Transmission (Part 1)

Community

Acts 2:42-47

Intro

Today we are beginning a series called, “Transmission.” God transmitted a message through His Son 2,000 years ago that changed the world. The question is, how do we see the gospel change our lives and in our community and world?

If you have spent any time in church, you probably have heard this, “We all need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” I know I have said it a whole lot in my life, but that phrase is incomplete. Jesus called us to live in community! There’s a power in experiencing community. The reality is that so few people don’t have it.

Reasons people struggle with finding community:

- Increased mobility (Most people move every three years

- Modern conveniences (Most people used to hang outside but after A/C was invented, more people stayed inside. Throw into that mix, the attached garage was built in and you can just drive in and not have to talk to anyone.)

- Individualized forms of entertainment (now we can watch movies on our iPhone, and play games alone.)

- Rise of social media (social media makes people feel like they are connected.) We get “immediate feedback” and they comment on how we look! Immediate feedback…social media doesn’t alleviate the feeling of loneliness and isolation. Today, we can even use an app called “Periscope” where you can broadcast video live and anyone in the world can join the feed!).

Now, we are going to talk about how the early church received the message of Jesus and it CHANGED EVERYTHING, even the community. Jesus modeled what it looks like to be in community. Jesus started his own small group and chose who would be in it! Jesus chose 12 men who would help accomplish His work by investing Himself into their lives.

The disciples and early Christians heard the news of Jesus’ resurrection! The news spread like wildfire! Jesus made multiple appearances during His 40-days on the earth before He ascended into heaven. Before Jesus left the earth, He gathered His disciples together and shared His last words. In Matthew 28:19-20 we read that He said to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all that I have commanded you, and remember I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Then Jesus said this in Acts 1:8:

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

In Acts 2…The Early church began after Jesus ascended into Heaven and He gave the early church leaders the mission to make disciples. But He didn’t leave them alone to this task. Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, The Holy Spirit showed up on the Jewish holiday of Pentecost, when the disciples heard a sound like a rushing wind and they saw this thing like fire. All of the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and they miraculously started speaking different languages. Peter gave a great sermon in Jerusalem (Ch 2 of Acts) to a huge number of diverse people groups.

Acts 2:41

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

The church before Pentecost consisted of 120 followers of Christ. Now the church sees exponential growth to see 3000 new Christ-followers.

The early church was a movement gathered around a mission.

What came first, the mission or the church? God doesn’t have a mission for a church; God formed the church to fulfill His mission.

What is a church? There are two approaches to how people view church in general. Usually it’s either I “go to church” or “I am the church.” The church is not an event I attend; it is a people I belong to. Church is not a program or a time slot. It is not just a one-hour commitment. It is much more than that. The word for church in the New Testament is the word “ekklesia,” which is a gathering of people on mission.

How do we grow in community like the early church?

Scripture

Acts 2:42-47

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Pray

God help us to see our need for each other

Story

Building a fire without enough wood

Application 1

1. Be a learner of God’s Word.

Acts 2:42

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,

They were learners that were devoted! Devoted means they gave themselves to something. It was everything to them.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that all of Scripture. ALL. Is “God-breathed.” This means that every word in the Bible is a product of God. The Bible is our authority!

We value the application of God’s Word. We want what you hear through God’s Word to be put into action the moment you walk out the door and into your week. Our goal is for you to walk away saying, “I am moved to want to apply the Bible to my life.”

The second way to grow as a community is learn to…

2. Be devoted to sharing life together.

Acts 2:42

…and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

The Greek word translated “fellowship” means sharing in the lives of other Christ-followers.

The second part of this scripture is “sharing in meals.” Are you looking for a good, biblical reason to go out to eat with someone today?! Or, to go to someone’s house and have him or her cook food for you? One of the most practical but meaningful ways Christ-followers build relationships together is to eat with one another.

Who has refrigerator rights in your life? Those with Refrigerator Rights feel close enough to us to walk into our home, open the refrigerator, and help themselves. I am blessed to be a part of a small group that is devoted to sharing life together. They have refrigerator rights in my home. Actually, one of them has a hot sauce he grabs each time we eat together. Yes, we do eat together, because we believe there is a power in building relationships over a meal.

Be devoted to sharing life together!

When we are alone, we are isolated.

Story 2

Ice Bucket Experiment: An experiment was conducted several years ago to measure people’s capacity to endure pain. Psychologists measured how long a barefooted person could stand in a bucket of ice water. They found one factor made it possible for some people to stand in the ice water twice as long as others. It was the presence of another person…giving support and encouragement. The person standing in the ice bucket was able to endure the pain much longer…if they had somebody with them.

Life is full of some icy buckets…cold and painful situations…but God uses the warmth and presence of friends to help us endure!

The early church understood that they were better together, and so are we. Football players cannot win a football game by themselves, and you cannot win the Christian life by yourself.

Supporting Scripture

John 17:23

May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Application 2

The big truth we learn from the early church is that…

3. We see community happen when Christ-followers are on mission.

Let’s look back at Acts 2

Acts 2:47

All the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Did you see what happened? Outsiders were seeing this-and not just the truth of the message! They were seeing the genuineness of the people who were living out this faith. They saw how the believers genuinely loved God, and how they genuinely loved each other.

You can build authentic community through small groups, serving on a team, or by going on a mission trip or local outreach. We are shoulder to shoulder in this life to serve God on mission.

The unity of the church makes Christ believable to a lost world. If we love each other, we can have a contagious love that the world looks at with curiosity.

The early church was diverse! There were two main groups in the church, the Jews and the Gentiles. They had been enemies for centuries. Jesus unified all people through the cross and resurrection.

We live in a world of endless entertainment. We have Disney, Universal Studios, and so much more! We can watch movies on our smartphones. We can send a tweet or post an Instagram photo and in an instant it can be seen across the world!

The world can outdo us in entertainment, but what they cannot come up on their own is the love of God within the church community! God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love.

Landing: The early church received the message from Jesus. I envision the future of the church to be bright because we been given an opportunity to be on mission. The movement of the church hasn’t stopped and will never stop.

Closing

Jesus was willing to come to this world of darkness to bring His life in order to bridge the gap between us and God. He loved us when we were lost and brought us into a right relationship with Himself! Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we can have a private relationship with Him, but a personal relationship that is shared in a community of Christ-followers

Here’s my question: Are you connected into a small group where you can know others and be known? I know you are here in the large group worship setting and we encourage you to commit to coming every weekend to learn and serve…but we believe that real life change happens in small groups. We need to move out of rows and into circles. Involvement in a small group is your lifeline here.

Pray

Jesus help us understand our need for you