My Heart for a Small Group

As I was reading When I Don't Desire God by Jown Piper, I felt that these attributes of a small group were laid on my heart.

1) Meetings are began and ended with prayer, not a single prayer, but communal prayer until God calls someone to close the prayer time

2) Worship through music either follows or is intermittent with prayer

3) Groups of two or three individuals break off to discuss past weeks accomplishments and needs

4) Groups having met the preceding week then meet and speak scripture that God has laid on their heart for other group members

5) A teacher then speaks from the Word a message God has given him

I believe that God desires His people to come together in true, heart-enraptured prayer and worship as often as is possible. The picture of the first church seems to suggest members meeting almost every night of the week. Acts 2:46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We must also allow the bittersweet cleansing of the Word of God to proceed from our mouths and to be received by our ears for exhortation, correction and encouragement. This is why I believe that it is so necessary for believers to share what God is doing and to allow God to speak through, and to them, by His Word. 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

This is what I long for in a small group. It is not impossible to pull off an inspiring small group using prewritten outlines and guided teaching, but how much more awesome and refining for the whole of the small groups' activities to be based off of the word and the direct interposing of God's voice through individuals for the use of ministry? Would it not be a higher calling for believers to pour through the word of God; searching for those few scriptures by which a brother might be saved, encouraged, exhorted or corrected instead of listening to a well-outlined and researched teaching method? Would it not lead to a greater maturity and accountability, knowing that another believer will benefit from your study and prayer for them throughout the week; and even more that they will have done the same for you?