Good morning! Please open your Bibles to Acts 2.
This is Memorial Day weekend, when we honor the memory of those who gave their lives in service to our country.
The other night, while I was watching TV, I noticed a commercial for the La-Z-Boy Memorial Day Sale. You probably can’t see it on the screen, but the line across the top of this ad says, “We’re standing up for your right to sit down.”
Listen, I’m not against recliners. Some of you are sitting in one right now watching online. Tomorrow, AMC is running a day-long marathon of Band of Brothers, the epic World War II miniseries.
And I will probably watch some of it.
In my La-Z-Boy recliner.
But you have to admit, there’s some cognitive dissonance there. You watch Easy Company parachuting into Normandy, freezing at Bastogne, giving what Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion,” and then it cuts to a commercial for the Memorial Day Recliner Sale.
And I wonder if we ought to feel some of that same dissonance when we read Acts 2 and then look at the church in America today.
In the 1980s, a church growth consultant conducted a survey of 1000 people who attended church regularly and asked them a simple question: What is the purpose of the church? And according to one source, 89% of those surveyed tended to think of the church primarily in terms of meeting their own needs and their family’s needs. Only 11% described the church primarily in terms of reaching the world for Christ.
That isn’t the church we see in Acts 2. Acts 2 does not describe a church organized around comfort and convenience. It describes a church giving its full measure of devotion to worship, to one another, to generosity, and to the mission of Jesus Christ.
This is part two of a study of Acts 2. We started before Mother’s Day with this big idea: When the Spirit empowers the church, the gospel is proclaimed, hearts are changed, and people are united.
We began talking about six distinguishing characteristics of a church empowered by the Holy Spirit:
• The undeniable power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–13)
• The unwavering boldness of its members (Acts 2:14–15)
• The unshakable commitment to Scripture (Acts 2:16–36)
• The unavoidable conviction of sin (Acts 2:37–41)
That’s where we had to stop. So this morning, I want to move from the big event of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost and get into how the church functioned every day. Acts 2 ends with what many people have called the blueprint of the early church. We are going to see how the unbreakable community of the church resulted in the unstoppable spread of the gospel
And its a good reminder that the early church might have been established by a big event, but it was sustained by the day-to-day fellowship of people living in community.
Let’s look at that passage together. Please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word.
[READ, PRAY]
And as we walk through this passage together, I want you to notice four characteristics that defined the early church.
They were:
• Radically devoted to God— that’s UPWARD
• Intentionally connected to community: that’s INWARD
• Ridiculously generous is OUTWARD
• And a relentless commitment to the gospel— that’s FORWARD
Radically Devoted to God (Upward)
The first thing Luke tells us is that the early church was radically devoted to God. Look at verse 42 again:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the prayers.”
It’s interesting that Luke never says a word about what we would normally talk about with church planting today. You’ll hear modern church strategists talk about the ABC’s— attendance, buildings, contributions. Or, if they want to be more edgy, they’ll talk about the three B’s— buildings, budgets, and bodies.
Instead, Luke notes that the early church was built on the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.
Now when Luke says they devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching,” it’s important to understand what that means. Because at this point, none of the New Testament books had been written yet.
So what were the apostles teaching? They were teaching that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Scriptures. They were taking what we call the Old Testament and teaching people how to read it through the lens of Jesus.
They were teaching that
Jesus is who Isaiah was pointing toward.
Jesus is who David was singing about.
Jesus is what the prophets were longing for.
Jesus is what the sacrifices anticipated.
Jesus is who the whole story has been about from the very beginning.
All the way back to Genesis 3:15 when God told the devil that one day the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.
But they were also teaching about what they had seen Jesus say and do. Remember, these were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry.
Peter could say, “I saw Him alive.”
John could say, “I stood at the foot of the cross.”
Thomas could say, “I touched the scars.”
Matthew could say, “I was there at the Sermon on the Mount. And I took notes!”
They were teaching the code of conduct for living in the kingdom of God.
And I think it’s important to remember that we aren’t just responsible for right doctrine. We need to understand the atonement and the inspiration of Scripture. It’s good to have a grasp of the Trinity and the dual nature of Christ as fully God and fully man. Love it. Here for it.
But let’s not get so wrapped up in orthodoxy that we forget to do what Jesus said to do! Love your neighbor. Turn the other cheek. Forgive as I have forgiven you.
So the early church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. And notice: they didn’t just occasionally listen to teaching. Luke says they devoted themselves to it.
The modern church often asks, “Was the sermon entertaining? Was it practical? Did I enjoy it?” But the early church understood something we desperately need to recover:
We do not gather around personalities.
We do not gather around preferences.
We gather around the truth.
A Spirit-filled church will always be a Word-shaped church.
They were also devoted to prayer. Notice verse 42 says, “THE prayers.”
That likely means more than “they had a general attitude of prayer.” It probably points to set, regular, gathered patterns of prayer. Remember, these first believers were Jewish believers in Jerusalem. They were still attending the temple. Verse 46 says they were “day by day, attending the temple together.” So “the prayers” probably included the regular Jewish hours of prayer at the temple.
And I think this is where Acts 2 begins to confront us a little bit.
Because prayer is one of the clearest indicators of what we really believe about our need for God. You can draw a crowd with a compelling speaker and a charismatic worship leader. You can create an atmosphere with production. You can build a brand with marketing.
But you cannot manufacture the power of God.
The church in Acts understood that. They knew that apart from the Lord, they had nothing.
And so they prayed. They prayed because they understood that the mission before them would not be fulfilled by human strength alone.
And verse 43 says, “And awe came upon every soul.”
I love that word: awe.
The early church was not casual about holy things.
They were overwhelmed by the reality that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and was reigning at the right hand of the Father.
Church was not merely an event they attended.
It was the gathering of a people who were radically devoted to God. And when radical followers of God gather together, look what happens:
they also become intentionally connected to one another.
Inward: Intentional Connection to one Another
The second spiritual direction of the early church was inward. They were intentionally connected to community.
Look again at verse 42:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
That word “fellowship” is the Greek word koinonia.
Now, we’re Baptists, and so the first thing we think of when we hear fellowship is what? That’s right. Food.
We have a fellowship hall so we can have a place to eat together.
We have fellowship committees so we can decide what we’re going to eat in the fellowship hall.
Sometimes “fellowship” just means, “We ate fried chicken and banana pudding in the same room.”
And listen, I am not against fried chicken and banana pudding.
And I like that we have a room to eat it in.
But koinonia is deeper than that.
It means shared life. Partnership. Participation. A common bond. It is not just proximity. It is not just people occupying the same space for an hour on Sunday morning.
It is life together in Christ.
Verse 44 says, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” Verse 46 says, “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.”
There’s so much packed into that phrase, “All who believed were together.”
They were together in worship.
Together in homes.
Together around tables.
Together in prayer.
Together in mission.
Together in need.
Together in joy.
This was not accidental. Luke says they devoted themselves to it.
Because community does not just happen.
Listen: It is possible for you to “go” to church and not be in community. You can slip in late, sit in the back, sing a couple of songs, listen to a sermon, and slip out before anyone knows you were here.
But it is impossible to BE the church without being in community. Community requires vulnerability.
It requires patience. It requires forgiveness.
Community might require inconvenience.
And maybe that’s why we struggle with it.
Because the same consumer instinct that says, “The church exists to meet my needs,” also says, “I want connection without commitment. I want people to be there for me, but I don’t necessarily want to rearrange my life to be there for them.”
But Acts 2 shows us something different.
These believers did not treat the church as an event they attended. They treated the church as a family they belonged to.
When Luke says in v 42 that they were devoted to the breaking of bread, that’s probably referring to the Lord’s Supper. But verse 46 implies that it also included ordinary meals. They opened their homes. They sat at tables. They shared food. They learned each other’s stories. They carried each other’s burdens.
The holy and the ordinary were woven together.
They worshiped in the temple, and they ate in the house.
They gathered in public, and they shared life in private.
Friends, Christianity was never meant to be lived as a solo project.
The New Testament tells us to love one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, bear with one another, serve one another, pray for one another, confess our sins to one another, and carry one another’s burdens.
None of that can happen if our only connection to the church is watching from a distance or sitting anonymously in a crowd.
Now I understand this is where some of us get nervous, because community is risky. People are messy. Church people are messy. And some of you have scars from people who were supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t minimize that.
But biblical Christianity is an all-skate. Remember those?
The early church was intentionally connected to community because they understood that following Jesus meant belonging to one another.
One of the greatest needs of the church today is not fuller rooms or better attendance.
It’s community. Growing deeper roots as a result of doing life together.
Because when a church is radically devoted to God, it will also become intentionally connected to community.
And that leads naturally to the third spiritual direction: outward.
Because a church that shares life together will also learn to open its hands together.
Outward: Extravagant generosity to Everyone
The third spiritual direction of the early church was outward. They were ridiculously generous to everyone. Look at verse 45: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
Now, let’s be clear about what this is and what this is not. This is not forced redistribution. This is not the government taking property. Luke IS NOT saying nobody was allowed to own anything anymore. We know that because verse 46 says they were still breaking bread “in their homes.” So apparently some people still had homes. The issue was not ownership. The issue was open-handedness.
The early church understood that everything they had belonged to God, and therefore everything they had was available to meet the needs of others.
Instead of an attitude of ownership— “That’s mine. I earned it. I deserve it. I’ll do what I want with it.” they had an attitude of stewardship:
“Lord, You gave this to me. How can I use it for Your glory? How can I use it to bless Your people?
And that is a radically different way to live.
Now, I know this is dangerous territory for a Baptist preacher. Because the moment a pastor starts talking about generosity, people start getting suspicious. So hear me clearly: this is not a fundraising gimmick. Luke is not describing a capital campaign. He is describing a Spirit-filled community.
Nobody had to manipulate these people into generosity. Nobody had to guilt them. Nobody had to twist their arms. They had simply encountered a Savior who held nothing back from them. And when you realize Jesus gave everything for you, it changes the way you hold everything else. That’s what generosity is. It is the gospel loosening your grip.
I came across some statistics this week that were sobering. A recent Barna study concluded that while 247M people in the US identify as Christians, only about 1.5 m say they tithe.
80% of those who give anything at all to the church give 2% or less.
You say, well, the economy is so bad. Inflation is so high. Groceries ad gas are so expensive. And I understand all that. But did you know that during the Great Depression, churches gave a higher percentage of their income than they do today?
A church that is radically devoted to God and intentionally connected to community will inevitably become ridiculously generous to everyone. Because when your brother has a need, you don’t say, “That’s not my problem.” When your sister is hurting, you don’t say, “Hope somebody helps her.” When your community is broken, you don’t say, “Glad I don’t live over there.” The early church looked around and said, “If there is a need, and God has given us the ability to meet it, then we are going to meet it.”
That’s outward. Not just toward ourselves. Not just toward our preferences. Not just toward keeping the institution comfortable. Outward. Toward needs. Toward people. Toward the hurting. Toward the mission. And that leads to the fourth spiritual direction.
Forward: Relentless Commitment to the Gospel
The fourth spiritual direction of the early church was forward. They were relentlessly committed to the gospel.
Look at verse 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.”
That is the result of everything Luke has been describing. They were devoted to worship. They were connected in community. They were generous to those in need. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Now, don’t miss the wording. Luke does not say, “And the apostles added to their number.” He does not say, “And the programs added to their number.” He does not say, “And their strategy added to their number.” He says, “The Lord added.”
Salvation belongs to the Lord. We cannot manipulate people into the kingdom. We cannot market people into the kingdom. We cannot entertain people into the kingdom. Only God can save. But here is the beautiful thing: God was pleased to work through a church that was alive with the Spirit.
The church did not save anyone. But the church did create a visible picture of the gospel. When people looked at this church, they saw something different. They saw people who worshiped with awe. They saw people who loved one another deeply. They saw people who opened their homes. They saw people who opened their hands. They saw people who lived as though Jesus really had risen from the dead. And day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
That’s forward. The church was not huddled in fear. The church was not stuck in survival mode. The church was not asking, “How do we preserve our comfort?” They were asking, “How do we bear witness to Christ?”
And maybe that’s the question for us this morning. Not just, “How do we grow?” But, “Which direction are we growing?” Are we growing upward in worship? Are we growing inward in community? Are we growing outward in generosity? Are we growing forward in the gospel?
Because Acts 2 does not give us a picture of a perfect church. But it does give us a picture of a Spirit-empowered church. And the question is not, “Can we recreate every detail of first-century Jerusalem?” The question is: “Do we want the same Spirit to create the same kind of devotion in us?”
A church organized around comfort and consumption will always turn inward on itself. But a church filled with the Spirit will move upward, inward, outward, and forward. Upward toward God. Inward toward one another. Outward toward the needs around us. Forward with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And that is the church we are called to be. Not because we are trying to preserve an institution. Not because we are trying to keep the lights on. Not because we are trying to maintain what used to be. But because Jesus is alive. The Spirit has come. The gospel is true. And there are still people who need to be saved.
[RESPONSE]
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