Church As Community
Notes
Transcript
Today in Pentecost Sunday. It has been 50 days since Resurrection Sunday.
It is the day the church was planted on earth, with the first sermon preached by someone other than Jesus, namely Peter.
Here is how it began — Acts 2:36-39
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
With that the church in Jerusalem was planted with around 3,000 people.
Are you ready for the message God has for us today?
Cool let’s dig in!
The First Christian Community
The First Christian Community
The Spirit was on the move that day, for the first ever Christian community was born.
There wereJews from all over the world!
The Jews heard the invitation and good news in their own languages.
There was something special about that day.
There were no other Christians in all the world and the relied upon one another — Acts 2:40-44
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
44 And all the believers were together and had all things in common;
No wonder they stayed around Jerusalem longer than they had planned.
No one left their home going to Jerusalem thinking, ok we need to prepare cause I know this year everything will change!
Going to be an exciting Pentecost!
That was not their plan, but it was God’s plan!
A Special Kind of Community
A Special Kind of Community
What happened on Pentecost was the introduction of a different kind of community.
The Spirit created a community that was destined to become truly universal.
It started with the Jews but was not to end there, Jesus gave the following instructions — Acts 1:8
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
They were indeed witnesses to the resurrected Christ and when the disciples left Jerusalem they carried the witness of the apostles to expand the boarders of the kingdom of God to gentiles as well.
Thus Paul would write about what a renewal in people that through the Spirits creates a special kind of community — Colossians 3:11
11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.
The community as Paul points out transcends all ethnic, cultural, and social barriers.
Simon Chan in his book Liturgical Theology writes, “It is a communion in which real diversity exists side by side with real unity. A communion that could truly be called a body with many different parts.”
4 For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.
I had the chance to attend a church was multi cultural — develop
Pentecost reminds us that the ground is level at the cross.
Everyone is in need of God’s saving grace!
Everyone of us is gifted by the Holy Spirit for the growth of the church.
This was Paul’s point in Ephesians 4:11-12
11 And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;
The Church as a Community
The Church as a Community
The church as a community is a gift from God
We are made for relationship, and on Pentecost the Spirit created a community that we all long for.
I thought of the Tower of Babel where humanity tried to build their own community by a unified effort which ultimately brought confusion and division.
On Pentecost the Holy Spirit united people of all languages, cultures and social statuses into a unified community.
This then leads to Acts 2:42
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Here we are two thousand years later a community of Christians in another part of the world.
Seeking today to remember the special event that led to us here!
Conclusion
We are the body of Christ! Ephesians 1:23
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
In the Church, His Body, there is to be no division — Galatians 3:28
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What are you going to do in light of these Scriptures this morning?
What is God trying to tell you?
Are you going to give your life to Christ? Come to the altar!
Maybe you are looking for your place in the body!
Come to the altar!
Whatever the reason come to the altar this morning!
After the song and walking back
Go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit!
May the Lord who raised Jesus from the dead bless you. May the God to whom our Lord ascended make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Spirit who is the unity of love between the Father and the Son, grant you peace for evermore.