The Laurel Canyon church of Christ

What To Expect

when you visit with us

Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.

(Revelation 15:3-4)

Welcome, and thanks for visiting our website. We hope you have the opportunity to visit one of our assemblies in person sometime soon. We believe that you would be spiritually uplifted by our simple, yet sincere worship of the Creator of the universe and Redeemer of our souls. He reigns high above all, and yet He has promised to be near all saints who approach Him through Jesus Christ.

As our Creator, God has expressed His desire for acceptable worship. His Son taught, “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). Even 2,000 years later, our worship still must be “in spirit” (with the proper attitude) and “in truth” (with the proper actions).

As the creation, we must remember that acceptable worship always revolves around the Creator. We show Him reverence by respecting His choices of the channels of praise. Jesus’ ancient question remains a relevant one: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46).

When God’s Word is allowed to govern our actions and attitudes, we can worship confidently with cheerful enthusiasm.

† Announcements

The Laurel Canyon church of Christ is a family. Family members “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). At the beginning or end of every one of our assemblies, we take a few moments to communicate the needs and prayer requests of our family members. While obviously not a part of our worship, one of our privileges as Christians is to “lift the drooping hands and strengthen the weak knees” of our brothers and sisters in Christ (Hebrews 12:12-13). Communication is vital in a family so that no one is left behind or faced with enduring hardship alone.

† Singing

Singing has always been a key element of worship for disciples of Christ. Scripture tells us that two things occur as we raise our voices in song. First, God is magnified as we “offer up a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips that acknowledge His name” (Hebrews 13:15). Second, we speak “to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19) in order to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). The only instrument we use is our heart, just as the first Christians were instructed (Colossians 3:16). We hope you’ll join us in singing as we praise our Father in heaven and seek to spiritually revitalize each other. As always, if you ever have questions about why we do what we do, all you have to do is ask!

† Scripture Reading

What could be more important than humbly and attentively listening as God speaks to us through His Word? Nothing can substitute for the reading of God’s book. Paul instructed young Timothy, “until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4:13). We also have devoted ourselves to reading and hope you’ll open your Bible and follow along with us as we listen together to the Father.

† Prayer

The earliest disciples “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42; 4:24-31; 12:12). We unashamedly and absolutely believe in the power of prayer. A precious part of our assemblies is the time devoted to lifting our hearts together to God and confidently drawing near to the throne of grace (Acts 4:24; Hebrews 4:16).

Through prayer, we praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9), we thank Him for the many good gifts that are ours to enjoy (James 1:17), we humbly confess our shortcomings (1 John 1:9), and we ask that God would be present and active in the lives of those who need His special care (1 Timothy 2:1-2). “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

† Preaching

The early church heard the proclamation of God's Word in their assemblies (Acts 15:30-32; 20:7-11). The messengers were devoted to preaching “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). In our assemblies, you will not hear political speeches, secular psychology lectures or shameless sales pitches for more money. Our time together is devoted to God and His Word—nothing more, nothing less.

When we reverently listen to gospel preaching, we bow our hearts before God’s living voice in Scripture. We encourage you to do the same. Open your Bible. Seek out the answers to your questions. Be like those in Acts 17:11 who “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” As you discover Truth, take thoughtful, positive action in your pursuit of the Creator. Do so, and your hope will come to rest in “the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

† The Lord’s Supper

On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus gathered with His apostles and instituted a simple memorial of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine (Matthew 26:26-29). These two elements represent His crucified body and shed blood given for our redemption.

His will was that these—and all disciples to follow—would “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). Under the guidance of these apostles, the believers gathered on the first day of the week to remember the sacrifice of their Savior and to celebrate His triumphant resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:42; 20:7).

The Lord’s Supper is a unifying, spiritual communion for God’s family. Each first day of the week, we remember together and publicly proclaim what Jesus did for us on the cross (1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:26-28). As we reflect, we examine and rededicate ourselves to Him and His great cause for which He paid the ultimate price.

† Giving

Every Sunday, members of this church give to the work of the church, following the example of first-century Christians (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Contributions are used for the spiritual growth of this church and for the support of men in other areas who are preaching the gospel.

If you ever have QUESTIONS about what is said or done in our assemblies or what we aim to accomplish as a congregation, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll do our best to give a Bible answer for our beliefs and practices. We hope to meet you in person sometime soon!