We know this, but let’s be reminded. Let’s look at Hebrews, chapter 8, verses 6 and 13. The writer says in verse 6, “But now He” (that is ‘Christ’) “has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.” Then look at verse 13: “In that He says, ‘a new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”Then in Colossians, chapter 2, verse 14, Paul says, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements,” (that’s referring to the old law), “that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

What happened to the old law? Is it still binding? No, it’s not! Christ nailed it to the cross. We no longer live under that law or that dispensation. Thus, as part of this new and better covenant, there is a new day of worship. That day is the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week. That is the Christian day of worship. That day is significant for a number of reasons.

First of all, Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, on the Lord’s Day [Mark 16:9—“Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” Luke 24:1—“Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.”].

Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection for the first time on the first day of the week [John 20:1, 19, 26—“Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb…Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’…And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’”].

It was on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, that the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. That was the Day of Pentecost [Acts 2:1-4—“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”].

It was also that same day—the Day of Pentecost, the first day of the week—that the church was born. We know this because the Day of Pentecost was always on Sunday. It was 50 days after the Passover. The Passover fell on a Saturday. The 50^th day then would always be a Sunday, Leviticus 23, verses 15 and 16 [“And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.”]. [Acts 2:1—“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”]

The Gospel was preached for the first time on the Lord’s Day [Acts 2:22-36 — Peter’s sermon to the Jews assembled there on the Day of Pentecost].

That day is called “the Lord’s Day,” Revelation 1, verse 10 [“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,…”].

We also see that the early Christians considered the first day of the week to be a special day of worship. For example, the Christians in the ancient city of Troas came together on the first day of the week to break bread, Acts 20, verse 7 [“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”]. We know that the reference to “breaking bread” is a reference to the Lord’s Supper. Likewise, the disciples in Corinth gathered on the first day of the week, 1 Corinthians 16, verse 1 and 2 [“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”]. Also, we might keep in mind that Christians were admonished not to absent themselves, not to neglect, that special weekly gathering, Hebrews 10, verse 25 [“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”].

Let’s look now at the ITEMS OF WORSHIP. We are barely going to scratch the surface. It is my intention to stick to these lessons we’re working on here on Wednesday nights and stick to one night for each one. We could spend weeks on each one of these five items of worship if we chose to do that. But now, let’s be reminded of these things: