Church at Home Sunday

On Sunday, December 28, we won’t gather at the Dallas Campus for our usual services—but church is still on. Church at Home Sunday is your chance to slow down, gather your people, start the new year prayerfully, and get a taste of what church was like in the early first-century Church. In the video below, you will be guided through Watermark’s 10 markers and be given time to reflect with your group on each. We’re expectant for all God has ahead in 2026! Let’s finish the year thankful, open-handed, and ready for what’s next.

What is Watermark Sunday Messages?

This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.

Hey, Watermark family. Welcome to Church at Home. Stick with me. I promise you, if you track with us, you're going to get to the end of this thing and be like, "That was awesome, and we should do that more." This is not you watching a video and just listening to me. You and the people you're with are going to get to work out your faith together right now. You're going to have activities. This is going to be a sweet time.

Church at Home is special because it's an opportunity for the Watermark family to get a little taste of what church was like for the first-century church. The way the church started was primarily meeting in homes. That's what you're doing right now. It's especially good that we're doing this now, because we're about to jump into the book of Acts, which chronicles the work of the Spirit in the first-century church. So, you're just tasting it, and then we're going to unpack it for a year.

Here's how this whole thing is going to play out. I'm going to walk you through exercises for each of our 10 markers. Our 10 markers are the things we value most as a church. It's what we want to mark us. I'll unpack one of the markers, and then I'll turn it over to you. You'll be able to push "pause" on the video, and you and your group are going to work out your faith together. It's going to be awesome.

The important thing for you to know is you get to set the pace. If you have little kids in the room, you might need to pick up the pace. If you don't have kids in the room and don't have time constraints, you might move a little bit more slowly and thoughtfully.

Let's start with prayer. Take a moment, just like we do every Sunday, and ask God to speak to you. Would you do that really quickly? Then, I want to invite you to pray for the other people who are with you, but also for the people who are gathering in homes all over Dallas and, honestly, in different parts of the US, as people engage with Church at Home wherever they're at. Then I want to pray a blessing over you.

God, would you do a great work during this time? I pray that people would get to the end and be so encouraged with what you did in their lives during this time. Would you just have your way? Spirit, we turn it over to you, and we just ask you to lead our minds and our hearts. Would you glorify Christ in us? In Jesus' name, amen.

All right. Here we go. First, we want to be a _gospel-saturated church_, which means we want to be a church that is all about the life-changing, eternity-shifting, soul-satisfying good news that Jesus Christ left heaven willingly, lived perfectly, died sacrificially, rose victoriously, and now reigns presently. So, here's what I want you to do. First, I want to invite your entire group to sing the gospel together.

\[Song\]

Okay. Now pause the video, and you get to choose, but have one person in your group share the gospel with everyone else.

\[Pause\]

Next, we want to be a _praying church_. I think about 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says, **"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."** I think about Philippians 4:6-7, which says, **"…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."**

Here's what I want everyone watching to do right now. If you are able to do this, I'd love for everyone in the room to get on their knees, and what I want your group to do is to spend time looking back on 2025 with gratitude, because 1 Thessalonians 5 told us to give thanks in everything. Then I want you to look ahead to 2026 with faith, as Philippians 4 told us to not be anxious about anything but to present our requests to God. That's what you're doing. On your knees, look back and look ahead.

So do this. If you're with people right now, then one person volunteer to start and another volunteer to close. When I was in high school, we said, "Who wants to dial? Who's going to hang up?" Y'all figure that out right now. Then I just want you to spend 5 to 10 minutes practicing being a praying church together. You can go ahead and pause the video now and begin to pray.

\[Pause\]

Next, we want to be a _Bible-revering church_. We believe God has gone to great lengths to speak to us through his Word. On Christmas Eve, we looked at the new creation that we see at the end of Revelation. I want to invite you back to it. If you have your Bibles, turn in them to Revelation 21. Here's what I want you to do. This is another opportunity for you to pause the video. Have someone read Revelation 21:1-8 and then answer the questions that are going to be on the screen.

\[Pause\]

Next, we want to be a _missional church_. We want to be used by God to spread his good news. Back in November, I encouraged you to learn your 15-second testimony. If you haven't spent time working on your 15-second testimony, here are the prompts. It starts with, "There was a time in my life when…" Just fill that in with a few words. Then, "But God \[a few words\]. Now I am filled \[a few words\]." Let me give you an example. Here is my 15-second testimony: "There was a time in my life when I was an enemy of God, not a child. But God rescued me, and now I'm filled with joy and peace, belonging to his family." That's my 15-second testimony.

So, this is your moment to pause the video and take a few minutes to either work on your 15-second testimony for the first time, or you can start sharing them with each other. That's the goal: for you to spend some time sharing your 15-second testimony. Then, have one person in your group wind down this time by praying that God would give all of you opportunities and courage to share your 15-second testimony.

\[Pause\]

Next, we want to be a _sending church_. When we talk about being a sending church, we are talking about having God's heart for the nations. This is now another opportunity for you to pause the video. Here's what I want you to do after you pause. I want everyone to get out their phones. I know you love this moment, that now you're actually being invited to use your phone. Get out your phone, and I want you to download the Unreached of the Day app. Okay? Everyone go download it. You'll be so glad you did. It's called _Unreached of the Day_.

Once you've downloaded it, open up the app and look at the unreached people group of the day. If you have any trouble at all downloading the app, you can simply go to [unreachedoftheday.org](https://unreachedoftheday.org/) and get the information there, but I really want the app on your phone, because I want you to use it more than just today. Hopefully, this is going to become a normal part of your life. What I want you to do is have someone in the group read a few of the facts and figures as well as the prayer prompts, and then have one person in the group pray on behalf of your group for the unreached people group of the day.

\[Pause\]

Now I want to talk about being a _unifying church_. We firmly believe that God is doing a great work in so many churches in our city. So, this is an opportunity now for you to pause the video and pray by name for other churches in our city that are committed to proclaiming the gospel, exalting Christ, and teaching the Bible. And here are bonus points. After you pray for churches by name, if you know people who go to a different church, you should text them and say, "Hey, I just want you to know I'm with a group of people and we spent time praying for your church."

\[Pause\]

Now we're going to move into a time where our focus is going to be on our _maturing church_, our _community church_, and our _shepherding church_ markers. This is a time where I'm going to be inviting you to share with the group and you guys are going to have discussion. So, this is where I want to speak especially to the leader in the group.

If you have some time constraints, then it might be helpful for you, the leader, to provide some direction to make sure you can enjoy the rest of the markers. So, whatever you need to do to kind of safeguard the time so that all the time doesn't get eaten up by just one marker, just do whatever you can. Again, this is a really good time for your group to process together.

We want to be a _maturing church_. When I talk about a maturing church, Colossians 1:28 is so helpful, because it says, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone, so that we may present them mature or complete in Christ." That's the goal: that every member at Watermark would move toward maturity. One of the ways we do that is by growing. We want to be people who are consistently growing as disciples of Jesus Christ.

So, here's what I want you to do. I want you to pause the video, and I want you to share with the group two things. First, I want you to answer this question: "During the previous year, Watermark helped me grow as a follower of Jesus." Do you strongly disagree, disagree, are you undecided, do you agree, or do you strongly agree? Answer that question. Then, the second thing I want you to do is to share with your group one way that you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus this next year.

\[Pause\]

Next, we want to be a _community church_. We want to enjoy life together. We want to be a place where we're fully known and fully loved. So, this is another opportunity for you to pause the video and to share. This time, I want you to share three things. First, I want you to share your answer to the following question: "During the previous year, I was known and cared for within the community of Watermark." Do you strongly disagree, disagree, are you undecided, do you agree, or do you strongly agree?

The second thing I want you to do is to take a moment and just express thanks for the ways your group _has_ cared for you over the past year. Then, finally, I want you to share any ways it would be helpful for your group to care for you in 2026.

\[Pause\]

Next, we want to be a _shepherding church_, which means we want to be a church where the elders of the church lead and care for the sheep and the sheep, the people of the church, submit to the leadership of the elders. As we move into 2026, the elders and I want every member to grow in both being a disciple of Jesus and making disciples of Jesus.

So, here's another opportunity for you to pause the video, and I want you to share two things with your group. First, I want you to share your answer to the following question. Here it is: "During the previous year, I participated in making disciples at Watermark." Do you strongly disagree, do you disagree, are you undecided, do you agree, or do you strongly agree?

Secondly, I want you to share what your next step with the church is. If you're not a member, maybe it's membership. If you haven't been serving, maybe you sense God is calling you to serve. What is it going to look like for you to make disciples this next year? It might be that God is already bringing specific people to mind or a specific demographic, a certain age group, a certain ministry, and God is calling you to step into that place to make disciples.

\[Pause\]

Finally, we want to be a _Spirit-led church_. Here's what I want your group to do. I want you to set a timer for five minutes, and then I want you to just sit quietly together. Like, nobody is talking, and you're actually not praying. You're listening, and you're asking the Holy Spirit if there is any way he wants you to encourage the group.

He might bring a verse to mind. If he brings a verse to your mind, then pull out your Bible and turn to it. It could be that he gives you something specific, like certain words of encouragement he wants you to share with the group. He could put a picture in your mind, and he put it there because he wants you and the rest of your group to pray for it. If nothing comes to mind, that is okay. The important thing is just to create space for the Spirit of God to lead. So, this is your time to pause the video, sit quietly, and then, after you've done that for five minutes, share with one another.

\[Pause\]

Watermark family, thanks so much for joining us for Church at Home. You made it. Way to go. Now, don't forget. We are reading through the book of Acts together as a church in 2026. I'm telling you, I'm so excited for you to see what's coming, because the reading plan is actually meant to be a robust experiential resource that helps you practice the 10 markers as you read.

Surprise! You just did it as a group. The reason Church at Home looked the way it did was we just wanted to give you a small taste of what you're going to get to experience personally every single day of the year throughout 2026. So, make sure you subscribe to Join the Journey. We believe this resource is going to help you enjoy God more deeply than you ever have in your life. You can download the app and start reading with us January 1. Watermark family, have a great week of worship.