And they
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many
wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed
were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their
possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had
need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their
homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day
those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
In these verses we have a snapshot of the Church in its
infancy. Jesus has just ascended into Heaven. The Holy Spirit has, only days
ago, given birth to this new Church, giving it the power to fulfill the mission
that Jesus gave before his ascension:
"All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Mat 28:18-20)
This is a group that has grown from maybe 50 before the Day
of Pentecost to at least 3000, as that was the number that were added following
Peter’s Pentecost sermon. The leaders of the group had known Jesus during his
three-year ministry. He had spent those three years preparing them for this
day, when they would become responsible for the spread of the Gospel – the good
news that sin and death no longer have any power over those who believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, that he become one of us, died for our sins, and rose
from the grave victorious over Satan once and for all.
This snapshot offers us great insight into the priorities of
the earliest Christian congregation – actually, they were not called Christians
yet, they would first be called the people of “The Way”. It gives us an idea of
what an ideal Christian community looks like, and, perhaps, even a goal towards
which we should model our own communities.
This Lent, we will be seeking to better understand this
earliest of Christian communities, this first congregation, so to speak. We
will be looking at four primary characteristics, as outlined in the passage
from Acts cited above.
First, this early Christian community worshipped, prayed and
learned together: “they
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers.” We will take a look at how the early church
worshipped, prayed, and created disciples. This is listed as one of its primary
activities. Through this examination, we will hopefully see how our liturgies
reflect those of the early church.
Second, we
will examine the “awe, wonders and signs” that were present in this group,
through the Holy Spirit. As we look at the activity of the Holy Spirit in the
life of the early church, we will take some time to discuss the existence of
these in the church today.
Third, we
will investigate the charity of the members of the early church: “And all who
believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling
their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any
had need.” We will discuss how these early Christians offered everything that
they had to the good of the community. As we look at this practice of the early
church, we will examine how the Bible teaches us to handle money, and our own
stewardship of the financial gifts God has entrusted to each of us.
Finally, we
will spend some time investigating the ways that the early church grew from
that small group of believers hiding in an upper room in Jerusalem on the Day
of Pentecost to thousands in every part of the Roman Empire in the course of
one generation. Through this investigation, we will seek ways that we can
follow the model of the early Christians to spread the Gospel to our world that
needs Jesus no less than Rome of the first century.
I pray that
each of you will be able to participate in each of these sessions in person as
we walk The Way of the Cross each Friday during this Lent. I hope that this
series will offer fresh insight that will allow this congregation to celebrate
the new birth of Easter with new vigor and commitment to fulfilling our
purpose, which is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ this year.
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