CONNECT | FELLOWSHIP + VISION + WORSHIP
Take communion and eat together. Check in on how Lent is going!
Begin your gathering by taking communion together and blessing the meal. If you don’t already have a Communion plan, someone can read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
After dinner, circle up as one group and turn to Acts 2:42-47. Have someone read the blurb below.
We meet as a House Church because this is a main way a Kingdom community becomes more like Jesus and brings Heaven to earth. We read Acts 2:42-47 to remind ourselves what is possible as we do this week-after-week. (Read the passage and then pray for God to do this in our midst!)
*HC Pastors: Share any announcements or HC updates.
Worship and minister to each other.
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CONTENT | SCRIPTURE + PRACTICE
Have someone read the intro below:
This past Sunday at church, we watched a powerful sermon together from Dr. Clarence Hill, who developed the Dream Clock. If this is the first you’re hearing about it, the Dream Clock is a step-by-step guide to building understanding between people from different backgrounds, inspired by Jesus’s prayer for unity in John 17.
There are 12 hours to the clock and this week we are focusing on 1 O’Clock, which is Self-Locating. 1 o’clock is the hour that will allow you to identify the ethnic group and wealth class that you identify with and are most familiar. You will also identify other ethnic group(s) and socio-economic classes that you have less familiarity. This insight will serve as a foundation for you to discover a path for bridging divides to see Heaven come to earth in tangible ways.
The next few weeks of House Church will be a little different as we will be reading excerpts from the Dream Clock discussion guide and discussing different questions together. Let’s jump in!
Have one person read the Scripture:
Scripture: Matthew 12:46-50
Have two people take turns in reading the paragraphs below:
In Jesus’s day, the lines between ethnic groups were clear. In fact, the tensions between Jews and Samaritans were so bad that even a Jewish man thirsty and weary from travel was not expected to seek help from a Samaritan. But Jesus didn’t abide by “normal” social laws. Now that you have spent time dreaming about the ideal future and the level of contribution it takes to get there, you are prepared to begin this relationship-building and collaborative journey that will lead to opportunities for making a difference in the lives of others, even those who are from backgrounds unlike yourself. As you begin, it is important for you to understand where you are comfortable and identify any assumptions you have made in order to better understand the people with whom you are less familiar. Did you grow up in a neighborhood that is primarily made up of people from the same ethnicity or wealth class? What about the places you go in the community? Now, consider your closest friends.
When you say this is best for “us” whom are you referring? Is “us” referring to everyone or is it only certain individuals and groups that are in proximity to you or are included in your circle of concern? Throughout the Dream Clock journey, we will refer to your familiar relationships as your palace. The palace is a place that is safe and secure. This safety factor provides a sense of emotional and physical protection that allows one to have a sense of comfortability and greater openness. In other words, your palace represents your relationships of comfort and convenience.
We are going to break into two groups to discuss a few questions. After you’ve gone through the questions, we will end in our groups by praying using Revelation 7:9-10. There are instructions for how to facilitate the prayer time in the guide.
To discuss:
- What is your ethnicity? What wealth class are you most familiar with? This is your “us.”
- What ethnicity are you least familiar with? What wealth class are you least familiar with? This is your “them.”
- For your “us” group, what is an example of an unwritten social law between “us” and “them”?
- Why do you think it’s important for wholehearted disciples to have an awareness of “us” and “them”?
Practice: Talk to Jesus
Thank: Prepare our hearts for prayer by thanking God for anything and everything.
- Take turns popcorn-ing prayers of thanks outloud.
Declare: What can we declare about God from this Scripture?
- Everyone open to 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 and have one person read it aloud.
- Take turns declaring what you see to be true about God in this Scripture. “God, you are..”
Ask: What can we ask God for from this Scripture?
- Take turns asking God on behalf of yourself, our House Church, our church, our city, our nation or our world. “God, I ask…”
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COMMIT | DELEGATE + PRAY
Delegate for the next House Church.
Who will cook dinner? Facilitate communion? Facilitate worship? Take the group through the guide?
Have someone pray to send us out in the power of the Holy Spirit.