Over the last several years – a religious movement called the Home Church movement has sprung up. It has a specific agenda & theology. They claim to experience: intimacy with God; personal discipleship; and mutual support from the family of God. Home Church advocates within churches of Christ want to "turn back the clock & restore a style of worship more in line with NT practice." So…what’s wrong with that? On surface this movement may appear to be a good thing. But there are some things you need to be aware of.

Any group of believers who gather on a regular basis in 1 or more homes & see these home meetings as their primary place of fellowship in the body of Christ.

True that no mention of church buildings in the NT.

True that NT churches often met in houses.

Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19 – Prisca & Aquila’s house.

Col. 4:15 – Nympha; Philemon 2 – Philemon

The FC Church also met in:

Acts 2:46 – the temple; Acts 16:13 – by the riverside

Acts 19:9 – school of Tyrannus – met here for 2 years.

Conclusion: Expedience determined where they met.

Advocates believe church meetings need to be held in spontaneous, interactive manner.

Spontaneous worship is what Paul wrote the church at Corinth to correct.

1 Cor. 14:26-35; 40 – their worship had become chaotic.

14:27-28 – not all tongue speakers allowed to speak.

14:34 – women not to speak out in the assembly in a teaching manner.

14:33, 40 – there was to be some structure & formality in worship.

HC movement says that the Lord’s Supper observed w/a fellowship meal.

While the Lord’s Supper was instituted during the Passover meal…

Jesus did not observe it. How?

Neither he, nor His disciples could memorialize an event that had yet to take place.

Mt. 26 – Jesus gave instructions to his disciples on how to observe it.

The Passover was anything but ordinary or casual. Ex. 12:8-11

1 Cor. 11:20-22, 34 – Paul condemned any attempt to combine the LS w/a common meal.

11:22 – Corinthians were not meeting in a home.

Home Church movement is advancing error in this area.

Scriptures on this are plain: 1 Tim. 2:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:34-35

We need to move away from the idea that if something is old, traditional, that it needs to be discarded.