When you hear the word church, what comes to mind? If you are someone who has at least once visited a church for some reason, the image that may be of that building or room. Maybe you picture a cathedral with its stained-glass windows and statues of saints. Perhaps you think of the “church” that took over the space that was once a K-Mart or some other large chain store.
What if you haven’t ever attended a church service or gone to a church for any reason? What if you never heard of a “church”? What image would come to mind? Acts 2:42-47 describes the first church:
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.
When you read those verses, how does your picture of a church change? A church isn’t a building. It’s not a group of people who gather once a week for an hour, always sitting in the same seats and scurrying out after.
The church is us coming together as a family in fellowship. It is a movement made up of people. In Acts, we see believers who came together, ate together, prayed together, shared life together and were filled with joy, generosity, and peace.
“And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” Why did their numbers increase? Because others saw what they had and wanted it too.
Notice something about this passage – all the believers came together (?), they sold, they worshiped, met together, shared everything. Nothing was done in isolation. It wasn’t about the individual. It was about the body of the church. The Lord made us one body, one family.
12 There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. 13 We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. 14 So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts. 1 Corinthians 12:12:14
People today long for fellowship. They long for community. They long for family. That’s one reason gangs are popular, especially among young people.
Satan works best when we are isolated. God works best when we come together. We need spiritual people in our lives to whom we can confess, with whom we can learn and grow. We need to come together to celebrate our lives and Jesus’ life.
Today, Christians attend “church” just 2 times per month on average. The early church came together daily. They were devoted to Jesus, not to their jobs, not to sports, not to some entertainment figure or movie, not to alcohol, drugs or pornography.
To whom or what are you devoted?
“God’s Word, working through God’s Spirit, is the most powerful force in the universe and in the church. Father, Son, and Spirit conspire to pour forth their power through speech, to accomplish their single will through words.”
John Leeman
Pursue God’s Word daily (119:1-12)
Declare God’s Word daily to others (Psalm 119:13)
Delight in God’s Word Daily (Psalm 119:14)
Meditate on God’s Word daily (Psalm 119:15)
Devote yourself to study the Word with others for your personal growth and the growth of the church.
Challenge: We can find ourselves devoted to many things in our lives that are not of God. Ask the Lord to show you what competes for your devotion to him. As the Lord what changes you need to make. Devote yourself to a weekly group where you can study and grow in God’s Word – together!
Have a blessed week!
– psg –
Note: Sunday school is my interpretation of the message delivered by our Pastor. My Sunday Sermon posts focus on an aspect of his sermon that spoke to me. Any errors in context, understanding, etc. are most likely mine!
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