Spirit Filled Communiry (Sep. 13, 2009)
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ACTS M4 SERMON NOTES SEPT. 13, 2009
TITLE: Spirit-Filled Community
TEXT: Acts 2:42-47
BIG IDEA: The early church was filled with the Spirit and committed to learning, liturgy (worship), and to loving.
Some people who come to Tenth express with surprise, “There are people of all different ages here, but a LOT of young adults.” (We weren’t expecting to see so many younger people in church).” And some have said with some wonderment (especially if they are from the United States), “There are people from different races and cultures here. We’ve never seen this before in a church.” When people probe into what we are involved in here at Tenth, they also sometimes comment with some surprise on how committed we are to working for social justice.
When people have asked me, “What model of church are you following?” Sometimes they anticipate that I will name some large church in Illinois or southern California—(I’ve lived in both places). But, I say, “We have an ancient model here at Tenth that goes back 2000 years ago.” If there is one church that we are trying to emulate (though we do it far from perfectly), it’s the early church described in the Book of Acts.
This morning as we continue our series in the Book of Acts, I want us to look at Acts 2:42-47, because this passage clearly describe the character of that first church.
Acts 2:42-47:
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
We are not going to cover every characteristic of the early church, but we will consider three.
In verse 42 we read that “they,” that is, the early church, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. The early church was passionate about learning. Most of the original leaders of the early church were unschooled, fishermen. Most of the people in the early church were from the “working class” and not highly educated by human standards.
And yet, because the Spirit of God powerfully worked in this early church, they developed this intense hunger to learn about the things of God.
So those first followers of Christ eagerly sat under the teachings of the apostles, that is, the original disciples of Christ, as they taught the scriptures and the teachings of Christ. One of the things that will happen to us as a community as the Holy Spirit works in our lives is that we will have a growing hunger to learn about God.
As I have shared before, as a boy I hated reading. I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood in North Surrey, and where studying was not especially valued, but my mom tried to get me encourage me to read. She made me write book reports, before I was allowed to go out to the cul de sac in front of our house and play street hockey. With tears streaming down my face, I would stare out the window as I saw the other kids playing hockey. My mom would later say that every book review that I would write--was exactly the same.
But when I gave my life to Christ as a teenager, to my great astonishment the scriptures really came alive to me, and I loved reading them and sensed God speaking to me through them. I even committed some of those passages to memory, like sections of the Sermon on the Mount in from the Gospel of Matthew and Psalm 103. When a person becomes a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit will stir a new a passion for learning in that person.
A couple of weeks ago, Kevin Knight a plumber in our community shared how he met Christ here almost 2 years ago and as a result became really hungry to learn about God: he joined the Alpha course, signed for Perspectives a course on the mission of the church, became part of a small group.
When the Spirit of God is at work in our lives, we not only have a passion to learn about God and a deepening desire to bring our lives into alignment with what God has reveals to us.
When we are “interested” in someone, when we are growing to care for and love someone, we really are interested in them (and hence the phrase, “I am interested in ________.” When we are interested in someone we want to find out about them; we become curious about the little details of their lives… When I was interested in pursuing Sakiko, one of our mutual friends said one of her favorite topics is dogs, and that suddenly became an important topic to me…
When we are really interested in a person, we will also find out what pleases that person. We want to bring our actions into line with what we think would please them. In the same way, when we become “interested” in God and grow in our love for God, we will become interested in knowing about God, and in knowing what pleases God.
One of the most helpful pieces of advice that I received before getting married came from one of Dr. John Gottman’s books. He simply said, “Let your spouse influence you.” When you allow your spouse to influence you in your decision-making, how you use your time, how you manage your money, you are sending the message we love and respect and honour our partner.
One of the ways that we show deep love and respect for God is by letting God influence us and shape our direction. There is a difference, of course, between letting our spouses or friends influence us and allowing God to influence us. Our spouses, our partners, our friends are fallible human beings, but God is perfect in wisdom. When we allow God to influence us and shape us as we bring our lives into alignment with his wisdom, we are not only loving and honouring and we are respecting love to God, but we are also loving, honouring and respecting ourselves. His commandments are consistent with our good.
So as the Spirit of God worked in the early church, they had a passion for learning about God and about God’s world, and a desire to honour God and his Word in their lives.
That is our vision here--to be a community where the Holy Spirit is so at work that we will develop a passion learn about God and his world and then to bring our lives in alignment with his purposes for us. I’ve often prayed God give me a love for your word and commit to a regular rhythm of reading the Scripture often using the One Year Bible. And as a student especially in the fall as classes begin, I’ve prayed God give me a love for learning…
Here at Tenth we have a vision to be a community where we are transformed through our learning about God.
We see that the early church was also a church that not only learned together, but worshipped together as well.
In verse 42 we read that the early church devoted themselves to “the” breaking of bread together which likely refers, because there is a definite article “the” before breaking of the bread, to their celebration of the Lord’s Supper (or what’s also called Holy Communion).
When Luke mentions in vs. 42 prayer (literally "the prayers"), he doesn't have private prayer in mind, but rather prayer in community—as God's people came together for worship.
Last week I said, sometimes people ask me why there is so much focus at Tenth Church on this person named Jesus Christ. It’s strange. I typically say, “When you discover more of Christ, you’ll find how awesome Christ is--you will understand why there is so much emphasis on praising Christ here at Tenth.”
When we experience something extraordinary, whether in music or art or in sports (say we’re watching figure skating or an amazing goal in a hockey game), part of what we want to do is to express gratitude and appreciation for what we have just experienced.
C.S. Lewis says that when we praise something, it not only enables us to express what we feel, but it also completes our joy. Have you ever been on a mountaintop somewhere and you saw an incredible vista? Or you have been at the beach and you saw a stunning sunset?
If you believe in God, perhaps at that moment you wanted praise God.
Or perhaps you wished that you could express your sense of wonder with someone you were close to.
An older friend of mine, who had a heart attack, was climbing to the top of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina (we had climbed that mountain several times before together). When he got to the top, he was so exhilarated and elated both for the fact that he made it to the top of the mountain after recovering from his heart attack and because of the extraordinary view, he called me with his cell phone. He said, “Ken, I just want you to know that I am on top of Grandfather Mountain here in North Carolina. Wish you were here to see this view.” There is something about expresses praise not us express what we feel, but helps us to complete our joy. There is something about offering our praise to God that helps us to not only express our wonder of God, but to also helps us complete it. And when we do that with other people, it just seems to intensify our joy and sense of gratitude we have in something. This is part of the reason why people want to gather to watch sports (when they could watch the sporting event on TV) or to go to a concert, even though they could listen to the music on an mp3. They experience an intensified level of joy and gratitude in community.
So it was with the early church. They engage worship of God in community and their joy in God was made more complete. When we as a community in large or in smaller groups in homes like the early church and express our praise to God, it completes our joy in God--it deepens our gratitude and our sense of adoration.
Here at Tenth we have a vision to grow as a community of worship.
The early church was passionate about learning, about worship, and passionate about caring for each other.
We read in vs. 42 that they devoted themselves to the fellowship. This is the Greek word koinonia.
The word koinonia means to share in common. The early church shared a common life in two senses. First, they shared a common life in God because they were connected to God, their common Father, and therefore they regarded each other as brothers and sisters—they a new definition of family.
Religion in the first century tended to divide people along the lines of class, education levels and ethnicity. The mystery religions catered to the rich and had high entrance fees, Greek philosophy appealed to the highly educated and cultured, pagan deities tended to connect with nations and regions with a particular people, and 2 of Christianity competitor religions appealed almost exclusively to men, but when people were filled with the Spirit of Christ they loved people across the lines of class, educational levels, culture, and race, they affirmed both men and women.
A large part of the reason that Christianity became the most influential movement in a world where there were thousands of other religions and philosophies competing for influence is because the Christian church was the first movement in history to bring together Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and the poor.
Our vision here at Tenth as we see in the book of Acts is to serve as a community where people of all different races, cultures, social economic-backgrounds can come together. Several years ago, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said that Tenth has become a resting place for of all walks of life.
The word koinonia means that the early church shared a common life in God, but also means that the early church shared what they had with others.
The early church shared what they had with one another. Koinonia is the word that Paul used for an offering that he was organizing for the poor at the church in Jerusalem.
Here in the Acts, Luke emphasizes how the early church practiced koinonia by sharing with others, by through contributing, and giving.
The early church also demonstrated extreme generosity to each other as they saw each as family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. (One of my friends, Eric from Pennsylvania, whenever he sees me he says, “How’s my brother from a different mother?” It’s true. When we belong to God, we will see other people as our brother and our sister, though perhaps we belonging to a different biological mother or father.) The early saw each others as brothers and sisters and they so they were extraordinarily generous with each other.
In the text we read (v. 44 and v. 45) that no-one was in need: 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he or she had need.
In church of the second century leader Justin Martyr in writing to the Roman Emperor Pius, explained the dramatic transformation that Christ brings to believers. He said, “Before we became Christians, we used to value above all else money and possessions. Now we bring together all that we have and give to those in need. (The early Christians had a practice that when they did not have enough food for the hungry people at their door, the entire community would fast until everyone could share a meal together. This kind of love had never been seen before!) Formerly, we hated and killed one another. Now we live in peace. We pray for our enemies, and seek to win over those who treat us unjustly.”
How did this happen? The early followers of Christ, were filled with the Spirit of Christ and therefore, like Christ, were extraordinarily generous and because they knew they had a common father in God, they saw each other as brothers and sisters.
As I have gotten ready for this message, I have come across numerous stories from our own small groups where people have supported each other tangibly: helping each other move, offering their homes as place to stay for a time while someone was in transition, comforting someone when a couple lost a lost their baby or a loved one.
One man wrote:
I had to go back home (a long way away—different continent) as my father was very ill and he passed away. When I eventually returned, after about a month, an amazing hamper of all sorts of wondrous treats was awaiting me. From my small group. It was very touching.
One woman from another small group wrote:
I quit my job shortly after I started with my small group and have been underemployed pretty much this whole year and a half… There have been a few times in the last year and a half when I was close to quitting the group, partly because I felt vulnerable. But I have become more accepting of myself this past year and aware of my need for community and also the gifts I bring to others.
My small group have had potlucks for me this past year when I had no food, they had a birthday party for me and each brought me a small gift when my birthday was on study night. I also appreciated that they didn’t lecture me when I bought a camera I couldn’t afford…
Some who just went on our 3rd service retreat last weekend wrote:
"I had been coming to Tenth for about a year and did not know anyone and prayed a lot about whether or not to come to the retreat. Everyone was so open and amazing and I feel, for once, like I am part of a church. Fellowship is something that I have been so much in need of for so long!"
“I love feeling like I am becoming connected in this church, it's amazing how much better I feel - spiritually, emotionally, even physically ( I can't stop smiling haha!!) in the past little while since the weekend!”
I talked to a woman in our community recently and she has given me permission to share her story she had thing kind of community around her?
She and husband and children is part of a small group here at Tenth. Some years ago they were going through a financially challenging time. As Christmas approached, people in their small group and some of their Christian brothers and sisters, and even friends who don’t know Christ, but loved them, gave them gifts and they were able to celebrate Christmas together.
Their small groups got them toys for their children and things this couple considered extravagant, given like tickets to the opera. They love art and the opera, but because of the financial situation in which they found themselves, they would never have indulged in such luxuries.
This couple, as they have always had a habit of doing, had what they call an “orphan Christmas dinner,” something we, and perhaps you, have done, as well. Around Christmas time they have seek to invite people who have no family in the area. That year in the midst in the midst of their own financial challenges they had 26 people over for Christmas dinner in their relatively small home (I have been there a few times).
Their story, both in terms of being able to both receive and to give freely, embodied the life of the early church.
This is the kind of thing that brothers and sister would do for each other.
Many people in Vancouver love the fact there are so any recreation options, but people also talk about how it can be difficult to connect with people here, how lonely it can be. Do you have friends who could support you in a time of need? You may have hundred friends on Facebook, but how many of them would pick you at 3:00 a.m. if you were stuck somewhere?
Are you in relationship with “brothers and sisters” who could circle the wagons for you if you were in need? If not, is there a step you could take to move in this direction? If you’re not part of one already, perhaps you’d consider being part of a small group here at Tenth.
When people care for each other as brothers and sisters not only are they blessed, but outsiders are drawn to the source of this love—Christ.
As I shared a few weeks Chris was drawn to Christ because the love he saw emanating from his neighbors, Rose and Bruce for his wife Patti when she was very ill.
When I was living near Chicago, there was a man who was part of a church I attended from time to time who had been a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He was assigned to report on the struggles of an impoverished, inner-city family during the weeks leading up to Christmas. A devout atheist at the time, he was surprised by the family's attitude in spite of their circumstances:
The Delgados—60-year-old Perfecta and her granddaughters, Lydia and Jenny were living in a tiny, two-room apartment on the West Side of Chicago.
The reporter wrote, I couldn't believe how empty it was. There was no furniture, no rugs, nothing on the walls—only a small kitchen table and one handful of rice. That's it.
In fact, 11-year-old Lydia and 13-year-old Jenny owned only one short-sleeved dress each, plus one thin, gray sweater between them. When they walked the half-mile to school through the biting cold, Lydia would wear the sweater for part of the distance and then hand it to her shivering sister, who would wear it the rest of the way.
But despite their poverty and the painful arthritis that kept Perfecta from working, she still talked joyfully about her faith in Jesus.
The journalist completed his article. But when Christmas Eve arrived, he found his thoughts drifting back to the Delgados and their unwavering faith in God… In his words: “I continued to wrestle with the irony of the situation. Here was a family that had nothing but faith, and yet was seemed happy, while I had everything I needed materially, but inside I felt as empty and barren as their apartment.”
In the middle of a slow news day, the reporter decided to pay a visit to the Delgados. When he arrived, he was amazed at what he saw. Readers of his article had responded to the family's need, filling the small apartment with donations: new furniture, appliances, and rugs; a large Christmas tree and stacks of wrapped presents; bags of food; and a large selection of warm winter clothing, even a generous amount of cash.
But it wasn't the gifts that shocked the reporter, an atheist in the middle of Christmas generosity. It was the family's response to those gifts. In his words:
As surprised as I was by this outpouring, I was even more astonished by what my visit was interrupting: Perfecta and her granddaughters were getting ready to give away much of their newfound wealth. When I asked Perfecta why, she replied in halting English: "Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do."
"This is wonderful; this is very good," she said, gesturing toward the largess. "We did nothing to deserve this—it's a gift from God. But," she added, "It is not his greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow. That is Jesus." and something made me long for what they had.
In time, this reporter named Lee Strobel went on not only commit his life to not believe in God, but commit his life to Christ and has become a an author encourage people to put their faith in Christ.
People here have been drawn to God through the love they experience in our community too, it was true of the early church and that’s why we read that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
A central part of our vision is to serve as communities that reach out in love to others, especially in our small groups. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we find we have a new passion to learn, and engage in the worship of God, and love others as family… we become not only a sign of God’s love, but we come body of Christ in the world… we become Christ’s hands, feet, and voice in the world… and the work of God grows…
ACTS M4 SERMON NOTES SEPT. 13, 2009
TITLE: Spirit-Filled Community
TEXT: Acts 2:42-47
BIG IDEA: The early church was filled with the Spirit and committed to learning, liturgy (worship), and to loving.
Some people who come to Tenth express with surprise, “There are people of all different ages here, but a LOT of young adults.” (We weren’t expecting to see so many younger people in church).” And some have said with some wonderment (especially if they are from the United States), “There are people from different races and cultures here. We’ve never seen this before in a church.” When people probe into what we are involved in here at Tenth, they also sometimes comment with some surprise on how committed we are to working for social justice.
When people have asked me, “What model of church are you following?” Sometimes they anticipate that I will name some large church in Illinois or southern California—(I’ve lived in both places). But, I say, “We have an ancient model here at Tenth that goes back 2000 years ago.” If there is one church that we are trying to emulate (though we do it far from perfectly), it’s the early church described in the Book of Acts.
This morning as we continue our series in the Book of Acts, I want us to look at Acts 2:42-47, because this passage clearly describe the character of that first church.
Acts 2:42-47:
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
We are not going to cover every characteristic of the early church, but we will consider three.
In verse 42 we read that “they,” that is, the early church, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. The early church was passionate about learning. Most of the original leaders of the early church were unschooled, fishermen. Most of the people in the early church were from the “working class” and not highly educated by human standards.
And yet, because the Spirit of God powerfully worked in this early church, they developed this intense hunger to learn about the things of God.
So those first followers of Christ eagerly sat under the teachings of the apostles, that is, the original disciples of Christ, as they taught the scriptures and the teachings of Christ. One of the things that will happen to us as a community as the Holy Spirit works in our lives is that we will have a growing hunger to learn about God.
As I have shared before, as a boy I hated reading. I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood in North Surrey, and where studying was not especially valued, but my mom tried to get me encourage me to read. She made me write book reports, before I was allowed to go out to the cul de sac in front of our house and play street hockey. With tears streaming down my face, I would stare out the window as I saw the other kids playing hockey. My mom would later say that every book review that I would write--was exactly the same.
But when I gave my life to Christ as a teenager, to my great astonishment the scriptures really came alive to me, and I loved reading them and sensed God speaking to me through them. I even committed some of those passages to memory, like sections of the Sermon on the Mount in from the Gospel of Matthew and Psalm 103. When a person becomes a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit will stir a new a passion for learning in that person.
A couple of weeks ago, Kevin Knight a plumber in our community shared how he met Christ here almost 2 years ago and as a result became really hungry to learn about God: he joined the Alpha course, signed for Perspectives a course on the mission of the church, became part of a small group.
When the Spirit of God is at work in our lives, we not only have a passion to learn about God and a deepening desire to bring our lives into alignment with what God has reveals to us.
When we are “interested” in someone, when we are growing to care for and love someone, we really are interested in them (and hence the phrase, “I am interested in ________.” When we are interested in someone we want to find out about them; we become curious about the little details of their lives… When I was interested in pursuing Sakiko, one of our mutual friends said one of her favorite topics is dogs, and that suddenly became an important topic to me…
When we are really interested in a person, we will also find out what pleases that person. We want to bring our actions into line with what we think would please them. In the same way, when we become “interested” in God and grow in our love for God, we will become interested in knowing about God, and in knowing what pleases God.
One of the most helpful pieces of advice that I received before getting married came from one of Dr. John Gottman’s books. He simply said, “Let your spouse influence you.” When you allow your spouse to influence you in your decision-making, how you use your time, how you manage your money, you are sending the message we love and respect and honour our partner.
One of the ways that we show deep love and respect for God is by letting God influence us and shape our direction. There is a difference, of course, between letting our spouses or friends influence us and allowing God to influence us. Our spouses, our partners, our friends are fallible human beings, but God is perfect in wisdom. When we allow God to influence us and shape us as we bring our lives into alignment with his wisdom, we are not only loving and honouring and we are respecting love to God, but we are also loving, honouring and respecting ourselves. His commandments are consistent with our good.
So as the Spirit of God worked in the early church, they had a passion for learning about God and about God’s world, and a desire to honour God and his Word in their lives.
That is our vision here--to be a community where the Holy Spirit is so at work that we will develop a passion learn about God and his world and then to bring our lives in alignment with his purposes for us. I’ve often prayed God give me a love for your word and commit to a regular rhythm of reading the Scripture often using the One Year Bible. And as a student especially in the fall as classes begin, I’ve prayed God give me a love for learning…
Here at Tenth we have a vision to be a community where we are transformed through our learning about God.
We see that the early church was also a church that not only learned together, but worshipped together as well.
In verse 42 we read that the early church devoted themselves to “the” breaking of bread together which likely refers, because there is a definite article “the” before breaking of the bread, to their celebration of the Lord’s Supper (or what’s also called Holy Communion).
When Luke mentions in vs. 42 prayer (literally "the prayers"), he doesn't have private prayer in mind, but rather prayer in community—as God's people came together for worship.
Last week I said, sometimes people ask me why there is so much focus at Tenth Church on this person named Jesus Christ. It’s strange. I typically say, “When you discover more of Christ, you’ll find how awesome Christ is--you will understand why there is so much emphasis on praising Christ here at Tenth.”
When we experience something extraordinary, whether in music or art or in sports (say we’re watching figure skating or an amazing goal in a hockey game), part of what we want to do is to express gratitude and appreciation for what we have just experienced.
C.S. Lewis says that when we praise something, it not only enables us to express what we feel, but it also completes our joy. Have you ever been on a mountaintop somewhere and you saw an incredible vista? Or you have been at the beach and you saw a stunning sunset?
If you believe in God, perhaps at that moment you wanted praise God.
Or perhaps you wished that you could express your sense of wonder with someone you were close to.
An older friend of mine, who had a heart attack, was climbing to the top of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina (we had climbed that mountain several times before together). When he got to the top, he was so exhilarated and elated both for the fact that he made it to the top of the mountain after recovering from his heart attack and because of the extraordinary view, he called me with his cell phone. He said, “Ken, I just want you to know that I am on top of Grandfather Mountain here in North Carolina. Wish you were here to see this view.” There is something about expresses praise not us express what we feel, but helps us to complete our joy. There is something about offering our praise to God that helps us to not only express our wonder of God, but to also helps us complete it. And when we do that with other people, it just seems to intensify our joy and sense of gratitude we have in something. This is part of the reason why people want to gather to watch sports (when they could watch the sporting event on TV) or to go to a concert, even though they could listen to the music on an mp3. They experience an intensified level of joy and gratitude in community.
So it was with the early church. They engage worship of God in community and their joy in God was made more complete. When we as a community in large or in smaller groups in homes like the early church and express our praise to God, it completes our joy in God--it deepens our gratitude and our sense of adoration.
Here at Tenth we have a vision to grow as a community of worship.
The early church was passionate about learning, about worship, and passionate about caring for each other.
We read in vs. 42 that they devoted themselves to the fellowship. This is the Greek word koinonia.
The word koinonia means to share in common. The early church shared a common life in two senses. First, they shared a common life in God because they were connected to God, their common Father, and therefore they regarded each other as brothers and sisters—they a new definition of family.
Religion in the first century tended to divide people along the lines of class, education levels and ethnicity. The mystery religions catered to the rich and had high entrance fees, Greek philosophy appealed to the highly educated and cultured, pagan deities tended to connect with nations and regions with a particular people, and 2 of Christianity competitor religions appealed almost exclusively to men, but when people were filled with the Spirit of Christ they loved people across the lines of class, educational levels, culture, and race, they affirmed both men and women.
A large part of the reason that Christianity became the most influential movement in a world where there were thousands of other religions and philosophies competing for influence is because the Christian church was the first movement in history to bring together Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and the poor.
Our vision here at Tenth as we see in the book of Acts is to serve as a community where people of all different races, cultures, social economic-backgrounds can come together. Several years ago, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said that Tenth has become a resting place for of all walks of life.
The word koinonia means that the early church shared a common life in God, but also means that the early church shared what they had with others.
The early church shared what they had with one another. Koinonia is the word that Paul used for an offering that he was organizing for the poor at the church in Jerusalem.
Here in the Acts, Luke emphasizes how the early church practiced koinonia by sharing with others, by through contributing, and giving.
The early church also demonstrated extreme generosity to each other as they saw each as family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. (One of my friends, Eric from Pennsylvania, whenever he sees me he says, “How’s my brother from a different mother?” It’s true. When we belong to God, we will see other people as our brother and our sister, though perhaps we belonging to a different biological mother or father.) The early saw each others as brothers and sisters and they so they were extraordinarily generous with each other.
In the text we read (v. 44 and v. 45) that no-one was in need: 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he or she had need.
In church of the second century leader Justin Martyr in writing to the Roman Emperor Pius, explained the dramatic transformation that Christ brings to believers. He said, “Before we became Christians, we used to value above all else money and possessions. Now we bring together all that we have and give to those in need. (The early Christians had a practice that when they did not have enough food for the hungry people at their door, the entire community would fast until everyone could share a meal together. This kind of love had never been seen before!) Formerly, we hated and killed one another. Now we live in peace. We pray for our enemies, and seek to win over those who treat us unjustly.”
How did this happen? The early followers of Christ, were filled with the Spirit of Christ and therefore, like Christ, were extraordinarily generous and because they knew they had a common father in God, they saw each other as brothers and sisters.
As I have gotten ready for this message, I have come across numerous stories from our own small groups where people have supported each other tangibly: helping each other move, offering their homes as place to stay for a time while someone was in transition, comforting someone when a couple lost a lost their baby or a loved one.
One man wrote:
I had to go back home (a long way away—different continent) as my father was very ill and he passed away. When I eventually returned, after about a month, an amazing hamper of all sorts of wondrous treats was awaiting me. From my small group. It was very touching.
One woman from another small group wrote:
I quit my job shortly after I started with my small group and have been underemployed pretty much this whole year and a half… There have been a few times in the last year and a half when I was close to quitting the group, partly because I felt vulnerable. But I have become more accepting of myself this past year and aware of my need for community and also the gifts I bring to others.
My small group have had potlucks for me this past year when I had no food, they had a birthday party for me and each brought me a small gift when my birthday was on study night. I also appreciated that they didn’t lecture me when I bought a camera I couldn’t afford…
Some who just went on our 3rd service retreat last weekend wrote:
"I had been coming to Tenth for about a year and did not know anyone and prayed a lot about whether or not to come to the retreat. Everyone was so open and amazing and I feel, for once, like I am part of a church. Fellowship is something that I have been so much in need of for so long!"
“I love feeling like I am becoming connected in this church, it's amazing how much better I feel - spiritually, emotionally, even physically ( I can't stop smiling haha!!) in the past little while since the weekend!”
I talked to a woman in our community recently and she has given me permission to share her story she had thing kind of community around her?
She and husband and children is part of a small group here at Tenth. Some years ago they were going through a financially challenging time. As Christmas approached, people in their small group and some of their Christian brothers and sisters, and even friends who don’t know Christ, but loved them, gave them gifts and they were able to celebrate Christmas together.
Their small groups got them toys for their children and things this couple considered extravagant, given like tickets to the opera. They love art and the opera, but because of the financial situation in which they found themselves, they would never have indulged in such luxuries.
This couple, as they have always had a habit of doing, had what they call an “orphan Christmas dinner,” something we, and perhaps you, have done, as well. Around Christmas time they have seek to invite people who have no family in the area. That year in the midst in the midst of their own financial challenges they had 26 people over for Christmas dinner in their relatively small home (I have been there a few times).
Their story, both in terms of being able to both receive and to give freely, embodied the life of the early church.
This is the kind of thing that brothers and sister would do for each other.
Many people in Vancouver love the fact there are so any recreation options, but people also talk about how it can be difficult to connect with people here, how lonely it can be. Do you have friends who could support you in a time of need? You may have hundred friends on Facebook, but how many of them would pick you at 3:00 a.m. if you were stuck somewhere?
Are you in relationship with “brothers and sisters” who could circle the wagons for you if you were in need? If not, is there a step you could take to move in this direction? If you’re not part of one already, perhaps you’d consider being part of a small group here at Tenth.
When people care for each other as brothers and sisters not only are they blessed, but outsiders are drawn to the source of this love—Christ.
As I shared a few weeks Chris was drawn to Christ because the love he saw emanating from his neighbors, Rose and Bruce for his wife Patti when she was very ill.
When I was living near Chicago, there was a man who was part of a church I attended from time to time who had been a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He was assigned to report on the struggles of an impoverished, inner-city family during the weeks leading up to Christmas. A devout atheist at the time, he was surprised by the family's attitude in spite of their circumstances:
The Delgados—60-year-old Perfecta and her granddaughters, Lydia and Jenny were living in a tiny, two-room apartment on the West Side of Chicago.
The reporter wrote, I couldn't believe how empty it was. There was no furniture, no rugs, nothing on the walls—only a small kitchen table and one handful of rice. That's it.
In fact, 11-year-old Lydia and 13-year-old Jenny owned only one short-sleeved dress each, plus one thin, gray sweater between them. When they walked the half-mile to school through the biting cold, Lydia would wear the sweater for part of the distance and then hand it to her shivering sister, who would wear it the rest of the way.
But despite their poverty and the painful arthritis that kept Perfecta from working, she still talked joyfully about her faith in Jesus.
The journalist completed his article. But when Christmas Eve arrived, he found his thoughts drifting back to the Delgados and their unwavering faith in God… In his words: “I continued to wrestle with the irony of the situation. Here was a family that had nothing but faith, and yet was seemed happy, while I had everything I needed materially, but inside I felt as empty and barren as their apartment.”
In the middle of a slow news day, the reporter decided to pay a visit to the Delgados. When he arrived, he was amazed at what he saw. Readers of his article had responded to the family's need, filling the small apartment with donations: new furniture, appliances, and rugs; a large Christmas tree and stacks of wrapped presents; bags of food; and a large selection of warm winter clothing, even a generous amount of cash.
But it wasn't the gifts that shocked the reporter, an atheist in the middle of Christmas generosity. It was the family's response to those gifts. In his words:
As surprised as I was by this outpouring, I was even more astonished by what my visit was interrupting: Perfecta and her granddaughters were getting ready to give away much of their newfound wealth. When I asked Perfecta why, she replied in halting English: "Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do."
"This is wonderful; this is very good," she said, gesturing toward the largess. "We did nothing to deserve this—it's a gift from God. But," she added, "It is not his greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow. That is Jesus." and something made me long for what they had.
In time, this reporter named Lee Strobel went on not only commit his life to not believe in God, but commit his life to Christ and has become a an author encourage people to put their faith in Christ.
People here have been drawn to God through the love they experience in our community too, it was true of the early church and that’s why we read that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
A central part of our vision is to serve as communities that reach out in love to others, especially in our small groups. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we find we have a new passion to learn, and engage in the worship of God, and love others as family… we become not only a sign of God’s love, but we come body of Christ in the world… we become Christ’s hands, feet, and voice in the world… and the work of God grows…
posted by Shigematsu at 1:42 PM
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