Acts 2:42-47
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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.
Here is the same text from The Message:
They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
Some questions:
- What do see by reading by these two versions together?
- What was the focus of these 3,000 freshly baptized men and women?
- How does "church" today differ from this account?
- Should it be different today?
What else is on your mind this week?
22 comments:
Sorry about disappearing last week. I think I really needed more of a break than I thought. The Sermon Seminar at Rochester College was simply excellent. It really stimulated my thought in lots of ways, especially with John’s gospel. I plan to preach from it sometime next year. I will have to be somewhat selective due to its length. Gail O’Day was my favorite presenting scholar. She is incredibly intelligent and has a very engaging, likeable way of presenting the material. Richard Hays from Duke was excellent also.
I spent a lot of time with 3 of my friends from ACU: Gregg from Omaha, Greg from Indy, and Michael from Houston. We spent a lot of time discussing things, and we laughed a lot. We needed that; at least I know I needed it.
David Fleer is my preaching hero, so it was great to hear him and talk with him. He is moving to Nashville and officially begins work at Lipscomb in August. I am very excited about this. He is going to begin an event like the Sermon Seminar at Lipscomb.
The trip home from Rochester Hills was nice. I took Gregg to the airport, and then I came home through Toledo and Fort Wayne, taking a non-interstate route from one to the other. That was refreshing. I stopped in Defiance, OH. Interesting name for a town. I actually have a student at Oakland City that hails from there. I always tease her, telling her that she grew up in the right place.
I wasn’t too excited about coming home, really. All five of the people who live in the house with me had some kind of stomach “bug.” Through lots and lots of hand washing and no hand to face contact, I think I dodged that rather nasty bullet.
I came home Wednesday night, caught up on some yard work etc. on Thursday, and then we left for Alabama at 4 a.m. on Friday. I don’t know why, really. It did make for a quick and fairly pleasant trip however. We didn’t stop until we reached the south side of Nashville. We stopped at a Shoney’s for a nice breakfast at their breakfast bar. Yum. We rolled into Huntsville a little after 10 (9 local time).
After unpacking Friday morning, I headed for the mountain: Monte Sano, where Tony and I ran the 50K, back in January. I wanted to re-run the last few miles in the opposite direction. I ended up doing around 14 miles I think. It was neat to be on the course again. It sure is hilly and rugged! I am eager to do it again. I am running the Cotton Row Run, a 10K, on Monday, and I probably blew any chance of doing super well by running too much on Friday. Oh well; don’t really care that much. The Cotton Row is one of my favorites. It is just a fun thing to do. The atmosphere is festive, and they serve Papa John’s pizza, along with Pepsi, right after the race. Now you know why I do it.
I found some really good pictures of the Mountain Mist 50K course that I will post a little later on. I know you are just dying to see them (said with a sarcastic laugh).
OK, enough for now...
My favorite name for a town in Ohio: Neptune. Not a single drop of water in sight, and nothing like another planet.
Well I went and picked up Ole Betsy from the auto shop Thursday and come to find out, the reason that Ole Betsy wasnt running right, was because Ole Betsy is a old car. She has to be pumped first in order to get her started. My next checkout on Ole Betsy is getting her hood fix. B&L doesnt fix hoods so I went to the auto shop around the corner from them and the guy told me that if I get a hood, he will just charge me $200.00 to fix it for me. Guess I will run down to the shade tree and see if I can get me a hood for Ole Betsy.
Last night I spent six hours reading the bible, taking notes, meditating and praying. I couldnt believe how time flew by. Last night and this morning during my note taking time, I asked myself, why do I go to church? I attend church because I am greedy for knowledge and wisdom. I hunger for steak and gravy. there are times when I leave church starving to death to where I must go home and allow the word to feed me. Another reason I attend church is too learn from the people in church. Learn how to live and to learn how not to live. I have people that I work with who wont step foot inside of a church because of the things that is happening with the church and you know what, who can argue with them. One of the guys had giving me a few example of why he doesnt attend church anymore. he told me, I live next door to this lady who goes to church all the time and there are times when she would come over and tell me what she learned in church, but one day I had asked her could I ask her a question because I was lost with her talk and her walk of life. He asked her, every since I've known you, you have been going to church for years but yet you have been married and divorce twice, you have been in and out of relationships, you have kids from different men and the only time I ever hear you talk about God is only on the days you go to church. My question to you is this. Put yourself in my shoes. Would you believe I was a child of God living the way you do? He said she walked away without saying a word. He told me that he believes in God but there are things that the church teach and do that is not lined up with the word of God and that brings confusing and that is not something he wants. I asked him did he read the bible and he informed me that he does daily and that he pray daily. I'm going to be honest when I say, after talking with him, I fully understand what he is getting at. God says to do, people say to try. God tells us not to sin. People say we are guaranteed to sin. God tells us to walk in perfection. People say it is impossible. Isnt this the same way that Eve got decieved by the devil? A couple of weeks ago I wrote in the blog about people using the word try, has anyone found where God tells us to try?
It was really, really nice to have a Sunday “off.” It was nice waking up and not being concerned about getting to the building early to help set everything up, and it was nice not teaching a class and preaching a sermon. Don’t take me wrong! I love what I do, but it sure was nice to just go and participate in worship without being concerned about how things are. I am afraid that many of my Sundays are more about work and less about worship. Not sure what the answer is to that. I appreciate Anthony and Duane covering my responsibilities today; I know they did a good job.
A key piece of the Lilly Grant sabbatical is going to be not preaching or teaching for 3 months. I will be out of the country for some of this time. The Sundays I am in the country I plan to visit others churches and worship with them. I started making a list today. I find visiting other places so refreshing, mostly because of what I said about work and worship. I think my creativity will come back and flow to overflowing when I have a little time to rest and be renewed.
I’ll have much more to say about the Lilly Grant over the next few weeks.
Went to church at Kedra’s old home church today. Interesting. There were probably 1500 present in a multi-million dollar brick building. There was a definite patriotic connection with Memorial Day. We sang songs that have a military theme, e.g., “Soldiers of Christ Arise.” The slides had a little medallion-shaped flag. The sermon, one in a series about “connecting,” was about honoring “The Greatest Generation.” Good. After the sermon there was a baptism, which was very touching. The man appeared to be a little crippled and a little out of the mainstream of the congregation, which is upper and upper middle class.
After the baptism there was a time to honor the military. All people who had some kind of military connection, past and present, were recognized. They had a young man in uniform who had been wounded in Iraq. There are a lot of military people in Huntsville. The Army missile headquarters are located here. After everyone to be honored was standing, we sang “God bless America.” I was thinking about our text for the week.
I can’t imagine the early Christians singing “God bless the Roman Empire.” Maybe they did. Is that why Paul reminds them, in Philippians 3, that their citizenship is in heaven? Tricky business–this blending of the secular and the sacred, Caesar’s and Lord’s. Until the conversion of Constantine the church really saw itself as distinct from the world. They were persecuted. After his conversion there is a comfortable co-existence, which leads to compromise and corruption. No persecution.
Gino, no doubt hypocrites are very off-putting, but I think we all have a problem of living in the flesh. It is an on-going battle. Read Galatians 5 and Romans 7 for starters. There is no perfect person; no, not one. We are saved by grace, not by works, not by perfection (Ephesians 2). Yes, we TRY to be like God in all ways, but we ALL sin and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3). A system of works makes a mockery of the cross. We walk in the light, but we still stumble from time to time.
1 John 1:6-10
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
There is a new righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith in Jesus. It requires a great deal of humility to accept the fact that I cannot save myself. It’s hard to be humble, but what I am finding in my work in various places is that more people are put off by an arrogant, holier-than-thou approach than a humble, authentic "hypocritcal" approach to God and life.
These words of Jesus come to mind.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Now, that’s steak, gravy, and a baked potato, served humbly to you.
I want to clarify one thing I just said about a humble, authentic “hypocritical” approach. I didn’t mean intentional hypocrisy. I meant the accusation that sometimes is laid at the feet of Christians who struggle making words and actions match.
This evening I took Kedra, Rebecca, and Ben on a little adventure. We went on about a 5 mile hike on Monte Sano Mountain, which I mentioned above. There is a place called “Natural Well,” which is a hole about 20 feet across that drops straight down for 180 feet. It is awesome. I really enjoyed spending time with 3 precious people. I wish Lester and Luke were here also.
To see pictures of the Natural Well, as well as some of the Mountain Mist 50K course, click HERE.
TRY
Jesus (God) said
Luke 12:58
58As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, TRY hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
(God said through) Paul
1 Corinthians 10:33
33even as I TRY to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
and
1 Corinthians 14:12
12So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, TRY to excel in gifts that build up the church.
and
2 Corinthians 5:11
11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we TRY to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
and
1 Thessalonians 5:15
15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always TRY to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
and there are many more, find them in the concordance in the back of your bible
It’s been a good Memorial Day.
I ran the Cotton Row Run this morning. Here are words that come to mind: HUMID, hot, hilly, hard. But it was FUN! I ran it in a few seconds more than 50 minutes. I am satisfied with that; it is nearly 2 minutes faster than the last 10K I ran, back in March. Speed work and a little weight loss are starting to pay off.
I love the atmosphere at the Cotton Row Run. They have a nice ceremony honoring vets before the race. The race director lead a moving, heart-felt prayer. Following the race: Papa John’s, Pepsi, AND Purity Dairy ice cream sandwiches. Yum. All of that before 8 a.m. “It’s going to be a great day!”
Came home, relaxed, cleaned up, relaxed some more. Then we headed for Athens, AL for a family reunion on Kedra’s father’s side. It was ok. I didn't know a lot of people, so my introversion kicked in.
We just got back from taking Beck and Ben to see Shrek. It was entertaining. Now? I’m not sure. Probably going to do some reading for a while.
I’ve been reading Psalm 22 quite a bit lately. It’s always been an interesting Psalm to me, because of the way the gospel writers weave it into their passion narratives. It also speaks powerfully to the lonely and those who feel distant from God. Notice I used the word “feel.” The Psalmist feels distant from God and pretty useless, but he counters his feelings with knowledge. He knows that God is in control, and he knows that God has acted in the past for the good of humanity, and he knows that God is good. Thus he will praise God in the “congregation,” all the while struggling with his feelings. Interesting. What do you think of that? And do you see any connection with our text for this week?
I’ve thinking about our text. This early Christian community devoted themselves to four things: 1) the apostles’ teaching, 2) fellowship, 3) breaking of bread, and 4) prayer. I’ve been thinking about the first one, apostles’ teaching. What do think that is? Is there any hint in the Book of Acts?
Since the apostles had actually walked and talked and had seen Jesus in action they had much to tell to a now listening crowd. The time was right to listen and learn. Sometimes a person has to leave this earth to really appreciate what they taught us and to truly appreciate their example. Jesus was the Son of God and his example, teaching and actions were miraculous and now that He had risen and there were witnesses to the fact, they couldn't help but tell the story and those who saw it happen couldn't help but believe. This drew them all closer and parting was not an option for them with this great outpouring from the Spirit. We huddle with our family and friends when major events happen in our lives. For example, recent graduations, many birthdays in our family this time of year, most of all when we lose a loved one, weddings, Memorial Day (remembering those who went before us) and those who served their country, new births. We have this one event that pulls us together. We have That one Event that holds us together, the life, death and resurrection of our Savior who promises Heaven to those who believe and follow Him. What hope and joy that should bring us and what peace and contentment knowing that this life is not all there is that something far better awaits. My sister has a son Craig who attended Spring Mill Bible Camp most of his growing up years. His wife's cousin who was only 13 died in a tractor accident on their farm last week. She was able to talk before she died to her dad who came to her and she asked him 'Daddy, is this the day I go to Heaven'? I was so moved by that. Death comes many times unexpected and the important thing is to live each day as if it were the last, with compassion for the sinner, with love for the neighbor, with devotion to the family and the church, with contentment in our hearts. I love you all. Sherron
Thinking about psalm 22 and feelings... David feels a deep separation from God, but he uses what he knows about God in the past to lift himself up to the point of first a personal praise, then toward a declaration of God's power to save an entire nation who will praise and trust in Him. The bad things never go away; David lists them in metaphor, and never asks God to magically make them disappear. He asks for the feeling of safety that comes from nearness--his lament is :why are you so far...his plea to God is Do not be far from me, be not far off, come quickly to help--How much do we just need to feel someone's nearness to feel safety? I think of a small child. In terms of the new church in acts, isn't that what all of that being together and sharing in common created? A nearness, a feeling of safety in numbers? Troubles don't disappear. It never says in this Psalm that David's feelings get better. He still feels dried up, sorrowful and tired and afraid. He just wants God to come near. Maybe in helping one another, we can take a cue--we CAN't make most peoples' feeling disappear, but we can be with them through hard times; and individually, we might struggle with how our feelings affect us, but we can take a lesson from David who reminds himself of God's history with us and others, remind ourselves of how he has manifested His care before. WE can stand on promises like David does at the end of this psalm. The Psalm is really transcendent--he works to move above--to feel above--his pain and fear. The other thing I thought of reading this is the gentleness of Jesus to use words on the cross that would recall those watching Him (and reading about Him)a psalm they surely were familiar with--tying it all together for the people around Him.
Great comment/insight, Jillena! Thanks. I am now reading Psalm 51, which, to me, seems to be a natural progression. The two Psalms, read together, could be very helpful to a lot of strugglers, I think.
The new Christian community of Acts 2 undoubtedly struggled with all kinds of emotions as they processed what they had done in killing the "author of life."
I got my sermon done around Noon today. I kinda like it, which means most probably won’t. Ha ha! Oh well. I like it because it kinda performs what I am saying.
This afternoon I went to the hay field and helped bale around 500 square bales. Luke, Ben, along with Chris and Aaron Taflinger loaded the bales on the wagon, and I got involved in the unloading, which I was not planning on doing. Oh well. My dad, with a bad arm, supervised. I was impressed with the Taffy boys. They really know how to work.
This evening I went back to my place by the pond. I built a fire and watched a couple of woodchucks eat white clover; don’t see these critters much anymore. I had a nice time sitting there. I also read some of Phillip Jenkins’ book The New Faces of Christianity - Believing the Bible in the Global South. It is an interesting read, and I’ll have more to say about it later, maybe next week.
I don’t think I told you what I did on Tuesday of this week, while in Alabama. I went for a 3 hour walk/hike/run on Monte Sano Mountain. I retracted some more of the race course from January, finding the “hands and knees, crawling” part. Wow, it is as bad as I remember. I continued to explore and found a really neat place called “Three Caves.” Turns out it is really 3 massive entrances into a underground limestone quarry. It was so neat that I went back and got Ben. We went in these “caves” and walked around. It was really cool (double meaning). Afterwards Ben and I got some Chinese food, while the women folk were out shopping. It was a nice male bonding time.
Here is a great post from one of my ACU “waterboys,” Jeff Christian. His blog is called The Empty Pulpit. This post is related to our conversation about church.
Another quote from Henri Nouwen’s, In the Name of Jesus, got me to thinking this morning:
“I have found over and over again how hard it is to be truly faithful to Jesus when I am alone. I need my brothers or sisters to pray with me, to speak with me about the spiritual task at hand, and to challenge me to stay pure in mind, heart and body.”
I think one of the reasons I have had such a strange relationship with the church since I started taking it seriously at the age of 17 has something to do with the differences of opinion about why we go to church. For me, too much emphasis is put on precision, and not enough emphasis is put on mutual accountability and edification. If we do not build one another up in the spirit of Christ, does it really matter if we “get it right”?
This particular reading from Nouwen speaks so clearly to me. I “know” a lot about the Bible, religion, spirituality, and the like. But if I do not have my brothers and sisters to pray with me and for me, if we do not encourage one another to live well, if we do not help one another amidst the temptations that come our way, then who cares whether or not it was a “good worship service” on any given Sunday. The church compliments that are most meaningful to me are not “good sermon” or “good worship service” but “I am making some changes in my life.” That is when religion is transformed into church. Such a transformative theology shifts the focus away from the institution to the virtue formation of those inside the so-called institution.
Reminds me of an old Eastern philosophical saying by Basho: “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.”
If the church ever had a “golden age”—and trust me, it didn’t—but if it did, then repeating their formulas is not enough. Church is not a beaker for the scientific method where we routinely repeat the experiment. Simply repeating forms is not a one-to-one comparison for theology. Not the same. What remains the same in the church through the centuries is the God we worship, not the building or the styles. What remains the same are the people who seek God year-after-year. (Remember when we used to say, “The church is the people.”?) And if the forms did matter, then we would need to pattern our worship after the Psalms, not the songs of the last century.
If we read books of the Bible like Amos and 1 John, it seems fairly clear that God is not after forms; he is after hearts. Sincere hearts. Hearts together that pray for and with each other. Hearts that understand the tasks at hand. Hearts that seek the purity that only comes from God.
When anything overshadows such a focus, church becomes mere religion. And when the focus of church becomes church we miss the point of church.
Allen,
I was reading your friend's post and thinking "this connects to all of the verses about hearts that I have underlined in my bible," and then I got to the paragraph about hearts and hearts :) My favorite new heart statement is in (I think) 1st John: "for God is bigger than our hearts, and He knows everything." For me this is a reminder that even when I am working from the heart and things aren't working right, He sees that I'm working and sees the bigger picture as well. It also reminds me that GOD SEES Hearts, not me. I don't really see all that matters about anyone, and therefore can't judge their level of commitment or work. It's extraordinarily comforting.
well I am reading this book called don't sweat the small stuff and I learned about myself from reading this book. First I must apologize for my cockiness because I have to understand, I'm me and what my goal in life is, is not the same goal that everyone is heading for. The day I wrote the blog, I had stumbled across the book, went home and started reading it and felt kind of short. I knew I had a little cockiness in me but I didnt know it was as big as it was. I guess God had to let me know..Gino slow down buddy, stop beating up on my children. I got the hint, Laughing. I went to the House of prayer this Thursday and they show the Andy Griffith show and gave us some study work to fill in about the show that we watched. It was great. Of course I couldnt stay since I had to go to work. On the way to work, the associate pastor who also work with me did a wipe out on his bike. Lucky for him he did the wipe out on grass. He is alright so no concern. Just pray that he learns how to drive before he try riding a bike down a steep hill on start. Work is going great. Everyone is trying to send me down to the basement to pick up items not realizing that I've already been through the prank of having the new guy go to the basement since we have no basement at the job site.
Well I better get going, even though I am off the next two day, Gino needs his ugly sleep. Yes I have been told that I do not look great when I wake up and I'm not ashame to admit that I do not look like Denzel Washington or Jay Eubank (really laughing hard). PS. Please forgive me of my cockiness and Allen, I hope you had fun on your outing.
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