Church Foundations
Week one - Church Matters
*Acts 2-6*
The church matters. Maybe now more than ever.
But where did it start?
Pentecost - big event, Holy Spirit given to the gathered community (Acts 2)
Meeting in homes, all good things (Acts 2)
2 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. —Acts 2:42-47
But lest we get stuck on this idealized picture, it wasn’t all smooth sailing
- Peter heals a lame beggar outside the temple gates (Acts 3)
- People are amazed and Peter gets even more bold in his preaching
12 Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. —Acts 3:12-15
This is happening at the Temple - we’re in the heart of Jerusalem and the disciples are no longer hiding for fear that the same people who killed Jesus will kill them. They are walking daily and repeatedly into the fray.
And then it gets interesting - the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the sadducees (the same group directly responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion) take issue with what’s happening, and they seize Peter and John and put them in jail for the night. They bring them out the next morning (Annas, Caiaphas and others - again, same people who had Jesus killed) to question them and Peter just can’t stop -
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. —Acts 4:8-13
But they don’t know what to do because the people are praising God for the healing of this lame man and they don’t want to cause a riot, so they threaten Peter and John and tell them to stop talking and send them away.
But instead of them moving on to somewhere else or no longer doing what they were doing, they stay and they keep at it - they’re healing many, crowds are coming to find them from towns surrounding Jerusalem (Acts 5:12-16)
And so, they get arrested again, and this time the priests and officials are ready to have them killed, but a guy named Gamaliel convinces them to let this thing play out with the expectation that it will fade away in time. And so instead of having them killed…
40 They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. —Acts 5:40-42
Now, what happens next is a little church organization - this gathering (which is what ekklesia means - the gathering of believers) keeps growing and we learn that among other things they’re having trouble keeping up with food distribution to the widows. And so, they set about finding some people who can lead up that task while the apostles continue preaching and teaching. They needed more hands to do different things so this movement could continue.
And, shockingly, they had volunteers. People who had probably watched the apostles getting flogged, many who saw Jesus crucified, and they show up and they volunteer for the roles as they were needed.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. —Acts 6:7
These same priests who directed and oversaw the killing of Jesus turned to faith in Jesus because they witnessed what God was doing through a group of ordinary men and women who no longer feared for their lives, but instead were utterly persuaded that Jesus Is Life.
This movement was fueled by the Holy Spirit, driven by faith in Jesus, and ultimately, couldn’t be stopped.
And now it’s our turn -
Some of you need to
Some of you need to
I’m inviting you to meet some of the other busy, successful people in our church who don’t have time, but who make time to show up and be part of a movement that changed the world, that continues to change the world.