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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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