5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

I will be going to Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training in the military. I will also have the possibility of being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan after that.  How will I be able to worship God when I won't be allowed to go to church?  They will let me go to a church in basic, but I am guessing it will be a water-downed version of what God intended the church to be. What do I do?

 

Faithfully,
Sworn In

Dear Sworn In,

You do what you can.  Your situation is difficult but not unique.  There have been many soldiers that have served Christ and country.  Cornelius the centurion was the first Gentile convert (Acts 10:1), soldiers asked John the Baptist how to be faithful (Lk 3:14), and another centurion humbly sought Christ's help (Matt 8:9).  So take courage, you are not alone in your dilemma.

I consider your situation to be a 2 Cor 8:11 case.  You are accountable for what you are able to do.  If you are out in the middle of the deserts of Iraq, you are physically unable to make it to worship services.  Therefore, you are not condemned for that which you cannot do.  An analogous situation would be a mute Christian; he is commanded to confess Christ with his lips (Rom 10:9), but nobody expects a mute man to do this because he physically unable.  If you are able to make it to services - DO IT.  If you can't attend, do what you can - pray (1 Thess 5:17) and study (2 Tim 2:15) on your own.  Consider asking some christians that are veterans of the military for tips and advice on what they did to make it through.  Whatever you do, make sure you have a support system in place for the days and years ahead.  As much as possible, surround yourself with others that you can depend on spiritually.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

Why is the Lord's Supper offered on Sunday nights as well as Sunday mornings? They didn't offer it in the 1st century. If it were available twice, then why are we commanded to "wait for one another" 1 Cor 12:33? If they had a second offering, wouldn't they have no need to wait for each other?

 

Sincerely,
One Too Many

Dear One Too Many,

Waiting for one another has nothing to do with only offering communion once.  We are commanded to take the Lord's Supper as a remembrance of Christ (1 Cor 11:24-25).  We are given the example that the church took it on the first day of the week, i.e. Sunday (Acts 20:7).  We are also commanded to wait for each other before partaking (1 Cor. 11:33).

So the question is, what does waiting for each other look like?  Does every member have to be there?  Is it still waiting for each other if someone is sick that day, and we take communion without them?  What if people are traveling?  Of course, we could never take the Lord's Supper if we waited for each other in this manner!  To understand what Paul meant when he commanded the Corinthian church to wait for each other, you have to see the context that he said it in.

The Corinthian church was treating the Lord's Supper like a common meal (1 Cor. 11:20-22).  They were eating it in a common, disorderly, unholy manner.  Paul reprimanded them for that - and rightfully so.  The solution was to wait for each other, to do it in an organized fashion.  They were to set aside a time to take the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week, so that all could be there.  By offering it twice, you aren't violating the command to wait for each other - in fact you are upholding it!  The Lord's Supper is being taken in a organized fashion, so that all can remember and examine themselves as God intended.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year