May 7, 2010, Acts 2

Key Verse:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, and to fellowship and to the sharing of meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

(Acts 2:42)

Central Truth:

The early believers developed community.


A COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS

As the early church developed, the believers worked at creating community. They ate together, prayed together, worshiped together, and performed the Lord’s Supper in each other’s homes. They met corporately in a large group to worship in the temple regularly. They helped the poor and needy.

With all this effort they put into their community, God blessed them by increasing their numbers. This community is also a blessing to the individuals in it. This is where we can get encouragement and support. Life is generally more enjoyable when it is shared with people who are moving in the same direction.

I think about the bad days I’ve had in my life, and, when things got tough, there was someone in my life that I went to. They comforted and encouraged me. Once, I remember having to take a major exam. An expensive exam. One that was mentally and emotionally taxing. It was out of state; so I took my wife with me, and we made a very short trip to Louisiana to take this exam that could potentially affect my entire career. She didn’t have a lot of Yoda-like words that put me in a near-trance state making me one with the exam, but she was able to demonstrate her support by being there sharing stories and keeping me from being anxious about the exam. If I had gone by myself, I would have laid down to go to sleep and stared at the ceiling of the hotel room for hours fretting over the exam. Sharing my anxiety with Val was critical to my performance on that exam.

We also meet regularly with a couple we met in church. We share a meal once a week and have consistently done this for years. We have developed a strong friendship with them, and we can count on each other for that support and encouragement if the bad days come.

Support and encouragement comes from the community you are a part of. To be part of a vibrant community, I have to work at it. I have to surround myself with folks to "do" life with. We should all "do" life with each other. Whether in a corporate setting or two families coming together to enjoy a meal, we need to develop community. Pray today that God will help us to develop a community.