Thursday, January 21, 2021
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe[a] 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. Acts 2:42-47
God made families. He made families in nature and families
with people and families are the group of people that we are usually closest to.
But He gave us another family in the body of Christ and many of us have formed
the most special relationships in our lives with the people we go to church with
every Sunday. Sometimes we are even closer to our church family than we are to
our biological family and those who have no biological family are so thankful
for the belonging and love they find at church.
When
we embrace the truth that our gifting's are developed and our purpose is
realized through the family connection to God’s people and cooperate with God’s
delegated leaders and community
we are placed in, we thrive and come alive! Our passion and purpose grow,
we mature, and dreams are fulfilled. – Sam Nobles
Sunday Sam preached about the first church and gave us four
values of the first church. These
values were the fruit of a genuine conversion and Spirit filled life in Christ.
The Early Church Was Devoted To The Apostles
Teaching – They were serious about the word of God and
they studied what the Apostles taught them. They were hungry and the Apostles’
teaching created more hunger and they turned to God’s word for satisfaction as
they should.
Our church and any church must be serious about teaching
and learning the Word of God. Learning from His word will help us grow in our
walk with the Lord and we in turn can help others. The Word of God – His Word –
is what we should hunger for as well, just as the early church.
The Bible answers all the questions that lie at
the real heart of every human being. What is real? What is ultimate? Where do
we come from? What is the matter with humankind, and what hope is there for us?
The Bible is the only book that answers all those questions.
The Early Church Was Devoted To Fellowship – Fellowship
is so important and vital to our lives and the life of a church. Fellowship creates
unity. Fellowship fills in the holes and makes us stronger. It is sharing our
lives with one another – good and bad – walking together and holding each other
up. It is the glue that holds us together.
Fellowship with God and fellowship with His
people go hand in hand. The more you fellowship with God the greater your
desire will be to fellowship with God’s people. If
you are out of fellowship with God, you will find yourself out of fellowship
with other believers as well.
The Early Church Was Devoted To The Breaking of
Bread – This is referred to in the Old Testament as both the
Lord’s Supper and eating together. Taking the Lord’s Supper shows that we believe
He died for us and has forgiven us. It says we believe that His body was broken
(bread) and His blood was poured out (juice) for our atonement.
As for eating a meal together, I don’t think I need to
explain how important and refreshing it is to eat with family and good friends.
There is something very special about that time together shared. During the
early days of the church, a love feast was held in connection with the Lord's
Supper as an expression of the love of the believers for one another.
The Early Church Was Devoted To Prayer – Prayer
is essential to keeping the communication open between us and God. Also, as a
whole, the church was able to see God at work and experience His power through
praying together. They met regularly for the sole purpose of prayer.
It is clear that prayer in the book of Acts was
not for outward show. Christian leaders did not come together and simply open
their discussion with a “word of prayer.” They understood that their primary
purpose in assembling was prayer.
