by Scott J. Shifferd<\/p>\n
Why do churches meet on Sunday? The churches in the New Testament met on the first day of the week. Luke reported this is the common practice of churches of Christ (Acts 20:7). However, is this passage all the Bible speaks about meeting on the first day of the week?<\/p>\n
The apostle John revealed, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day<\/em>” (Revelation 1:10). This Lord’s Day is not the Day of the Lord’s coming evidently or the Book of Revelation would have been too late and it would not have been written because John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. On this “Lord’s Day,” John heard a loud voice behind him like a trumpet, and it was the voice of Christ telling John to write a book and send it to seven churches of Asia (Revelation 1:11). When John turned around, he saw the One who looked like the “Son of Man” amid seven lamp stands. This “Son of Man” is the one whose voice sounded like the roar of many waters, and from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. John described him as a man in a long robe, a gold sash around his chest, and he shone like the sun in full strength. The man identified himself as “the first and the last<\/em>” and “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore<\/em>” (Revelation 1).<\/p>\n What is significant that Christ is in the midst of the seven lampstands? These seven lampstands are the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 1:20). Christ was in the midst of the churches on the Lord’s Day. “In the midst” is from the Greek phrase en meso<\/em>, which is also found in Matthew 18:20, where Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them<\/em>.” Paul also refers to the gathering of the saints as being in Christ’s name (1 Corinthians 5:4). In Revelation 1, John presents Christ as being in the midst of the churches on the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day is the day of the assembly.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the Greek word for “Lord” in the phrase “Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1:10 is the adjective kuriakos<\/em>. This adjective is found only one other place in I Corinthians 11:20, referring to “the Lord’s Supper.” The churches in the New Testament only partook of the Lord’s Supper when they gathered together. These descriptions identify again that the Lord’s Day is the day of the assembly in which Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper. A day known by all Christians, especially those to whom Christ writes in Asia Minor. The command for the assembly and the Lord’s Supper clearly include the Lord’s Day. Which day is this?<\/p>\n Luke reported, “And upon the first day of the week when the disciples having been assembled to break bread<\/em>,” (Acts 20:7). The first day of the week was the day of assembling of the disciples to break bread. The apostle Paul described this breaking of bread as the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 10:16). Paul described the assembly as when Christians came together to eat the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:33; cf. 11:21-22). This is the Lord’s Day for which John wrote.<\/p>\n Christ rose on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; John 20:19). Jesus met with the eleven on this day (John 20:19). Jesus blessed the bread for the Lord’s Supper on this day (Luke 24:30, 35). The Church was established on the Day of Pentecost, which fell on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1; cf. Leviticus 23:15-16). The churches collected to aid other churches in need on this day (I Corinthians 16:1). The Scriptures repeatedly record that the day of Jesus’s resurrection was on the “third day” (Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Mark 9:31, Luke 9:22; 13:32; 18:33; 24:7, 21, 46; Acts 10:40; I Corinthians 15:4).<\/p>\n The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week for the assembly in Christ’s name. This is the day of the assembly to partake of the Lord’s Supper, and on this day, Christ is in the midst of His churches. When must Christians assemble? If anyone loves Christ, they will assemble on the first day of the week (John 14:21, 23; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 6). The apostle Paul exhorted, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together<\/em> [the assembly], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near<\/em>” (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Scott J. Shifferd Why do churches meet on Sunday? The churches in the New Testament met on the first day of the week. Luke reported this is the common practice of churches of Christ (Acts 20:7). However, is this passage all the Bible speaks about meeting on the first day of the week? The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[560,84],"class_list":["post-89596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-first-day-of-the-week","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94703,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-lords-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":89596,"position":0},"title":"The Lord’s Day","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Marvin L. Weir The devil never sleeps or fails to take advantage of any situation he can exploit. COVID-19 may turn out to be something Satan uses to lead brethren astray. Some brethren have not attended church services in over a year. Is there a special day the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-worship-have-to-be-on-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":89596,"position":1},"title":"Does worship have to be on Sunday?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was discussing with someone about coming to church on Sundays. What day should we meet? Does it matter which day during the week? Under persecution, you might not be able to meet Sundays, so I was wondering: does it matter the day the church meets? I do know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43911,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/adding-to-the-word-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":89596,"position":2},"title":"Adding to the Word of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker Most faithful Christians are aware that through the years many unauthorized additions have been made to what God's word teaches. Denominations have added their own creeds to the doctrine of Christ. Additions to scriptural baptism, either in the action (sprinkling and pouring) or in the subjects\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67286,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/misconceptions-about-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":89596,"position":3},"title":"Misconceptions About the Lord’s Supper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Osamagbe Lesley Egharevba via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol. 4, No. 2, April-June 2024 One of the acts of worship the New Testament church engaged in was the Lord's Supper. It is also called \"the breaking of bread\" (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7), \"the Communion\" (I Corinthians 10:16), or \"the Lord's table\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/communion-300x200.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20504,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-bible-say-the-church-worshiped-on-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":89596,"position":4},"title":"Does the Bible say the church worshiped on Sunday?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a few questions and comments concerning the texts given as proof of Sunday worship outlined in the article: \"Is sex on the Sabbath a sin?\" The verses are Acts 20:7 and I Corinthians 16:1-2. Acts 20:7 speaks of an act that is done on any day, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27750,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-we-know-that-the-lords-supper-wasnt-taken-once-a-year-in-troas\/","url_meta":{"origin":89596,"position":5},"title":"How do we know that the Lord’s Supper wasn’t taken once a year in Troas?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was doing some searching on the Internet and discovered an argument against Acts:20:7 that I've never encountered. Since Acts 20:7 is the only reference we use (that I know of) to decide how often we take the Lord's Supper this is pretty important. Acts 20:6 says they sailed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89596\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}In the Midst of Lamp Stands<\/h2>\n
The Day of Assembly<\/h2>\n
The First Day of the Week<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n