CHURCH PLANTING - JERUSALEM MODEL| REV. DR. CECELIA GREENEBARR

Devotional

Day 1: The Home as a Little Sanctuary

The early church thrived because faith was lived in homes, not just temples. Jewish believers treated their homes as sacred spaces for prayer, scripture, and hospitality—a "little sanctuary" where generations learned to worship. This practice became their spiritual DNA, sustaining faith through persecution. Today’s challenge is to reclaim homes as places where God’s presence is intentionally welcomed, taught, and shared. Without this foundation, faith grows fragile, easily uprooted by cultural pressures. How might our daily rhythms shift if we saw kitchens and living rooms as holy ground? [06:26]

"These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What one corner of your home could become a dedicated space for prayer or scripture reading this week? How might gathering your household there reshape your family’s spiritual legacy?

Day 2: From Synagogue to Living Room Witness

The apostles first reached Jews in synagogues, but persecution scattered believers into Gentile neighborhoods. Their response? They kept worshipping in homes, turning living rooms into outposts of kingdom invasion. Unlike impersonal church invitations, home-centered faith disarms strangers through proximity and shared meals. Imagine sitting cross-legged on a neighbor’s floor, singing psalms as their children listen. This organic method built Antioch’s church—and still works where steeple walls feel foreign. [13:39]

"And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." (Acts 5:42, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your circle would never enter a church building but might accept an invitation to discuss faith over coffee in your kitchen? What fears hold you back from offering?

Day 3: Training Hands for Holy Work

Teaching fills minds; training shapes hands. Sunday sermons plant truth, but Tuesday prayer clinics forge spiritual muscles. Like Paul in Ephesus, believers must move beyond information to activation—praying for healing, discerning spirits, blessing neighbors. Power grows through practice, not passive listening. What good is a sword never unsheathed? The early saints healed the sick not because they knew more, but because they dared to lay hands and speak. [18:30]

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: When did you last step out to pray for someone’s healing or speak a prophetic word? What practical step could you take this week to exercise underused spiritual muscles?

Day 4: Power in the Hands of Ordinary Saints

Ephesus’ pagan culture bowed when ordinary believers demonstrated God’s power—not just apostles. Handkerchievs carrying Paul’s anointing healed the sick, but counterfeit exorcists learned empty words lack authority. True power flows from intimacy with Jesus, not religious jargon. In a world drowning in occult TikTok trends and AI spirituality, raw divine power still shocks and saves. Yet too many saints fear the Holy Spirit’s fire they’ve never felt. [34:15]

"And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them." (Acts 19:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: Have you ever avoided praying for a miracle because you feared "failure"? What would change if you saw every attempt as training rather than a test?

Day 5: Cultivating Desire for Kingdom Use

The Holy Spirit directs willing hearts, not reluctant consciences. Paul’s effectiveness sprang from surrendered ambition—his resume of achievements became trash for Christ’s mission. Desire precedes power: we must hunger to be used more than we fear embarrassment. Like Peter napping before Cornelius’ call, availability matters more than ability. What if your greatest spiritual contribution begins with whispering, "Here I am," amid daily routines? [43:15]

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What practical sacrifice—time, comfort, reputation—could you offer this month to position yourself for divine appointments? How might saying "yes" before knowing the ask change your walk?

Sermon Summary

The Lord’s move at Creative Worship Center is framed as something God is planting from scratch, not just another service, but a prophetic and apostolic hub in a region. The pattern of Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, and Ephesus gives language for what God is doing now. Jerusalem shows that the first believers did not begin with a church building mindset. The apostles were Jewish believers, and they went where Jewish people already were, the synagogue, because their people already knew God, knew the law, and were waiting for Messiah.

The home, though, carried the real weight of faith. The Jewish home was “the little sanctuary,” the place where worship, prayer, scripture, and hospitality happened. That home-centered faith could survive persecution because it did not depend on a building. If the synagogue burned down, the faith still lived because the parents taught the children and the family worshiped God at home. The question then becomes sharp: if the home is no longer a sanctuary, how does the faith survive, and what happens when children leave for college or life in another culture?

The call to soul winning is brought back to the home. The gospel has to come to people, not only by inviting people into a strange building, but by going into homes or opening homes for worship, prayer, scripture, and the presence of God. The early believers scattered to Antioch, got jobs, lived life, worshiped in their homes, invited others in, and churches started popping up organically. Apostles then came to bring structure because believers need a place to worship, a place to be trained, and a place to be taught.

The difference between being taught and being trained matters. Being taught means receiving information. Being trained means putting it into action. Worship prepares the atmosphere, preaching and instruction give understanding, and prayer helps the word get rooted so it does not just “flitter away” like seed with no harvest.

The move from Jerusalem to Cornelius, Corinth, and Ephesus shows another shift. Jewish hearers were predisposed to Messiah language, but Gentiles needed the Holy Spirit to work alongside the gospel with power. Ephesus especially was ungodly, full of idols, magicians, and warlocks, yet God moved through believers with power. The name of Jesus was not an incantation, and the sons of Sceva proved that. Real power comes from knowing Jesus, being led by the Spirit, and desiring to be useful in the kingdom.

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Key Takeaways

1. The home is the little sanctuary. The faith does not survive only because a building exists. The home becomes the first place where worship, scripture, prayer, and hospitality shape the soul before any public gathering can reinforce it. When the home loses that function, children and families become easier to disciple by another culture because no deep spiritual rhythm has been planted in them. [06:26]
2. Soul winning can enter the home. The gospel does not have to wait for someone to feel comfortable entering a church building. A family’s living room can become the place where worship is introduced, scripture is opened, and the presence of God becomes real to people who have never known what that feels like. The Lord who wants people saved can also lead believers to the right homes, the right families, and the right moments. [14:51]
3. Believers need teaching and training. Receiving information is not the same as knowing how to move with it. Being taught gives understanding, but being trained presses that understanding into prayer, practice, obedience, and ministry. A worshiping church that is never trained may enjoy the atmosphere but never learn how to execute what the Holy Spirit is saying. [18:08]
4. Power matters in ungodly places. Corinth and Ephesus show that deeply pagan environments are not too hard for God. The Holy Spirit demonstrates power where idols, false gods, and demonic practices have trained people to expect supernatural activity from the wrong source. God’s power becomes a witness that the kingdom is not just words, and souls can still be won in places that look completely opposite of holy. [30:56]
5. Jesus’ name is not a spell. The sons of Sceva tried to use the name of Jesus without knowing Jesus, and that exposed the difference between language and relationship. Spiritual power is not produced by throwing Jesus’ name onto everything like an incantation. Authority flows from union with Christ, surrender to the Spirit, and a real life with God.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:04] - Understanding the Lord’s Move
[02:22] - Jerusalem as an Apostolic Center
[03:39] - The Apostles Went to the Synagogue
[05:04] - The Home as the Little Sanctuary
[08:08] - When Homes Stop Worshiping
[10:25] - Inviting Worship Into the Home
[13:13] - Antioch and Home-Based Faith
[16:49] - Worship, Training, and Being Taught
[20:29] - Creating an Atmosphere for Encounter
[23:12] - From Jerusalem to Antioch
[26:17] - Peter, Cornelius, and the Gentiles
[30:56] - Power in Corinth and Ephesus
[33:57] - Acts 19 and Extraordinary Miracles
[36:24] - Jesus’ Name Is Not an Incantation
[41:09] - Soul Winning With Spirit-Led Power

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (ESV): “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
- Joshua 24:15 (ESV): “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
- Acts 19:11-16 (ESV): “And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?’ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

Observation Questions

In Acts 19:11-16, what happened when the sons of Sceva tried to use Jesus’ name without knowing Him? How did the demon respond?
According to Deuteronomy 6:6-7, where and when should God’s commands be taught? What does this imply about daily life?
The sermon emphasized that “the home is the little sanctuary” [06:26]. What specific practices did Jewish homes prioritize, and why did this help their faith survive persecution?
How did the early believers in Antioch spread the gospel (as described in the sermon)? [13:13]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think the Jewish exorcists in Acts 19 failed to cast out the demon, even though they used Jesus’ name? What does this reveal about the source of spiritual authority?
Joshua 24:15 declares, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” How might this commitment shape a family’s identity and resilience in a culture opposed to faith?
The sermon distinguishes between being “taught” (receiving information) and “trained” (putting truth into action) [18:08]. Why is this distinction critical for believers today?
Why was supernatural power especially necessary in places like Ephesus and Corinth, as opposed to Jerusalem? [30:56]

Application Questions

What practical steps could you take to make your home a “little sanctuary” for worship, prayer, and hospitality? Are there specific rhythms (e.g., mealtime prayers, weekly family devotion) you could start or strengthen?
The sermon challenges believers to “win souls” by inviting others into homes for worship [14:51]. Who is one person or family you could invite into your home (or visit in theirs) to pray, read Scripture, or worship with in the next month?
Reflect on an area of your faith where you’ve been “taught” but not yet “trained” (e.g., prayer, evangelism, serving). What would it look like to move from knowledge to action this week?
The sons of Sceva used Jesus’ name as a “spell” without relationship [36:24]. How can you guard against treating spiritual practices (prayer, worship, etc.) as rituals rather than expressions of intimacy with God?
In what “ungodly” environments (work, school, community) do you feel called to demonstrate God’s power? How could you rely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance rather than your own strength in those spaces?

Sermon Clips

69s

“``But the lesson here is we can learn something from church planting in Jerusalem. We can learn something about the idea of actually being personable with people to reintroduce them to the idea of worshiping God at home. So how do we introduce that to them? We actually go and do it with them. Number two, we accept the fact that saints, believers, should be able to minister the gospel to anyone, anytime, any place, and do it with power. Maybe not extraordinary miracle power, but to be able to do it. But it all rests on our own love and desire for God and to wanna be used for his kingdom purposes. We just like with spiritual gifts, we have to desire those. Mhmm. We also have to desire to be used by him.”

43s

“Churches can still be planted. Paul, when he went to these other places, he couldn't just go into a synagogue. He was going to Gentiles. in going to Gentiles, what did he need in order to make converts and plant churches? He needed Power. He needed power. He needed Holy Ghost power, and he had it so much so until the Jewish exorcist thought that all I have to do is use this name because what's he doing that we're not doing? He's using the name of Jesus. Let me just use the name and, we will have the power. What it got beat up by some spirits. Right?”

75s

“In the name of Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Like, it's a spell. And that's what they tried to do here. They thought that all they had to do was say the name of Jesus, and they were gonna then be able to have the same power that they saw Paul. Remember, they were already casting out demons. This is important. They were already casting out demons, but they weren't doing it with the same kind of power that they saw Paul doing. And so they were gonna just you they didn't see the reason why they said Meaning the other believers. Right? These itinerant Jewish exorcists. Okay. They were already traveling around casting out spirits, but they didn't know Jesus. Yeah. They didn't have a power. They didn't have power. Yep. You see that? They did not have power, so they just figured they would just use the name of Jesus. And he says, and you know that they didn't know him. They had never had, an encounter with Jesus because they say whom Paul preaches Yes. Or whom Paul proclaims. Yeah. That's a short giveaway right then and there that what?”

56s

“then you start thinking, if the home is not the sanctuary, that means that the the parents are not teaching their children the faith of of their of their parents. Yes. Exactly. They don't so if if the home isn't the sanctuary, then how does the faith survive? How does the faith survive? What what happens when children go to college if they go to college? If the home wasn't the sanctuary and they go to college, what happens to these kids? They get indoctrinated to a different religion and not to the religion and the not so much religion, but the faith of the family. Okay? So so that that's that part is really important.”

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CHURCH PLANTING - JERUSALEM MODEL| REV. DR. CECELIA GREENEBARR | PRAYER CLINIC