The Model with Options

Models with Options

We’re studying Acts. His Old House.

It’s an old house! AD 33. 1,975 years old.

MPCC is part of His construction.

Jesus said He would build His church on the foundation of faith like Peter’s. No one’s death would stop it.

The concept presented to the disciples, .

Born on Pentecost. (last week).

Church: ekklesia. An assembly of people who share a common purpose. Wherever they gather.

People, not a place.

A movement, not a monument.

Jesus is not an architect building buildings. He is the Savior, saving collecting people for His kingdom.

The church is born. What should it look like? What’s the model? Should we still be everything exactly the same way they did it in c1?

My childhood. I in no way intend to offend anyone or be sexist. I know things have changed. But, this is my childhood.

As a boy, for a while, I got into model car kits.

White plastic parts attached in sheets and you had to carefully cut the connection then sand the little bump that was left.

Paint the parts before you glued it or else it would just be white plastic.

Decals.

This kit was so typical. 3 in 1.

Could make it stock, like it just came off the showroom floor.

Or, you could customize it.

Or, you could build a racing model, w/ side pipes, air scoop, spoiler.

Pick your model. But, when you’re done you’d have this car.

Which ever one you wanted to build, pick those parts, paint them, glue them together and it would look just like the picture on the box.

Ya right.

I’d get glue everywhere. Mix up the 3 options. I lost patience w/ all of them and ended up putting them back in the box in more pieces than they came out w/.

Ladies, you get this, too. Just in a different way.

Patterns. Sewing. An envelope w/ a pattern that would lead you thru the process and creating beautiful clothes.

You, too, would have options. One envelope, one pattern, several options.

Mini, or midi?

Sleeves or no?

Tie in the back?

And, several sizes were options w/ the same pattern.

Just cut it out, sew it together, and you’d look just like the model on the cover. Right?

Model car or dress. Pick the right kit. The fundamentals will be the same but some specifics would be unique. Unique to what you want to create.

Church is the same way. We have a model presented in . The fundamentals will be the same today.

But some specifics will be unique to us. These specifics are based on the culture we are in.

The fundamentals are the same but we have options in how we build them.

In this passage you’ll see the first fundamental is a group of people who are actively more interested in the health and needs of the group more than they are their own.

The second fundamental, or set of fundamentals is what they do.

They study God’s word.

They pray

They serve each other

They do relationship building things together.

This is where we get our primary means of making disciples that help us accomplish our core values.

We study to produce spiritual maturity.

We pray to discover our unique identity

We serve each other with humility

We play with each other to build a community.

You will see all of this in these 6 verses.

This is the model. We have options.

Our options are based on who we are and where we are planted.

Jesus is building His church with us and thru us.

But, this little church will look a little differently than every other church b/c of who and where we are.

This passage should give you a clearer idea of what role each one of us plays in what God is building here.

The health and needs of the group are a higher priority than the needs of individuals.

How to prioritize and spend your time.

This life in a church. Community life. Ekklesia life.

v.42 is what happens internally. v.43-47 are about what happens outside the church.

So, inside the church. What are we supposed to do?

4 things.

What Do WE Do?

Acts 2:42 NIV

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts

Simple, right? 4 basic programs.

In some ways this is very easy to understand.

How we do them is where things get complicated.

The how changes over time and geographically.

We have to address the how in the context of our unique culture.

This leads to planning our programing.

Program has become a dirty word in churches. It seems impersonal, non-relational.

It’s simply the activities we plan and perform to accomplish what Jesus commissioned us to do.

Sara and I have to plan to have a healthy marriage. Dates, budgets, a calendar. They have to happen.

A church has to have 4 basic areas of programming.

These are the things they were devoted to. Persistent about. Insistent about. Active.

They devoted themselves. The emphasis is on what the individuals did for the good of the organization, not what the organization was suppose to provide for the good of the individuals.

The entire group over each individual.

Unity of mind and purpose in these areas. They were all on the same page and these 4 areas bonded them together as a community.

These are the 4 basic areas.

Teaching

If the apostles were devoted to teaching.

Everybody else had to be devoted to learning.

Deuteronomy 4:1 NIV

Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

Deuteronomy 5:1 NIV

Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.

Teach and learn are the same Hebrew word. If the learners aren’t learning then the teacher isn’t teaching.

This responsibility falls on me and the others who teach.

Active and intentional on both ends.

I am not an apostle. I didn’t travel w/ Jesus. I am just your local pastor.

The apostles had uniques experiences w/ Jesus and the rest needed to hear what they knew.

Think about what they taught and studied.

Paul wasn’t a Christian, yet.

They had the OT.

They Matthew, John, Peter and the rest.

Probably, these 3 organized their thoughts as they taught in these early days which let to the books and letters they would write later.

Plus, they had the HS reminding them and counseling them along the way.

I’m not an apostle. But, like others, I have worked to understand what they wrote so I can teach it w/ some effectiveness.

This is what teachers do. And, we’ve been warned by James. Don’t aspire to be a teacher b/c teachers will incur a stricter judgement. ()

Everyone is a learner. We all have to be devoted to learning more of God’s word. According to the author of Hebrews, putting God’s word into practice is what leads to maturity.

Applying what we learn makes us mature. This is what mature people do.

The 2nd area of programming is Fellowship.

Fellowship

They were devoted to fellowship. These are the relationship-building activities.

This is the one type of activity you can’t do alone.

We can study alone, pray alone, even serve alone in preparation of a group activity.

We cannot fellowship alone. These are shared activities.

Recreation, fun. Pairs or groups of people doing fun things that break down relational walls creating strong mutual bonds.

These bonds provide strong emotional and spiritual support.

The Greek word, koinonia, on rare occasion is translated, communication.

It takes 2 parties actively working at understanding each other.

Just b/c 2 people are talking does not mean they are communicating.

Understanding has to occur.

The deeper the understanding, the stronger the bond.

Stronger bonds thru shared, fun activities.

Rough Riders, Luau, Oktoberfest, Women’s fellowship gatherings, hikes, snowshoeing, golf, cards, Bunko, 2nd Sunday Pot lucks, Dinners for 8.

Church is wherever God’s people have gathered even if it’s in the forest, brown-bagging lunch during a Rough-Rider Ride.

Sitting outside in a camping chair having a conversation w/ someone you’ve never met before while wearing all the dust kicked up by the vehicle ahead of you will build stronger relationship bonds.

So, when we have to get serious, we can get deeper faster b/c we know each other better.

Which leads to the 3rd area of programming; breaking bread together.

Breaking of Bread

The obvious assumption is it involves a meal. It does.

But this is a much broader term than simply eating together.

It is not a worship ritual, like communion.

It is groups of people getting together to serve each other.

The people were devoted to making sure they got together so each one had the opportunity to serve the rest.

Not so an individual could be served.

Mutual interaction, mutual acceptance, communicating, exhorting, encouraging, crying, laughing.

Serving by washing each other’s feet.

Fellowship is fun w/ casual conversation. Breaking of bread is intentional deep conversation.

Environments where people get to know each other on a deep level to understand how they can best serve them.

Often, over a meal. Dinner for 8.

You’ll notice that one activity we do will help accomplish more than one fundamental area of ministry.

Sunday School, Bible studies, men’s and women’s breakfasts.

Small group gatherings where significant things happen.

The focus is on using the gifts that God has given you to serve the rest of the group.

In this entire passage, every spiritual gift is either mentioned specifically or implied. Break breaking are the environments where most of these gifts are plied.

Actively, intentionally, looking for opportunities to use your gifts to serve the rest.

The 4th area of programming: Prayer

Prayer

Vital to community life. Seek God together. It’s much easier to pray in private. We feel like we don’t have to sound theological when it’s just us.

No one has to sound theological when in a group, either. Just share your heart. It’s for God, not each other. But doing it together deeply effects each other.

Communication w/ God. Listening more than speaking. But, being able to speak what’s on your heart and mind.

Understanding by both parties. The onus is on us. As if God doesn’t understand us already.

Can you imagine, sadly some of you can as you’ve come out of a bad marriage, what it’s like to not communicate w/ your spouse for days on end?

There may be speaking, even yelling. But, no communicating.

Prayer seeks God’s direction. We communicate our complete dependence on God.

We don’t work by feelings or intuition, but by actively submitting to the Lord’s direction.

Prayer is where God takes the lessons we’ve learned from His word, from others in our lives, and makes them unique to us.

This is where we discover exactly who God created us to be. Different from everyone else. Unique to our own situation.

How do I respond to Sara? Similar to how you should respond to your spouse. But, unique to my situation.

Every Sunday we take time to seek God together. Praise Him for something. Ask for help for yourself of someone you care about.

Share your heart and mind. Listen for His direction.

We encourage you to do it on your own and in the various groups you’re a part of.

If you don’t need God, then you don’t need to listen to anything He has to say.

I don’t think any of us believe that we don’t need God.

Listening is vital for our individual spiritual health, but more so for the health of the whole.

Healthy individuals make healthy families, groups, and churches.

So, these are the types of activities that need to go on inside the church. Specifics can change according to culture.

What effect does this have outside the church?

What Do THEY Think?

Acts 2:43–47 NIV

Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

In awe at what they saw

Everyone. That is, everyone outside the church was taking notice what was going on inside the church.

They were in awe. They had never seen anything like this before.

Even the idea that they were taking nervous notice that they were missing out on something important.

Powerful displays of God at work. Lives were changing over night.

They knew all the people before they found Jesus. They all looked the same, but there was something different about them.

Evidence that what God started in Jesus He was continuing thru these people.

This was not the end. It was not too late for anyone. This began the era that leads to the end.

They clearly saw the evidence that God was at work and they were awe.

What did they see?

Mutual Care

The quality of mutual care was unseen anywhere else.

The shared a common commitment to take care of each other.

Their generosity was off the charts.

Financial and material needs were met so no one lost their home and everyone could eat.

This was not a commune. The implication is that they sold their extra stuff to give to those who need the basic stuff.

Like selling their second home, mountain home, or extra property.

We get that. Most of the homes here are 2nd homes.

You know how our members value their Munds Park home. What wold it take for them to sell it so they could help w/ someone else’s financial needs?

Quality Care.

Mutually agreed upon, committed to, and shared.

Not only did the people outside the church see the quality care offered each other, they saw a religious energy they hadn’t seen before.

Worshiped daily

This was still a very Jewish group. A lot had changed, but their religious practices will take time.

They went down to the temple courts and worshiped daily.

That is, every day the communicated to God His value to them.

Worship = worth-ship.

Words and actions. Prayer, offerings, music.

We have given music most of the definition of worship. It involves singing, but it is much more.

It is every way you communicate to God His value to you.

It wasn’t limited to the temple courts. They’d head to people’s homes afterward.

They would serve each other. Share a meal.

Use their particular spiritual gifts of mercy, service, encouragement, exhortation, and hospitality.

They studied and discussed. Played and prayed.

They genuinely enjoyed each others’ company.

And, outsiders noticed. They was a reality to their commitment to each other that was uncommon.

They genuinely cared for each other and relished their time w/ God.

What outsiders were used to seeing at the temple was an air of obligation, guilt.

What they saw now was joy, peace.

And, they heard what the Christians had to say. They praised God, gave Him all the credit for their new life.

What effect did it have on everyone else?

Result

They praised God

Acts 2:47 NIV

praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They had the favor of everyone in the community.

Their reputation was spotless. When God did a work in the individuals lives and it affected the way the treated their fellow believers, the entire community took notice and appreciated them for it.

Too many Christians don’t care what outsiders think of aren’t concerned enough about their rep outside.

In the 80s in Dallas there was a publication of Christian Yellow Pages. It was notorious for bad service and poor payments.

Those who advertised assumed, since they were working for fellow Christians, they could do less than stellar work and expect high payments. After all, we’re both Christians.

Those who shopped in them assumed that they would be given a break on the price. If $50 is listed then they expected a deep discount of maybe 50%.

The reputation was awful. Avoid this like the plague. People would rather do business w/ overt Pagans than a so-called Christian who advertised in these Yellow Pages.

Not so w/ this first church. The opinion that outsiders held of this new group was high.

You see veiled references to the 2 greatest commandments: They loved God above everything else and they loved each other.

And, it was not a closed group. Outsiders were welcome to come inside and see first-hand they way they loved God and each other.

Experience the mutual care, powerful displays of God’s activity, and experience what it’s like to become a new believer.

God added to their number daily.

They didn’t do it. They didn’t convince anyone on their own. No deals were closed by the people. God did it.

God worked thru them, w/ them, around them, and maybe even in spite of them. They were still a sinful, imperfect lot, like us.

Community is a visible part of our witness. We share our personal experiences w/ Jesus not only by what we say but by how we treat each other.

Church is an environment of spiritual birth and growth.

It’s people, not a place. A movement, not a monument.

It’s an environment of praise, where needs are met and the culture is engaged.

Western culture drives us to individualism. Individual needs first. My rights before the rights of the group or anyone else.

Biblical culture places the needs of the group ahead of the needs of individuals. Having needs met is important. But, contributing to the needs of others is most important.

If everyone is looking out for the good of the group then every individual will get their needs met. Maybe not everything they want, but all that they need.

If everyone, anyone, is only looking out for themselves, then many won’t get what they need.

A church community is a gathering of individuals who are committed to God’s purpose on earth.

Jesus is building His church and He’s using us to do it.

What it looks like is an organization that has programs that encourages people to serve each other.

These are the fundamentals of church.

Churches have options in how they look. But look at the bones, the infrastructure, and all the healthiest churches will look the same.

Study, pray, serve, play.

Applications

Attitude

God might be convicting you and you may need an attitude adjustment.

You know your heart.

A healthy church community is made up of individuals that place the needs of the group ahead of their own.

Does that describe you?

Or, has your attitude toward church become a little too “Me-centered””

I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

If you can say you are more concerned about the health of the group then that’s great. I’ll move on.

If not, maybe you need to linger a little while on this one.

Serve

Do you need to find a new place or different place to serve?

A healthy church is a group of people who actively, intentionally look for opportunities to serve the rest of the group.

The HS has given each of us special abilities that others don’t have. We need for everyone to be involved.

Get involved

Teachers have to teach for the learners to be able to learn. And, learners have to learn for teachers to be able to teach.

And, that’s pretty much true for everything we do.

Help us get things done by participating in them.

Men’s and women’s activities, fellowship events, bible studies. evening of prayer and worship, Dinners for 8, missions, ushers, greeters.

Don’t wait to be asked. You know what you enjoy doing. seek out opportunities to do it.

This is what we are doing. Jesus is building His church and He’s doing it thru us.

This is our wing in our part of the world.

The fundamentals of every healthy church will be the same.

How we do them will be influenced by our culture.

I hope this has helped give you a clearer idea of what your role is in building this part of the church.

The fundamentals of every healthy church will be the same.

How we do them will be influenced by our culture.

Make sure you are more interested in the health and needs of the group than you are your own.

Remember, if everyone is thinking of the needs of the group first then everyone will get what they need.

Maybe not what they want.

If everyone, anyone is only looking out for themselves then many won’t get what they need.

If we are the church that Jesus created us to be we will be a place of spiritual birth and growth. A place of praise and the strong bonds of community. We will meet each other’s needs, engage our culture, and represent Jesus well.