Qualities of a Living Church

Transcript

Rob McFarlane 0:58

Today we're going to look at the qualities of a living church. Please turn with me in your Bible to Acts chapter 2, verse 42 to 47. And I'm reading from the English Standard Version. And they devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers. And awe came on 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. Today we're going to look at four qualities of a living church. Number one, a learning church. In Acts chapter 2, verse 42, it says, And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. This I believe refers to teaching from the Bible. We see that this took place in two different contexts, in public gatherings and in homes. We see in Acts chapter 2, verse 46, and day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. Now this was the pattern of how they met in the New Testament. As examples, let's look at two other verses in the book of Acts. First Acts chapter 5 and verse 42. And every day in the temple and from house to house they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. And in Acts chapter 20, verse 20, we read, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house. We see that they experienced the power and the presence of God. In Acts chapter 2, verse 43, it says, An awe came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. So number one, we see that they were a learning church. It was not just learning through gaining knowledge, but also through life experience as they encountered God together. Number two, we see that they were a caring church. In Acts chapter 2, verse 42, it says, and they devoted themselves to fellowship. The word fellowship is not just two fellows in a ship. It comes from the Greek word koinania, which means to hold in common. They held in common their love for God and their love for the people of God. I believe this describes the heart or values of this vibrant and growing church. Let's look at Acts chapter 2, verse 44 and 45. It says, 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. Now as we read this, in our day and age, we must read it as something that's descriptive and not prescriptive. It shows us the heart of love that they had for God and for one another. It shows that they cared for and looked after each other. I think to understand this in balance, we need to look at Galatians chapter 6. And why don't we turn there together? And we'll see that we are encouraged to live as followers of Jesus, as those who love and care for one another, bearing one another's burdens, but also that we take responsibility for our own needs and bear our own load. I want you to notice in Galatians chapter 6, verse 2, that we should carry one another's burdens. Also in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 5, it tells us that we should each carry our own load. These verses show us our responsibility to take care of our own lives, and they encourage us to lend a helping hand to others when possible. This reminds me of a song that we often sang together at the end of our youth group meetings when Jill and I served as youth pastors in Zimbabwe. It's the lyrics from the song Lean on Me by Bill Withers. And it goes like this Lean on me when you're not strong. I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on. For it won't be long before I'm gonna need somebody to lean on. Perhaps just sharing a simple meal or a tea or coffee together is one way that you can begin to develop a wonderful relationship with others. So number two, we see that they were a caring church. Number three, a worshipping church. In Acts chapter 2, verse 42, we see that they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Then in Acts 2, verse 46 and 47, we saw that this took place in a formal setting, the temple, and in an informal setting, in homes. This breaking of bread refers to meals together, as well as celebrating communion together, as they worshipped with one another. Let's read these verses again. In Acts chapter 2, verse 46 to 47, it tells us, 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. Even though singing is not mentioned, I believe it was something that they did in their meetings. And I get this from Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16, where Paul writing to the church in Colossae says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. So number three, we've seen that they were a worshiping church. And finally, number four, an evangelizing church. Let's look at Acts chapter 2, verse 47, which tells us, and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. We want to see people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We see that this took place daily. We shouldn't wait for special events or occasions to tell people about how we can have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. We should be looking for opportunities every day to tell others about the goodness and love of God and share with them how He has changed our lives and how He can do the same for them. We see that they were saved and added to the church. So, in summary, we saw that the early church was an example to us and that we should be a learning, caring, worshiping, and evangelizing church. As we pray, let's ask the Holy Spirit to show us what He wants us to do as a result of what we've heard in today's sermon. Let's pray together. Father God, thank you that we see evidence of these qualities in our church family. We ask that you would help us to devote ourselves to be a learning, caring, worshiping, and evangelizing church. Thank you that we are your people called out of the world to worship you and sent back into the world to witness and serve. In Jesus' name, Amen.