Read Acts 2:41-47 NIV
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
What we believe: We believe in the Church. The people of God who exist to fulfill the purposes of God in Christ.
The world we live in is a far cry from the perfection of the world God created. …Sin will do that. But as people are choosing to be an apprentice to Jesus, our lives are meant to look different than the rest of the world. That is exactly what we see in the verses for today. We catch a glimpse of what the first church…those first followers of Jesus…were like. They stood out! They were different from those around them. And because they chose to live differently as apprentices of Jesus, the lives of people around them continued to be influenced and transformed by the love of Christ.
We are meant to introduce the culture and way of life of Jesus to our area and influence the world around us. On our own that is wildly impossible, because we are just as flawed as the rest of the world. But the Holy Spirit is a beautiful gift to those who choose to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit is what makes change possible in our own lives. He is the goodness, the kindness, the love, the joy, the patience…all of it…anything good that is in us only shows up because of His presence in our lives. And it is that presence, the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in us, that God wants to use to help lead and shape the culture around us to look more like Jesus. The church is God’s plan to show the world what He looks like and how to live the most abundant and full life possible. We are His plan to show the world that the best life is only possible through Him. He doesn’t have an alternative plan. It has always been you and me; His people…His church.
