Day 1: Where You Serve, When You serve

Your Place of Service

You have your work life, your family life, your play life, and your “church” life. Generally, we are very good at keeping our relationships in those nice bubbles.

“Church” Life Now

• Your church life on average consists of two-days a week; a mid-week gathering and a Sunday service.
• This is neatly defined by location and time. Location and time are the boundaries of your bubble.
• Anyone who meets you at that location and time is in your bubble, but only for that event, in this case, church.
• This isn’t “church”, or service in actuality… This is the time and location we have allotted for our corporate worship or corporate fellowship.
• This is your intentional church life, nicely tucked away for you to choose whether to invite others in, or just let them know it has a defined time and location in your weekly life.

“Church” Life Then

• First-century disciples didn’t live their life intentionally just two-days a week at a corporate worship center, or exclusively in just corporate fellowship.
• They didn’t go to one particular address twice a week to do “ministry.”
• Scripture suggests the believers and disciples opened their homes to each other and their immediate neighbors.
• The disciples weren’t bound by a limited time and location to do “church” and “ministry” as we are today.

Location Location Location

• Making a disciple demands relationship and fellowship. The best place to do that is in the comfort and privacy of a house. Discipleship occurs at the home, sometimes even over some good food.

• The place where corporate worship occurs isn’t discipleship. It’s wonderful, beautiful and needed for our Christian life, but we must understand how it precisely fits in our Christian life if we want to have a culture shift and really begin to make disciples.

Time Is of the Essence

• Pop that bubble that says you are only engaged in service twice a week.

• Don’t just let others see this as something you’ve carved out time for weekly, but something you live out daily.

• Be intentional that you are engaged in identifying discipleship-driven relationships all the time, and trying to identify opportunities for future fellowship.

Biblical Devotion

Psalms 37:23  The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  (6)  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Acts 2:41-47  So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.  (42)  And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  (43)  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  (44)  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  (45)  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  (46)  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  (47)  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 5:42  And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Acts 16:33-34  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.  (34)  Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Acts 20:20-21  how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,  (21)  testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 21:8  On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

Acts 6:7  And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 5:14  And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

Acts 4:4  But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.