Doing Church at Home

A note from your Pastors:

Dear Gravity Family,

In our American Culture we as Christians have been taught to believe that Church is a service you go to on Sundays. Much of what The Church is today centers around a weekly gathering. This model falls short of what Jesus taught and exemplified to the early Disciples. We are excited about how God is reshaping and restoring The Church during these times. The Church is a Family. The Church is a Body, connected to each other and connected to Jesus Christ as the head. We are not defined by a weekly gathering, we are defined by our connection to Christ and to each other. It is with that in mind that we get to press into new ways to connect when the world around us is changing.

Today we are bringing you a goodie bag full of resources to empower you to be The Church right where you are! Inside you will find tools to assist you in being the Church at home whether that be alone, with family, with friends living with you, or with a neighbor!

These are undoubtedly interesting times that we are living in and with everything going on in the world we pray that you will be strengthened in your faith, that you will grow in intimacy with Christ, that the joy of the Lord will be your strength, and that love would abound. Our church leadership has been praying together regularly and we believe that God is using what the enemy intended for evil to work for good.

In our fast paced world it truly is amazing to be given a gift of time. That is what we see this as, and we want to encourage you to use that time to press into relationship with the Lord and with others. As we step into the unfamiliar, we are believing God is using this to restore a yearning in His people for Him, and for those who do not know Him yet to seek His face and to know Him.

We love you all and are praying for each of you during this season. It is our desire to stay connected and we are exploring ways to do that. Let this bag of resources guide you today into the Lord’s presence, to hear his voice, and let His Spirit come in and minister to you and those with you.

God’s Word to us in The Bible is our greatest resource. In it you will find life, encouragement and direction. Proverbs 8:35. We encourage you to write out some note cards with scriptures that can be your fighting words during this time. We encourage you to put these in places you will see them regularly and to speak them aloud often. Joshua 1:8, Prov 22:18

We want to encourage you to be reading, studying and meditating on the scriptures for yourself. We recommend you use a simple bible study method called S.O.A.P. Look it up online or find it here: https://www.bundabergwestbaptists.com/the-soap-method-of-bible-study/ We thought this was appropriate considering we all need to be mindful about washing our hands at this time. Use this tool to dig into his word and find fuel for daily living. Psalm 119:25

We also want to encourage you to be intentional to Worship! Psalm 34:1. Play worship music throughout the day, sing along, sit and meditate on the words... Let your heart be stirred for the greatness and power of our God! As the Lord stirs your hearts REACH OUT to others. Let us encourage one another, let us share songs of praise and testify to all that God is doing in these times.

So grab your bibles and those that are with you, lets all read aloud Psalm 91. Meditate on this and you can use the SOAP method to discuss together what the Word of God is speaking to you today. Let the Word of God wash your hearts and minds. Eph 5:26. After this let us turn our hearts to The Lord today to remember Him in Holy Communion. Check out our other blog post for an outline that walks you through taking communion together.

In Closing we would like to share Hebrews 10:23-25: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

May the God of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you and your families.

In Christ,

Pastors David and Raegan Cicileo