Church Life (Acts 2:38-47)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC...

[Title] Church Life (Acts 2:38-47)

 

[Slide] A little girl was at church and told her mother she felt sick. Her mother told her to run outside and throw up behind the bushes. When she returned looking relieved, her mother asked if she was ok. The little girl said, “Yes, but I didn’t go outside. I found a box in the entryway that said, ‘For the Sick.’”

 

Did you hear about the priest who poisoned the communion wine?

He was arrested for mass murder.

 

At the end of Acts Chapter 2, Luke gives us a snapshot of Church life for the early disciples.

 

[Slide] Peter told the crowds who responded to his preaching to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. To join the Church is to make a change. Turn away from sin and turn to God in obedience. Baptism is a sign of belonging to the Church. We die with Christ to our former lives of sin and rise into new life empowered by grace and love.

 

Once converts joined the church through repentance and baptism, they devoted themselves to church life. [Slide] Church life was marked by these activities. They were devoted to:

 

Apostles’ teachings (Scripture)

Fellowship (Small Group)

Sacrament (Lord’s Supper)

Prayer

Worship 

Common Purse (Giving)

Charity (Outreach)

 

[Slide] The early Church had no New Testament. They had the apostles who studied the Jewish scriptures and taught them about Jesus. They eventually wrote down what they remembered of Jesus’ parables, miracles and teachings. They wrote gospel accounts. They wrote letters to encourage the Church. They wrote sermons. The apostles’ writings were circulated around the Christian communities. Our New Testament is the apostles’ teachings, faithfully passed down from church to church for nearly 2,000 years. Devotion to the apostles’ teachings means reading the scriptures, both old and new testaments. For when the New Testament mentions scripture, it is talking about the Old Testament. The New Testament is commentary on the Old in light of Jesus Christ.

 

Develop your devotion. Read the Bible. Dedicate yourself to growing in the knowledge of God by reading His word.

 

[Slide] The early disciples were devoted to the fellowship. Church life isn’t simply gathering for worship. Small groups form for the purpose of encouraging one another in the faith. The Methodist movement formed small groups of disciples “to watch over one another in love and encourage one another onto good works.” Church fellowship is not done during worship. Fellowship is done in small groups like groups that gather in homes, Sunday school and bible studies. The early disciples ate in one another’s homes. Eating together is a sign of friendship.

 

Groups can form around special interests like crafts, or outreach mission, or even games. The purpose of small groups is to develop strong bonds of friendship. A small group can become your church family within the church family. Your small group will pray for each other and support each other in life’s joys and heartaches. A small group will encourage your growth as a disciple of Jesus. Church Life is devoted to fellowship.

 

 

 

[Slide] The early disciples were devoted to breaking of the bread. Aside from eating together in one another’s homes, the early Church celebrated the Lord’s Supper. John Wesley taught that the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, should be celebrated at every gathering. He instructed Methodists not to neglect the sacrament, for the Lord commanded us, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Why do we limit our celebration of holy communion to the first Sunday of the month? The answer is simple. In the days of circuit riders, there were not enough ordained clergy available to serve every Christian community on the frontier. Churches had to wait for the preacher to come to town to celebrate the sacrament. Church Life is devoted to remembering the sacrifice of Jesus. “This is my body, broken for you.”

 

[Slide] The Church is devoted to prayer. Prayer is not simply asking God for things. A lot of people treat prayer like a bubble gum machine. You drop in a prayer request, and expect God to dispense a sweet response. The apostle Paul wrote,

 

[Slide] We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

 

Prayer is communion with God’s Spirit. It is less about making requests and more about building a lifegiving relationship with God. Some treat prayer like a fire extinguisher, for use only in emergencies. The early Church was devoted to a life of prayer.

 

[Slide] The early church was devoted to worship. They gathered daily as the church in the temple courts. Jesus was in the habit of attending the synagogue on Sabbath. The apostles almost always visited the local synagogue as a first step to bringing the gospel to a new town. The early church was devoted to worship.

 

Worship is not simply a weekly gathering. [Slide] Worship is a lifestyle. The apostle Paul wrote, “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1^st Corinthians 10:31)

 

Worship is giving God glory. To be devoted to a worship lifestyle is to seek to give God glory in every aspect of life. While eating, give God glory. While working, give God glory. Know that you are God’s representative in the world. Be a godly presence at home, at work, at play, at the restaurant, or the grocery. Wherever and whatever you are doing, do it all for the glory of God. Church Life is devoted to worship.

 

[Slide] The early church held everything in common, which means they practiced a sort of communalism. Everyone gave to a common purse. Those in need were supported through the generosity of the Church. Those early disciples divested from the world and invested in the kingdom of God. They sold property and possessions and gave it to the common purse.

 

The early Church believed Jesus was returning soon. They believed the world was ending. They saw little value in worldly possessions because such possessions would soon be useless. Instead, they invested in the world to come, the kingdom of God.

 

We practice a lesser form of communalism. We support the ministries of the Church through tithes and offerings. A tithe is an offering of 10% of one’s income. [Slide] The 10% tithe goes back to Jacob. God re-established the covenant with Abraham through Jacob in a dream about a stairway to heaven. In response, Jacob made a vow to God.

 

[Slide] “If God will be with me and watch over me… then the Lord will be my God… and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” (Genesis 28:20-22)

 

 

[Slide] The tithe was given to support the Levites who served the temple. They had no land. The Lord was their inheritance. Levites lived in priestly cities set aside for them and the priests. The tithe was their livelihood. “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.” (Number 18:21) [Slide] Church Life is devoted to a common purse.

 

[Slide] Anyone who had need were supported by the common purse. We contribute to various mission efforts with a charitable spirit. We give of our time and our finances to help those in need. The Church was devoted to generosity and charity.

 

[Slide] Let’s summarize Luke’s snapshot of Church Life. They were devoted to the apostles’ teaching (Study the Bible), to fellowship (Small group ministry), to breaking of bread (Sacrament), to prayer, to worship (Gathered daily in the temple courts), to generosity and charity (Common purse and Outreach to those in need)

 

If repentance and baptism is entry to Church Life, what is the outcome? What is the outcome of a life together devoted to study, fellowship, sacrament, worship, prayer, giving and charity?

 

Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. (Acts 2:43)

 

[Slide] The outcome of devoted Church Life is spirit-empowered ministry. God was moving powerfully among them, working miracles, healing and liberating lives. God worked among them powerfully precisely because they were devoted to the Word of God, prayer, fellowship, worship, sacrament, generosity and charity. We connect to God through such devotion, and God responds by empowering the ministries of the church. A church that is devoted to God in these ways will witness signs and wonders as they minister in Jesus’ name.

 

[Slide] Another outcome of the early church life is good relations with the wider community. The Church had a good reputation among the people of Jerusalem. The religious leadership, not so much. But the common people who were blessed by the ministries of the Church, held the Church in high regard.

 

[Slide] And lastly, the outcome of a devoted church life is growth. The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. At Pentecost 3000 people joined the Church. By Acts chapter four, 5,000 entered the Church. God was working in people’s hearts through the spirit-empowered preaching of the apostles and the ministries of the church. The church grew in numbers, reaching more and more people, with the good news of Jesus. They built a community of devoted disciples who witnessed God’s wondrous work among them and through them.

 

I’m sure we can all agree that reading the Bible and prayer are fundamental activities in Church Life. We can all agree that worship every Sunday helps fuel our devotion. Gathering with your brothers and sisters in Christ to praise God is fundamental to who we are. [Slide] An area of growth for this congregation is small group ministry. This requires committed disciples to lead groups and devoted members to participate. We’re missing a major piece to healthy church life. Fellowship is essential to growing as disciples and strengthening the church. Ask the Lord to raise up willing group leaders and devoted group members.

 

 

[Slide] Look at the devoted life of the early Church and ask yourself in what areas do you need to grow?

 

Weekly Worship

Holy Communion

Bible Study

Prayer

Fellowship

Giving

Charity

 

Ask God where you might grow as a devoted follower of Jesus. I encourage you to set one or two goals toward growing toward a devoted Church Life. If God is calling you to host a small group, come see me after the service.

 

May the Lord guide your next steps as a devoted disciple of Jesus. And through your devotion, may You grow and may the Church grow.