Scripture
On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight.
Observation
After the uproar in Ephesus, Paul resumes travelling through Greece and Macedonia, ending in the city of Troas.
While there, he meets with the local believers. He preaches right through the night. A young man named Eutychus falls out of his seat on the window sill and dies. Paul picks him up and tells the others he is alive.
Application
People often wonder what worship was like in the early church. From this passage, and others in the New Testament, we can infer at least three things.
Firstly, the church met on the Lord’s Day, that is Sunday, from very early on. That is in contrast to the Jews who met on the Sabbath, that is Saturday.
There are many explanations put forward for this, but the simplest is that it seemed appropriate to set aside the day of the Resurrection as the special day for christian worship.
Secondly, they shared the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, is a focal point for worship. The early church celebrated the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to remember the central distinctive message of the gospel that Jesus died for our sins.
Thirdly, preaching was very important. Maybe we shouldn’t preach all night as it can be fatal. The proclamation of the Good News and the teaching of Scripture is vital. We live in an era where people have short attention spans, but we should not dismiss the power of the spoken word.
Prayer
Lord teach me how to worship you and hoe to listen to the preaching of your word. Amen.
