Everyday Church

Over the years I have heard countless stories of people being turned off by the Church. They usually start like this: “When I was a child we were at the Church every time the doors were open. We went to morning and evening church. We went to Sunday School. We were there for prayer meetings, men’s breakfasts, ladies teas, choir, bible studies, you name it, we were there.” And they just walked away from church in their twenties or thirties because it just seemed like all it was, was a bunch of activities that kept them from loving their neighbors like Jesus said.

The other story I’ve heard is of people who were once part of a thriving mega-church. Here’s what I’ve heard from them: “My church had amazing music, cutting edge messages, and a great children’s ministry… but eventually I felt like something was missing. After all, when I read the gospels, following Jesus was so much more than sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings. I wish there was a church that helped me live out my faith everyday. If there were a church where I could see God at work all the time, where I could serve with people who really loved one another, where we could be unleashed to truly make a difference in the world around us… I could get on board with a church like that.”

I want to be part of a church like that. And I think you do too. But what makes for a church like that? What are the dynamics, the characteristics that make for a church like that? Well, that’s what we are going to look at this morning as we conclude our series on Neighborhood Group Foundations. For if you’ve ever wanted to be part of a dynamic, authentic and awe inspiring community; one that regularly experiences the presence of God, the love of fellowship and the fruit of new life on an everyday basis, then let me encourage you to open your Bible to Acts 2:42-47, where God’s Word reveals for us the four distinguishing marks of the Everyday Church – 4 characteristics of a church unleashed to live out the good news through their everyday lives.

Before we start unpacking this, I want to remind us of our definition of a Neighborhood Group: A Neighborhood Group is A Community of Christ Followers on mission with God who are living out the good news of Jesus Christ through their everyday activities and relationships. As we’ve laid this foundation we’ve learned a number of truths that we share together:

First, our shared identity: We share a common connection with God as our Father. A common calling with Jesus as our Leader; and a common mission with Jesus as “sent ones.” That makes us a community of Christ followers on mission with God.

Second, our shared salvation: We have been saved by Jesus. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He made us right with God by giving us His righteousness when we believed. We are being saved by Jesus. Jesus life and power is now available to us to help us become more like Jesus everyday. We will be saved by Jesus. Because Jesus took your punishment for sin, you are free from future judgment and can now live in the present knowing that God will always love you and always be for you. Our Shared Salvation means that Jesus did it all, does it all, and will do it all, so you can start living and loving like Jesus right now.

Third, our shared calling: We are called to be God’s Holy People – people who live differently from the world; people who are marked by a genuine, heartfelt affection and love for one another. We are called to be God’s Royal Priesthood – a people called by God to serve God by serving one another. And We are called to Live Out the Good News as Strangers in this world by shining the light of Jesus before a Watching World.

And now we come to Acts 2, we’re about to see What Our Shared Life can look like when God unleashes us to BE THE CHURCH. There are four marks of a Church that lives out the good news everyday. And the first mark is this:

1. An Everyday Church Learns Together They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

The first dynamic of God’s people sharing life together is that they were committed to learning together. They were devoted to the apostle’s teaching. They were devoted! Their devotion was this intense desire to learn everything they could about Jesus. For Jesus was what the apostle’s taught. They had a hunger to know Jesus. They had a passion to learn how He lived, what He taught, and what He did. So the apostle’s taught them constantly about Jesus. And since they had no written gospels, the apostles spent most of their time helping people put an oral gospel of Jesus to memory. They were devoted to forming their lives around the story of Jesus.

You see at the heart of every Christ follower is this driving passion to follow Jesus – this devotion to the apostle’s teaching. And they followed Jesus together. They went to the Temple courts to hear messages about Jesus. They met together in their homes to memorize the stories of Jesus. Everything about the early church was founded on their passion for Jesus… They couldn’t get enough of Jesus! Can that be said of us? Can that be said of you? This is the reason we have Journey Groups. Journey Groups are designed to help you follow Jesus with others. Where you can learn what He is like; how great He is, how good He is; how full of grace and truth He is.

The truth about Jesus and the church that is so key is this: Jesus is the One who builds His church. And if we truly want to shine the light of Jesus before a watching world; If we’re going to be the kind of church that God uses to bring His presence and hope to a hurting world: If we’re going to be a people who experience awe, love, joy and the fruit of lives changed on a daily basis, it starts here! It starts when God’s people are committed to learning Jesus – so they might live and love like Jesus. That’s how the early church turned the world upside down. It was their passion to learn more and more about Jesus. That’s the first mark of a church that lives out the good news everyday.

Now, lets look at the second: An Everyday Church Partners Together They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.   Acts 2:42, 44-45

What we see now is that out of their devotion to Jesus sprung this unbridled devotion to one another. They were devoted to the fellowship. They were devoted to what they had in common with one another. They shared the same faith in Jesus. Everyone of them knew Jesus as their Savior. Everyone of them had experienced forgiveness of sin. Everyone of them experienced the new life in Christ. They shared the same repentance. Everyone of them had turned to Jesus as their Lord. They had turned from living for self, to living for God. So now they shared the same freedom that’s found in the grace Jesus gives. They also shared the same Spirit. They shared a common bond in the Holy Spirit and that led them ALL to call on the same Father.   They understood now they were ALL part of the same family – God’s forever family; and that radically changed how they ALL saw each other. And so when they SAW one of their new brothers or sisters in need, they did whatever it took to meet that need.

Specifically in this passage, we see that SOME sold property or possessions to meet those needs. This is simply an illustration of a larger truth. The larger truth had to do with their new mindset. And Their New Mindset Was This: People are more Valuable than Possessions. My brother that Jesus died for is more valuable than my new car. The sister who is struggling to make ends meet is worth more than my dream vacation.

Do you see the change of mind here? Jesus’ death for you makes your life of infinite value. And that makes the brother or sister sitting next to you worth more than your mortgage! This illustration is not about giving up your hard earned wealth. It’s about a change in what’s really valuable. If Jesus gave up His life for your brother, then it’s nothing in this world is worth more than your love for that same brother.

This was mindset that turned the world upside down. All of a sudden every person took on incredible worth in the eyes of believers. So then it became nothing to sell something of value to help that person. Can you imagine what God might do through us if this mindset, this same devotion for one another captured us? I really believe it would unleash a torrent of love through us, that would not just help people in need, but would change how we invest in every single relationship.

For at the heart of this word “fellowship” is the word for generosity. By giving us Jesus God has given us the DNA to truly help anyone in need.   And what I love about this passage is that these first Christians didn’t just give generously to help one another – THEY DID IT TOGETHER! They PARTNERED in the work of caring for one another, serving one another, praying for one another, loving one another. This is why God gave us Jesus: so we can partner to become an unstoppable force of human kindness together. This is what the Church is supposed to be: Grace Unleashed through a people changed by the grace of Jesus. That’s the second dynamic of an Everyday Church – our passionate commitment to one another!

Now the third, An Everyday Church Worships Together They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 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. Acts 2:42-43: 46-47

We see all kinds of great stuff here. They were devoted to the breaking of bread together. This is the term for the Lord’s Table. They centered their worship around what Jesus had done for them. They were committed to remembering the work of Jesus on the cross. From the very beginning, they kept the cross central to worship.

With that, they were committed to prayer. Literally, they were devoted to “the prayers.” They were students of the Old Testament prayers. But they were also taught the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples: The Lord’s Prayer. By praying the Lord’s prayer together, they kept their focus on glorifying God in their lives. By praying the Lord’s prayer, they kept their mission central – seeing God’s Kingdom become reality around them. They understood early on that this earthly kingdom was not their true home. But that God’s invisible kingdom – the reign and rule of Christ in the hearts of every man, woman and child was paramount. So they were devoted to the prayers. They understood that if God had the power to raise Jesus from the grave, then God had to power to raise people to new life in Christ. So they were committed to prayer.

And then we see this: Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. A sense of awe filled the hearts of all believers because they experienced the nearness of God among them. They experienced this awe daily. And their awe came as a result of seeing God at work through the miracles performed by the apostles. We don’t know all the wonders and signs that were performed. They aren’t listed here. But we do know there were healings. We do know people were set free from prison. But the point here is not the specific miracles – the point was that God was near and He was working, and the evidence was all around them. And because God was at work and changing lives daily – this work of God was the most awe inspiring reality of all. For there is nothing greater than to see God take a hard and prideful man and transform him to a gentle servant. There’s nothing greater than to see God take a sin-scarred women and change her into a miracle of radiant joy.

And I can’t help but think that’s what was happening here, for as they worshiped together in the temple courts and from house to house, not only were they filled with awe for what God was doing, but ate together with glad and sincere hearts – and were constantly were giving praise to God! Their praises became a natural part of their conversation around the dinner table. God was working, lives were changing, and people were noticing! For whatever God was doing in their midst – people around them loved it! They enjoyed the favor of all the people. People knew something good was happening; something authentic, life-changing and they wanted in on it. And that leads us to the last mark of an everyday church:

An Everyday Church Witnesses Together Let me read these last two verses again: 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 2:46-47       What I love about this last description, is it doesn’t look like the believers did too much of anything… other than INCLUDE THEIR friends and neighbors around THEIR table, and just shared the joy that was in THEIR hearts, and people who didn’t know Jesus were being drawn to faith in Jesus – every single day!

THAT’S THE LAST THING I WANT US TO SEE HERE. An Everyday Church Witnesses Together – through meals together, everyday activities and relationships together – BUT IT IS JESUS WHO DOES THE WORK!

Jesus did three things here: First, He added to their number. Whether that be through the apostles teaching, the witnesses of their common love together, their example of a joy-filled life, or their genuine praise of God – it was Jesus who added to their number. It was Jesus who drew people to become part of His Church.

Second, he didn’t just add people as observers, He saved them. This description reminds me of what Jesus said in the upper room: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:44 Jesus uses His Church to build His Church. We are the magnets of grace that Jesus uses to reveal His saving grace to those in need of grace. When we make Jesus the center of our faith; when we value one another like Jesus values us; when we worship and pray together; out of the overflow of all that…the world sees Jesus! – and Jesus adds to us those He is saving! That’s the beauty of the everyday church. That’s the beauty of people living out the good news in their everyday activities and relationships: Jesus adds to us those He is saving.

And yes, there’s one more thing Jesus did: The Lord added people daily! Because this was an everyday church, a people who lived out the good news daily, Jesus added to their number daily those who were being saved. I want to be part of a church like that! And I think you do too!

And the good news is this: This is our potential. And I’ll tell you why this is our potential: Because the same Jesus who added to their number daily those who were being saved, is the same Jesus who saved you. And the same Jesus who added to their number daily those who were being saved is still building His Church today. And He builds it the same way He did then – through the power of the Holy Spirit.

You see the one mark of the everyday church that you don’t see in this description of the everyday church, is that everything you see here all came about after God filled them with His Holy Spirit after they put their trust in Jesus.

An Everyday Church is A Spirit-Filled Church!  That’s why this same description is our potential. We don’t need another day of Pentecost – we don’t need another outpouring of the Spirit. We simply need an awakening of the Spirit God has already given us:

An awakening of the Spirit of Truth who teaches us about Jesus!

An awakening of the Spirit of Christ who wants to bear the fruit of love, joy, kindness and goodness among us!

An awakening to the Holy Spirit who has the power to transform us into an everyday church just like this!

This is what Jesus saved us for. This is why we are doing Neighborhood Groups.   So that through our pursuit of Jesus, our love for one another, our worship together and by living out the good news through our everyday activities and relationships… Jesus can add to our number daily those who are being saved.

If you want to be part of a church like that… then would you pray with me… for the Spirit to reawaken us to be the Church He wants us to be.

Let’s pray.