PASTOR’S NOTES
And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
As a pastor and someone who’s life centers around the church, I can’t express how much I love and lean on this week’s text! Churches all around the world need to focus their attention on the imagery of the church in Acts 2 as a model for what God desires the church to look like today. In the very infancy of the church, we had people dedicated to learning God’s word, being discipled by Godly leaders, and loving the people around them. They lived life together vs simply dedicating an hour on Sunday morning to scheduled pleasantries.
What we are reading in Acts 2 is a picture of what it means to have a spiritual family in the midst of a broken world. What an amazing blessing God’s church is! Today, most people who have experienced church have settled for much less than what God ever attended. Most have never experienced a true brotherhood of believers dedicated to learning, serving, and worshiping together. For many, church is an hour-long box we check with people we might or might not even care about or know by name.
As we read Acts 2, this is not what God created when He gave us His church. As a pastor, I have personally seen and been a part of an Acts 2 type church. I have seen the church bless and support the weak and nurture back to health the broken. I have seen true friendships that are greater than any fraternity or ball team can create. I have witnessed kids grow in maturity and come to know Jesus through the love of the church. Then those same children grow in faith through the accountability of other young people following Jesus. I have seen and experienced the blessings of the church!
When we read Acts, we see that the church did not just simply come together by man, but it was a gift from God! The Holy Spirit was now dwelling in man and the church was given as a safe place to grow in spirit with others. The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost so that His church would spread because God knew that the local church would be a force He would use to spread His gospel and nurture His people until His Son returns.
Praise God for His church!
Let us thank God for His church and be grateful for it. Let us take care of our church, protect it, and love the people God has given us to walk with. Let us not forsake the gathering but grow in love and knowledge more by the day as we faithfully wait for Jesus to return.
Stay faithful church!
SCRIPTURE TO GO ALONG WITH THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE
Read 1 Timothy this week as we are given more instructions on what God desires for His church.
