March 24, 2019 - Home Church

March 24, 2019 The smaller groups in our church community are inside our homes where we go deeper, build friendships, and walk out the Christian life with each other. HOME CHURCH GUIDE + “Breaking the Ice” question (group facilitator) + CHECK-INS: Introduce, check-in + CARE: Needs in the group + COMPASSION: What is the group planning? Are you inviting your neighbours to join in? + GROUP ANNOUNCEMENTS Church-wide, group-only + DIG IN: Discuss questions as a group + END AND HOMEWORK: Final questions, prayer huddles for personal requests. Consider breaking into small groups (huddles) of 2-4, by gender, if large enough. + Expanding the Fam Feeling: Why and What is Home Church? OUR VALUES: COMMUNITY | DIVERSITY | TRUTH | PRAYER | TRANSFORMATION DISCUSSION questions: Acts 2:46, Hebrews 10:24, Matthew 9:35-38 + We’ve all experienced awkward social situations. Think of one to share and why it was that way? + Our world is said to be more diverse and more connected than ever before while at the same time more isolated. What do you think contributes to this? + Read this: “Most Christians don’t know it is okay to be honest, share their problems, and ask for prayer for their own needs rather than Uncle Fred’s battle with cancer. But once they learn it’s okay to be real in their small group, that they won’t be ostracized, people tend to start being real in other places as well, eventually even at church”(55). Have you experienced this? What do you think? + There are many “one another” commands for believers to live in the NT. One author states there are ones that do not appear: “humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, marginalize one another, exclude one another, judge one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins . . .” How do we speak truthfully but in love? + Most spiritual growth comes as a result of life putting us in a...need-to-know or need-togrow situation. Discuss... + Other thoughts on embracing the large gatherings for worship and small gatherings for community/witness at Pilgrim? Prayer Requests: At Pilgrim we value… Authentic Community: Meaningful relationships matter. Because of Jesus, we are a spiritual family. We believe that it’s vital for people to gather regularly, both in smaller group settings and as a larger community, where we provide places (that are) safe to question and to connect deeply with others. Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 133, Ephesians 4:16, Acts 2:42-4 MAIN IDEA/BOTTOM LINE: Everyone needs significant relationships-The Church is commanded to “one another” each other. Key Passages + Acts 2:46, Hebrews 10:24, Matthew 9:35-38 + The “One Anothers” + The “one anothers” that do not appear: “humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, marginalize one another, exclude one another, judge one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins . . . .” A LIST OF WHYS AND WHAT 1. BECOMING THE FAM 5. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES ARE PRACTICED IN HOME CHURCH + The most amazing prayer meeting every week should be in home church; stealth and spread out through the community, in different locations and on different days. + Biblical discernment and application 2. MENTOR , EDUCATION, OR APPRENTICESHIP MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP + Discipleship programs tend to be very linear, but spiritual growth is not. Spiritual growth tends to be a meandering stream vs. a straight line (L.Osborne). + Most spiritual growth comes as a result of life putting us in a...need-to-know or need-to-grow situation. + Honesty 6. INTO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EFFECTIVE COMPASSION + Post-Christian people are opened to the Gospel in at least two main ways: - Supernatural encounter - Plausibility structures changing through meeting real Christians + The discipleship process is simply to get people to stick to two things they will need most when faced with a need-to-know or need-to-grow situation: the Bible and other Christians in community (43). 3. HOME CHURCH AND NEW TESTAMENT - WHY NOT JUST HOME CHURCH? 4. SIGNIFICANT MINISTRY FOR ALL - “While the gospel is something we speak, words that communicate God’s truth, there is also a sense in which we ourselves are a component of how the message is communicated. Our message is embodied. It doesn’t come in a vacuum, it comes in the context of shared lives and trusted friendships. Most people are uncomfortable sharing private matters of values and worldviews in public places, but in the private spaces of our homes, around food, our friends are more likely to talk about matters related to religion, especially if we show them it is safe to do so.” (Chan, p.116-117). TAKE OUTS: