Focused Church (Acts 2:42-47)

Attention:

March 2020

busy schedule then all dressed up with nowhere to go

opportunity to RESET—missed?

lack of focus

personal busyness

busy calendars = convoluted vision

beliefs and actions can belie one another

path of least resistance

does your calendar look like an episode of Hoarders?

do you know why you’re doing what you’re doing?

are you proud of the way you “spend” your time?

only have 1 life to live

some of you need to clear calendar to focus on eternal

accomplish more by focusing on less

focus on what is meaningful

by stripping away what is meaningless (or less meaningful)

constant fight

Amanda not working — less money

too many sports

too many ball teams

when is too much too much?

when you don’t have time to focus on the eternal

something has to give

church busyness

church can become just as busy and cluttered as our personal calendars

“Many of our churches have become cluttered. So cluttered that people have a difficult time encountering the simple and powerful message of Christ. So cluttered that many people are busy doing church instead of being the church.” Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger, Simple Church

“The clutter can often make things look OK, even good. The busyness is a great disguise for the lack of life. The complexity is a great cover-up. Churches can sometimes be fancy coffins.” Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger, Simple Church

busy can crowd out GOSPEL

focus needed

seen in companies

Raising Canes

Google—search engine

what if you calendar looked like Google’s website?

clean and simple

think of how well you would be doing the few things on your calendar

vs. how you are juggling 7 plates at one time

Apple

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” Steve Jobs

needed in church

what is church about?

many couldn’t really tell you

programs & activities

mainly about staying busy

a healthy church

is not a lazy church

but a laser-focused church—Acts 2:42-47

YOU make up the church

church is made up of its members

what should our focus be?

turn to Jesus — knack for cutting through the clutter

613 commands —> 2

wrong questions

are lots of people coming?

how many people were there today?

do you offer something for the kids? youth? singles? young married? sr adults?

right questions

are people being transformed?

are we making disciples who make disciples?

or is everyone just...busy?

Americans are good at the “church thing”

we count attendance, budget, buildings

Jesus counts disciples

what Jesus commanded is what matters

context

Acts 2:42-47

Lucan summary

a healthy, vibrant church is full of members that devote themselves to…

what “devotion” looks like in 2023?

we are not less devoted than in Acts 2

we are just devoted to lesser things

“Earlier in this century, someone claimed that we work at our play and play at our work. Today the confusion has deepened: we worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.” Leland Ryken

early church was devoted

1:14, 2:42

they devoted themselves

they were continually devoting themselves (NASB)

“to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty—‘to devote oneself to, to keep on, to persist in.’ ” LN

would you describe your relationship to Christ and His local church as devoted?

more importantly, would Christ say you are devoted?

Jesus didn’t expect His followers to be perfect

but He did demand that they be committed

can 1-2 hours per week really look like devotion?

cannot expect to experience Biblical awe without Biblical devotion

shouldn’t we give much more to the only thing that really matters in our lives?

devoted to what?

these 4 things are not how to grow a crowd

but they are how to grow a church

Acts 2:42

1. God’s Word

the apostles’ teaching

narrow meaning (apostles’ teaching) to broader meaning (NT)

qualifications for NT cannon (canonicity)

teachings with divine authority

OT clear

NT forming

apostolic authorship was certain to have divine authority

27 books of NT

Diving Deeper on Wednesday

God’s Word is a priority at FCC

has been & will be

if don’t need your Bible, then need a new pastor

clearly how God forms His people

divinely inspired

only book start over when finished

sermons, music, Life Classes, Life Groups, and all ministries (youth, children, etc.)

centered around Word

otherwise we have nothing to offer

John 6:68 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,”

what would it mean for us to strip away the distractions

and become a people who devoted ourselves to Scripture?

not just in God’s Word but build lives around God’s Word

prioritize when Bible proclaimed and taught

gathering for worship on Sunday was never a discussion growing up

it was a priority

is it in yours?

what does that say to your spouse? your kids?

are you striving to know the Author of the Bible?

do you spend any time in the Bible outside of Sunday morning?

how could you develop a plan?

would Christ say you are devoted to the Bible?

what would it take for you to be more devoted to the Bible?

Bible is how God forms His people (especially in evil world)

2. one another

the fellowship

koinonia

“fellowship”—anemic modern-day translation

cannot be reduced to an optional weekly meaning

unity

together

common

selling stuff & meeting needs

didn’t have to be cajoled into giving

sharing

sharing our lives (1 Thess 2:8)

sharing our property (Acts 4:32)

sharing in the gospel (Phil 1:5; Philemon 6)

sharing in Christ’s suffering and glory (2 Cor 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:13)

with whom?

not who you pick

not your buds

who God gives us 2:47

unnatural (group w/no cohesion) —> supernatural (family of God)

contagious love

John 13:34-35 (evangelism)

Jesus’ strategy to reach the world

people need to encounter church as loving relationships centered around Jesus

not a service you attend for an hour

people are opting out of the church because they are not experiencing this type of love

we are intended to feel closer to God when we are with our church family

Total Church

Kindness Outreach, Sat, Oct 7, 10-12

would Christ say you are devoted to your fellow church members?

what would it take for you to be more devoted your fellow church members?

ask to lunch

have over for bbq

kids to swim

take to coffee

offer to pray

Life Group

3. sharing life

the breaking of bread

meals and possibly Lord’s Supper

meals

history—table fellowship

sit down at Taco Bueno

around dinner table

promote corporately

10/22 COMBINED SERVICE AND FELLOWSHIP MEAL

elders commit 4 times/year

fuel personally

Lord’s Supper unites believers

intimacy with the Lord—I love Jesus

intimacy with one another—do I love these people?

the early church did life together

modern church

only thing many people share is the same room for an hour

would Christ say you are devoted to sharing life with those committed to this church body?

what would it take for you to be more devoted to sharing life with your fellow church members?

4. prayer

the prayers

prayer is vital

early church devoted themselves to prayer

without it, they would cease to exist

Jesus didn’t give contingency plan

if God didn’t come through, they would fail in their mission

so they were on their knees together

how do you view prayer?

many people yawn at prayer

last resort if nothing else works

if prayer is not vital to our church

then our church isn’t vital

if we can accomplish our mission without daily, passionate prayer

then our mission is not the Great ComMISSION

what are we gonna do?

if we had a meeting that all we did is pray, would you come?

well we do

before Kindness Outreach

Great Commission Prayer (10/1 @ 5p)

would Christ say you are devoted to prayer?

what would it take for you to be more devoted to prayer?

God blesses a devoted church

2:47b

God added to their number through their devotion to 2:42

God did it

God didn’t add them to the church w/o saving them

nor did He save them without adding them to the church

salvation and church membership belonged together in the early church

and they still do

CONCLUSION

focused church—Acts 2:42-47

what would the summary statement for FCC be?

would it be focused?

would it be on these 4 things?

if all of our members were as devoted as you, what kind of church would we have?

maybe you’re not too busy

is there a way you can devote yourself more to eternal matters?

what in you busy schedule needs to be offloaded so you can focus on what really matters?

seasonal vs. purposeful

seasonal — loving family member; going through cancer

good job / keep it up

vs.

purposeful — another dance class; another ball league

does your family need to sit down for a pow-wow?

reconsider why doing what doing?

what have you been putting off because you are too busy?

what changes need to be made today that you will look back on with a smile?

not easy but necessary