Bible & Prayer

January 4th 2026

Series: 8 Habits of a Fully Devoted Christian

Sermon Title: Bible & Prayer

Topic Tag: Bible, Prayer

Key Passages: Acts 2:36-47, Philippians 4:6-7 6

Sermon Blurb: In this message, we will learn a simple way to study the Bible and pray.

***1stweek ODD months add communion & target message at 15 pages.

***1stweek EVEN months add space for dedication, baptism, or ministry highlight & target message at 15 pages.

***Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, and/or a picture that goes on the screens.

***Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Dedication, Baptism, or Ministry Highlight (1st Sunday, even months):

Sermon

Hello Family Church!!!

Welcome to Family Church… whether you are here in person or watching online…

        I am Pastor ______________ and I am so glad you are here to listen to this message.

Family Moment

Celebrate salvation / re-dedications / baptisms last week.

                Celebrate new disciples / disciple-makers

As we start this new year, we are also starting a new series.

        If you are new to or relatively new at Family Church, you may not be aware that every January, we have the same focus at Family Church.

As we start every year, we always look at Habits that are critical to being fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

        We do this on an annual basis because we believe it is critically important that we never stop practicing these habits that God established for us.

And this year we are going to be SUPER practical each week.

        Each week we are going to make sure you walk away from each message knowing how to apply what you learned in the message into your life.

PAUSE

So let me walk you through what you can expect this month.

This week, week 1, we will look at the importance of reading our Bible and praying consistently in life.

        Today, we are going to give you a tool to study your Bible and teach you how to use it.

        And we are going to teach you a simple method to pray.

In week 2, we will examine the benefits of serving and being in the community with others.

        I really want to encourage you to come back next week.

        We live in a culture that wants to isolate and divide us.

        Next week, we will see why community is the key that many of us are missing.

In week 3, we will look at how we can be transformed by becoming generous people and fasting.

We will wrap up the month in week 4 as we dive deeper into Jesus' call to be disciples who make disciples.

This month, we will learn the 8 Habits of being a fully devoted Christian.

Our goal is for everyone at Family Church to be a healthy follower of Jesus.

We hope that you will walk away from church every week this month with some additional habits of a healthy believer, which you can put into practice right away.

PAUSE

Let’s start by defining what a habit is…

Write this down…some of you hopefully remember it!!!

HABITS are ingrained actions that have become natural because of continued repetition.

        Repeat

So, here is our Acronym for the series.

It’s an acronym for the word HABITS…and it shows us, in order, the topics we’re going to be discussing over these weeks.

On the screen AND in notes

H – Holy Bible A – Abundant Prayer B – Beneficial Serving I  –  Intentional Community T – Transformational Generosity S – Spiritual Fasting F – Fruitful Disciple-Making C – Continual Coaching

Do you see what we did there?

        Habits at FC or Family Church!

And as you exit today, you will see THIS BOOK (Hold up)…

        We created these books last year, and we give them to every first-time guest.

        This book was created to help you grow in these habits.

        If you have not read it yet…

        Please grab one and take it home to read this month!

        Because this book has another method to study the Bible and pray…

        Because life is NOT one size fits all!

        There are a LOT of ways to study the Bible and pray!

And today….we will give you two more tools to add to your tool belt…

PAUSE

I know there are people here who have never opened a Bible, and if that is you today, I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE!

I also realize that many of us in the room have been in church our whole lives, but do NOT read the Bible much, and if that is you today, I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE!

No matter how much you know about the Bible…

        Today’s teaching will just help you study the Bible better.

PAUSE

Today, I want to teach you about a tool call Discovery Bible Study.

        This tool has been around for a long time.

        Anyone in this room that is being discipled by someone from Family Church will be familiar with this tool even if you have never heard that name.

Discovery Bible Study is a simple, reproducible method of reading and discussing Scripture in a group.

It is designed so that any believer or non-believer can lead it.

No special training required.

No DEEP knowledge of the Bible required.

And so forth.

The core elements of DBS are simply:

1. A Small Group - Friends, family, neighbors, co-workers.

2. Bible – Any passage can work!

3. Questions – A simple set of questions to help guide.

4. Obedience & Sharing – Encouraging all people to obey the Bible, apply it to their life, and share with others.

You were all given a bookmark as you walked in today…

        On the front of the bookmark you see it says, “What is the Church?”

        Then below that it has different topics on that and passages from the Bible.

        If you have your Bible with you open it to that first passage… Acts 2: 36-47

New Person Bible Connection:

If you do not have a Bible, that is ok!

        After service, we will give you an AMAZING leather-bound study Bible!

Just go to ADD YOUR CAMPUS PLACE and get one for FREE!!!        

Or you can always download the Family Church app and follow along on your phone as well.

Simply download the app and click "Sermon Notes" on the main page.

PAUSE

Now flip over the bookmark….

        And let’s walk through what it says to do….

You will see question one says…

1. What is one thing you are most thankful for this week?

When you meet with others, you start by asking that question…

So, let’s do this….

        One person you want to share something you're thankful for this week?

        Come on…someone shout it out…

Now it is important that you in your group…also share…

        SHARE SOMETHING PERSONAL….

Question 2…

2. What is one thing that stressed you out most this week?

When you meet with others, ask that question…

So, let’s do this….

        One person you want to share something that stressed you out this week?

        Come on…someone shout it out…

Now it is important that you, in your group…also share…

        SHARE SOMETHING PERSONAL….

Question 3…

3. What did you do to follow through with your last “I will” statement?

Now this question you only answer after your first gathering…

This question ties to the last question…so we will skip this one!

Question 4…

4. Read the passage out loud. (Update wording if needed)

When you meet with others, do that..…

So, let’s do this….

Acts 2:36-47   36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “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.

39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Question 5…

5. What did you learn about God, yourself, and mankind?

When you meet with others, ask that question…

So, let’s do this….

        One person you want to share something you learned for this passage?

        Come on…someone shout it out…

Now it is important that you, in your group…also share…

        Like I love how it says in verse 47 that DAILY people were being saved!!!

        That is awesome and I want to see that!

Question 6…

6. As a result of today’s reading, how will you apply what you learned? Answer as I will…

When you meet with others, ask that question…

So, let’s do this….

        One person you want to share how you could apply this to your life?

        Come on…someone shout it out…

Now it is important that you, in your group…also share…

        Ya for me…to piggyback off the last thing I said…

        I could make the decision today to say I am going to try and share the Good News of Jesus with someone EVERY day…

        Then maybe I could experience people coming to know Jesus daily!

And that last question…Question 7…

7. How can the group pray for you this week?

Which….is as easy as doing it!

        But I know the idea of praying out loud with others will FREAK some of you out!!!!!

So…let’s do this…

        Let me teach you all really quickly how to pray…

        And then we can do this…

        Then we can pray for each other….

        And all the introverts are like NOOOO!!!!!

        And all the extroverts are like YESSS!!!!!

I know there are a lot of people who fear praying out loud or with other people…

Fear is a funny thing…and I spent some time studying fears this week…

Let me give you a few funny ones I found out about:

1. Deipnophobia – The fear of dinner parties

2. Ephebiphobia – The fear of youths

3. Genuphobia – The fear of knees in summer

And one that I thought all of you would get a kick out of

4. Dutchphobia – The fear of Dutch people and their culture

It is said that there are only two fears we are born with…

The fear of falling and loud noises…

That means every other fear we have is learned….

PAUSE

Let me show you all how easy it is to pray.

        It is NOT as complex as we make it out to be…

And this verse will speak to EXACTLY what some of you are feeling right now!

Philippians 4:6-7 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Do not be what church?

Does anyone want to admit that the second I said I am going to ask you to pray with each other, you got anxious?

It is NORMAL to feel anxious when we do things we are not used to doing!

Add a personal story about this….

Let me be transparent with you guys…

        Some of you might remember me sharing this at some point.

        But many years ago.

        Before I was a pastor.

        When I was working in the construction world, still.

        My wife wanted to join a small group.

        I did NOT want to join a small group.

        I agreed ONLY to make my wife happy.

        But I told my wife…there were a few rules…

        I told her if she ever asked me to read the Bible out loud, I would never come back.

        I told her if she EVER asked me to pray out loud, I would NEVER come back.

        I told her NOT to expect me to be friends with all the weird people that would be in the group…

        100% true story…ask Jenny if you doubt it!

See… I was not comfortable praying out loud because I didn’t do it!

        Now…I do it all the time!

        And it is not because I am good at it or skilled at it…

        It is because I simply do it!

        And the more you do anything the easier it gets!

That is why God is saying to you all right now…

        Do NOT be anxious…

        It is going to be ok…

        Do NOT be anxious…

anxious about anything, but in every situation, by

what church?

prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Wow…

        What a cool verse…

        If we will CHOOSE to bring our anxiety to God.

        If we CHOOSE to bring our issues to God.

        If we CHOOSE to bring EVERY situation to God.

        Every request to God.

        Every praise to God.

Look in your Bibles…

        If we do that…

        We will have peace…

        Peace from God…

        Peace that will…look in your Bible…

        Peace that will TRANSCEND your ability or understanding!

If we will do this….

        Look in your Bibles…

        It will GUARD our hearts and minds! Who DOESN’T want that!!!!!

So….

        The worship team is going to come and play in the background…

        And we are going to pray with each other…

        Let me encourage you to just grab a person or two around you and pray with them about whatever you want to…

        But if you are here and your are SUPER afraid right now…

        I am going to put a prayer for you on the screens and you can 100% just read that and it is 100% fine!

Here is the prayer you can read….

        In fact, let’s all just read this out loud real quick.

        And this comes right from the passage we just read.

God, I am a little anxious right now. But I bring that to you. God, I am thankful for you. God give us peace that transcends our understanding and guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

Ok…

        Break up into little groups, and I am going to give you 2-3 minutes to pray…

        And feel free to read that prayer…

Life Application: Today, commit to study your Bible and pray more this year. As a result of today’s message, I Will __________________

Communion (1st Sunday, odd months)

Communion Flow #1 – January, July

Today, as we prepare to take communion.

I want you to understand you are called to serve.

The greatest servant ever was Jesus…. Jesus left Heaven…. to come to earth and give His life for us….

to become the bridge for our sins….

to take on our sins so we can be forgiven and enter into a perfect heaven.

That is why we take communion….to remember Jesus and what he did for us!

We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already grafted into his family, into his church . . . 

Communion, is a means of grace for nourishing and strengthening disciples of Christ. 

And to prepare our hearts to take communion I would like us all to raise and read the Apostles Creed together.

What I would like us to do is do a responsive reading now…to prepare our hearts to receive communion….

For those of you who are newer to the church, this is a creed that the church has memorized and stated for thousands of years.

On Screens, read aloud togather:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

You may be seated.

As we prepare to take communion,, I want to let you know that anyone here who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior is welcome to do so.

Parents, you are also welcome to take communion with your kids if you think they are ready… feel free to talk to your children during communion and explain things to them.

Communion is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus instituted Communion on the evening He was betrayed.

Mathew 26:26-28 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’

Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”

Now we are going to listen to a song and as you listen I want to encourage you to take a moment and reflect on what it means that Jesus was willing to sacrifice His body for you and shed his blood for the forgiveness of your sins….

Take a moment and thank Jesus for his sacrifice for you. 

Take a moment to ask Jesus to forgive you of any hidden sin in your life.

If you have not given your life to Jesus…take a moment now and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and tell him you now submit your life to him…

And then after this song, I will explain how we will take communion…. together….

AFTER THE SONG ENDS…..  

In the seat in front of you there is a cup the looks like this……

EXPLAIN HOW TO OPEN based on style….

Just so you all know, the bread is gluten-free…

Let’s first take and eat the bread of life and give Jesus thanks for sacrificing his body for us.

Scripture tells us then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”

Drinking this cup symbolizes Jesus shedding his blood for our sins….

AND us asking Jesus to give you an increased portion of his Spirit to keep us away from sinning in the future!

Take and drink the cup in remembrance of Jesus shedding his blood for your sins.

As you exit… Please feel free to grab a book to help you apply what you are going to learn this month!

Prayer:

        Make sure to do a salvation call!

Offering: