What You Will See
If you choose to visit us, we appreciate your presence. When you attend a worship service, you will see that the church fulfills the five acts of worship prescribed in the New Testament:
We pray: Acts 2:42; 12:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18.
We sing (a cappella): Ephesians 5:18–20; Colossians 3:16; Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25.
We observe the Lord’s Supper (every Sunday): Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.
We give monetarily: 1 Corinthians 16:1–2; 2 Corinthians 8:5; 9:6–8.
We listen to preaching and teaching: 2 Timothy 4:2; Acts 2:42; 20:7; Colossians 1:28.
The duration of each worship service is approximately one hour.
We offer Bible classes for all ages. From infants to teens, we have classes and curricula suitable for their needs. The adult class meets in the auditorium. During Bible study, we open the Bible, read it, and ask how it applies to our lives. Questions and comments are welcome and encouraged during this time.
What You Will Not See
Children’s Church
You will not find children’s church at our congregation. What is children’s church? It is the practice of removing children from the worship assembly so they can participate in child-focused activities elsewhere.
This practice violates the words of Hebrews 10:25. The adults who supervise the children remove themselves from the assembly, and in doing so, they forsake the assembly. It also sets a poor example for children. What are we teaching them when they are removed from worship so they can color, play, and engage in other activities? Worship is an activity for the entire church, and we find the biblical example of the whole church coming together in one place (1 Corinthians 11:20; 14:23).
We do have a nursery and a cry room. However, it is left to each parent’s discretion whether to use these rooms and for how long. As the church’s preacher—and as a father of five—you are more than welcome to have cooing and babbling babies in the worship assembly.
Various Kinds of Worship
You will not see various kinds of worship services at the Chestnut Mountain church of Christ. Some churches offer what they call a “traditional” worship service, and then at a different time they offer a “contemporary” worship service. To justify this, they may say something like, “God is pleased with all different kinds of worship.” Is this true? If so, how did they learn this?
Various kinds of worship services create inconsistency within a local church, but this practice is also inconsistent with Scripture. For example, did the apostles worship God in two different ways? It is absurd to suggest that they worshipped in a traditional manner with some Christians, and then had contemporary worship with others.
During the Old Testament period, God was specific concerning how people of faith were to approach Him in worship. God struck the priests Nadab and Abihu dead because they offered strange (unauthorized) fire while performing their priestly duties (Leviticus 10:1–7). One general lesson is this: if a person worships God in a way He has not authorized, He does not accept that worship.
Jesus said:
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23–24, KJV)
God is not obligated to accept whatever people offer Him. You can know what kind of worshiper the Father seeks. Jesus teaches that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. When you visit us, you will see the way we worship God is consistent with Biblical doctrine.