Unified with the Church

Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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We are…

We will be a student ministry who is Firmly Rooted in the faith, establishing our lives on the Word of God, and the salvation that is a Gift of God through Christ Jesus. It is because of this gift that we will Pursue God, be Unified with the Church, Strive for Righteousness, and be Ambassadors of the Gospel to our neighbors, city, and around the world.

WE ARE…Pursuers of God

WE ARE…Unified with the Church

WE ARE…Striving for Righteousness

WE ARE…Ambassadors of the Gospel

WE ARE…Unified with the Church

What does Unity mean?

What does it look like?

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

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

There are important things here about unity. First, it does not mean that we all like the same things, but there are some characteristics about what it means to be unified.

Acts 2:42 (ESV)

And they DEVOTED themselves…

First we need to talk about this word devotion. This word means more than just doing certain things that are required, but rather it is a deep and relentless pursuit of.

In the greek it literally means be, be identical, exist, happen, be in a place, be possible, belong, represent

Meaning that this word encompasses a whole life , not just mere moments.

Acts 2:42 (ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the APOSTLES TEACHING…

What is the apostles teaching?

If someone were to ask you that, what would you say?

In reality, this what the disciples were teaching. This is what the apostles heard from Jesus. This was them teaching the new believers what Jesus taught them. This is why we see in passages like 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

The reason Paul writes this is because it is the apostles teaching. It is Jesus who spoke to them on all matters, and then charged them to speak and teach the word.

Acts 2:42 (ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the FELLOWSHIP…

What is fellowship?

The greek word here is Koinonia. This is a deeper type than just spending time together, this is sharing life together. This is calling on the people of the church when life is hard, celebrating with them, sharing a meal with them. Opening your home to them. This is all kinds of life here.

To often we miss this part of unity. We stick to seeing people just on Sunday, and maybe whatever midweek thing that the church might have then, but how can you be unified with someone if you only saw them twice a week?

How would my wife and I be unified if we only saw each other twice a week at most?

Acts 2:42 (ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the BREAKING OF BREAD...

When we see fellowship above, that involves breaking bread, but that is in the sense of sharing a meal with someone. In this case, the breaking of bread is talking about the Lord’s supper.

We are called to do the Lord’s supper with the church and with believers. Why? Because it reminds us of the gospel. It reminds us of what Christ did for us on the cross. It aligns our hearts with Him, and connects our hearts with each other.

We are told to make sure that we have forgiven those who have wronged us, and make sure that we are forgiven as well.

Matthew 5:23–24 ESV

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

How can we be unified when we have fights among us?

This also goes into sin. We are told to deal with our sin before taking communion by the same principle in this verse.

When we deal with our sin, and when we have right relationship with one another, we see this in 1 John

1 John 1:7 ESV

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Walking in the light means making sure we have right relationship with our fellow Christians, and right relationship with God, and in doing so, we have unity with the Church.

Acts 2:42 (ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the PRAYERS.

Prayer is another one that is over looked in our lives today. When was the last time you privately prayed?

When was the last time you prayed for someone else?

You see what is being talked about here is more than just the corporate prayers that we have today in church, but rather a deep intimate prayer life. One that we are in constant communication with God. One where we are praying for each other, one where we are asking for prayers in our lives. Where we are praying for the lost, where we are praying without ceasing like we are told we should do.

The cool part is, this is the precursor to what happens after

Acts 2:43–47 ESV

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

We instantly see something change in the church.

We see lives changed, wonders and signs, people taking care of those around them without a thought of themselves. We see the church growing. Lastly we see the praise of the Lord and the favor of the Lord over the church.