How To Have Church In Your Home
We live at a unique point in history. No gathering of more than 10 people allowed. The world is improvising a response to COVID-19 to protect the vulnerable and ensure the fewest deaths. No one is sure when things will go back to normal. Our lifestyles are dramatically shifting to a slower pace as events, church, school, and work become unsafe spaces. Our homes have now become sacred.
I think there is a new pattern emerging. We were kind of forced into having church in our home. However, I believe this is a precursor to a coming revival. I’ll get into more about that in some later posts. Today, I would like to outline some very practical things you can do starting this week to begin to have church in your home. Your home is sacred space, and as we worship from home God is going to restore something that we have lost. The priesthood of all believers. I’m not saying don’t go to church ever again, local gatherings are super important. We should be grateful for large gatherings and our building, but the church is not reliant on them. In this time we can renew the function of the family as priests of their own homes.
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5
Gather As Family At The Lord’s Table
Your dinner table at home becomes the Lord’s Table. Your dining room table becomes an altar in your home where you gather for worship, prayer, and communion with God as His family. We need to regain the idea of “Sabbath.” Sabbath doesn’t mean watching sports on TV or binge-watching your favorite Netflix series as a way to escape your family or the stress you feel. Sabbath means entering into rest and peace with God. Sabbath is God’s appointed time to meet with His family and infuse you with peace and cultivate wholeness in your family.
“The Sabbath was a time to remember that God had desired—and what He still wants—to be at home together with Him and at peace (shalom) with our brothers and sisters. We want to remember the Sabbath, not be its servant. At Shabbat Dinner we have an opportunity to open our homes to Jesus and the Holy Spirit in a special way and receive the kind of peace that only He can bring.”
Pastor Stovall Weems
We are so used to having to create systems and methods to solve our problems. However, God has already provided instructions for living in His Word. Coming to the Lord’s table is a demonstration of faith—the rest is on God. When you invite the presence of God into your home and into your family, it naturally creates the right conditions for growth and healthy relationships as a family and as individuals.
Welcome God’s Presence In Your Home
You don’t need to convince God to show up in your home, He is for it. Before dinner, invite the Holy Spirit to come and recognize God’s presence at your table. A simple way to communicate this to our two-year-old daughter is by lighting a candle. (She loves this part) The candle represents Jesus as the light of the world—God gracing us with His presence. This simple demonstration communicates to children what may be difficult to communicate with words. When we light the candle and pray, our whole family knows that God’s presence is with us and you can tangibly feel the peace in the room.
Take The Lord’s Supper (Communion)
Depending on your faith background you may be accustomed to taking communion weekly, annually, or during special times. This is a special time in your home to take the Lord’s Supper as a family. Before taking communion there is an important realization that we must discern the body. What does that mean? Is there anyone you need to forgive? Have you gotten into an argument lately? Have you done something that is causing you to feel guilt or shame? Now is the time to make that right!
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-16
Several revivals have had a connection to the Lord’s Supper. We should recognize this time as more than just an ordinance or a ritual. We are remembering our Lord’s death and future coming. Picture yourself, reliving this moment with the disciples in the room. Think about when you take the body and blood, you are agreeing that Jesus needed to die so that your condemnation would be placed on Him. When we take communion we proclaim our loyalty to Jesus and remember His covenant with us.
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26
Prayers of Blessing And Laying On Of Hands
When was the last time you laid hands and prayed a blessing over your spouse? When was the last time you laid hands and prayed over your children? What about your relatives, or neighbors you invite to dinner? When have you been prayed for? You might be thinking “that’s a good idea, but it might feel awkward.” You’re right it will feel awkward, but I would encourage you to take that step of faith and make it normative in your home. It’s “awkward” because it’s counter to our world’s culture.
“But what if I don’t know what to pray?” Don’t even worry about that. There is a resource at the bottom of this blog that you can download and read prayers from that for different situations. God sees your heart, it’s not about performance.
You are the priest of your home. That means you have the power to bless and affirm your family and intercede on their behalf. Is anyone sick? Lay hands and pray for their healing and see them recover. Pray to bless and affirm the gifts of God in your children, bless their personalities and their uniqueness, and pray for their future. This is a special time to pray for each other.
After communion, go around your table and lay hands on each individual blessing them and pray for them. Then let your spouse or others at the table lay their hands on you and pray for you. Bring your needs before God and trust Him in faith to provide. This is a sacred space where God fellowships with your family
Enjoy A Meal Together
Church should be full of life and celebration. After you pray over each other, enjoy a really good meal together and enjoy this time with each other. Make it festive—the ultimate goal is to celebrate Jesus! Do this on Friday night with your family and then tune into your church’s livestream on Sunday, or do whatever you do to connect to your larger community of believers.
The Future of The Church Is Glorious
In the next couple of posts, I will be sharing about how one of the characteristics of revival is a restoration of the importance of the Lord’s Table. In this unique time, it is our time to be light in the world. Peace in the midst of panic. Habitats of wholeness in the midst of brokenness. A heart of giving in a time of self-preservation. A dependence on faith in the Lord in a world that doesn’t make sense.
“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 66:22-23
Resources
Prayer and Resource Guide for Practicing Sabbath, Celebration Church (Most of the information in this blog is from this amazing content. I hope it blesses your family as it has blessed mine.)
Member discussion