BIBLE HOMESIn the temple, and from house to house
The worship of the church
comes first. And then
there is your table.
If the church you belong to gathers at that hour, keep that place first. But for some, work and distance and circumstance will not allow that hour. For them Scripture left another ancient place — a table set from house to house.
First, plainly
This does not replace the worship of the church
Nowhere is this table meant to stand in for the church. There is an order to it.
The sentence that records a day in the life of the first disciples sets two things side by side. They devoted themselves in the temple, and they broke bread from house to house. Neither pushed the other out. Both places stood together.
And day by day, devoting themselves with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were sharing food with joy and singleness of kardia(heart, soul-domain),
praising God and having charis(grace) with all the people; and the Lord was adding those being saved day by day to the ekklesia(called-out community).
Acts 2:46–47 · Yeshua Literal VersionSo if the church you belong to gathers at that hour, that place comes first. Believers coming together at an appointed time is not something we may treat lightly at will. Hebrews left that as a plain exhortation.
And let us consider one another in order to stir up 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.
Hebrews 10:24–25 · Yeshua Literal VersionBut not everyone's circumstances are the same. Some work shifts and have no evenings; some live two hours from the building; some cannot leave a small child or a sick family member; some have not yet been able to settle their heart in any church.
It is to those in such circumstances that we commend this table. It is not an invitation to leave the church, but a way for the Word to reach places the church is hard to reach. And for those who serve their church fully, this table will be the seam through the week that makes that worship deeper.
About the day
It need not be a Friday
We have a reason for speaking of Friday, but it is not a rule.
In Scripture the day begins when the sun sets. So Friday evening is not the worn-out end of a week but the first hour in which a holy day opens. That is why we speak of it gladly.
But nowhere does Scripture tie a household gathering around the Word to a particular day. Those people in Acts broke bread from house to house day by day. Tuesday morning will do; Wednesday night will do. Where Scripture is opened with a clean heart, the day of the week is not the essence of it.
One thing only we urge you to keep — it must be the same hour every week. A human life makes room only for what repeats. Whichever day you choose, do not move it once it is chosen.
What you need
Three things is all
Beyond these, nothing. Truly nothing.
A Bible — the app, on each phone
For a gathering the app is best. Verses are found at once, the original language opens on the spot, and everyone sees the same text. Ebooks are good for reading alone; in a gathering use the app. It costs nothing.
Get the appOne table
A kitchen table will do. The living-room floor will do. Past eight people it is better to split into two tables.
Two people
A married couple alone is a beginning. Do not try to gather a crowd first. Two people steadily is better than eight people once.
have gathered
in My name
The promise
Again I say to you truly that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there in their midst.
Matthew 18:19–20 · Yeshua Literal Version · the words of Yeshua (Jesus)It ends with “for” — meaning it is the reason for the verse before it. Two people's prayer is answered because He is present there. The number is not the condition. So do not put it off because there are few of you.
What you do not need
Do not let these delay you
- A teacher — to say it cannot be done because no one is there to teach is to say Scripture cannot speak for itself. It speaks for itself.
- Study material, and money for it — the passage you read is the material. If you want references, the original-language analysis and the studies are all open free.
- Some further qualification — reading Scripture at home with family and neighbours requires no separate process. If you belong to a church, though, it is a fine thing to tell your pastor about this table and ask for prayer.
- A rented room — your home is the room.
- Perfect preparation — wait until preparation is finished and you will never begin.
More
The detailed guidance
Start this evening
Three steps, and an invitation you can copy and send as it is.
ReadHow an evening runs
How the evening goes. What you ask after the reading.
ReadFor the one who opens the door
The pressure to have a tidy house, food, children, and how not to burn out.
ReadFirst-year reading plan
Fifty-two weeks, beginning with John.
ReadMiqra Qodesh
Why a recording is not played but the saints themselves read. The day the people wept in the square before the Water Gate.
ReadEcclesia
What we are trying to be. Not a building but people.
ReadGet the Bible
Apps · ebooks · audiobooks · original-language analysis. Nothing to pay.
Get itSettle on this week
Not next month — this week. Choose the day that fits your circumstances. It begins with sending one person a message.