Housegroup logistics

A believer will be based in a single housegroup for the weekly 1 Corinthians 14:26 meeting. Each group meets at a regular day and time each week, but different groups meet at differing days and times so it is easier for new attendees to find a group. People may change their 1 Corinthians 14:26 group by agreement with the Elders and the group they wish to move to.

Church 14-26 believes it is not significant which day of the week to meet on. The command to keep the Sabbath day is part of the Law of Moses given to ancient Israel, which is fulfilled in Christ. It is humane precedent for a nation to legislate a weekly national day of rest, but the Sabbath is not one of the laws of personal morality which Christ helps believers to keep.

Each Bible study group chooses a book of the Bible to go through. As the study of a book is nearing an end, that group will choose another book to study next, and will inform other groups of their choice through the Elders. If recordings made by a Bible teacher are used, those details will also be shared; many excellent Bible study recordings are available today. People may move between Bible study groups to study the book(s) of the Bible they choose, with guidance from the Elders for new believers. Since different groups will finish their book at differing times, and as people should not quit a study group before a book is finished, individuals may ‘sit out’ several weeks if they move from one Bible study group to another. Nobody should be out of Bible study without stating which book and study group they will be involved with next.

Study groups are free to merge in order to study a particular book of the Bible (although there should always be enough groups to give people a choice). The Bible study group is a way, as well as the occasional larger gatherings, by which people in the Church 14-26 network may meet each other more widely. The larger gatherings can take place in hired or borrowed places of education or sports clubs or town halls or warehouses or nightclubs or theatres or other churches, at times when they are not in use.

Topical teaching (“what does the Bible say about…?”) can be the teaching mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:26. It can therefore take place in the 14-26 groups, especially if it is relevant to the concerns of a group member. Topical teaching should not dominate these meetings, however.

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