4 Commitments of a Thriving Church

Call to worship

Welcome everyone!

Children’s church is for 3rd grade and under starting next week. So if your child is in 4th grade or above they get to sit out front with the cool kids.

Goals for 2023 & 2024

LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS

Lord,

“What a beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

“What a beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS

Lord,

SERMON

Introduction

Moving into a new year, we have the opportunity to look back over 2023 and see things that went well, and make plans for the new year of what we can improve on. And we have done that to some degree. I would love to see more growth, more conversions, more response to the gospel in 2024; more effectiveness in this community, but those things are in the Lord’s hands.

But there are things that we can change in here that I believe will make an eternal difference in our lives and in the lives of others. What I want us to do is look back at one of the best descriptions of a thriving NT church and why and see what changes we can make in our own lives.

A healthy church is made up of healthy members. If the members are not healthy, the church will not be healthy. If the church is not healthy, the church will not thrive as it was intended to do. Look with me in Acts 2:42-47:

Acts 2:42–47 “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

No where in the New Testament do we find such a detailed description of a wonderful church. The people were joyful. They had a sense of awe because of the supernatural things that were taking place. They had favor with the people outside the church. And God was adding to them daily, people who were being saved. And that is the way a church should be. There is no reason why churches cannot look like this today.

And people will drive across town and even move across the country in hopes to find this kind of church. They’re looking for great preachers, big beautiful facilities, great kids programs, worship music that fits their liking, the right atmosphere; but we see none of that in this church. Do you made what made this church so great? The great commitment of the individual members. It was their faithfulness and dedication and steadfastness that God blessed made this church possibly the greatest church in the NT era. It is your commitment to this church that will make it the best church you’ve ever been a part of or just another place that does not check off all the boxes.

The key ingredient to a thriving healthy church is your individual commitment: This morning we are going to look at 4 areas that these first Christians made a priority in their life, and hopefully we will make necessary changes in our own lives as we move into 2024.

Acts 2:42 (NASB95)

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

What does it mean that they were continually devoting themselves?

The word means: “to hold fast to something”

They had made the absolute commitment to carry out these things indefinitely

The word also means this was not a short term, but a long term commitment

They did not start things off good in January and by March got tired and gave up

They persevered in these things

And no doubt it was a struggle as it is for us!

We learned this in 2023.

Fasting every single week became very difficult after a few months.

Sharing the gospel every week door to door became very difficult

Especially when it doesn’t seem to be making a difference

BUT ANYONE CAN DO SOMETHING FOR A LITTLE WHILE, IT’S THE PEOPLE WHO COMMIT INDEFINITELY THAT WILL SEE THE GREATEST RESULTS.

The success of this church in 2024, will depend greatly upon how committed we are to it

If we get lazy, or burnt out, and back off, it will dry up

If we continue steadfastly, persevering in our commitment, I believe we will see our best year yet

4 things these new believers devoted themselves to that deserve our total commitment:

1) They were continually devoted to the apostles’ teaching

Acts 2:42 (NASB95)

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching

Explanation

Who were the apostles?

Peter, Andrew, John, James, Andrew, Thomas, Matthew, 12 in all

What were their occupations: Most of them were fisherman! They were uneducated, they had not been to Bible college! They were ordinary men; WHY DID THESE PEOPLE LISTEN TO THEM AND HEED WHAT THEY TAUGHT?

Because they were appointed by Jesus Christ to be apostles, and that was enough. Because God filled these men with the Holy Spirit and commissioned them to teach and lead His Bride, and the lives they lived modeled what they taught.

In the same way, God has given the church teachers today

Eph 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;”

Teaching is essential to life of a flourishing church!

It equips, directs, corrects, encourages, rebukes, builds up, and strengthens the lives of the congregation

If the church does not have a teacher who teaches sound biblical doctrine, it is a sinking ship.

What is biblical teaching?

Teaching is explaining accurately biblical truth and applying to the lives of the congregation. Teaching is not entertaining, nor is it acting, nor is it giving worldly philosophy learned from books written by men OR worldly ideas no matter how cleaver

Biblical teaching/preaching is grounded firmly in biblical and theological truth!

The pastor or teacher can do nothing greater for the people of God than to simply explain to them what His book says

You do not want to hear what I have to say. What I have to say is worthless to us all! We want to hear what God has to say!

And my task is to take the Word of God, digest it, labor over it, understand it, and then explain it to you so it can transform us all

What did these early Christians do with the apostle’s teaching?

They continually devoted themselves to it. They made the apostles’ Teaching a regular part of their diet. They came ready to listen, to hear, and to heed what the apostles said! And they took it and lived it out in their own lives. (devoted to it)

Notice what they did not do:

They did not despise in their minds what was being taught.

Nor did they think that biblical instruction was unnecessary for them

Nor did they did not say that they did not have time for it because of other worldly responsibilities

Nor did they go and search for some other form of teaching that better suited the way they lived their lives

They were committed to the teaching of the men God called to teach them

One thing that I see here is that MUST HAVE BEEN TRUE, is that they trusted these men to teach them

When someone is teaching us, there is a level of trust in that person’s understanding of Scripture and faithfulness to His Word that is required

If we do not trust that person, we will not listen to what they say. We will become critics rather than learners

We doubt what is being said is true, and take nothing to heart

How can we know that we can trust a teacher?

Matthew 7:15–16 (NASB95)

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits.”

False teachers live lives of unrighteousness. They practice wickedness. They bear fruit of a bad tree, they do things that we know is not right!

The kind of teachers we can trust are those that live lives of righteousness! And we will know them by their fruits.

Those that live by the doctrines and instruction of the Bible!

Those that live lives that please God, that exalt Jesus, that are upright, those that have integrity!

They live the message that they tell us to live

Some advice that can help us to be continually devoted to teaching

Come to every sermon, every Bible study, as if it was prepared and will be preached specifically for you

We need to carry the conviction that God is at work when His Word is being taught.

Isaiah 55:11 NASB95

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

If we pay attention, and we keep our eyes and ears open, there will always be something we can take away from the message to make us more godly

It may be doctrine that teaches us something about God, it may be something that applies directly to our life, it may be something that God will use later on and He has put it in hearts to prepare us, it may be something God is correcting in our lives, but God has a Word for everyone!

LET US BE GREAT HEARERS IN 2024

2) They were continually devoted to fellowship

Explanation

The Greek word for “fellowship” is κοινωνία which means: a unity, a oneness between believers. It refers to a mutual participation in Christian community

When we think of fellowship, we think of company with others, a group of people hanging out together. And this can happen with just about anyone in the world

You can have fellowship at school functions with other students

You can have fellowship at family functions

But Christian fellowship is more than “being together”, it is a unique kind of fellowship where the people “having something in common”

The fellowship in mind here is this shared experience of the Christian life

It is about participating in the community life together.

Sharing things with fellow believers who have needs, sharing our personal experiences of what God was doing in our lives, praising God together for His blessings, worshiping God together as one body, sharing meals together…it was to be a participant as God’s redeemed people.

What would it look like to be devoted to fellowship today?

I don’t think it means that we should sell our homes and all move in with each other to become a weird community of people.

New Beginnings might become a quick ending

I do think it means that we should make participating in what the church does a priority in our lives.

This church does far more than just meet together for one hour a week on Sunday.

We gather together to pray on Tuesdays and often fast together

We meet in smaller groups for discipleship on Fridays (for men) and there is usually women meeting

We get together on Sunday afternoons and share the gospel with unbelievers

We spend time with one another outside of the church setting.

We visit each others homes

We talk to one another on a regular basis

There is a connectivity in this church on many levels, and it is vital for our spiritual health that we become devoted to the fellowship

Why does fellowship matter?

Because the Christian life was never designed to be lived in isolation

It cannot be what it was meant to be without close personal relationships with the other believers

And this is not my own idea, its everywhere in the pages of the NT:

Greet one another (2 Cor 13:12)

love one another (1 John 3:11)

Love one another (Rom 13:8)

fervently love one another (1 Peter 1:22)

comfort one another (1 Thess 4:18)

be hospitable to one another (1 Pet 4:9)

be kind to one another (Eph 4:32)

be devoted to one another (Rom 12:10)

be subject to one another (Eph 5:21)

encourage one another (1 Thess 5:11)

forgive each other (Col 3:13)

stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24)

accept one another (Rom 15:7)

on and on

How could we ever carry out all these exhortations if we do not even spend time with one another?

The early church devoted themselves to the fellowship, and fellowship is essential to the health and life of the church

Application

One great thing about a church this size: it’s easy to get to know each other. There is not a lot of names to remember, there is not a lot of pressure with different groups of people, this church does not have clicks, BUT WE MUST INDIVIDUALLY PUT FORTH AN EFFORT

Start by committing yourself to one extra thing this church does on a regular basis in 2024

It doesn’t mean you have to participate in every ministry

But we should do enough that God would say of us, that we are devoted to the fellowship of this community and not outsiders sitting on the inside

The most subtle way to fall away from Jesus, is to never be connected to His people

3) They were continually devoted to the breaking of bread

Explanation

This saying is most likely refers to sharing meals together. Thus the saying, “breaking of bread”

But most scholars believe that while these early believers ate together, they also took the Lord’s Supper together

This is based off of 1 Cor 11

1 Corinthians 11:20–22 (NASB95)

Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink?

The early church did both when they did either

Eating meals together

How does eating our meals together affect our spiritual health?

It really comes down to building relationships.

There is something that cultivates a deeper kind of fellowship when people sit down to eat together.

There a bonding that I really don’t understand that takes place at the dinner table

Scripture even warns us of eating with people who persist in sin and calls himself a brother in Christ

1 Corinthians 5:11 “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”

A healthy family will eat together, and a healthy churchy family will eat together on a regular basis

But this also includes taking the Lord’s Supper

How does this affect our spiritual health?

It is an act of obedience

we see this is Jesus’ own words, “Do this in remembrance of Me”

Taking the Lord’s Supper is part of our faithfulness to Christ

It is a time to remember what Jesus has done on the cross with his life sacrifice and the inauguration of a new covenant

“Do this in remembrance of Me”

It is a time of reflection, to step away from our busy life and use elements of taste and touch to focus intently on Christ, our Savior, and our covenant with Him

It is a time to renew our commitment to Christ and one another

Jesus said, “this is the new covenant in my blood”

That blood covenant is both vertical and horizontal

Jesus said, “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

It is impossible to be right with Jesus and not be right with one another

Application

We try to have a fellowship meal and the Lord’s Supper at least once a quarter.

And we will take the Lord’s Supper today

If you have the temptation to skip these days, resist it. They are vital to this church’s health.

4) They continually devoted themselves to Prayer

Explanation

We do not know whether this is referring to their private prayer life or corporate prayer of the church; but from the context of the whole book of Acts, I would say it has to include corporate prayer.

Consider these passages:

Acts 1:14 “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

Acts 3:1 “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”

Acts 6:4 ““But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.””

Acts 12:5 “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

ALSO Listen to how Jesus taught us to pray

Matthew 6:9–13 (NASB95)

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

Notice every pronoun Jesus uses is plural. It seems to me Jesus expected us to pray together as the church.

There is something powerful when the people of God come together week after week in unity praying to Almighty God.

Jesus said this in Matthew 21, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” which deeply convicted me Last year.

After that sermon we started a prayer ministry in this church and saw an immediate change. God began to answer prayers in both our church and in our personal lives.

It went so well someone mentioned adding fasting to it, so we began fasting together. And we saw even more begin to happen.

That ministry is going to start again tomorrow. We will begin meeting once a week as a church and praying together for the needs of this church, and for people’s souls.

I would encourage you to come and be a part. You don’t have to pray, but I am convinced if you will devote yourself to it, you will begin to pray on your own accord.

LETS READ THE LAST FEW VERSES BECAUSE THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT: Acts 2:43–47 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

One of the needs of this church to survive is growth. But real growth only comes by conversion, and only God can convert people.

Notice how it says the early church grew: “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved”

What this means is when we get it right in here, God will begin to grow the church

But it all begins with us.

How devoted will we be in 2024?

BUT NO MATTER HOW DETERMINED WE ARE, OUR DEVOTION WILL FAIL UNLESS WE HAVE DEVOTED OURSELVES TO CHRIST FIRST

The faithfulness of that early church was real because they received the word Peter preached, they repented of their sins, and publically committed their lives to Christ.

Have you truly done that, I’m not talking about saying the sinners prayer, I am talking about full surrender and allegiance to Jesus Christ?

There is no better place to start than there.

All to Jesus I surrender Make me, Savior, wholly Thine Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit Truly knowing that Thou art mine

I surrender all

~PRAYER~

RESPONSE

PUBLIC INVITATION

“What a beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

COMMUNION

Moment of Silence to confess sin

Father, we ask at this time that you would reveal any sin in our hearts that we may not be aware of. We confess that we are all sinners and are in desperate need of your grace. We ask for your forgiveness at this time and claim the promise of John 1:9, “that we if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

Communion is a time to remember and to renew our commitment with Christ and one another

The bread represents His body

Pray a blessing over the bread

Jesus said: “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Eat the bread

The juice represents our covenant in His blood

Pray and bless the cup

“do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Until He comes.

One of these days all the things of this world will matter no more. All that will matter to us is how we lived for Jesus Christ.

Live every day as if it was your last

~PRAYER~

OFFERING

We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.

BENEDICTION

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’”

Members Meeting

Opening Prayer

Reading of last months minutes

Any Questions?

Vote to approve last months minutes

Treasurers Report

Any Questions?

Vote to approve the treasurers report

Unfinished Business

Church updates

New Business

APPROVE NEW BUDGET PROPOSAL

NEW PLANNING TEAM FOR 2024

Any other new business?

Meeting adjourned