“Father, we pause from our busy day to cast all of our attention onto You.  Speak to us through Your Word.  Let it shape our minds in how we think, our hearts in what we love, and ultimately our hands in what we do.  Amen.”

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

Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and Peter’s proclamation of the life that is found in Christ, the community of faith ballooned from 120 to over 3,000.  The next thing Luke does is provide insight into the life of this new faith community.  

In verse 42, we find a list of the regular practices that made up their life together and their commitment to them.  The NIV says they were “devoted” to these practices.  The Greek word for “devoted” means “to give constant attention to a thing”.  They continually gave themselves to these practices.  They sat together at the apostles’ feet as they shared what Jesus had taught them.  They spent time together in community.  They broke bread in shared meals and life together.  They called on the Lord together through prayer.   

As we reflect on the faithful practices of the early church and their devotion to these practices, may we begin to think about our own spiritual practices.  I wonder which of these practices are a regular part of your life.  I wonder if there are any you are neglecting.  I wonder if you are devoted to them or inconsistent with them.  

Each of these practices is vital for both the church and the believer.  Identify one of these practices you want to grow in.  Make a plan for how you will expand this practice in your life.  

“Lord, help me see how I can grow in the practices that draw me into deeper relationship with You.  I want to know You.  I want to walk with my brothers and sisters.  Help me shape my life around these practices that draw me nearer to You.  Amen.”

 

 

Pray:

“Lord, with all of our being, we praise You.  We do not forget that You are the One who forgives, heals, redeems, and satisfies.  Meet with us as we draw into Your presence.  Amen.”  (adapted from Psalm 103:1-5)

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

Awe.  Luke tells us everyone in this new body called the church was filled with awe.  

The cause of much of their awe was the signs and wonders performed by the apostles.  Armed with the Spirit, they continued Jesus’ ministry of healing and other miracles.  Jesus told them that they would do the same things that He did.    

When we read about this, it often prompts the question: does God still provide such signs and wonders today?  

There are a couple of lines of thinking in regard to this question.  Some will say that the power given to the apostles was unique and meant specifically for the purpose of building the movement of the early church.  Now that the church is established, that kind of power has largely subsided.  Others will say it is our lack of faith that is the problem.  We don’t look to God to do such things, so they don’t happen.  

So, which is it?  Who is right?  Are signs and wonders no longer needed, or are we the obstacle to God’s wonders?  

To be honest, I’m not sure.  Both offer valid points worth considering.  I will tell you what I do know.  I know that God wants to do more.  He wants to do more in us and through us than He is already doing.  He wants to do more than we are asking Him to do in prayer.  

I have felt a conviction in this area as we’ve been studying Acts.  God wants to do more than He is already doing.  This excites me because God is already doing some great things.  It also challenges me to pray bolder prayers and to meet those prayers with an expectation that God will indeed do those things.  

I wonder what things God wants to do through us.  I wonder what it looks like for you to pray bolder prayers for God to move in and through us.  I invite you to dream with me, to pray with me for God to do things that leave us in awe. 

“Jesus, we believe that You want to do more through us.  You are already doing some amazing things, but You have even greater dreams for us.  We yield ourselves to Your vision.  Work in us.  Work through us.  Do the things You have in mind to do.  Do the things You want to do.  We are already in awe of You, so take us even deeper. Amen.”

 

 

“God, You are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.  We long to experience more of You.  Be near to us as we seek You now.  Amen.”  (adapted from Psalm 103:8)

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

There is one word Luke uses nearly every time he mentions the church in the book of Acts.  In fact, he has used it every time he has mentioned the body of believers so far in Acts.  What word does he use to describe them?  Together.

Luke uses the word “together” three times in verses 42-47.  He implies it several more times.  One of the marks of the church was that they were together.  

We may associate together as being physically together, which was true, yet it was more than that.  They were together in their convictions and beliefs.  They shared the same values and love.  

Luke says they were together “and had everything in common”.  We read that with a bit of skepticism today.  Living in a world that is so deeply divided makes it difficult to imagine any community having everything in common.    

I don’t believe Luke is implying that the church–now a community of more than 3,000 people–  was the exact same in every which way.  I believe this is Luke’s way of saying that their life was oriented around a common, core conviction that Jesus Christ was Lord and Savior.  This belief was so important that no other beliefs disrupted the harmony that flowed from this shared conviction.  We might say it this way: Jesus was supreme, and everything else was secondary, a distant second at that.  

Galatians 3:26-28 reads, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  

Paul says we are one in Christ Jesus.  The church lived that.  Their oneness in Christ put any differences into perspective.  To have a shared conviction around the greater thing means you can have understanding when it comes to the lesser things, including differences.   

So what does that look like for the church today?  It means that we seek to live out being one in Jesus; He is the head of our body, meaning that His calling and teachings are what shape our life together.  His supremacy in our church means that everything else is secondary, especially any differences.  

“Lord, You have made us one.  You are the common thread that binds us together in unity.  You are the center of our life for You have made us all new.  Our identity is built on You, not social status, race, or political party.  We are Yours and You are ours.  May You continue to lead us in Your way and to do Your will. Amen.”

 

 

“Jesus, on this day, open our ears that we may hear You.  Open our hearts that we may believe You and follow You.  Amen.”  

 

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

One of the ways the early church lived out being one together in Christ was that they willingly let go of their stuff to meet the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ.  In the sermon, we said they loved people more than their possessions.

Luke isn’t implying that everyone sold all of their belongings.  It seems that those who had more than enough let go of that to help those who didn’t have enough.  The result of this was that there were no needs in the community.  There were no longer the “haves” and the “have-nots”.  They were free to all exist outside of those social designations and simply be one in Christ.  In this way, the church was a true reflection of God’s Kingdom.  

In God’s Kingdom, there won’t be any needs.  All of our needs will be satisfied in and by God.  In Revelation 7, John sees a vision of the church’s being united with the Lord.  He sees people of “every nation, tribe, people, language” standing before Jesus.  John hears a portion of the book of Isaiah being quoted, which says that the Lamb is seated at the center on a throne and that the people are shielded by His presence.  As a shepherd, He will meet every need so that there is no more hunger, thirst, or weeping.  

The church is to be a Kingdom-like community.  We are to live in such a way that we see a glimpse of this glorious life to come.  That means we meet one another’s needs, whatever those needs might be.  

To do this requires that we are willing to make sacrifices for one another.  In our annual Leadership Summit, we discussed Acts 2:42-47.  One of the observations centered on this passage.  The comment from one of our leaders was they felt challenged to sacrifice more.  

That is a powerful insight.  To live into the call to be a Kingdom-like community takes all of us sharing such a conviction.  It takes all of us living and giving more sacrificially.  That could be reflected in the giving of our time, talents, and/or financial treasures.  

Let us call upon the Lord for direction in what our contribution to becoming this kind of Kingdom community looks like.  

“Holy Spirit, we long to see our church reflect the Kingdom of God in even greater ways.  Help us to do our part.  Show us what that looks like so that we can meet Your call with obedience.  May You work in our life together as a church so that our various needs, whether they are emotional, spiritual, physical, might be met in You.  Amen.”

 

 

 

 

“Lord, today on Valentine’s Day, we pause our study of the book of Acts to remember Your call to love.  May our understanding and practice of love extend far beyond candy and cards.  Prepare us to step fully into Your call to love selflessly and completely as You did.  Amen.”  

 

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.”

The call to love one another was not new.  The disciples had heard Jesus say this before.  He had already told them to “love another as yourself.”  

What was new was the kind of love to which Jesus called them.  “Love each other as I have loved you,” He said.  That is different.  

We might say that to love one another as ourselves means we are to care for the needs of others with the same urgency we seek to meet our own needs.  To love one another as Jesus loves us calls us to sacrifice for others.  Knowing that these words came just hours before He was beaten and crucified for us adds weight to them.  Jesus is the model for how we love one another. 

As we consider Jesus as the model for how to love, we become aware of where we are deficient.  For some, it’s impatience.  For others, it is a resistance to forgiving or a tendency to speak down about others.  

I wonder what deficiency you struggle with comes to mind. I wonder what it would look like to bring that deficiency to Jesus.  I wonder what could happen if you asked Him to work in your heart so that your capacity to love would stretch further.

“Jesus, we look to You and Your grace to be at work in us.  We take up Your call to love one another as You have loved us.  We see where we are so often deficient in love.  Forgive us.  Heal us.  Free us to love in ways that reflect You.  We long for obedience to You in this, and we need Your help to live this out.  Amen.”

“Father, we set aside our worries and the concerns of the day to be with You.  Fill us once again with Your life and presence.  We long to know You more deeply.  Amen.”

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.

Today we jump back into the life of the early church in Acts 2.  Today and tomorrow, we’ll look at verses 46-47.  We’ll focus our attention on two things here: what the church did and what God did.  Let’s take a look today at what the church did.  

The church “continued to meet together”.  The word “continued” implies an ongoing practice.  They didn’t regard regularly meeting together as if it were a New Year’s resolution that you pick up for two weeks before you fall back into your old pattern.  They kept meeting.  This provided the opportunity for them to grow together.  

We also see that they genuinely enjoyed being together.  They invited one another into their homes.  They shared food because great things happen around a table.  Food has a way of opening us up.  Breaking bread leads to better relationships.  

They also worshiped.  Praising God was both formal and informal.  Luke tells us they met for more corporate worship and informal worship.  Sometimes worship happened in the Temple, and sometimes it happened in a home.  Worship was a lifestyle, not an event.  

All of these practices were marked by joy.  We might say that joy overflowed in all they did.  Doesn’t that sound refreshing?  Imagine being a part of a community in which joy was always palpable, where you felt it when you walked into the room.  I believe people are looking for such a community, especially in today’s world.        

I wonder which part of what the church did resonates most with you.  Is there something here you want to experience more of?  If so, which part?  

We can see where we practice these things in our life together as a church, but I wonder how we can grow in these.  What might that look like, and how can you contribute to that? 

“Jesus, as we consider the things the church did that led to overflowing joy, reveal to us what we need to be doing so that such joy would abound in us.  Restore in us the desire to be together with our brothers and sisters in You.  Let us not be satisfied with superficial relationships but seek what is real and meaningful.  Amen.”

 

 

“Lord, we shout out in joy to You.  We come into Your presence with gladness for we belong to You.  We come before You with thanksgiving and praise for You are good and Your faithful love endures forever.  Amen.”  (adapted from Psalm 100)

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.

Yesterday, we looked at the things the church did that added to such a vibrant life together.  Today, we’re going to look at what God did as a result of their faithfulness.  

The result of their life together was that God was pleased to add to their life.  God brought more and more people into their community that they might not only believe in Jesus but also experience what life with Him was like.  

This reminds me of the promise Jesus issued after Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the Messiah.  Jesus said, “On this rock, I will build My church.”  I will build My church.  Jesus said He will build the church.  That is precisely what God is doing here in Acts 2.  He is building the church.  

The focus of the church isn’t to grow.  How often have you heard a pastor say that?  Our call isn’t to grow as if growth were the measure of success.  Our call is to be obedient to Jesus.  Faithfulness is our measure of success.  The growth that God wants to bring is the result of faithful obedience to His will.  In short, if we do our part, God will do His.  And whatever that looks like will be good.  

While our aim isn’t necessarily to grow for the sake of growth, our call is to reach those who don’t yet know Jesus.  We are to be Jesus’ witnesses in the world to who He is and what He has done.  If we are living as His witnesses, we can expect that our church will grow.  And if that is how God wants to bless us, then we must be ready to make room for people to come into our community so that they can grow as disciples.  

So let’s recalibrate our focus to Jesus’ call.  We’re not aiming at growth for growth’s sake.  We’re aiming at sharing and embodying Jesus so that more people experience abundant life through Him.  That includes us and those who haven’t been reached yet.     

“Jesus, we hear Your call to be witnesses in the world.  Continue to teach us how we can share what we’ve seen, heard, and experienced of You with others.  As we continue to pursue being a faithful church, we wait for what You will do in us.  If You decide to add to our number, we will make room for them and invest in them that they may become deeply committed disciples.  If it is Your will to add to our quality of life more than the quantity of our church, we will embrace it.  We are excited to receive whatever You are pleased to do for we are Your servants.  Amen.”