Join us this week as we explore the importance of living in community and how it reflects God's design for His people. Through a close study of Acts 2:42-47, we'll discover how the early church devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer, creating a community that stood in stark contrast to the loneliness and isolation prevalent in their society and ours. Learn practical ways our church is seeking to cultivate this kind of life-giving community.
BBCC Sermon Outline
GOD'S WORK –God Works in Community - Acts 2:42ff
March 2nd
Introduction: Loneliness is detrimental to mental, physical, and spiritual health. We are made in the image of a Triune God and not meant to live alone (Genesis 2:18).
The Early Church Example
What stops us from being church family?
Opportunities & Practical Steps
BBCC Verse of the Week: Acts 2:42 (NIV) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
[T]hose who are truly sorrowful for their sins, and yet trust that these are forgiven them for the sake of Christ; and that their remaining infirmities are covered by his passion and death; and who also earnestly desire to have their faith more and more strengthened, and their lives more holy; but hypocrites, and such as turn not to God with sincere hearts, eat and drink judgment to themselves. 1 Cor. 10:19-22; 11:26-32, Ps. 50:14-16; Isa. 1:11-17
– Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 81
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead
2:42 Community life is summarized as involving four key areas: apostolic teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread together, and prayer. The newly formed community functions by the believers’ devoting themselves (ἦσαν δὲ προσκαρτεροῦντες) to these activities. The expression “devoting themselves” has the idea of persistence or persevering in something. The imperfect periphrastic construction speaks of the ongoing devotion that they have. Of its ten NT occurrences the verb appears six times in Acts (1:14; 2:42; 2:46; 6:4; 8:13; 10:7). It echoes the unity of mind Luke describes in Acts 1:14. In these four ongoing activities, much of the basic work of community appears. Luke favors such summary texts (also Acts 4:32–37; 5:12; 16) In Acts 1:6–6:7 Luke uses such summary texts about the community to underscore that this group has bonded together effectively. …the four items noted appear in two basic groupings: teaching and fellowship, which includes breaking of bread and prayer. If so, the teaching includes the practical art of sharing life with each other at all levels, as the discussion of the term “fellowship” below will show. Although the picture here is summarized in ideal terms, Luke is not beyond showing problems and how they were dealt with later (Acts 5–6). The acts are each highlighted with articles—“the” teaching, “the” fellowship, “the” breaking of bread, and “the” prayers. -Darrell L. Bock
The gospel creates community. Because it points us to the One who died for his enemies, it creates relationships of service rather than selfishness. Because it removes both fear and pride, people get along inside the church who could never get along outside. Because it calls us to holiness, the people of God live in loving bonds of mutual accountability and discipline. Thus the gospel creates a human community radically different from any society around it. – Timothy Keller
Acts 2.42 is often regarded as laying down 'the four marks of the church'. The apostles' teaching; the common life of those who believed; the breaking of bread; and the prayers. These four go together. You can't separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing. Where no attention is given to teaching, and to constant, lifelong Christian learning, people quickly revert to the worldview or mindset of the surrounding culture, and end up with their minds shaped by whichever social pressures are most persuasive, with Jesus somewhere around as a pale influence or memory. Where people ignore the common life of the Christian family (the technical term often used is 'fellowship', which is more than friendship but not less), they become isolated, and often find it difficult to sustain a living faith. Where people no longer share regularly in 'the breaking of bread' (the early Christian term for the simple meal that took them back to the Upper Room 'in remembrance of Jesus'), they are failing to raise the flag which says 'Jesus' death and resurrection are the centre of everything' (see 1 Corinthians 1 1 .26). And whenever people do all these things but neglect prayer, they are quite simply forgetting that Christians are supposed to be heaven-and-earth people. Prayer makes no sense whatever - unless heaven and earth are designed to be joined together, and we can share in that already. – N.T. Wright
The Reformers expressed it this way: Our righteousness is an “alien righteousness,” a righteousness that comes from outside of us … God permits [Christians] to meet together and gives them community. Their fellowship is founded solely upon Jesus Christ and this “alien righteousness.” All we can say, therefore, is: the community of Christians springs solely from the biblical and Reformation message of the justification of man through grace alone; this alone is the basis of the longing of Christians for one another … Without Christ we … would not know our brother, nor could we come to him. The way is blocked by our own ego. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Pastor Samuel Sutter // sam@BBCCOnline.org
