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This Sunday June 1, 2008 all the disciples of Christ in the Spokane Christian Church will be meeting in small groups throughout the greater Spokane metropolitan area. Check out these excerps from an article about House Church... "
the disciples in the first century often banded together in each others homes. Two examples of this are found in Acts 5:42 and Acts 20:20 where the gospel is said to have been spread publicly and from house to house. After Peter preached to the crowds on the day of Pentecost Acts 2:12-41, the 3,000 people who were baptized immediately began meeting together in the homes of various disciples. Acts 2:42-47 Since it was common in that society to meet in small groups, it was only natural for these disciples to gather in similar fashion. But this was only the beginning of their small-group trend. Take a few moments to read the following passages and notice the many ways the first-century church used the small-group setting to best meet the needs of the hour: · Acts 4:23-31 - o The church met together to pray, receive inspiration and gain boldness to preach. · Acts 10:24-48 - o Gentiles congregated in the house of Cornelius to hear a gospel message from Peter and later received their salvation. · Acts 12:5-17 - o Disciples gathered at Marys house for prayer,protection and mutual encouragement. · Acts 16:13-15, 25-40 - o After being baptized, Lydia and the Philippian jailor provided hospitality, rest and healing for Paul and Silas in their homes. · Acts 18:24-26 - o Apollos learned the truth from Priscilla and Aquila while in their home. · Acts 28:30-31 - o Paul preached and taught others for more than two years in his own rented home. · Romans 16:3-5 & 1 Corinthians 16:19 - o Paul gives his greetings to the church meeting in the home of Priscilla and Aquila. This renewed focus on small groups will, in no way, take away from the importance of our public gatherings. We will continue to have those times as well, as they also meet a specific need in every disciple. But God also wants us to experience the deeper, more personal side of Christianity which takes place, primarily, in a smaller, close-knit group of disciples who meet regularly in one anothers homes. Like life without doctrine, so is public worship for a disciple without personal, house-to-house involvement with other Christians. There has never been a more important time than now to restore our focus on small groups and the establishment or re-establishment of house churches. I believe every single disciple needs to experience Christianity at this level, and all of us need to become more involved in each others lives. And a small-group gathering such as a house church is the best setting in which to practice one-another Christianity. " Excerpts from Article: Recommitting to House ChurchesTomm Wilson Chicago Church of Christ
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