- Welcome to the audio podcast of The Father's House. We hope and pray you are both challenged and encouraged by this time in the word. - Good to be with you all today for Group Sunday. This is Group Sunday. You guys can be seated. So we're talking about the benefits. We're talking about the blessing of God. We're talking about all that he's provided as we join together in groups. It is the Acts 2020 model where they met together in the temple courts. A lot of them were in the temple courts like are gathered in our large gatherings today. But then they met house to house. So I'm gonna share a few thoughts and really ask you three questions at the end of our time. And the response to the message today, lead in, it's really simply ready. Here's the response, sign up. Get in a group, re-up for a group. If you've never been in a small group, I wanna challenge you today to do that. Well, it's so good to be connected with all of our locations. And it's just great to see you in the house. And as I said that earlier serve, it's great to see you. I realize I can actually really only see half of you well. And you're over here, here's why. I lost my glasses the last couple days around my house. I really didn't go anywhere. I don't know if there's any other husbands in the room. You have a problem. I lose random things in obvious places. And one of my wife's great ministries and gifts to my life is finding stuff I lose. Any other wives can relate to that? So I pulled out these old set of glasses which were a different prescription. And I realized yesterday I was having a hard time seeing some stuff. Over here, I can see really clear all you people just in great focus. I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. But over here, not so much. You're kind of fuzzy and blurry, but I love you and God knows who you are. And I'm gonna do this occasionally so I can check it out. But in just a moment, we're gonna come to the table of the Lord for communion. And the band's gonna stay up here. By the way, this message will be different today. We're gonna share the table of the Lord. You're gonna hear some testimony, both video and live. There's gonna be some interaction here in the service. And I believe God is gonna speak to you. What we see in the book of Acts Church and this started after Jesus ascended, is they begin to gather consistently in the temple courts and from house to house. And they did this daily. The word tells us every day they met in the temple courts. Now here's the thing to consider. There was no mandate from the apostles. Like you better go to church every day. You better be in small group every day. Here's why I believe they met every day. They were so passionately in love with Jesus that they just want to be with community. And also they were living under the covering of a Roman Empire and there would be persecution coming. And they long to be with people, other believers, and in community. So we have this pattern and we're gonna read a key text today. It's gonna come on the screen. I want you to read this out loud with some passion, all locations. This is Acts 2, 46 through 47. Come on, let's read together. They worshiped together at the temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. All the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who are being saved. We wanna be a New Testament church, amen? So we're gonna come to the table of the Lord for communion. Which in essence is the foundation of our faith. What they did in the New Testament church is they would come together and begin to break bread and talk about what God had done in their lives and they would share the Lord's Supper. So I want you to prepare those emblems because we're in a large living room. We really can't pass around below for bread to everybody. So get those ready. And as you prepare those emblems, we're gonna prepare our hearts. And Pastor Rich is gonna lead us out all locations, sing together as we get ready. ♪ One can walk away my sin ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ One can make me hold again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ Come on, lift it up now, hold precious, we sing it. ♪ And all precious is the Lord ♪ ♪ That makes me blind as you ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Foul time, Lord ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ One can make me hold again ♪ ♪ One can make me hold again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ One can make me hold again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ Come on, let it rise, oh, precious, sing that church. ♪ And all precious is the flow ♪ ♪ That makes me blind as you ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Foul time, Lord ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ There is nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ One more time, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ So the way the church started, Jesus would be in that upper room with his disciples, his friends. In just a few days, a few weeks would become apostles. And they would be the planters and the establishes of the New Testament church. And the church was established around a meal, around some bread, flat bread. But around this loaf, it was broken. And there's something that happens when we break bread together. It's a spiritual event. And what the broken body of Jesus is, it's provision for your brokenness. And I know something about you today. I know something about every one of you at all locations, and it's this. You all have a level of brokenness in your life. Some of you is from childhood, some of you is from a family that went through divorce, either you personally or parents or some kind of train wrecking our lives. And we all suffer from this on a broken planet. So Jesus comes to restore what's been broken. It's the thing of beauty. Now, I want to encourage some folks in the room with this. It's a process, not an event. Salvation is an event, but the healing of our broken is just a process. And today, again, as we come to the table of the Lord and recognize his broken body, you can receive further healing in your life. Maybe you're in a relationship and left you heartbroken and messed up and disillusioned. Today, God wants to heal you. Maybe there's something in your past, and you know, Jesus is your Savior and your struggle with him. I truly forgive him today. He wants to heal your emotions. He wants to heal your soul. Now, we're doing this in a large living room. And so those emblems that you have in your hand will work for today. But I believe the most effective way to share the table of the Lord is in your homes, in small community with people that you're getting to know, people that you love. You know, as I look back on my Christian journey now for some 42 years, there are moments that impacted my life that I will never forget. And many of those were not in the big auditoriums and the conferences. They were with a small group of people in this intimate moment with people. And I was reflecting as I considered the broken body of Jesus yesterday. This would be many years ago, many years ago, before we started the Father's house. I was in a small group setting. And there's a couple that we've known and loved for a long time. Their names are Alan and Jeannie Jacobson. And they've been with us here at this church for 27, coming on 28 years, but also before that for a few years. And they're probably watching from their home. Alan, I love you. Jeannie, we love you. Could you give it up for Alan and Jeannie? They're on the stream today. So here's what happened. I'm in their living room. And I was in a time of real, I was a mess in my life. I was in ministry, but my family was going through a divorce, and our church was in turmoil, and I was in a place of brokenness. And during that time, Adana was pregnant with what would be our second child. And she had a miscarriage after Tasha. And so I'm disillusioned with God. I'm like angry, I'm frustrated, my wife's going through this trauma, and I'm kind of doing that. Why God? I've laid down my life for you, and everything's breaking in half. And my soul was injured, and I was wounded. I'm in this living room with Alan, and I'll never forget this moment. He starts going around the room, and he had a loaf of bread in his hand. And he tears the bread off, and he would go to, it's about 15 or 20 of us. He would go to John and say, "John, this is the Lord's body, broken for you." And then we go to Bob and say, "Bob, this is the Lord's body, broken for you." And I saw him coming, and I'm already a train wreck, and I felt the Holy Spirit settling down on my life when Alan got to me. He looked me right in the eyes today, "This is the Lord's body that's broken for you." And I have this revelation. He was broken for the trauma I was going through. His body was broken so that I could be healed even at the front end of the process. And this is why we recognize His broken body today. And if I could do this virtually, I don't know how effective it would be, but I would look every one of you right in the eyes, and I would say this. "This is the Lord's body, and it's broken for you." Shall we eat together? Father, we thank You for healing us. Thank You for the healing that's available today in your house. And I pray for wounded hearts, wounded emotions, and healing would flow throughout the rest of this service in Jesus' name. Then Jesus took the cup, which is the new covenant that would be written in His blood. I want to remind you something about this covenant. This is what makes this family. Do you know something? You all have the same bloodline. We are called the family of God, and the blood of Jesus supersedes your natural bloodline. It actually brings you into a family where you have relatives in the Spirit sitting around you. And we're under one covenant, amen? And today, as we partake, as that New Testament Church did, we're recognizing His death. We're saying, "Jesus, we belong to You." And if you need forgiveness today, you don't have to wait until the end of the service or a special moment if you're at home, or wherever you might be. Just cry out to Jesus in this moment. Say, "Jesus, forgive me. I need You." And He will come, and He'll rescue you, amen? So Lord, we thank You for Your shed blood. We thank You for this precious moment. And we are so grateful for what You've done on the cross. We remember it today in Jesus' name, amen? Let's drink together. Thank You, Lord. Now, one of the provisions of the cross that the body of Christ is called to do is to lay hands on each other and pray for healing. Jesus said, "You'll lay hands on the sick, and they'll recover." James chapter 6 says to anoint with oil, pray the prayer of faith, and the sick will be raised up. And so that's something you can't do in isolation. In your Christian journey, listen closely, you're going to need somebody to pray for you, and you're going to need to pray for somebody. And that's what the body of Christ is all about. So today, just in a minute, we're going to do something that's commanded in Scripture, and it's very effective. If you're here at all locations and you need healing in your body or someone you would stand in for that's going through something, they need a miracle. They need healing. Just very quickly, would you stand your feet? If that's you today, don't be shy. If you need healing in your body or you're standing in for somebody who needs healing, stand, we'll just wait a couple seconds so we can see who we're praying for. Now, as you're standing, here's what we're going to do in just a moment. Some people to fade, two or three people to fade. They're going to gather around you, ask you two questions. Who we praying for, what we praying for. And after they get that information, we are going to pray the prayer of faith. Because here's what the word tells us. By His stripes, we are healed, amen? So everybody look around and go ahead and people that are going to pray, stand your feet and find somebody, two or three people gather around them, asking those two questions. It's a holy spirit right now. We welcome the healing grace of God. This is your church. This is your time. We welcome the gifts of healing, the gifts of faith. Come on, as soon as you find out what you're praying for, you pray. Declare it over them today. Every location got power, healing, anointing. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Come on, all precious thank the Lord. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. So Father, we thank you for your healing power and thank you for the miracles that we're going to hear. The testimonies will come back in Jesus' great name. Amen. Amen. You guys can find your seat. Well, there's a thesis for the Small Group Sunday and this is a main ministry endeavor that we do here at the Father's house because it's so embedded in the Word of God and so effective. But here's our Small Group thesis to bring on the main screen. The life of a believer is designed to be lived in a relationship. Connection and in community with other believers. This is the path to spiritual maturity and true discipleship. And I would even submit this idea that significant and consistent spiritual growth in your life is not possible in isolation. You've been designed to be in community, to be connected, interdependent with one another in order to grow in the Lord, in order to use all your gifts, it requires connection. Now, let me be quick to offer a couple disclaimers because we have a lot of people that are unable to attend the weekend services in our large gatherings. Starting with Prison Church Network, they're unable to be in this room, but many of them are at a prison church campus. But there's people that are shut-ins. There are people that their physical condition does not allow them to be in the room. We have deployed military that cannot be with us in one of our gatherings here. We have other people that are in small remote cities and there's not a church that they can connect to. So I just want to say to all of our online community, we love you. Thank you for being a part of the Father's House. Come on, can you show them some love? Show them some love. But I want to encourage you, if you're watching on the stream, by the way, that's more than 4,000 people every weekend that join us. And many of them give, they tie, they support missions through the Father's House. And we've had a lot of people travel great distances to be here for one weekend so they can get baptized in one of our services. I love that. And so we're grateful, we're honored that you're here. But let me just encourage everybody on the stream as well as everybody in the room. Do whatever you got to do to find some community. And even if you're watching, invite a few people over. You know, watch the stream together in your living room and then do this simple thing. Ask this question at the end. Does anybody need prayer? And as you offer prayer, Jesus made this promise to His church. Where two or three, like some of our small group leaders, like Pastor Dave, only four people showed up. Well, that's plenty. You're in overtime with the fourth guy. If two or three gather in my name, there I am in your midst. So as you simply pray for each other in your home, the Holy Spirit has promised to overshadow that gathering. So find some community because we need it. Amen? We all need spiritual relationships. We all need to receive prayer. We all need to pray for somebody. You know, there's people that actually attend church or watch online who've never laid hands on another believer. And it's a foundational truth of our faith described in Hebrews, the laying on of hands. If you've never done this, just simply lay hands on somebody and pray a prayer of faith. You will feel the Holy Spirit and the love of God moving through you. Then we need to encourage one another. This is a command, Hebrews chapter 10. And some days you're the encourager and other days you're the encourager. Because you need somebody to impart some courage into your life. Well, as we talk about this for just a few moments and you're going to hear some testimony, I want to tell you what I want for your life. Myself, Pastor Donna, Joseph and Tash, all of your small group leaders, all of our leaders want this for your life because it's the heart of the Lord and we find it in Ephesians 4.15. Growing in every way, more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church, he makes the whole body fit together perfectly as each part does its own special work. It helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. So I want you to see this statement on the full screen because this is what the Lord wants for your life, is what I want for your life. Bring this up, healthy, growing and full of love becoming more like Jesus. We read it out all locations, healthy, growing and full of love becoming more like Jesus. So your marriage, your relationship with your sons and daughters, your relatives, your workplace, your future, the version of you God wants you to become, he wants it healthy, growing and full of love. Amen? Now, three applications real briefly that come out of that verse because it's right in the text that we just read in order to become healthy, growing, full of love and more like Christ. The first one, the way to health and maturity. Number one, relational connection to the body of Christ, the body, that is his church. It says that he makes, Jesus makes the whole body fit together perfectly. Now, spiritual growth, as I mentioned, do not happen in isolation. In fact, quite the opposite. Much research has been done around this subject that in order for you to be mentally healthy, emotionally healthy and spiritually healthy, it requires connection with people. And there's devastating effects, a life that's lived in isolation. Isn't it interesting that this is the way God designed his church for you to be in contact with people? And it's simply a time tested fact that you need that. You need the human touch. Hey, all of you need a hug. You really do. If you sit by someone you know, just tell them you need a hug. In fact, why don't we just stand and find a first time visitor. I'm just kidding. Whoa, it's that church. Start the card here. Number two, the way of health and maturity. Discovering and developing our gifts as each part does its own special work. We talk about this around the house quite a bit. You have been uniquely designed. No one has the gift mix that you have. No one has the sphere of influence that you have, the talent grouping that you have. You might go, "Oh, I don't have all that." But listen, if you'll discover it and develop it, God will use you to build his body. This is the way the church works. What if? Let me ask you. What if? What if everyone at the Father's house at all locations begin to discover their gifting, which is your personality. Everyone has a spiritual gift on your unique setting. And then out of that gifting, you develop it and then start serving one another. Guess what would happen? The church would flourish because I hate to give you the bad news, but I might not preach any better sermons than what I'm giving you. I might have peaked. But God's not done with the church. So what happens? As you use your gifting, we become healthy, growing, and full of love. And the church looks more and more like Jesus. And down side, if people sit back as spectators and just come to receive and never give, not only is your life diminished, but the church is diminished. I need your gifting at work. I need your life on the field, not in the cheap seats. I need you doing what God has called you to do. And in that, when you begin to develop and use your gift, you're going to grow healthy and full of love more like Jesus. Can I get a small amen? Here we go. Number three, helping others find their place and helping them to grow. This is the way of health and maturity. It, that is the connected body, helps the other parts grow. Pastor Joseph preached about this last week that as we serve, we grow. And Jesus, you know, he said this. He didn't come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus didn't come just as our substitution. He also came as a model that we emulate and we serve as Jesus served. Now, the father's house, I don't know if you know this, but we started as a small group. The father's house was an accidental church plant. I was just a disillusioned worship leader and someone asked me over to a living room on a Monday night to bring my guitar and have a small group in a prayer meeting with eight people. And that's how the church started in a small group. And then as we said, we think God wants us to start a church and I had no idea what that looked like or how to do it. That's been my life in ministry. You are still an experiment, so thank you for joining. And then God brought this amazing, beautiful couple, Bob and Stacia Elm, and they opened up their home and we were just this fledgling group that would have been probably close to 28 years ago. And I think I see them over there. Bob and Stacia, would you stand the original small group? Come on, get show them some love. The original small group. And then we started our first men's small group at a coffee shop with my good friend Paul Fernandez and Sean Austin, who's now with the Lord. And then Donna started a small group in our living room and I'd get up in the morning. There'd be a bunch of ladies praying loud and speaking to tongues in a living room. And it was a women's prayer meeting that went on for about 15 years. And from that, we've seen exponential growth in the small group ministry. And here's what we've seen over the decades. Thousands of people coming to faith, not just in this gathering, but in people's homes. We've seen marriages rescued and people that were lost, finding direction. We've seen addictions broken and lifetime friendships built in the small group setting. It's amazing what God does. And I want to share this with all locations and be checking it out. Here's a recent story of someone who got connected in a small group. When my mom passed away, that really just turned my life upside down. And that was really like the moment where I realized I was alone. You know, our belief system growing up, even being Catholic, was you go to heaven. You know, you do good and you go to heaven. So in that just little bit of knowledge, it was like, "Okay, she's there. That's where I need to get it." And that's why I'm sorry going to truth. That Sunday I got up, got ready, jumped on the freeway. I looked over and I saw the father's house still. I was like, "All right, well, I guess this is where I'm going." I signed up for Discover Now as I'm walking in. I see, you know, Pastor Sean, you know, there. And I was human as wife and the first person agreed me. So I went through discovery that weekend. I came back the second time and that's when we were talking about small groups. And as I got there, you know, Pastor Sean is just talking to me just normal, like a friend. Just like I felt, again, I'm brand new at this church. Don't really know anyone. And, you know, I guess I kind of say, "Yeah, I needed that." Especially at that time, not really knowing a lot of people. So I walk up to my afterwards and I tell him, like, "Hey, bro, do you have a group?" And he's like, "No, I don't." I was like, "Okay, no worries. You know, I'll just look up online, you know, group. I'm going to get involved." Maybe a weekend or two later, I'm walking up to the church on Sunday morning. I run into him again and he's like, "Guess what? I'm starting a group. I want you to be a part of it." I was like, "Sure, absolutely. I'll be your first one." And since then, been going to the group, met a bunch more people, a bunch of guys. There was no hesitation. Don't think about it. Just do it. And I did. And I just got planted here. It's helped me grow in my understanding and knowledge and relationships. All right. I love it. So I would imagine there's a lot of you in the room that have a small group testimony as I did, and as you just heard, and we're going to take just a moment, and this will happen at all the locations live. But I'm going to hear from a couple of people that are right here in the room, and they've been pre-selected, so don't jump to your feet. Although we could do open mic. That'd be fun, wouldn't it? That usually goes horribly wrong at some point. It just does. All right. So who's my first testimony? Just wave at me so I can see where we at. Where we at? Oh, way up here. We got runners. We got runners. We got runners. We got two small group runners. Come on, sprint. You can run faster now. Let's go. All right. You guys stand up. Tell us who you are and what God do. So my name is Caleb, and this is my wife Savannah. And we moved to California about six years ago from the East Coast, which is very untypical for most people. And so when we got here, we knew we were chasing God's will for us, but we weren't quite sure where we were going with it. That's when we found the father's house, and we joined a small group, and immediately we felt at home. Joining in a small group has really changed our whole vision for our entire life, and it gives us courage to continue on with what he started. Give it up. Where's our second one right now? Who do we got? Wave at me. Are you in the room? I see a runner running. Who's who we going to? Oh, over here. Here we go. I'm sorry. My bad. Thanks for helping. Thank you. Tell us who you are. Hello, I'm Elizabeth, and I represent the youth. But joining a small group, just especially so joining a small group for me, was a big step for me. I was very shy and nervous at first, and my leaders and the girls made me feel so welcomed, and there was a time where I was at my lowest, and they were all there for me beside me, and prayed for me, and lifted me up, and it really means a lot, especially at my age. I just know for a fact that ever since I joined that group, I've never been the same, so don't let your shyness or nervousness stop you from joining a group today. All right. I saw some waving over here. We got a runner up here. Here we go. Hi, everybody. My name is Felipe Sanchez. This is my wife, Lisa, and we couldn't imagine where we'd be without our small groups. Here's our testimony. So in December of 2022, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and we lost her just a couple months after that. But during that time, our groups just rallied around us. They lifted us up in prayer. They brought meals. They sent texts. They called the check-in on us, and we just can't imagine our lives without our small groups and our friends that have walked through our life in the good times and the bad. Awesome. Praise God. All right. Is that it? Is there one more? We got one more? Oh, right down here. Right down front. Run back here. Good. And then take a lap just because, you know, cardio. My name is Bailey. I joined a small group a few years ago, probably about four or five years ago, and I was walking in shame and addiction from my past. Without my group, I wouldn't be obviously set free in walking in my calling. Now I lead a small group of girls, and I've learned how to use my voice and lead them in there, you know, walk to life. Love it. Love it. Love it. We want everybody to have that kind of story, and people in your world to be connected in a relationship in a small group. I want to ask you three questions before we conclude. The first one is this. What kind of group do you need to be in? Think about that. There's marriage groups, there's student ministry groups, there's celebrate recovery groups, men's groups, ladies groups, financial piece, university, topical Bible studies. There's all these groups. So what kind of group do you need to be in? And with that, I want to tell you about an opportunity that we have. One of our strategic partners is a group called FERM out of Jerusalem, Israel. FERM is the fellowship of Israel-related ministries, and they have something called U, or Israel University, and they just rolled out a curriculum, and we are the beta test for churches all over America. We're the first one, and so we'll be starting some small groups called Love What God Loves. And it's going to tell you God's heart for Israel, which all believers need to know that, as well as the Jewish roots of your faith. And so I would appeal to small group leaders if you don't have anything on your plate or agenda of the kind of group you're going to lead, consider leading one of these. It's going to be brilliant, and here's a bit of a snapshot of what it'll be. What if there's a key to help unlock some of the mystery within the Bible story? Would you want it? When I began to see Israel through God's eyes, the Bible started to make a whole lot more sense. I began to see the complete storyline of God's heart for his family. I felt because I was Jewish, I could not believe in Jesus, or my life was completely changed, because I encountered him. I started to see, Jesus is clearly affirming that the Jews are still the chosen people, and the land is still a holy land, and I was blown away. He chose Israel for a good reason and for a unique purpose, and God's story isn't finished yet. Neither is Israel, neither is yours. It's going to be awesome, so get involved in that. It'll be a video-based small group with interaction and questions in curriculum and workbook to go through. It's going to be powerful. Two more questions. For those not yet in a group, what has held you back from getting connected? Everybody goes yet to get in a group, what's holding you back. You might say, "Pastor Dave, I'm an introvert, or I had a bad experience at another church, or even at a small group here at the Father's House, or I'm so busy, I don't know if I can make time, margin. Let me just encourage you, do whatever you got to do, like the testimony we heard. Make the faith stretch to get in a group. You'll never regret it." And the final question is this. What do you need to re-prioritize to make room for being a part of a small group community? Now here's something that's real in our culture. Y'all got busy schedules, I get it. So another night or an afternoon or whatever it is to clear that out for a small group, you're going to have to move some pieces around. But here's what I know about you. We all make room in our schedule for the things that we truly prioritize. Every parent in the room or grandparent who has a child or a grandchild in sports, you're showing up for that soccer game and that basketball practice. And so we make room and those are great things. I'll also say this, that whatever your passion, your hobby, you carve out time weekly to give to that hobby. I find myself on a golf course as frequently as possible, just confessing before you. But here's the deal. Why wouldn't we make joining together with the body of Christ to get healthy, growing full of love and more like Christ? A top priority. Are you guys with me? So that's the invitation. Again, the response today, there's a QR code on the screen. And we are going to become a New Testament church like never before. And I want to pray this over you today. That whatever would hinder you, whatever's keeping you back, that thing would be broken off your life. You would vitally connect here at the house in small group community and we would be a New Testament book of Acts church. Are you guys up for it? Alright, stand to your feet. Let me pray over your father in Jesus name. We're asking for a book of Acts model right here in Northern California. Daily in our homes and in the temple courts, may your power and presence be upon us. May everyone be vitally connected and getting to know and love and serve one another. We ask for this grace to be on the house in Jesus' great name. And everybody said, we love you guys. Go sign up for a group. We'll see you next week. For more information on our church, log on to our website at TFH.org or check out the TFH app. [MUSIC]
