Our House, His House: On Devotion & Commitment

Let’s start with a time of worship.

We call these times of prayer “devotion.” To commit time to song, to mindful appreciation of everything that God is, is to accord Him the worship He is rightfully due, and acknowledge that He is Lord of all.

Warm-Up

Ask each person in the group:

1. At least one thing they’re thankful for this week.

2. At least one thing they’re praying for, that we can include in our own prayers.

3. How they’ve done with last month’s “I will” statement

Word

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

Over the past two years, COVID-19 has changed the way we meet. Since 2020, all over the world, people have been meeting online instead of face to face, from schools to businesses, from churches to government. Slowly, though, we are returning to a new normal, and people are slowly but surely able to meet and come together.

There’s something very special when people commit to meeting. Setting aside time to spend with someone else shows that they place value in each other. Ask someone in the group to share a favourite memory of when they met up with someone they valued, and what they did together.

Didn’t their story reflect the joy and happiness that came with spending time with someone they valued? What are some other benefits that come when we commit to meeting with people we value?

Acts 2:42 shows four activities of the early church in Acts, when they committed to meeting. Their commitment showed they:

1. Devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching;

2. and to fellowship;

3. to the breaking of bread;

4. and to prayer.

This shows us four benefits that come with meeting with spiritual family:

1. We learn from the Word and from each other;

2. We build quality relationships with our brothers and sisters in the faith when we spend time with them;

3. We remember Jesus Christ, not just when we break bread, but because we share the same faith and love for God; and

4. We support and stand with each other when we pray together.

There’s a reason why some people call prayer time with God, “devotion.” Devotion can mean “deep love or loyalty”, and it can also refer to an act of giving time or effort to something valuable. When the Acts church devoted time to these activities, it was in itself a spiritual act of worship.

Yes, meeting in these new COVID-19 times can be difficult. But as we've seen, there are many benefits to devoting time to spiritual activities with people we love. So whether we're meeting with our church family during The Gathering, or with our own families for prayer time like Our House, His House, be encouraged by the knowledge that you are making a commitment to grow deeper in your faith and in your relationships with each other.

And that is a beautiful thing.

Reflect

• What can we say about God’s character based on Acts 2:42?

• What can we say about man’s character based on Acts 2:42?

• What is one thing I appreciate about meetings like tonight?

Application

Make an "I will" statement in response to the Word.

This example may help: "Because I am <state a personal characteristic that you would like to improve with God's help>, I WILL commit to <state an action that you will commit to, with God's help> because I know God is worthy of my devotion."