2 - Gather For Rhythm

SLIDE: Scripture Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42–47 (NLT)

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—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.

SLIDE: Welcome Home

SLIDE: Title

Introduction

Welcome back for round 2 of our We Are Gathered Here sermon series. As we get started today, I want to ask everyone to think about some of the habits you have.

Some habits are simple: For example:

I pet my cat every time I come home. Granted this one is in response to her demanding attention whenever I return. To be honest I think she has separation anxiety.

I kiss Nancy almost every time I come near her.

Instead of a cup of coffee to wake me up, I take a shower.

I know, you probably thought about some of your bad ones, but we all have good habits too. Actually, habits are more deeply ingrained than you might think. Listen to this;

SLIDE: Habits

“Habits are our brain’s way of increasing its efficiency. Our brain turns daily actions and behaviors into habits, so we would do them automatically and without too much thought – thus freeing up our brainpower for other more important challenges. This strategy of our brain has wonderful benefits for us. It allows us to function better in life. Just imagine if you had to consider and ponder every single task or reaction. You’d be exhausted!” [1]

Good or bad, right or wrong; Habits are powerful. In fact, we know it’s hard to shake off a bad habit since it takes an average of 66 days before a new habit takes root in our brain. You may have heard before that it takes 21 days to make a new habit, but it takes three times as long for that habit to take root, to become an integrated part of your life.

With that little nugget of wisdom in your possession, let me offer another one to you.

SLIDE: Habits —> Rewards (2 advances)

>> 0 >> Habits...

>> 1 >> follow cravings...

>> 2 >> as they seek rewards.

So, for instance… If you really want to stop smoking but you don’t address the cravings and the rewards contributing to your habit then you will have an incredibly difficult time “kicking the habit.”

Similarly, as we desire to create new habits… healthy habits… we also need to address the underlying cravings and rewards that contribute to them.

Do you crave healthy God-honoring relationships with others? Do you earnestly desire a consistent and powerful prayer life? Are you hungry for a deeper understanding of the Word and the teachings of Jesus?

What would your faith look like if you really craved fellowship, communion, worship, and prayer?

How could a healthy rhythm of gathering in fellowship with other believers help you to develop the habits of faith that you’ve been wanting… craving… for so long?

Main Teaching

The early church knew something about gathering together that churches and communities of faith have been modeling themselves after for hundreds of years.

Acts 2:42 highlights several things they were specifically devoted to doing whenever they gathered together. As I read the passage listen for what these things might be;

Acts 2:42 (NLT)

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

SLIDE: If you heard:

If you heard;

Teaching (learning)

Fellowship (gathering together)

Breaking of Bread (communion)

Prayer

...Then you’re on the right track. The early church devoted themselves to teaching (learning), fellowship (gathering together), breaking of bread (communion), and prayer.

These are the rewards, if you will, of a healthy rhythm - a habit of gathering together with other believers...and the early church was devoted to it.

SLIDE: Devotiom

The word devotion is a powerful one. It means, to consistently show strength which prevails (In spite of difficulties), to endure, to stay in a fixed direction; Steadfast.

The church was unwavering in their commitment to gather together for teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. In fact, just a few verses later in Acts 2:46 we see the same word used. The passage says they, “continued (persevered) daily in meeting together.”

As a comparison, I want you to think about something you are absolutely committed to doing everyday in your life. Something that has become such a deeply ingrained habit that it’s just part of who you are.

The thing you’re thinking about, this is the kind of thing that unwavering devotion - consistent rhythm will do in your life.

Is this the kind of habit you want? Can you learn a different way? What are the rewards you gain from this habit?

Teaching (Learning)

How many of you enjoy learning?

SLIDE: Good Teaching

The reward of good teaching is learning. And learning the scriptures together with other believers was something the early church was absolutely devoted to.

Learning takes time, it can be difficult. Learning requires your effort and attention. The reward however, is deeper understanding and knowledge. And I’m not sure I know any follower of Christ who would say that they don’t want a deeper understanding of scripture, their faith, and ultimately, God.

Going Deeper we offer Sunday School, Wednesday Bible Study, and Discipleship Class.

Fellowship (Gathering together)

SLIDE: FELLOWSHIP

As I mentioned earlier, we learn from Acts 2:46 that the early church was devoted and steadfast in meeting together daily.

Now, I’m not going to say that we need to gather in a formal service like this one every day, but I would encourage everyone to think about getting regular time in fellowship with other believers every week.

Some avenues for gathering are; small groups, men's groups, women's groups, book clubs, sports groups, etc…

Plug the different groups: Wednesday Bible Study, Discipleship Class, Lunch groups, Movies with a Point, Ladies Club, Men’s Group

Breaking of bread (Communion)

Communion is incredibly important. Here's why the early church was stubbornly devoted to breaking bread together.

“The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

SLIDE: Communion

Communion is about remembering Jesus.

His life.

His sacrifice on the cross.

His body, broken for you and me.

His blood, the marker of a new and final covenant between God and man.

His death.

His resurrection.

His promise to return again for His church.

These are realities for the believer that we simply cannot forget. And because communion is implicitly done with others, it follows that we celebrate and remember Jesus together.

Think about it like this; Our common union, the thing that brings believers together all around the world through the millennia, is Jesus Christ. And communion is our opportunity to remember Him, together, every time we get together.

What an amazing gift we have in Jesus, through whom we share an eternal reward…salvation.

Prayer

Simply put, prayer is an exchange where we make our requests known and God receives them. We could do an entire series on prayer alone, so I will keep this section short and to the point.

It’s a gift to pray with others in a community. There is power when we pray together--when we make our requests known together.

In fact, when asked for advice on prayer, listen to what Jesus says;

“This, then, is how you should pray;

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” -Matthew 6:9-13

SLIDE: Communal Nature of Prayer

I imagine many of you are familiar with this, the Lord’s prayer. In fact, many of you probably have it memorized. But how many of you have ever thought about the communal nature of the prayer? Did you notice that Jesus doesn’t instruct us to pray using personal pronouns like “my” and “me” but instead uses plural pronouns like “our” and “us”.

The most famous prayer of all time is a communal one. If not meant to be spoken aloud in the midst of fellowship with others it is certainly meant to be spoken with the fellowship in mind.

There is power when we pray with one another and we are committed to praying together when we come together.

SLIDE: The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” -Matthew 6:9-13

Conclusion/Application

As we wrap up today I want to revisit something I said last week. You may remember I mentioned that Hebrews 10:25 talks about some people who’ve developed a habit of not meeting together. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…”

I also said,

For all the benefits we receive in fellowship it’s deeper than that.

SLIDE: We Gather

We gather together because it’s who we are.

When adversity comes to our doorstep.

When things don’t go our way.

When we are confused, frustrated, and angry.

We join with others in fellowship and we spur each other on towards love and good deeds because It’s who we are.

While this is true, it’s also true that there are numerous and wonderful benefits we experience when we come together. We learn, we remember, we fellowship, and we pray - to name a few. The early church was absolutely committed to these practices and I’ve got to believe that they knew a thing or two about the habits needed to persevere through life and all it’s difficulties.

SLIDE: Challenge for the Week

So this is my challenge for the week;

Identify some of your habits and rhythms.

What are things you do every morning? Every evening? Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc…

What is positive about them? What would you change?

And if you’re not in the rhythm of gathering with other believers on a regular basis can I ask you to consider why this week.

Are there things keeping you from fellowship? Are there past hurts, fears, or other things robbing you of the rich rewards of a life lived in fellowship with others?

Let’s pray together.

Prayer -

Father, God:

Give us wisdom to identify unhealthy habits and strength to change them. Give us sweet fellowship with others this week as practice the rhythm of gathering together.

AMEN

[1] Quote taken from an article on habits found here; https://www.theworldcounts.com/happiness/psychology-of-habits