The Medford International Christian Church

Sunday Service at the Ivey’s Sermon recap

On Sunday, we looked at the house church described in Philemon 1:1-3

Those addressed in the greeting were likely a father, mother and son. Paul noted that they brought him great joy and encouragement and that the little group was known for for their faith and their love for the saints ( the faithful in Christ Jesus Eph 1:1.) Paul’s charge to the house church was to be active in sharing their faith so that they would have a full understanding of every good thing that we have in Christ.

We want our house church to be modeled after this example, so we took a closer look at the type of faith we want to share with our friends. We contrasted the faith shown in Mark 5:24-34 that brought about miraculous healing with the lack of faith in found in Mark 6:1-6 that effective tied Jesus hands to perform miracles. Faith is more than belief, it is the process of acting upon that belief with though, word or deed, to make that faith active.

Go with what you have. We are a small group with few resources but that should not deter us. Jesus sent out the 12 in Mark 6:7-12 instructing them to take only the barest of supplies and to trust that God would provide for them. We we have the faith that God can use us to reach others, it unties his hands to do miraculous things. As we share our faith and get into other’s lives, we are reminded of the great miracles that God has done in our lives and we start to understand “every good thing we have in Christ Jesus.”

The second element that Paul used to describe the house church that met at Philemon’s place was love. We touched on the greatest commandment, as stated by Jesus, which is love God with all you heart , mind soul and strength and the second was to love your neighbor as yourself. We looked at the charge in Phil 2:2-4 to consider others as better or before ourselves and how that applies to as practically in today’s fast paced self-focused society.

The third point was to consider Paul’s charge to share our faith so we gain an understanding of every good thing that we have in Christ. A closer look at 1 Thes 2:7-8 shows that we are to set an example sharing our very lives and that the result is vs 9-13 people will believe and imitate our faith.

Conclusion: We are delighted to share our home and our lives in an effort to give testimony to the God whom we serve. God works through relationships and the closest relationships are forged at the small group levels with those who know you intimately and sincerely. 1 Thes 3:12-13 ” May the Lord make you love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as our does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when the Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”