Last Sunday Pastor Dave shared a message with us about Building a Gospel Centered Church from his How The Gospel Changes Us series. We looked at an example of the early church detailed in Acts 2:37-47. There are four reasons the early church was successful. 1: They were devoted to and transformed by the Word. 2: There was evidence of Gods presence in their worship. There was an expectation to be overwhelmed by Gods presence every time they gathered. 3. Jesus left them completely dependent on prayer. He gave the church The Great Commission but didnt give them instructions on how to accomplish it outside of praying about it until Jesus returned as the Holy Spirit. 4: The members of the early church were completed devoted to each other. They shared their lives with each other by being vulnerable and bearing each others hardships. A Greek critic of the church described it as such: Their founder Jesus Christ persuades them that they should be like brothers and sisters to one another and therefore they despised their own privacy and view all their possessions as common property. The result of the Gospel-centered Acts 2 church was joy among the members and the salvation of souls. People were continually being saved as they observed the daily conduct of believers. So unified, joyful and Spirit-filled were they that their very existence was a powerful testimony to the truth of God. The scripture calls us to take a serious and personal commitment to a local church. No church built by man is ever going to be perfect. Find a church where you can integrate and give of yourself. Devotion and blessing happen hand-in-hand as the community grows stronger. Thinking only of what the church can do for you is an incomplete view of how it should be a part of your life.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 06:23:22 +0000