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'Starting A House Church'
Only 2 activities are necessary to begin a House Church:
Eating
Blessing
From these two activities, many other things will flow but these are the starting place.
EATING: Dinner with Jesus-
"Every day they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." (Acts 2:46-47). Begin the meal with the following simple celebration of the Lord, his sacrificial love for us:
Blessing God for the Bread:
The father holds up a loaf of bread and breaks it, saying: "Bread reminds us that we have shared in the true bread of life from heaven in the person of Jesus, our Lord. He said, 'This is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'" Everyone partakes of the bread.
Blessing God for the Drink:
The father pours juice of the grape into a cup, and holds it up saying: "Wine (or grape juice) represents to us the joy that we have in knowing that through the shed blood of Jesus we have ceased from our labors and entered into his rest. Through it we remember the price that he paid for our redemption. Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." Everyone at the table partakes of the cup.
During the meal:
During this informal time, many things will be talked about. How ever, what makes this meal special is a focus on how God has blessed us (individually and as a family/church) in the last week. ("glad and sincere hearts praising God") As parents/leaders model this, every member will begin to anticipate this discussion and will begin to prepare for it in advance.
BLESSING:
Encouraging each other in the Lord. "All of these things must be done for the strengthening (encouraging) of the church." 1 Cor. 14:26. Here again the parents/leaders should take the lead in the blessing.
Examples:
{Blessing for the Wife}
The husband reconfirms his love and honor for his wife by giving personal praise to her in the presence of the children (and others). Some husbands use Proverbs 31:10-31 as a starting place.
{Blessing for the Husband}
The wife reconfirms her love and honor for her husband by giving personal praise to him in the presence of the children (and others). Some wives use Psalm 1 as a starting place.
{Blessing for the Children}
This is an opportunity for one or both parents to speak a personalized blessing to each son and daughter. Some parents use Aaron's blessing as a starting place. "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and is gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. May the Spirit of the Lord rest upon you - the Spirit of wisdom and under standing, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord - and may you delight in the fear of the Lord."
{Blessing for Others}
As the others in the family/church begin to understand the blessing and as they learn to listen to the Lord, they will begin to have blessings to strengthen and encourage each other in the Lord.
Variety of expressions of blessing. Paul makes it clear in 1 Cor. 14:26 that the purpose of each of the spiritual gifts is to strengthen and encourage the church. That is, every represents a different way to express a blessing.
So, the purpose of a "word of instruction" or teaching is to bless and encourage. The purpose of "a hymn" is to bless and encourage. The purpose of
"a revelation" or prophecy is to bless and encourage. And so on. Since Jesus is the Head of the church (or Master of Ceremonies), as we listen to him He will give these spiritual gifts to each person and then orchestrate their use.
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