What to Expect at Hoover church of Christ
[Worship] [Wednesday Bible Study] [Word of God] [Christ's Commands] [Our Plea]
We want you to be comfortable when you visit with us at Hoover! Some feel uneasy attending a public gathering for the first time--not knowing what to expect. Some are even reluctant to attend the services of a church when they are unfamiliar with what happens. Maybe this information will let you know what to expect...
You
can expect to find a
simple worship service, adhering to the teachings of the New Testament. When we assemble on every Lord’s Day (Acts
20:7, Revelation 1:10), which is Sunday, the
first day of the week, we participate in the five acts of worship that one can
read about in the New Testament.
Prayer – We are led by the men of the congregation (1 Timothy 2:1-8).
Singing
–
The whole congregation (not only a group or choir) joins together in praising God in
song without the use of musical instruments (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians
3:16).
Communion
– The members of the church partake of unleavened bread
and fruit of the vine
each and every Lord’s Day in remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross
(Acts 20:7).
Preaching
–
The congregation hears lessons from the Word of God (Acts 2:42; Romans
10:14).
Giving – Each Christian contributes financially (not by fund raisers, etc.) to the work of the church, on each Lord’s Day (1 Corinthians 16:2).
You can expect to open God's word so we can study and build faith. The elders have planned for us to fulfill our duty to study the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15), by meeting on Wednesday night and opening God's word together. It is during these times that we are able to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25) in the middle of the week--helping each other maintain that Christian light (Matthew 5:16) to shine for others during our work week.
You
can expect us to have a wholesome respect for the inspired word of God, the SOLE
and COMPLETE AUTHORITY in religion today. “If
any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).
“Let us all walk by the same rule” (Philippians 3:16).
Since the church at Hoover accepts the Word of God as an all-sufficient
rule of faith and practice you can expect us to reject all human creeds (Galatians 1:8-9; Revelation
22:18-19).
You
can expect us to teach and ask people to follow Christ's commands as found in
the Bible. Jesus declared, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18),
so the
church is identified as belonging to Him (Romans 16:16).
In the church, you will hear everyone entreated to obey the Lord’s
commands, namely: BELIEVE in Christ (John 8:24), REPENT (Luke 13:3), CONFESS
Christ (Matthew 10:32), and be BAPTIZED into Christ (Mark 16:16; Acts
2:38) in
order to become a Christian, a member of the Lord’s church.
After becoming a Christian, disciples are then urged to continue
faithfully in worshipping and serving the Lord as the New Testament directs.
You
can expect to hear gospel preachers pleading for all who would follow Christ to
follow the original pattern of Christianity as revealed in the New Testament.
Since the Word of God is the seed of the
Kingdom (Luke 8:11), it ALONE can be planted in the hearts of men to produce
the same fruit today as it did in the first century!
This product will be New Testament Christians.
Hoover
church of Christ pleads for all people to follow the basic approach described in
the New Testament in serving God. This is the only real answer to Christian
UNITY and FELLOWSHIP in CHRIST! (Ephesians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 1:10).
You
will always receive a friendly welcome at the Hoover church of Christ!