Experiencing Acts 1 & 2 Together | Church at Home

Hey, Watermark family. Welcome to Church at Home winter storm 2026 edition. A winter storm isn't going to keep us from having a great Sunday of church. This isn't new for us. Just a few weeks ago, back in December, we did Church at Home. If you remember, during that time, we practiced our church's 10 markers together.

Instead of you just sitting and listening to me talk for a long period of time, we got to work out our faith. We got such great feedback about it, we decided the winter storm just gives us an opportunity to do it again, but this time it's an Acts edition. So, whether you're by yourself in an apartment or with some roommates or just your spouse or your whole family is with you, this is for everyone.

Here's how it's going to work. We're going to identify how we have seen one of our church's markers in the first couple of chapters of the book of Acts, and then I'm going to invite you to pause the video and practice the marker. So, if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it up to the book of Acts. If you need to pause the video and send your kids to go get their Bibles, do it. We're going to reference it throughout the morning.

Before we jump in, let's pray, just like we would if we were gathered together. Just take a moment and ask God to speak to you. Then pray for anyone who's in the room with you. If you're by yourself, go ahead and pray for people from our church who are gathering in their homes throughout the Metroplex today. Then I'm going to pray over you.

Lord, I pray that you would do a great work during this time. I pray that everyone watching would have a meaningful and defining time with you today. Have your way. In Jesus' name, amen.

First, we want to be a gospel-saturated church. The first-century church was definitely a gospel-saturated church. In Acts, chapter 2, we get Peter's first sermon, and he crushes it. His sermon is simply a proclamation of the gospel. Let's look at it together. Peter says this in Acts 2:22-24:

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

Jesus lived the perfect life that none of us could live. He died the death we all deserved for our rebellion, our indifference, and our offensiveness toward God. Then he rose from the dead, conquering Satan, sin, and death, so that through faith in Jesus Christ we could experience life and victory over sin and death.

When Peter gives this message, 3,000 people are cut to the heart. They're convicted by the Spirit, and they respond in faith. They understood their need for Jesus. They repented or turned from their sin, and they received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, experiencing complete forgiveness of their sins.

Here's how I want us to practice this marker. Do you remember that day in your life, the day you responded to the gospel and prayed to receive Christ into your life? I want to invite you right now to pause and think about that day. If you're with people, spend some time retelling the story. You don't have to do the long, drawn-out version, but share the story of how you trusted in Christ. If you don't remember a specific day, talk about one of your first memories of your faith being real.

When you're done sharing, have one person pray and just thank God for the salvation we share. If you're by yourself, consider calling someone in your Community Group and sharing with them or just spend time walking through your story with God. Just walk through the story and thank him along the way for what he has done. Okay? Go ahead and pause and practice.

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Before we move on, I want to at least give an opportunity for someone to receive Jesus Christ for the first time. Maybe somehow, right here in the midst of this winter storm, you're watching this video, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ yet, and you feel cut to the heart. Something in you understands for the first time that you need Jesus, and you want to turn from your life of sin and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

If that's you, you can invite Jesus into your life right now through prayer. I want to encourage you to pause the video, to get on your knees, and to ask Jesus to come into your life, to be your Lord and Savior, and to forgive you of all of your sins. If that doesn't describe anyone in your home or you right now, this is a good opportunity for you to pause and pray for anyone who right now might be receiving Christ for the first time. So, no matter who you are, pause and pray.

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Next, we want to be a praying church. Remember what we see 120 people doing in Acts, chapter 1, as they wait for the Holy Spirit to come. What are they doing? They're praying. Look with me at Acts 1:14. It says, "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers."

Prayer was what preceded the Holy Spirit coming. Then the Holy Spirit does come, and Peter gives his sermon, 3,000 people trust in Christ, and what becomes a key part of the routine of the first-century church? Turn over to Acts 2:42. It says, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Prayer was such an important practice for the first-century church.

We here at Watermark want to be a praying church. So, I want to invite anyone watching right now to get on their knees. Getting on our knees to pray is just one way we can say to God, "Hey, you're great and we're small. We understand and revere you as a God who is holy, holy, holy." There are four things I want you to pray, and I'm going to put them on the screen.

First, pray prayers of adoration of God. Just tell God how great you think he is. Secondly, pray prayers for one another. If you're with each other, then ask each other how you can pray for them. If you're not with anyone, then pray for others as the Spirit brings them to mind. Thirdly, pray prayers for our city in the midst of this winter storm. Pray for anyone right now who is homeless and in need of shelter. Then, fourthly, pray prayers for revival at Watermark and throughout our nation.

I'd encourage you to structure it this way. Set a timer for two minutes. Spend two minutes in the first category. Then, when the timer goes up, restart the timer and spend two minutes in the next category. Do this for all four categories. Feel free to make the timer longer if you have the time. If you have little kids with you, feel free to make it shorter. This is just a suggestion, but this is your moment now to pause and to pray.

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Before we move on from our praying marker, I just want to give you a reminder that today actually begins 7 Days of Prayer and Fasting for our entire church family. This has such potential to be a really special week for our church family. I really want to invite anyone who calls Watermark their church home to jump in and be in with us for these seven days. You can sign up right now for daily prayer prompts by texting the word pray to 40585. You can also go to watermark.org/pray, and there are guides for you on how to take steps in your prayer life. There's a guide on how to fast.

On top of that, don't forget that this Thursday night, we are gathering for a Night of Prayer and Worship at 7:00 p.m. at the church. If you've never been to one of these Nights of Prayer and Worship, you need to know they are always amazing. They are such special nights for our church. Remember, prayer is a noble enough reason for us to gather together as a church. So, jump in with us this week.

Okay. Next, we want to be a Bible-revering church. In the first two chapters of Acts, the apostles quote the Old Testament several times. Why? Because they believed the Scriptures were, in fact, the Word of God, and their lives were submitted to the Word of God. Turn to the passage that Join the Journey will focus on this coming week. It's Acts 2:42-47. Whether you're by yourself or with others, here's what I want you to do. Pause the video and read the passage twice slowly and out loud. Read it through twice.

As you read, try to actually picture being there. If you're with kids right now, you might even try to act it out. Just have fun with it. Pause, read, and then share one or many things that sounded healthy to you about the first-century church. If you're by yourself, try to write down three things that seemed healthy to you, and then spend some time praying for Watermark. Pray that the health you see in Acts, chapter 2, would be true of us. Since we're a shepherding church, would you pray for the elders while you're at it? This is your moment. Pause and practice.

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Let me take a moment while we're talking about our church and just remind you that every January, we ask our members to renew their membership. It only takes a few minutes. It's due by the end of this month, and you can renew your membership by going to watermark.org/renewal.

Okay. We also want to be a community church. Hopefully you're still right there in Acts 2:42-47. Look specifically at verse 46. I love the wording. It says, "And day by day, attending the temple together…" Do you see that? They're going to church. They're attending the temple together. I love that they believed in the first century that life was better together. We believe that too.

It goes on and says, "…and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts…" They were glad. There was joy in community, and there was generosity. I believe their generosity in this passage was physical provision for each other. This might be the right time right now to reach out to your Community Group just to make sure everyone is good. In the midst of this winter storm, maybe we need to meet each other's physical needs.

But if everyone is good right now, maybe one way we can be generous toward each other is with encouragement. I want to encourage you to pause the video and ask the Holy Spirit how he would lead you to encourage your Community Group today. Whatever he brings to mind, send a text of encouragement to your group, and be specific. Pause and practice.

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Next, we want to be a missional church. Acts 1:8 is the table of contents for the book. It's the most important verse in the entire book. It says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." That is Jesus' vision. It's for the gospel to go out. Then the Holy Spirit comes, and the apostles immediately begin to share the gospel.

Did you notice how chapter 2 ended? Look back at it really quickly. It says, "And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Isn't that interesting? The Lord was adding to their number those being saved. Why? Well, because the church members were sharing the gospel daily. The Lord was adding to their midst daily because the members were sharing daily.

Last time we did Church at Home, we practiced what we call our 15-second testimonies. This is a good time to practice them again. If you already know yours, share it with the people you're with, or if you're by yourself, just say it out loud to yourself just to rehearse it. If you haven't spent any time working on your 15-second testimony, here are the prompts. You start with "There was a time in my life when…" followed up with "But God…" then "Now I am filled…"

Let me give you an example. Here's my 15-second testimony. "There was a time in my life when I wasn't a child of God; I was his enemy, but Jesus Christ rescued me. Now I'm filled with peace and joy belonging to God's family." Here's what I want you to do. Pause the video, take a few minutes, and share your 15-second testimonies with each other. Then spend some time praying for those in your life who do not know Jesus yet. Okay? Pause, practice, and pray.

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Next, we want to be a sending church. When we talk about being a sending church, we're talking about having God's heart for the nations. Look back at Acts 1:8 again. Remember what it says. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." God's heart is for the gospel to go to the end of the earth.

The reason the apostles were given the ability to speak in other known languages in Acts, chapter 2, was because God was revealing his heart for the gospel to go to the nations. So, here's what I want you to do right now. Pause the video and go to watermark.org/missionaries. Spend a few minutes reading up on our different missionaries here at the church who are scattered throughout the world. Then spend some time praying for them by name. Pause, read up, and pray.

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Next, we want to be a maturing church. We definitely want to be people who are consistently growing as disciples of Jesus Christ. Go back and read Peter's call to the people in Acts 2:38. Let's look at it. What does he invite them to do? "And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

While repentance is a key part of initial faith in Jesus, it's important that repentance is a daily response to Christ the Lord. So, I want to invite you to pause the video and to do two things right now. First, take a couple of minutes in silence and ask the Holy Spirit to show you any sin in your life you need to repent from. If the Spirit brings something to mind, ask God for his forgiveness, and make sure you allow yourself to experience his grace. Then share it with the people you're with.

The second thing I want you to do is this. If you've never been baptized, discuss the importance of it, and consider even making a decision right now to reach out to the church to schedule your baptism. If you need more information on baptism, you can go to watermark.org/baptism. Okay? Pause, reflect, repent, discuss, and pray.

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Next, we want to be a unifying church. I want you to think about Acts, chapter 2, this way. Acts, chapter 2, is a time before denominations existed, before church hopping and church shopping ever began. Can you imagine that time? Everyone was just all in with the church. Now, let me say, there's something so beautiful about there being local expressions of God's church all over our city. God is doing a great work through so many churches in our city that are committed to proclaiming God's Word, exalting Christ, and glorifying God.

Here's what I want you to do right now. We did this last time we did Church at Home. Pause the video and pray by name for other churches in our city. Then a bonus assignment is to text a friend from another church and tell them you just prayed for their church. They're most likely not gathering today as well. So, pause, pray, and encourage.

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Finally, we want to be a Spirit-led church. Look back at Acts 2:38 and notice the wording. It says, "And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Do you see that? The Holy Spirit is a gift from God. One of the ways we can better appreciate the gift of the Holy Spirit is by simply identifying what the Spirit actually does in our lives.

So, here's what I want you to do. I want you to pause the video and then look at the following verses that I'm going to put on the screen. As you look them up, identify the activity of the Holy Spirit. Then, after each verse, say a prayer thanking God for this specific work of the Spirit. When you've done that, come back for one more activity. Okay? Pause, look up, study, and pray.

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To finish our time together, here's what I want to invite you to do. Set a timer for three to five minutes and ask the Holy Spirit if there's any way he wants to lead you right now. Just listen. He might bring a Scripture to your mind, he might put someone on your heart for prayer, or he might just allow you to sit and enjoy his presence. Set a timer, pause, listen, and then share with each other what your time was like.

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Watermark family, thank you so much for joining us for Church at Home. We made it, and you're going to make it through this winter storm. I hope you stay warm. In the meantime, don't forget, we will be in Acts 2:42-47 in Join the Journey tomorrow. If you haven't jumped in with us yet, you should. It has been such a good year so far. You should totally try it. Also, 7 Days of Prayer and Fasting starts today. Jump in with us. Then Thursday night, 7:00 p.m., get to church for a Night of Prayer and Worship. Watermark family, have a great week of worship.