Acts 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
Two critical moments occurred in the history of the early church. The first came at the end of Pentecost when 3000 people were baptized in Jesus’ name and were filled with the Holy Ghost speaking with other tongues. The second occurred as Luke writes, Acts 2:42 “…they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:46 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart”
Notice that the early church exercised worship and the Word in both the Temple and in their homes. Seeing that they did not have physical buildings as we have, it was their mission to expand and expound the Gospel in as many places as possible. While tradition ordered their steps into the Temple, the expansion of the first church happened primarily in their homes.
The home is a wonderful place. It is the place where we retreat and find refuge. Of course, there are exceptions to this narrative, but for the most part the home is the place where we relax. The modern day view of Christianity is one of compartmentalization: The home is our personal habitat and the church is the house of the Lord. We worship on Sundays at church and live normal lives at home. This was not the model of the book of Acts church. Homes were the locations of teaching, singing, and worship. The Temple was an overspill of the activities that occurred inside of their homes.
We must ignite prayer and the Word in our homes. Our personal living space cannot be off limits to God. If the Church is to be a place of overspill, then there must be another place where we are filled.
We are on a journey for a mighty revival and I believe it will come when we realize that our homes and daily living entail making friends and making disciples. Everyone must find someone and lead them to Christ. I am promoting bringing friends to our homes and then to the church. There is a revival waiting and it can be found in our homes.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole