A Church Worth Joining And Sharing
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Acts 2:41-47
If you love your church, you know what it feels like to walk through these doors and breathe a little easier.
You know the feeling of hearing the Bible opened and thinking, “This is what I needed.”
You know what it is to sing a hymn and feel your heart steady again.
You know what it is to be prayed for, checked on, encouraged, forgiven, and helped.
For many of us, this church has been a place where God met us in a hard season.
Some of you were hurting and God comforted you here.
Some of you were drifting and God brought you back here.
Some of you were lost and God saved you here.
And you don’t just love a building.
You love the people God used to help you.
You love the preaching that kept pointing you to Christ.
You love the altar moments where God dealt with your heart.
But can I say this gently.
There are people right now who need what God is doing here, and they don’t even know it yet.
There are families in our village that are one crisis away from realizing they can’t do life without God.
There are people who would come if they thought they would be welcomed and helped.
There are shut-ins who would be sitting right here if their body would let them.
There are weary saints who are still hungry for the Word, but the only way they can “be here” is through a screen.
And here is the question Acts 2 forces us to ask.
What kind of church would Jesus build if He built it right here, in our village, in our generation.
What would it look like.
What would it feel like.
What would people say after they walked in.
Would they say, “That church is real.”
Would they say, “Those people love God and I felt loved when I went there.”
Would they say, “I could belong there.”
Would they say, “I needed that.”
Acts 2 is not a chapter about a famous preacher or a big crowd.
It is a chapter about a powerful Savior building a living church.
And when Christ builds His church, it becomes a people worth joining and a testimony worth sharing.
So let’s look this morning at Four Marks of a Church Worth Joining:
I. Gospel Foundation
I. Gospel Foundation
A church that is worth joining must have a Gospel Foundation.
There is no church without the Gospel!
So that means the people need to have a…
A. Saving Response
A. Saving Response
(Acts 2:41) They “gladly received his word.”
That phrase matters.
They didn’t just “hear” a sermon.
They received the Word.
They welcomed it.
They believed it.
They surrendered to it.
Peter had preached Christ crucified and risen, and they responded to Christ, not to hype.
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Salvation is connected to a clear proclamation.
We should pray that every service includes at least one moment where someone truly understands the gospel, maybe for the first time, and has a chance to respond.
Sometimes we assume everyone in the room knows what we mean by “saved.”
Sometimes a visitor hears “saved” and thinks we mean “saved from trouble.”
The Bible speaks of being saved as being
saved from sin,
saved from judgment,
saved unto God,
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, no one can boast.
A Gospel Foundation Church must
Keep the gospel simple,
keep it central,
keep it clear,
and keep it offered.
Secondly a church worth joining must have…
B. Public Obedience
B. Public Obedience
(Acts 2:41) They were baptized.
They didn’t get baptized to become saved.
They got baptized because they were saved.
Baptism is the first public step of obedience, and obedience knits believers into the life of a local church.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Baptism is part of Christ’s command, showing identification with Him and His people.
Loving your church includes being willing to be identified with Christ and with the church family.
And notice this.
The church is not a club you join by paying dues.
The church is a body you are added to by the Lord Jesus… when you are saved, and then you live that out visibly in a local assembly.
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Church growth begins with God’s saving work.
Pray for conversions, not just decisions.
Ask God to add people who truly believe.
When people are truly saved, they don’t just get added to a list.
They get knit into a spiritual family with new priorities.
A Church Worth Joining has a Gospel Foundation…Verse 42 says it also has…
II. Steadfast Priorities
II. Steadfast Priorities
What you put first in priority shows what is most important to you!
What Priorities should a Church Worth Having have?
it should be a…
A. Doctrine Center
A. Doctrine Center
(Acts 2:42) “They continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.”
That means they stayed.
They didn’t treat truth like a phase, or something to hear and set it back down..
They didn’t sample doctrine like a buffet.
They continued stedfastly.
A strong church is not built on novelty, or popular topics.
It is built on conviction.
Conviction is brought through the truth of the Word of God.
Paul told Timothy…
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Why, because the church is strengthened by truth.
If you love your church, protect preaching time, protect teaching time, protect Bible time in your own life too.
That also means we don’t apologize for the Bible.
We explain it.
We apply it.
We invite people to obey it.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Doctrine is meant to produce disciples.
Ask God, “What am I supposed to obey because of what I heard today?”
Then obey it!
A Church worth joining preaches doctrine…but we also see…
B. Fellowship Bonds
B. Fellowship Bonds
(Acts 2:42) “And fellowship.”
Fellowship is not just being in the same room.
It is shared life centered on shared truth.
It is carrying burdens.
It is rejoicing with those who rejoice.
It is weeping with those who weep.
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
This is where love gets practical.
Loving your church means you don’t let people suffer alone, you move toward them.
Some of the most spiritual work in a church happens in the quiet moments.
A handshake.
A prayer with someone after church.
A meal when a family is hurting.
A ride to a doctor appointment.
A visit.
A text that simply says, “I’m praying for you right now.”
Romans 12:10 tells us
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Choose one person this week to intentionally encourage, not because you feel like it, but because Christ loves them, and commands us to do the same!
The Church worth joining also is a place of…
C. Spoken Prayer
C. Spoken Prayer
(Acts 2:42) “And in prayers.”
Prayer is not the warm-up.
Prayer is the work.
It is a purposeful prayer - not good intentions…I meant to pray.
No a church that is going to do the work of God must be a church built upon the prayers of the saints.
A church that prays is saying, “Lord, we can’t do this without You.”
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Without me ye can do nothing, so prayer is a confession of dependence.
Whether it’s for the church, or if it’s for yourself…pray!
If you’re tired, pray.
If you’re anxious, pray.
If you’re hopeful, pray.
If you’re burdened for souls, pray.
And notice “prayers” is plural.
This was a praying people.
Not just a praying pastor.
Not just a praying deacon.
Not just a praying senior saint.
A praying church.
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For all men… prayer broadens our heart beyond ourselves.
Write down a short list of people you want to see saved, and pray over that list daily.
A Church Worth Joining has a Gospel Foundation, and Steadfast Priorities…it also has a…
III. Loving Culture
III. Loving Culture
How is our church known?
Are we known as judgemental?
Are we known as unkind?
Are we known as gossips?
Are we known as loving people?
Do the people that walk out the doors on Sunday say, “Wow I really felt loved!”
“Wow, they really love God!”
And that is where it starts!!
Verse 43 speaks of a…
A. Reverent Awe
A. Reverent Awe
(Acts 2:43) “And fear came upon every soul.”
That is not terror.
That is reverence.
That is a roomful of people who realize,
God is real,
God is here,
and God is working.
We have lost something when church becomes casual in the heart arena.
Not casual in personality, or in dress, or in atmosphere…but rather casual in reverence.
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, because worship is weighty.
It’s a serious matter!
That’s not to say we can’t have fun!
Or that we need to have a stodgy service.
But we do need to take it seriously.
Before the service begins, ask God to tune your heart.
Lord, help me worship, help me listen, help me respond.
And you know what, the awe of God does something beautiful.
It cleans up petty attitudes.
It quiets criticism.
It puts preferences in the right place.
When God is big, self becomes smaller.
When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he saw himself clearly, so reverence leads to repentance.
If you find yourself nitpicking the church, ask yourself, “Have I been seeing God clearly?”
A loving church comes with a Reverent Awe, but verses 44 and 45 tell us it also comes with …
B. Sacrificial Care
B. Sacrificial Care
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
The needs were met.
This was love with their sleeves rolled up.
This was not forced giving.
This was willing giving.
This was not about all having equal possessions.
This was about meeting real needs in a new community that was forming fast.
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
The Macedonians gave beyond their own power, willingly of themselves, because grace produces generosity.
Giving is not first a budget decision, it is first a worship decision.
When you join a healthy church, you do not just gain a seat.
You gain a family.
And then we see in verse 46 that that A Loving culture has…
C. Joyful Simplicity
C. Joyful Simplicity
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
“with Gladness and singleness of heart.”
That phrase “singleness of heart” carries the idea of sincerity, simplicity, no double agenda.
No show.
No masks.
A church worth joining is not perfect, but it is sincere.
10 … the joy of the Lord is your strength.
The joy of the LORD is your strength, because joy is not denying there is pain, or suffering, or trials, it is confidence in God in the midst of it all.
You can be honest about hardship and still be joyful in the Lord.
Joy is not pretending.
Joy is trusting.
Some of the sweetest members of a church are the ones who can’t sit in the pew anymore.
They are shut-in.
Maybe they are recovering.
They are dealing with chronic pain.
They are caring for a spouse.
They still love their church.
They still want to hear their pastor preach.
They still want to sing along as best they can.
And sometimes the livestream is the only way they can “be there.”
A clear picture and clear sound is more than technology.
It is a ministry of connection and care.
When the foundation is gospel, and the priorities are steadfast, and the culture is loving, the church can’t help but overflow outward.
So we see #4…a church worth joining has a…
IV. Gospel Overflow
IV. Gospel Overflow
Verse 47 speaks of this.
It is more than what happens inside these walls.
It is the overflow from this place into our community, our state, our country and around the world.
Never before in the history of mankind have we had the opportunity to spread the gospel personally and actively as a church to the far corners of the world, like we do now.
But when they see us they should see some things!
A. Worship Testimony
A. Worship Testimony
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
They were “Praising God.”
They were the same people who used to live for themselves.
Now they lived to praise the Lord.
That kind of worship is contagious.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, because gratitude should be audible.
Don’t just feel thankful, say thankful.
Tell someone what the Lord has done in your life.
B. Credible Witness
B. Credible Witness
(Acts 2:47) “Having favour with all the people.”
That doesn’t mean the world agreed with every doctrine.
It means their lives were hard to dismiss.
It means people could say, “I don’t know about all their beliefs, but I can tell they love each other, and they love God, and they’re not fake.”
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
How are people going to know if you are a follower of Christ?
If ye have love one to another,
Why? because love is the church’s loudest sermon.
Our unity is not just for us, it is for our witness.
C. Divine Increase
C. Divine Increase
(Acts 2:47) “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
Do you see that.
The Lord did it.
But the church was faithful in its foundation, priorities, culture, and testimony.
Faithfulness is never wasted, even when you cannot see the fruit yet.
Now let’s bring this back to today.
Acts 2 is not a chapter about equipment.
It is a chapter about overflow.
The Word went out.
The witness went out.
The joy went out.
The care went out.
And in our day, one way that overflow happens is that preaching goes beyond the room.
We are not trying to “do church online.”
We are trying to let people hear the Word clearly when they cannot yet be here, or when they are watching for the first time, or when they are shut-in and longing for the Word of God.
1 Corinthians 14:8 talks about an uncertain sound…in context it is talking about what is happening in the church service…
8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
We don’t want unnecessary distractions that make it harder to follow the message.
And yes, cameras and lights matter because clarity matters.
Not to impress, but to serve.
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Doing things well is not pride when the aim is Christ’s glory and people’s good.
So this offering today is not about upgrading our image.
It is about strengthening a tool that helps the Word go forward with fewer distractions and more clarity.
A clean window does not create sunlight.
It simply lets the light in without distortion.
This is what we want our livestream to be, a clearer window for the unchanging Word.
Conclusion
Conclusion
A church worth joining is built on the gospel.
A church worth sharing is marked by steadfast priorities and a loving culture.
And a church like that will look for ways to help the gospel go farther.
So today, let’s love our church the Bible way.
Stay close to the Word.
Stay faithful in prayer.
Stay generous in love.
Stay unified in spirit.
Stay outward in witness.
And as the Lord leads, let’s invest in clarity, not for show, but for souls, and for the care of those who need the Word brought to them.
If you have never been saved, receive the Word today, and come to Christ.
If you are saved but not steadfast, ask God to make you steady in the things that matter.
If you love this church, ask the Lord what part He wants you to play in helping the gospel go farther.
