The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church
The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church |
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MainThe genuine New Testament church is expressed practically in the meetings of the local church by means of the proper spiritual exercise of its members. This website presents selected excerpts from the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee related to the meetings and the spiritual exercise of the local churches. The first section draws from the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee regarding the local church meetings, their content, and the way they are conducted. In the final section, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee present a number of helpful spiritual exercises (life practices) that edify the believers and build up the Body of Christ in the local churches. At the beginning of the New Testament age when the church was initially formed and established, each local church met together regularly for prayer and worship (Acts 2:42). These two fundamental practical aspects of the believers’ church life, meetings and spiritual exercise, are revealed and developed in the New Testament Acts and the Epistles. The apostle Paul clearly emphasizes the need for Christians to meet habitually and even increasingly, urging them in Hebrews 10:25: “Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day drawing near.” These local church meetings include the Lord’s Table for our remembrance of Him, prayer meetings for our cooperation with Christ in His move on the earth, prophesying meetings for our speaking forth of Christ to build up the church, small group meetings (home meetings) for our mutual shepherding, gospel meetings for the unsaved, and children’s meetings for the young. Concerning the believers’ spiritual exercise, the New Testament describes and provides examples of numerous life practices, such as reading God’s Word, praying in the spirit, singing to the Lord, speaking forth Christ, giving thanks to God, praising God, serving the Lord, calling on the Lord, and pray-reading the Word, for believers to enter into for their own edification, for the enrichment of the local church meetings, and ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ which is expressed in the local churches. The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 1. The Lord’s Table Meetings of the Local Church 2. The Prayer Meetings of the Local Church 3. The Prophesying Meetings of the Local Church 4. The Small Group Meetings (Home Meetings) of the Local Church 5. The Gospel Meetings of the Local Church 6. The Children’s Meetings of the Local Church 7. The Local Church Meetings in Relation to the Old Testament Type B. Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 1. Reading the Word as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 2. Praying as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 3. Singing as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 4. Speaking as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 5. Thanksgiving as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 6. Praising as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 7. Serving as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 8. Calling on the Lord as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church 9. Pray-reading as a Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church The scriptural revelation concerning the meetings and spiritual exercise of a local church is addressed in the following sections of this website, primarily through relevant quotes from the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Watchman Nee and Witness Lee were faithful ministers of the New Testament raised up by the Lord during the last century who co-labored to present to all of God’s children the central truths of the Scripture in a clear and practical way. The consistent focus of their ministry is the believers’ experience of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ through the local churches. The ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee also included practical, scriptural fellowship on many items, such as how to meet as well as how to contact the Lord in our daily living and in the local church meetings. This facet of their ministry, the meetings and spiritual exercise of the local church, will be examined in the following pages. |
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