A bible-shaped church

“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.” Acts 2:42-47

It's quite a regular thing for people to say, and not least to clergy, 'You don't have to go to church to be a Christian'. My only comment, and I could pass quite a few, is that they are missing the point. As I have said on many occasions and no doubt others have too, 'the church is people not a building - take away the people and what are you left with?!' The church is a meeting of people – Christian people and when they meet they do various things - and there I pause for it bring us to the reading I want to look at today: Acts 2:42-47.

Before that I want to put that reading in its setting and then bring it to ours. Acts chapter 2 the real and visible start of the life of the Christian Church - almost its birthday. It was the festival of Pentecost and was the day God poured out the Holy Spirit on believers and Peter preached the first sermon to the crowds in Jerusalem who were there for this festival and v 41 records that 3000 people became Christians that day. The verses we have had read, vv 42-47, are a kind of footnote from Luke, the author of Acts, which tells us of the sort of activities that marked the life of the emerging church as it came into being. What we see is a people (church) full of life, activity, excitement and I guess anticipation. If you want to know more of how this church grew then you have to read the book of Acts.

They were devoted - verse 42 - It mentions specifically: the apostles teaching - learning about Jesus; fellowship - we hear more about that later; communion - but not as we know it; prayer - the powerhouse of the church. People wanted to know about Christianity and how to live it. Understanding faith, exercising faith through prayer and learning from each other.
Filled with awe - verse 43 - People were being healed and set free from all sorts - no details given but the 'action' was making a real impact on the people.
They were together and shared and cared - verses 44-45 - There was a great deal of closeness and commitment to each other. People weren't being selfish but looking to the needs of all those who were believers. Strength comes when people stand together in and for a cause and there is no better cause than that of Jesus and the gospel.
They were worshipping regularly - verses 46-47 - This is in addition to what is mentioned earlier, and altogether, these activities became the driving force and life giving force to this church. The outcome:
They were growing - verse 47b - It says new people were becoming believers each day because 'the Lord was adding to their number those who were being saved. It was them at work but the Lord through them.
In his ministry Jesus called people to follow him and belong. After the Ascension and the giving of the Spirit his first followers took on that role with direct down to earth preaching and things were happening. Christianity was alive and well and growing. In many ways the church in the western world has become formalised and staid. We need to get back to our roots with a bit more life and commitment because otherwise, at the rate things are going, there will be little or no church before long. We as a Team are committing ourselves to that and I hope we continue to do so and thus give the Lord the opportunity to do his work in changing lives, transforming outlooks and developing a people in this area that are continually reaching out for him, seeing growth and more lives changed.

Thanks to Steven Abram of the Mid Trent Churches Team. See their website at www.midtrentchurches.org.uk, or Steven's site at www.abram.org.uk for information and more articles. This was published also on this site Squeaky Jesus

God's dream

God’s Dream

A Sermon delivered by Desmond Tutu at the Chapel of King's College, London (Sunday 22 February 2004):

In St. John's Gospel our Lord says the highest title he can give his disciples is to call them friends. Therefore what he says to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection stands out prominently. And he's talking about people, one of whom betrayed him, another denied him not once but twice, and they all deserted him, like craven cowards and were now skulking behind closed doors.

We would have understood perfectly had he been thoroughly miffed with them and spoken dismissively and even derisively of them. Well, what happens? It would have been startling to have called them his disciples after what they had done. And quite mind-boggling even to have called them friends. Well, he decided to knock us over with a feather.

Just listen to what he says to Mary Magdalene: "Go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father. To my God and your God."

Now that really is quite unbelievable. This craven despicable lot - my brothers indeed! But clearly Jesus meant this to be taken seriously. That we, his followers, belong in one family - God's family. Is there anything else in the bible that seems to support this assertion?

This Jesus came - not to an ideal world - but came to a world that was polarised, fractured, divided. Divided into hostile and often alienated groupings. There were the much hated occupying Romans, resented by the subject natives, and Jews did not share a cup with the Samaritans. The Jewish community of His day was stratified, fragmented. There were the Sadducees and Pharisees, the zealots and the collaborating tax collectors. There were the rich, the poor, male, female, young, old - and there was a sharp divide between Jew and Gentile, represented by a wall of partition in the temple precincts to go beyond which spelt death for the Gentile unbeliever.

And people saw a veritable miracle happening before their very eyes with the advent of the new community of the followers of Jesus. They saw those who were formerly alienated and hostile flocking into this new fellowship. And they marvelled and remarked "How these Christians love one another."

It would have been revolutionary for a slave to have been accepted as the equal of his former master. But no, they were not just equals - no, they were brothers. They were sisters in one family. An equal you can acknowledge once and forever after ignore. You can't do that with your sister or brother.

You don't choose who your relative will be. Sometimes we wish we could, given just how difficult some of them can be. Well, we don't always know what they think of us! No - we don't choose our family members. They are God's gift to us, as we are to them.

Do you recall when Saul went to Damascus to arrest Christians there and was blinded? And the Lord asked Ananias to go to Saul's lodgings to pray for him to have his sight restored. Do you recall Ananias quite flabbergasted telling the omniscient Lord "Lord, do you know this man? He has been harassing your people and came here to arrest us. No, Lord, you can't be serious." Well Ananias went, and when he arrived said about this persecutor of the Christian community "Brother Saul".

Yes, I believe the words of the Lord to Mary Magdalene to be his most radical utterance. We are family - all of us. We belong in God's family. There are no outsiders. All are insiders.

When Jesus spoke of being lifted up on the cross he said "I, if I be lifted up will draw.." - he didn't say "I will draw some" - he said "I, if I be lifted up will draw ALL - draw all to me to hold them" all of us drawn into the divine embrace that excludes no-one - black, yellow, white, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, male, female, young, old, gay, lesbian, so-called straight - yes it IS radical. All, all, ALL belong - Arafat, Sharon, Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, George Bush, Tony Blair, Palestinian, Israeli, Jew, Arab, Protestant, Catholic - all, ALL, all belong in this family.

And in a healthy family the rule is from each according to their ability, for each according to their need. And so if we are serious about being family we would not spend obscene amounts on budgets of death and destruction, when we know a small fraction of those budgets would enable our sisters and brothers - members of our family - God's family, God's children - EVERYWHERE - they would have enough to eat, clean water to drink, adequate health care, education.

Go and tell my brothers. Go and tell my family. We are all, all family God's family. The human family.

The importance of preaching

The following are my notes while we were in Doxey. In a first part, Peter Ensor talked about the importance of preaching. 
Peter's sermon (Acts 2:14-41) is the very first Christian sermon and we can learn a lot from it. There is a quotation from Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899-1981) that comes to my mind: The work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called. Upon learning of Hugh Price Hughes' desire to enter the ministry, his father, a physician  said, "I should rather my son be a Methodist preacher than the Lord Chancellor of England."  John Mott, was a well known missionary statesman. When President Coolidge asked him to serve as an ambassador to Japan, Mott replied, "Mr. President, since God called me to be an ambassador of His, my ears have been deaf to all other calls."

This first Christian sermon resulted in 3000 people being saved. Within 300 years, the Church has captured the soul of the Roman empire so much that the emperor Constantine    converted. In the Middle Ages, all Europe was christianised through the Dominican and the Franciscan friars. Everybody was regarded as a member of the Church. Calvin ruled the turbulent town of Geneva from his pulpit. Everybody would come to listen to him and he

would mould the thinking of people in charge of Geneva. George Westley and George Whitefield (1714-1770) were used by God to bring people into a living faith.   Later on Charles Spurgeon held congregations of 7000 people in London.
After this introduction, we split up in groups to look for the various 'X-factors' in Peter's first sermon leading to the conversion of 3000 people. This was a very interesting part of the day as we met new brothers and sisters in Christ.   
Blessings.    

Paul and Silas in prison.

Acts 16:16-40
Acts describe the acts of the Holy Spirit. After Act 5, we see quite a bit of persecution. Through Acts, the message of the Gospel is spread out to the community. What was the early message? Depending on where he is, Paul uses the local points to make the message more relevant. We also see Paul's strategic manoeuvres, he goes to synagogues or places of prayers to meet people seeking the Lord.
In Acts 16, we don't really know where they are! It starts with a problem, this slave girl with a prophetic gift not from God. She won't let go! Acts 16:18. Paul became troubled. Why did he tolerate it so long? Then he prayed in the name of Jesus and the Spirit left. That creates a reaction. The owners of the girl are annoyed and drag Paul and Silas to the magistrates. Paul and Silas were stripped and beaten for the Gospel! When is the last time you were persecuted for being a Christian?

Imagine Paul and Silas in chains, in a prison, are they grumpy and feeling sorry for themselves? not at all, they are praising God and singing!
Earthquake. All the doors pop open. Another reaction. The plight of another man about to throw himself on his sword. Paul hears his pleas and says: 'don't harm yourself'. The jailor : what must I do to be saved' and we can assume he means 'from the Romans'. He is desperate. Paul takes his words as an invitation: 'Believe and be saved! Paul is shifting the whole context.
With the creation of a new governement, politics is back on the arena. Is there room for you to talk about Jesus?
There is proclamation and then results, care. Paul and Silas are given care. The whole family of the jailor is rejoicing.

Midtrent churches need the Good News about Jesus crucified, resurrected and ascended to Heaven, Jesus who pours out the Spirit. We need to take every opportunity to proclaim this message.
The Word is for sharing.
Rev. S. A.