Gospel Community
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why you do what you do sometimes? Like asking yourself, “Man, why do I do that?”
Let’s face it, there are tons of examples we can list right now that would perfectly illustrate that question (Why do I do what I do?) Whatever it is, there’s always a reason. There’s a reason for everything we do, whether we know it or not.
As we enter into our third part of our Follower series, we are going to consider Christian community. If we’re honest with ourselves tonight, most of us have asked that question, “Why do I go to church every week?”
Thankfully God has given us the book of Acts and in it we get to zone in on what Jesus desires for us when it comes to Christian community or aka, being a part of the church.
God’s Word
God’s Word
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you 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 for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
says that the early church devoted themselves. Devoted themselves to what?
Biblical teaching/preaching
Fellowship
Participating in the Lord’s Supper
Prayer
It’s easy to notice that the early church devoted themselves to the church (each other) consistently. What did they do when they met together? They gathered together to learn more of the apostles teaching about Christ, to being together, to eating meals together, and praying together. They didn’t just show up to the gathering to show up to the gathering. They showed up continually. But we have to ask the question:
Why?
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you 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 for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore 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 cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you 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 for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:37
JESUS! Jesus was EVERYTHING. They did not see attending church as a duty but a must!
If you are devoted to Christ, you will be devoted to His Church (opposite is the same).
Automatic. They were captivated by what they learned about Christ in the gospel from Peter. They heard that Jesus paid for their sins on the cross and resurrected to give them new life. They understood that Jesus fulfilled the OT and everything they could not. They were truly “cut to the heart” from the gospel. As a result they believed in faith and were baptized…3,000 of them. Then we have,
They were captivated by what they learned about Christ in the gospel from Peter. They heard that Jesus paid for their sins on the cross and resurrected to give them new life. They understood that Jesus fulfilled the OT and everything they could not. They were truly “cut to the heart” from the gospel. As a result they believed in faith and were baptized…3,000 of them. Then we have,
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
We don’t come to church week after week just because we think we are supposed to, but because we want more of Jesus! We want to see lives changed! I am convinced that things in your life and the church will start to change as soon as we simply get captivated by Jesus. If we are not crazy about Jesus, then church will just something you do and you will not know why.
If you don’t know why you do something then, why do you do it?
The early church knew exactly why they gathered together as the church — They were so overwhelmed by Jesus and His work in their lives to the point that they continually wanted MORE of it, of Him alone. We see them to want that to continue in their lives and each other. They devoted themselves to each other from a devotion to Jesus. This is descriptive of what it was like for the early church. This is literally what happened.
When we are devoted to Jesus, we are devoted to His family. When you are a part of a family, you belong to it. If you are a Christian, you belong to the church. It’s not a place of obligation, but of belonging.
The church is not a place that you go to, but it’s a people you belong to.
Listen students, if you are a Christian... you need the church to be healthy. Simple as that.
How am I unhealthy disconnect from the church? Because it’s disobedience to God.
When we meet Jesus, we become one with His people. If you are not a part of the church you are robbing yourself of ways you can be edified (encouraged) in your walk with Christ weekly.
The early church knew the value of being committed and connected to each other. They knew that they could do more together than they could apart. The same is true of us. God’s will for us is to own our faith, but not do it alone.
We need to say something tonight. If you call yourself a Christian and the desire is not there for you to connect & serve God’s church, then you might want to evaluate your salvation. Because there is not disconnect between Christ and the Church. If this is so, then accept Jesus for-real in your life and in awe of Him and the salvation in Him that He provides.
Because here’s the deal, when you devote yourself to Jesus because of Him alone, you will not be disconnected to His church. The church is God’s plan for you. Nothing on this earth will substitute the impact of the church in your life. Some of us wonder why we still haven’t changed. If you aren’t connected to the church then you won’t.
**Let me say something important** Coming on Wednesdays is great, but if that’s all you’re a part of on a week to week basis then you’re missing it. There’s so much more than Wednesdays for you. It’s one thing to commit yourself to Wednesdays, Jesus’ will for us isn’t just Wednesdays, it’s Sundays too. Because in Sunday mornings we gather, not in rows, but in circles. AND it’s in circles where we join together in relationships. What’s important about relationships with each other is that in relationships we experience life-change. You were never meant to own your faith alone. God designed us to own our faith together in community.
For some in the room today, something is missing in your life. You know it is. You have Christ, but you haven’t nothing’s different. It’s not by chance that when we connect together on a consistent basis our faith in Christ grows! It’s because of the simple truth that we need each other to grow. We must seek Christ privately, but we are also called to seek Christ corporately. For some of us we haven’t view the church as essential to our walk with Christ. We’ve view it as something we just come to every week. Students, the church is essential because it’s the:
The church is the people of god finishing the story of God.
The church is the people of god finishing the story of God.
In Acts 4:41, 3,000 people were a part of God’s story, and as a result came alongside God in what He was currently doing.
If you are devoted to Christ, you will be devoted to His Church (opposite is the same).
Conclusion
So, where are you today? What’s your next step when it comes to biblical Christian community?
Are you devoted to Christ?
Are you devoted to His Church from an overflow of Christ?
We need each other to be spiritually healthy. We cannot do it alone. We need each other.
The simple truth from tonight is that it’s in community only where we grow.
