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Past Ponderings

Monday, October 15, 2018

PONDERING...What Are The Side Effects of Healthy (True) Christianity? (Acts 2:44-47)

What Are The Side Effects of Healthy (True) Christianity? (PM Lesson Outline)
DISCLAIMER: I really want tonight to be discussion driven, so the notes provided below will reflect only the launching points for that discussion.

GIST: Churches take care of each other’s needs. Daily, in formal and informal settings, they fellowship with a Christ-like attitude and perspective, keeping God at the center, and living above reproach in front of the community. In this context, God sends the increase.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:44-47
This morning we looked at what a healthy Christian church looks like and focused in on our need to love, equip, and send. Tonight, we’re going to look at the rest of chapter 2 and consider the “side effects” of a healthy church.

"44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 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."

The structure for tonight is going to be a little different for me. Instead of our standard 2-3 points proceeding some takeaways, I want to break down the passage into seven observations...then we’ll look at the takeaways. However, my notes this evening are going to be pretty sparse because I want this to be a chance for us to talk through this together. I probably dominate our evening conversations more than is necessary or healthy sometimes☺️.
My gist for this evening is a biggie...but it’s also my seven observations in sentence form☺️:  Churches take care of each other’s needs. Daily, in formal and informal settings, they fellowship with a Christ-like attitude and perspective, keeping God at the center, and living above reproach in front of the community. In this context, God sends the increase.

1. Churches take care of each other’s needs.
"44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
-This is not Communism.
-This is compassion.

2. Daily
46 And day by day,
-Like we noted this morning, this is not “convenience fellowship”.

3. In formal and informal settings
Formal: attending the temple together
-For the disciples, this was not seen as something “separate” from the intent of temple worship. Jesus is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament! However, since this was not recognized or accepted by the Jewish religious leaders, they eventually had to separate.
Informal: and breaking bread in their homes,
-Time spent together outside of the regular church services. This is so important. Otherwise, we meet and greet and never grow beyond that!

4. They fellowship with a Christ-like attitude and perspective
they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
-Fellowshipping is implied by the receiving food together.
-Glad implies rejoicing because they are blessed.
-Generous echoes back to their willingness to be used to serve each other. Again, the greatly loved, love greatly.

5. Keeping God at the center
47 praising God
-When they came together, this was at the center of what they did because it was at the center of who they were as people. They loved God.

6. And living above reproach in front of the community (each other and those outside the church)
and having favor with all the people.
-This might seem at odds with Biblical claims that people in this world will hate believers. However, this favor does not mean approval. It means they lived in such a way that people saw the love they had for each other--and them. They might have hated what they stood for, but they could not fault them for how they lived.

7. In this context, God sends the increase.
And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."
-Remember, salvation only comes from God. Don’t try to “effort” people to Christ.
-Live for Him! This is key. Don’t just want “more people”. Seek Jesus. Then→
-Expect His movement.

TAKEAWAYS
1. We need to really care about each other.
2. We need to really invest our time in each other.
3. We need to keep the right/rejoicing perspective because God is our focus.
4. We need to reflect this in how we interact with the world.
5. We need to leave growth to Him while still expecting Him to keep saving people!

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