Reclaim the Church

(Play reunion video)

Reunion videos are killer, aren’t they?

Even those of us who have never served, they stop us cold.

Have you ever wondered why?

Could it be because the soldier is finally in the place they rightfully belong?

I mean, think about it logically.

A soldier is ordered to a new duty station half way around the world.

He goes and does his assigned tasks everyday.

He lives.

He thrives.

He has friends.

He laughs, works hard.

He lives life.

He has pictures of his wife and kids.

They might even video chat.

He does good - but he's not where he belongs.

But when the soldier gets home where he belongs, and he gets to touch his wife.

When the child gets to touch her daddy.

Magic happens, doesn’t it?

In a video of complete strangers, we see something we all want.

We all want to be where we belong, with our family.

A place where we are loved, where people care if we live or die.

A place that makes everything we do worthwhile.

It’s how God created us - hard wired in us - His design imprinted on our soul.

What if we considered every Sunday a reunion video of the church?

We’ve been apart for a week - and now we are together again - and it makes us happy.

What would that do to our culture? You see

The Church is how the world sees Jesus.

Today is a new day for us.

We spent a lot of time and effort to go to two services so we’d have enough room for Jones County.

We were well on our way - momentum was on our side.

Then Covid - and all of the rules changed.

The more I think about it, the more I’m certain that we really can’t criticize anyone’s reaction to Covid.

It threw us more curve balls than any sane person could handle.

So here we are, over 2 years later, taking a deep breath, making a move to unify and to grow.

We are trying with all of our might to reclaim something that Covid stole from us.

So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to look at things we need to reclaim.

And today, we are going to Reclaim the Church.

Our text is from the book of Acts 2:42-47.

Acts is in the New Testament - it’s the book right after John’s Gospel and it’s written by the same man that wrote the book of Luke.

At this point in our story, Jesus has resurrected.

Has appeared to hundreds of people and has ascended into heaven.

The disciples and everyone else has returned to Jerusalem.

On the 50th day after Easter - the Pentecost - Jesus sent the Holy Spirit exactly has He had promised He would do.

And the world was never the same.

When the Holy Spirit came, Peter was moved to preach.

He preached Jesus, crucified and resurrected.

3,000 people were saved and baptized.

We look at that like it all happened in one second, but how long does it take to baptize 3,000 people?

Days passed - maybe weeks.

But these 3,000 people and more joined them every day - they became the Church.

And here’s what they did.

Hear now the Word of the Lord from 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.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

So the New Testament church started right here.

This is the blue print.

This is our mirror.

When we pick it up, we want to see FBC-Gray staring back at us.

In this text, we see a church devoted to 6 things.

And here’s where I get to have fun - you read verse 42 and you say, “Brother Pastor, Luke says they devoted themselves to four things.

And I get to say to you, “Nope - there’s six. This is going to be so good.

So they devoted themselves.

What does it mean to be devoted to something?

This particular word means, are you ready for it?

Devoted means to “continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty.”

With intense effort, no matter what life threw at them, no matter the choices they were faced with.

With intense effort and against every difficulty, the church devoted itself to six things.

1. The Apostle’s Teaching

What were the Apostles teaching?

Peter appears to be the main spokesman at this point and he’s just preached a sermon that saw 3,000 people saved.

That would be a kick.

What did he preach?

Go home and read Acts 2 and you can read exactly what he said, but in a nutshell he preached this:

Jesus lived a perfect life filled with signs and wonders that let you know there was more to him than any other man.

You took this perfect man and you killed Him - you nailed Him to a cross and crucified Him.

Acts 2:24 “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

Because it was not possible - I love that line - I don’t think I’ve ever heard that line this way before.

It was not possible.

You killed Him.

You buried Him.

But it was not possible for Him to stay dead.

Why?

Acts 2:36 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.””

He is Lord - He is the Master - He is your Ruler.

He is Christ - The Messiah - He is your Savior.

This cut them to the quick - they realized their sins were catastrophic.

Because of us - the very Son of God Himself was murdered - but more terrifying than that - God wouldn’t let His murder stand.

The resurrection make justice sounds.

Jesus was back to set things right.

They were caught - their sin is as obvious as the noon day sun.

They asked the only logical question, verse 37, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

“Acts 2:38-39 “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. (Listen to this) 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.””

The promise is for us.

God’s just judgment of our sins is borne by Jesus if we repent and follow Him.

We are made right with God.

This is the teaching they devoted themselves to.

Because they understood what it took to make them right with God, they wanted to know everything Jesus taught, every place Jesus went, they wanted to know everything about Jesus.

They devoted themselves - they continued to pursue “with intense effort, even when it was hard” to find where the Apostles were teaching and to hear what the the Apostles’ were teaching - because what they learned changed their lives.

They couldn’t get enough.

2. The Fellowship

Notice here the word is not to fellowship - it’s the fellowship.

The group - all of the folks who were changed like they were.

One commentator calls the Church the “colony of God on earth.”

But remember now the word devoted - they devoted themselves to the fellowship.

Devoted means - remember? - Devoted means to “continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty.”

In other words, nothing would stop them from being together.

It was too important.

It mattered that they be with people who believed like them, that lived like them, that were trying their dead level best to obey God like them.

It mattered to them to be together with Church people.

Oh brothers and sisters, it matters when we are together.

It matters when I see your face.

It matters when I hear you call my name.

It matters when we are together.

Church isn’t something to do when there is nothing else going on or there isn’t a better opportunity somewhere.

Church is our house - it’s our home - it’s where we come back to each week after we are deployed.

We need to reclaim that devotion - reclaim the notion that we will make an intense effort, no matter how difficult it gets, to come to church each week.

Not to check a box or to be good - but because we need each other.

They devoted themselves to each other - they continued to pursue “with intense effort, even when it was hard” the Fellowship.

3. Breaking of Bread

They devoted themselves - they continued to pursue “with intense effort, even when it was hard” remembering Jesus every time they broke bread.

Luke used these words on purpose.

If you are a Christian, breaking bread reminds us of communion.

But they did their communion differently.

Before every meal, the host would take a loaf of bread, they would break it and pass it to everyone at the table.

Jesus took that common ritual and He made it an object lesson.

Remember?

Luke 22:19 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

They broke bread every time they sat down to eat - just like at your house someone always says, “pass the salt.”

And Jesus took that and said, every time you sit down to eat, remember me.

For the next 8 weeks, we are going to have communion every week.

I know that’s not baptist but I’m not trying to be baptist.

I’m trying to reclaim the Church.

I’m praying for us to reclaim our memory of Jesus and how He changed every last one of our lives.

I’m praying that the Lord will inspire us to devote ourselves - to continue to pursue “with intense effort, even when it gets hard,” remembering Jesus every time we break bread.

4. The Prayers

They devoted themselves - they continued to pursue “with intense effort, even when it was hard” to the prayers.

Notice the article “The” - the prayers.

Prayers from the Bible.

Prayers in the Psalms and Prophets - Prayers in the Wisdom writings.

Prayers someone else had written down.

Prayers thought out and reasoned by wise, Godly people yesterday and in ages past.

Prayers to learn from and repeat and claim for our own.

Prayers like we’ve heard from Daniel and Jeremiah.

I’ve prayed a prayer of Daniel for a long time now - “Lord, we do not deserve being rescued, rescue us anyway.”

Daniel 9:19 ESV

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

See, if we have devoted ourselves to studying the prayers - when we find ourselves in strange places.

We’ll remember what others have prayed, and we’ll have confidence that the Lord will hear our prayers.

We must devote ourselves - to continue to pursue “with intense effort, even when it gets hard,” we must devote ourselves to prayer.

Now, that’s the four themselves in verse 42 - but I said there were two more hiding.

Look down to verse 46: Acts 2:46 “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,”

See that word “attending.”

It’s going to come as a surprise to you that in the Greek, it’s the exact same word as devote - to the letter.

It’s rendered differently because of context - but it means the same thing.

So there are two more devotes:

5. The Church Building

I don’t know about you, but I’ve kind of got it in my head that after the Lord formed the church, everyone stayed away from the Temple - but that’s not right.

In fact, they devoted themselves all the more to going to the temple.

Why?

They’re saved, right?

Why deal with all of that Old Testament stuff?

They devoted themselves to that Old Testament stuff because now that they had the Holy Spirit, they could see Jesus in it.

Jesus is in Genesis 1:1.

Jesus is in Malachi 4:6 and Jesus is everywhere in between.

And the place designated for worship and the place designated to hearing the Word being read and they place where all of their community could gather in one place.

That’s the place they wanted to be - that place was the temple.

They devoted themselves - they pursued “with intense effort, even when it get hard,” to gathering in the temple.

6. Breaking Bread in their Homes

Not everyone could fit in one house, could they? 3,000 people?

Not hardly.

They didn’t have Education space in the temple - especially if they were teaching Jesus.

So what did they do.

They broke up into small groups and they went to people’s homes.

Some people say these were home churches - looking at this closely, I’m not so church.

For these folks the main focal point of worship was the temple.

But the main place of fellowship and friendship was in the home.

Home is the place where people drop their guards, where friendships are formed and where life is addressed.

As they ate together, “they received their food with glad and generous hearts.”

The word glad here means almost exuberant - it’s excited - they were so happy to receive it.

And because it was so special to a group of people who didn’t have much, they were just as excited to share it.

And this devoted church,

These people, with their minds made up, decided that with intense effort, even when it got hard, that they would be the church.

And what did that devotion cause?

Look at Acts 2:47 “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Luke didn’t write that because it’s a one off.

Luke wrote this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to tell us - we can have this too.

That when the community sees the church being the church, we will find favor in our community and the Lord will add to our number day by day those who are being saved.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord

to make our common supplications to you;

and you have promised through your well-Beloved son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name, you will grant their requests.

Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us,

granting us in this world knowledge of your truth,

and in the age to come, life everlasting.

In Jesus’ name, Amen (A prayer of John Chrysostom).

So as we stop now and think back on everything we’ve sung and heard preached today, let’s ask ourselves, what are we going to do with it?

The first church was devoted - they decided with intense effort, even when it got hard, that Jesus was worth remembering and following.

Where do our devotions lie?

To help us set our hearts in the right direction, we are going to break bread together.

Probably all of us are about to go to lunch - and Jesus’ idea was - every time you eat - remember me.

So think of this as the beginning of your meal.

And think of Jesus and ask yourself as you come - how devoted am I?

Are there difficulties or pleasures that keep you away?

How devoted am I?

We’ll break bread and return to our seats.

We’ll sing and and I’ll be here at the front.

If you want to come talk or pray, I’ll be there.

Let us return thanks for this meal:

Oh Father,

We ask you to bless and sanctify this bread and this juice to the souls of all who receive it.

Cause us to eat in remembrance of the body of Your Son Jesus.

Cause us to drink remembering his spilled blood.

Please let our eating and drinking remind the world of your sacrifice and your victory.

Cause us to always remember Jesus and revere His Church and speak His name

That the world might know that Jesus Christ is Lord to your glory of you God, our Father.

We ask in Jesus’ name,

Amen