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Welcome to House Church Sunday
01/18/04
"They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God... And
the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Acts 2:46-47
On behalf of the Portland International Church of Christ we would like to
welcome everyone to our House Church Sunday services today! At this hour,
house churches are meeting in the Portland metropolitan area in the City Center,
Beaverton, Hillsboro, the Lloyd Center, Wilsonville and even in Vancouver!
The Portland Church is dedicated to
restoring the Scriptures in the context of the 21st century. We believe
that "all Scripture is inspired by God." (2 Timothy 3:16)
We are striving to apply God's Word in our daily lives, our families and in our
congregation.
As one studies the history of the
early church in the Book of Acts, it becomes clear that the homes of Christians
were centers of worship, fellowship and prayer. At the beginning of the
church in Acts 2, all 3000 disciples were meeting together in the temple courts;
however, they also gathered for fellowship in their homes. (Acts 2:46)
No doubt, there was an incredible power in the large gatherings, but intimacy
and closeness would only be found in the small house fellowships. As
persecution increased, the house also became a center of preaching:
"Day after day... from house to house [the apostles] never stopped teaching
and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." As a
persecutor of the church, Saul (later known as Paul after his conversion) in his
viscous effort to destroy the church, went "house to house" (Acts 8:3)
as he beat and imprisoned both men and women because of their faith. (Acts
22:19) To shield their activities from their persecutors, the Christians
were no longer meeting in large gatherings, but all meetings were either in the
synagogues or the homes of the disciples. This is where Saul pursued the
Christians.
The most detailed account of
Christians gathering in houses is in Acts 12. Here, some disciples have
gathered at the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. James, the first
apostle to be martyred, has been beheaded and Peter is in prison, perhaps
awaiting a similar fate. The entire church in Jerusalem was
"earnestly praying" for Peter's release. (The congregation in
Jerusalem of course would be composed of hundreds of house churches under the
one leadership of the apostles.) Moved by the prayers of the disciples,
God sends His angel to Peter's cell and miraculously frees Peter. Peter
immediately heads to Mary's house, knowing Christians would be meeting there.
Humorously for us, (but not for Peter), the servant girl Rhoda was so excited
when she heard Peter's voice at the door, she forgot to unlock the door to let
him in. Instead, she rushes back to the disciples who were still in prayer
for Peter's release and she shares the awesome news that Peter is at the door!
Their response, "She's out of her mind!" Finally after hearing
Peter continue to knock on the door, they opened the door and to their
astonishment, see Peter! Encouragingly to disciples today, even the early
Christians had their moments of doubt about God answering prayers, and so
quickly at that!
In the New Testament, house
church references are also found in the Epistles. In Romans 16:5, Paul
sends greetings to the house church of Priscilla and Aquilla. In
Colossians 4:15, Paul also sends greetings to the group of disciples that meet
in the home of Nympha. Finally, Paul and Timothy send an open letter to
the disciples that meet in the home of Philemon.
The Portland Church is planning
to meet in house churches once a month this year. There are many benefits
to the restoration of these Biblical gatherings! First of all, in the
house church one senses an intimate family feeling. Not only do we wish to
build strong relationships with our fellow Christians for mutual encouragement,
but our love for one another, which is so evident in small groups, will draw
people to Christ. (John 13:34-35) Secondly, more individuals have an
opportunity to preach and teach. This multiplication of leaders will not
only allow us to multiply disciples but also to build a more solid foundation in
the congregation. Thirdly, we will save the rent from our present facility
from each of these Sundays, and put it towards our campus ministry.
Finally, house churches allow us to "extend" the service into a meal,
where a very Christ-like "communion" with each other occurs. (Luke
22:14-38) This, I believe, is preferable to the brief moments of
fellowship after a regular church service.
The Portland Church has a deep
conviction that where true Christians come together, there is the Spirit of
Christ. (Matthew 18:20) We pray that today draws you closer to the Father
and encourages you to come regularly to our "large gathering" service
at the Ambridge Event Center* next Sunday.
Kip McKean
*Previously known as the Portland
Conference Center
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