There is one celebration that Christ commanded us to do in remembrance of Him. So many gatherings have neglected this. It is not Christmas, resurrection day (aka "Easter"); it is not Pentecost or lent. It is the Lord's Supper.
Luke 22:19
"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
While He was still on earth on the day before He died, the celebration of the Lord's Supper was instituted in place of the Passover, because it was a picture of the fulfillment of the prophetic Messiah, not to come in the future, but Who has come. Christ left us the Lord's supper as the observance to be instituted once His mission was fulfilled as a sign of the new covenant.
Hebrews 8:13
"In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."
It was the Passover until He died, then it became the Lord's Supper after His death. We no longer celebrate the Lord's future coming, but now we celebrate His finished work on the cross.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
"23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes."
The first century church celebrated this God ordained ritual every day until they began meeting only once a week, then they continued to celebrate it every time they came together, it was the worship that Christ commanded that we observe.
There are only three rituals (physical actions which have symbolic meaning) that we are commanded to do in Scripture, they are; baptism, the head covering for women or lack of head covering for men and Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 14:26
"What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."
I have seen this in a local assembly, the brethren come together during the Lord's supper, a brother will get up to ask for a song, pray or share a scripture pertaining to the Lord's death and resurrection, while others interject as led by the Holy Spirit. There is no designated leader, because Christ is the leader in each man.
After the Lord's supper, which is the worship time, is the teaching time. In this part of the gathering one man has prepared a teaching and leads, but every man is active in correcting or adding to what is being taught. No error is allowed to go unchallenged and Scripture is the basis for every declaration.
The leader must be above reproach, no man may lead if he is living in open sin, this keeps the gathering pure and focused entirely on Christ.
1 Timothy 3:2
"An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,"
There is no outside hierarchy for the local gatherings. They are completely autonomous, leaving the leaders in each gathering accountable to God and to their congregation for the proceedings there. There are no organized rules for the people or the gathering outside of the Scriptures. Man made rules are discouraged, only God's mandated principles as directed by God in His Word are approved. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)
When we look at the local gathering, as described in the Word, it is easy to see how far from Scriptural standards the modern church has strayed. There were no worship teams, no one man pastor models, no error allowed without challenge and every man was accountable to God for participation in the service.
The women were to remain in submission, not usurping the authority of the men, however were given latitude for singing and praying and prophesying with their head covered.
1 Corinthians 11:6
"For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head."
The head covering for a woman was not a cultural things any more than the men being the leaders. The lack of head covering for a man was also mandated by God in these passages, that too, had nothing to do with culture, but with the order of submission in the gathering.
In 1 Corinthians 11 we see several things that should be observed today and are not, as the modern church is in rebellion against the Scriptures, "having a form of religion but negating the power thereof."
The things God has mandated are, men in leadership, women to be covered when praying and prophesying, and the observance of the Lord's supper often. One man leadership is discouraged while participation by all men is encouraged.
Are we interested in obeying God or are we cherry picking the scriptures we like right out of their context to be able to have the religion be desire?
