiting for each other or, in other words, for taking it at different times.  It seems like a tradition in the church to have communion more than once on the first day of the week.  Is this a scriptural practice we have authority for, or is this a problem we should change?  I hope my question was clear.

Sincerely,
Multiple Problems?

Dear Multiple Problems,

This is an issue that many good brethren wrestle with.  Does a congregation have the right to offer the Lord’s Supper twice on Sunday?  Is it biblical for a local church to offer communion in the morning and then offer it again at a Sunday evening service?  We believe so, but we also believe that there is room for disagreement on this issue, and if a brother or sister doesn’t feel comfortable with a second serving of the communion, they should abstain.  We must all seek to serve God with a clear conscience (1 Tim 1:19), and if you can’t do something in faith, you shouldn’t do it (Rom 14:23).  Having said that, here are our thoughts on the subject of offering the Lord’s Supper twice on Sunday.

The Bible never tells us the amount of times that a congregation must offer the Lord’s Supper; it only tells us that it must be taken by the saints sometime on Sunday (Acts 20:7).  This leaves us a twenty-four hour period in which a christian can gather with the church and fulfill this command.  The specific times we choose to meet are an expediency… simply a matter of preference.

1 Cor 11:33 says that a congregation must “wait for one another”.  1 Cor 11:21-22 clarifies that the problem in Corinth was that they were eating the Lord’s Supper as a common meal and not waiting to do it solemnly together.  The problem in Corinth was that they were eating communion for the purpose of filling their bellies instead of remembering the Lord’s death (1 Cor 11:34).  The goal of waiting for one another was to provide a scheduled time to fulfill this command together.  It didn’t mean that every christian needed to be present (otherwise, a congregation couldn’t partake of the Lord’s Supper unless every member was accounted for), and it didn’t mean that they couldn’t schedule multiple times to wait for one another.  It simply meant that they had to treat the Lord’s Supper as a holy and spiritual meal of remembrance.  The church is responsible for doing things in a decent and orderly way (1 Cor 14:40).  Offering the Lord’s Supper in the morning and evening fulfills that command for order and decency.  The congregation is providing specific orderly times for members to fulfill their command to gather with the church and take the Lord’s Supper.

The church is commanded to provide opportunity for christians to take the Lord’s Supper with the church, but the individual is responsible for taking it.  If a congregation offers the Lord’s Supper in both the morning and evening, it is doing its job – providing opportunity.  It is the same as the command to take up a collection.  Most congregations provide opportunity for individuals to give financially at both the morning and evening services – which matches exactly with the command in 1 Cor 16:1-2.  No one bats an eye when a congregation offers the collection basket twice.  In fact, we would probably be shocked if a congregation refused to take someone’s contribution because they missed morning services.  Yet, this is exactly the same as offering the Lord’s Supper twice.   It is a matter of expediency.  When a congregation offers the collection and the Lord’s Supper at both services, it is simply trying to provide opportunity for all (even those who were unable to attend in the morning) to fulfill God’s commands to give and take the Lord’s Supper on Sunday.