Embracing Authentic Relationships: Back to the Basics

Introduction

We are in week 2 of our series We Are CR Students! Last week recap, to lead into the question today.

What is church??? (Bring up a white board to write down answers)

READ Acts 2:42–47

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.

What makes church community different?

Let’s go back to the beginning. The church that we just read about is one of the first recorded texts about the way that the church operated soon after Jesus’ death. They were living in such a way that was so attractive to the world around them that many people were coming to faith in Christ. I wanted to answer this question tonight…what makes our relationships in church different and what makes them authentic?

Authentic Definition: genuine, being actually and exactly as claimed.

Have you guys ever been promised something that ended up failing wayyyyyy short of your expectations? (Give example of Amsterdam)

On the other hand though, don’t you love it when you show up somewhere and it is exactly what you imagined, or better yet…BETTER than you imagined? (Ex. Going to the Koln Dom Cathedral)

This is exactly what happened in the early church that we see described here in Acts 2, and stay with me here because this is driving us back to embracing authentic relationships. When you look in this Scripture here you see some really important things that the early believers did that displayed a radically different community of people that the culture had never seen before, and it was revolutionary. What was it that made them so different? Here are some of the things I see in the text:

A devotion to God’s Word

The people in the early church devoted themselves to learning as much as they could from the apostles before they went back home. Our Student Ministry is going to do the same. We don’t want just pizza and games, but we want to lift high the Word of God and equip you guys to know and understand the Bible.

An Awe of God

When we take seriously the God that we serve, great things begin to happen in our midst. Where there is a devotion to God’s Word, there is a deep and growing awe and wonder of the person of God.

Radical Generosity

Hold people tighter than your possessions. What happened may have been that each person held his goods at the disposal of the others whenever the need arose. (1 Timothy 6:18)

1 Timothy 6:18 ESV

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

1 John 3:17 ESV

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

Common belief in Jesus

These were people of different backgrounds, beliefs, social status’, tax brackets, nationalities, age, gender, job titles, interests, etc. but they all had a common belief…Jesus Christ died on the Cross, rose from the grave three days later, and is seated at the right hand of God. They believed that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross saved them from their sins and set them free. They may have had many differences in other areas of life, but they had a common unity about the most important thing in life and that was Jesus.

Meeting together regularly

You can’t have fellowship if you don’t gather with the church. Some people don’t like large ministries because they are too impersonal. But look here! when the Lord started his church, He started it big! It began with 3,120, and soon numbered over 5,000 and it kept growing from there. How is a growing ministry (in number) able to keep fellowship deep and personal? Life groups. If you only attend a MIDWK or Sunday AM service, but never spend time getting to know the other Christians on a deeper level, you will not enjoy the community of God the way He intends for you.

Breaking Bread together

There is something special about sharing meals together as believers and spending time around the dinner table talking about the goodness of God, the blessings of God in each of our lives, the burdens that are in our lives that are driving us to great dependance and prayer to God and leaning on each other, and the joy and laughter that comes from sharing life together. That is a special type of community that only comes from the unity that occurs in the body of Christ. ***Encourage the students to share meals together often.***

Growth in number

Evangelism is primarily God’s work, but He does it through us. It is the Lord who adds to the church those who are being saved, but we are responsible to share the gospel. A healthy student ministry and a healthy church is one that is seeing lost people saved. We have had 18 students in the past year be baptized, and 15 students come to faith in Christ in the past year! (CELEBRATE!) We are a student ministry that is growing and is seeing students come to faith in Jesus Christ, we have had about 82 new visitors to the student ministry in the past year, which is amazing! You guys are inviting your friends to come and hear the gospel, and we want you to share it too! We are thankful that we are seeing God change lives, and we are excited to see that number increase this year!

From sharing their faith daily

From the witness of their love towards each other daily (John 13:34-35)

John 13:34–35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

These early believers were devoted to God’s glory, they lived so authentically and loved so authentically that God used their lives and their example of counter cultural community to flip the world upside down.

Land the Plane

Are you part of and experiencing life giving and life changing community?

Do you desire to see these things be what others experience when they show up to our student ministry? (God’s Word, an awe of God, a common unity in Christ, a radical generosity, a deep love for one another, a readiness to share about faith)

Are you surrendered to Christ?