The sources are not full enough to show exactly how the Apostles worshipped but there are early documents that give us a fairly clear picture of the kind of worship that was practiced in the earliest tradition. All of these practices were typical (as far as the sources point us) of the church in the first 300 years. So, what was worship like?
Worship was weekly
The earliest church gathered weekly for worship on Sunday. The day of the week was likely a celebration of the resurrection and a clear breaking from the Jewish practice of gathering on Saturday. The meeting also occurred pre-dawn and the sun would rise as the Lord's Supper was being shared. This would visibly and tangibly point the worshipper to the hope of resurrection that the elements were intended. This early meeting also allowed slaves and workmen to go to work (no weekends or stores being closed for these guys) and avoid unwanted detection from those aggressive to Christians.
Worship was Christ-centered
The earliest church celebrated Christ as divine from a very early point in history. Theories of this development taking decades are faulty, at best. The worship of the early church would focus on hymns that proclaimed Christ's deity. These were both encouraging and instructive. These hymns would be responsive statements coming from the congregation based on the statements made by the leader. These early hymns are basically confessions of faith in their infancy.
Worship was ordered
The earliest elements of the worship service were based on the pattern displayed in the synagogue. They were "word centered" in that the proclamation was the main event. All other elements were to encourage and illuminate the exposition of the Scriptures. The basic elements were Scripture reading, preaching, singing, praying, partaking in the Lord's Supper, and giving. The two basic movements were the service of the word and the service of the table. Throughout time these would be called by different terms but the overwhelming portion of Christian worship throughout history included both Word and Table. The Table has been treated here before and will be again so I will only point out that preaching was primarily expository. This means that there was a reading and explanation of what was being read.
A final note is on the giving, which will be treated more fully later. The concept of tithing is not in the early church worship practice. The tithe was suspended at the close of the Old Testament (which comes at the cross). The early church encouraged giving for the main purpose of caring for others.
What should go…What should stay?
Based on these insights from historical Christian worship it is clear that there is a great deal of support for our worship practices today and a need to make some major changes. A few include…
1. Make worship about Jesus: This is not to say that we abandon the Old Testament or any texts that are not explicitly speaking about Jesus. In fact, the early church was deeply committed to proclamation from both testaments. Rather, we could ask "What does this text proclaim about the need or nature of Jesus Christ?"
2. Make worship moving: Using the setting, scenes, and elements of worship to tell the Christian story are instructive and inspiring. The first church used meals, the rising sun, and other elements of worship to set a "mood" and display direct encouragement into everyday life.
3. Preach and Practice the Table: Churches that are not preaching expository (as opposed to topically) and are not calling worshippers to the Table weekly should have to prove (historically) why they have clearly broken with the apostolic tradition. To worship without the table is to do something other than Christian worship.
