Let the River Flow

Let the River Flow

Let The River Flow An Introductory House Church Equipping Handbook The Parousia Network of House & Cell Churches www.parousianetwork.com © Copyright 2002 Maurice Smith © Copyright 2002, Maurice Smith All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this work in any form except where quotations are accompanied by a full and accurate recitation of the work’s full title, the publisher, and the publisher’s address. Additional copies of this publication, along with a list of all other publications and services offered by the publisher, are available from the address given below: Published and distributed by: The Parousia Network of House & Cell Churches P. O. Box 18793 Spokane, WA 99228 www.parousianetwork.com All Scripture quotations from The New American Standard Bible (Copyright The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California) unless otherwise indicated. The Four Spiritual Laws courtesy of Campus Crusade For Christ International. Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................. 7 Welcome .............................................................. 8 What Difference Does It Make? ............................................. 8 Prepare to Have Your Paradigm Shaken ...................................... 9 Let The River Flow! ..................................................... 10 Your House Could Change The World! ...................................... 10 Our Home & Cell Church Philosophy (or A Tale Of Riding Dead Horses) .................................... 12 Introduction ...................................................... 12 A Tale of Riding Dead Horses ........................................ 12 Are You Tired of Trying To Ride A Dead Horse? ......................... 13 Is Your Church A Mule Or A Rabbit? .................................. 14 What Is a House Church or a Cell Church? ............................. 15 Are House Churches A Threat To The "Local Church?" .................... 16 What Is The Parousia Network Of House & Cell Churches? ................ 16 What Are The Unique Emphases Of The Parousia Network? ............... 16 What About This Notebook? ......................................... 17 Worldview ................................................................. 20 How Should We Then Live?: The Church In A Post-Christian Age ................ 21 Once Upon A Revival? ............................................. 21 Background of A Collapse ........................................... 21 We’ve Been Overwhelmed .......................................... 22 Revival or Anarchy? ............................................... 24 Schaeffer’s Five Pressures & The Rise of New Age Globalism .............. 25 1. Economic Breakdown. ...................................... 25 2. War or the serious threat of war. .............................. 26 3. The chaos of violence. ...................................... 26 4. The radical redistribution of the wealth of the world. ............... 26 5. A growing shortage of food and other natural resources in the world. .. 26 How Should We Then Live? ......................................... 27 “And If Not . .”: A Christian Manifesto For The 21st Century ..................... 29 Introduction ...................................................... 29 Abandon Ship: How Spiritual Hodge Podge and Minimalist Christianity are Sinking The Church .................................................... 29 “And If Not . .” ................................................... 31 What We Need: A New Christian Manifesto For The 21st Century ............ 32 Terrorism, Transformation & The River ...................................... 34 Ancient Terrorism ................................................. 34 When Worldviews Collide ........................................... 34 Transformation Or Judgment ........................................ 35 Preparing A Channel For The River ................................... 37 Introduction to House Church ................................................. 39 House To House: The Underground Church of the New Testament ................ 40 A Counter Cultural Witness .......................................... 40 First Century Background & Overview ................................. 40 House Churches In The New Testament ............................... 41 The Early Underground House Church Network .......................... 42 The Decline of the House Church and The Rise of the Church Building ....... 44 Deja vu All Over Again? ............................................ 44 8 Characteristics Of New Testament House Churches (Acts 2:41-47) .............. 46 Characteristic # 1: Perseverance (vs. 42, 46) ........................... 46 Characteristic # 2: Awe/fear (vs. 43) ................................... 47 Characteristic # 3: Uncommon Community (vs. 44, 45) .................... 48 Characteristic # 4: One-Mindedness (v. 46) ............................. 48 Characteristic # 5: House-To-House Ministry (v. 46) ....................... 49 Characteristic # 6: Eschatological Joy (vs. 46) ........................... 50 Characteristic # 7: Grace (vs. 47). ..................................... 50 Characteristic # 8: God-Inspired Evangelistic Growth (vs. 47) ............... 50 O. K., Let’s Do House Church ............................................. 51 Introduction ...................................................... 51 Pliny’s Problem With A Simple Church ................................. 51 Samuel Wesley Had A Problem (Just Ask His Wife!) ...................... 52 How John Wesley Solved Samuel’s Problem ............................ 54 Enter The Nike Church ............................................. 55 Baggage Check ................................................... 55 When and Where Should We Meet? .................................. 58 Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing ............................... 58 The Message of The Early Church In The Book of Acts .................... 60 Tossed Salad Christianity - Mixing It Up Over A Meal ...................... 61 Leadership: Who’s In Charge Here Anyway? ............................ 61 Skin Like A Rhinoceros? ........................................... 62 Absolute Truth Vs. Absolute Judgmentalism ............................ 62 That’s Almost Music! ............................................... 63 Spectator Christianity vs Mutual Ministry ................................ 64 Here I Stand: Taking Our Place In The Drama (or, Does Doctrine Matter?) ..... 65 Who Do I Make My Check Out To? ................................... 67 The Role of Teaching In House Church ................................ 69 Let’s Talk About That .............................................. 71 Growing Your House Church ................................................. 73 You Can’t Get There From Here (Or “When Do We Go From Addition To Multiplication?”) ................... 74 From The Mouths of Babes & Secular Historians ......................... 74 What’s It All About, Alfie? ........................................... 74 Structure, The Great Commission & The Problem of Basic Math ............. 75 You Can’t Get There From Here - Reprise .............................. 77 Strategy # 1: A Place To Begin ...................................... 78 A “Multiplying Group of Eight” ........................................ 79 Strategy # 2: Reaching Beyond Your House Church & Into Your Neighborhood .......................................................... 80 Why Some House Churches Multiply While Others Don’t .................. 81 Those Factors That DO NOT Affect Church Multiplication ............. 82 Those Factors That DO Affect Church Multiplication ................. 82 Praying & Interceding For Your House Church ................................... 84 Praying & Interceding For Your House Church ................................ 85 Is Your House A House Of Prayer? ................................... 85 Make a Fasting & Prayer Covenant ................................... 87 The Fasting Covenant of The Reverend James McGready ............ 87 The Parousia Network Friday Fasting Covenant .......................... 87 The Relationship Between Fasting And Prayer ........................... 88 God Looks For Intercessors ......................................... 88 Three Examples of Intercession ...................................... 89 What Intercessors Believe .......................................... 91 Seeking God With A Whole Heart ..................................... 92 Revitalizing Our Prayer Time ........................................ 93 Principle of Application ............................................. 96 Prayer of Application ............................................... 96 Preparing To Fast & Pray ................................................ 97 Why Are We Fasting & Praying? ...................................... 97 What Are We Fasting & Praying For? .................................. 97 Prayer, Fasting and The Seasons of Our Lives ................................ 98 A Perspective on Time ............................................. 98 Times and Seasons In Scripture ...................................... 98 God’s Seasons of the Heart ........................................ 100 Who Are You Praying For? ......................................... 102 People & Situations You Are Praying For ................................... 103 “Preparing To Fast” Worksheet ........................................... 104 Eleven Biblical Reasons Why Christians

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