Church Values to Unite our Minds and Wills

How important is community?  Does coming together as the Body of Christ matter? 

According to Acts 2:42-47, it mattered a great deal to the Early Church.  In that section Luke, the author of The Acts of the Apostles, writes, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47 ESV)

This passage formed the basis for the message this past Sunday as Bob, Pastor K, and Ruth K shared ChristCare ministry with us.  They reminded us of the importance of spending time with our fellow Christians in the Word (Biblical Equipping), fellowship, worship, prayer and missional service.  ChristCare is a ministry based on these principles from Acts 2 and our congregation has been active in this ministry for over a decade. 

As the world changes around us, we are finding that in terms of moral depravity, wild spirituality, and ignorance of Christianity, we are entering into a period of time that is very similar to what the Apostles experienced in the Book of Acts.  Those who study trends and time periods are calling this time “postmodern.”  Two other labels for our place in history are important to know.  They are saying that this time is “post-Christian” and “post-Church.”  People are not growing up with Christianity as the dominant worldview they experience, and they find our faith to be foreign, strange, judgmental, and insignificant to their lives. 

That’s not good news. 

Yet we have the promise of God that His Word never fails, the Church (those who believe in Jesus, not the institution) will never cease to exist, and not a dot or the least stroke of a pen (that’s a jot or tittle for you King James fans) will disappear from God’s Word until the end.  That makes this a time of opportunity!  And that is good news! 

I sometimes wonder what God’s people will do in this brave new world.  I believe ChristCare and ministries that reflect Acts 2:42-47 are part of the future.  The passage says that the early Christians “devoted” themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread (Holy Communion/worship) and prayer.  That word, “devoted,” literally means they were busily engaged with these things.  They persisted in them.  These were their way of life.  Interestingly, the bit about attending the temple is the same word.  They daily persisted in and were engaged in the presence of God.  Their lives were saturated with the faith. 

There is an interesting word in v. 46 that needs to be mentioned here.  Oddly, this word does not come out in most English translations.  Verse 46 reads, “Daily they were gathering one mindedly (with one will) in the temple ….”  The word that I translate, “One Mindedly” is homothumadon.  It’s a very important word that shows up primarily in Acts.  You’re going to hear more about this word from me in the future, but let it suffice to say for now that this unity in mind and will rooted in God’s Word, fellowship, worship and prayer is a powerful thing. 

We’ve all experienced the truth that a team can do more than an individual.  In homothumadon, we can accomplish much in Jesus’ name. 

Being shut-in makes it difficult to experience that fellowship.  Please know that we are praying for you, and we crave your prayers for us.  Even when we cannot see each other face to face, we have great unity through God’s Spirit and serve important roles in the body of Christ. 

Questions to Ponder

-          When the first Christians gathered, they didn’t have Bibles like we do.  Instead, when they received the Apostles’ teaching, they received directly from the mouths of Peter, James, John, and the others!  How would hearing these words directly from the Apostles’ lips be different from how we hear God’s Word today?  Would that be helpful?  More difficult?  Value neutral?

-          Look back through the values of the early Church.  They devoted themselves to the Word of God, gathering with believers and friends, worshipping, and praying.  The result was incredible selfless service that was noticed by the people around them and God brought new believers into their fellowship daily.  What is your level of devotion to these values?  How do you see them displayed in your life?  How about in Gloria Dei? 

-          What could we modern Christians learn from these ancient ones that Acts 2 talks about? 

-          What challenges you in this passage?  What comforts you? 

-          Think about the concept of homothumadon – one mindedness.  How do the values of the early Church reinforce a unity in thought and purpose?  If we are to be one minded, how do we decide which mind to be united in?  Check out 1 Corinthians 2:16!