Oh how I wish we were sitting face to face having this time together.  As you well know the written word is a restricted form of communication because you can’t see my face or hear the inflections in my voice, but please know I am thrilled you are joining us on this journey.  I would want you to hear the longing in my voice for you to understand what togetherness with God and His church really looks and feels like.  I would want you to feel my arms as I hugged you and looked into your eyes as you told me all about you.  It would be my desire for you to know I know I am nothing special, just a pencil in the hand of God as Mother Theresa used to say.  He does the writing and I am just an available tool.  I long for you to want a relationship with Jesus and to grow deep in your understanding of Him and how to walk in abundant life daily.  So, I want to take you to His word.  Our theme verse for this weekend is Acts 2:42

Acts. 2:42 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer.”

At the end of our time together I pray you and I both will understand how to be One with Him and how to live as one as the body of faith.  So lets get started.

Together in the Apostle’s Teachings

Acts 2:42 tells us that the new believers were being woven into a strong church. The first thread in the fabric was devoting themselves to the apostle’s teachings.  As I studied to see what these teachings were I was directed back to the beginning of Acts 2 where Peter has just completed a sermon where people from all nations heard the words spoken in their own language and many became believers.  (3000 in one day)  Acts 2 reminds them of who Jesus was and is.  He was the one who they had just seen preforming miracles. Vs. 22.  Jesus had been crucified before them vs. 23.  He had been raised by God from the dead. Vs. 24  David had prophesied about him.  Verses 25-31 quotes his prophecies about the Son of God, the Messiah who would come.  Then in verse 32 the writer, Luke says, “We are all witnesses.”  What they had seen with their eyes was the truth that Jesus was the son of God and the response of the people was that they were cut to the heart and repented.

This family of new believers needed to be taught be not just believers, but also followers. The apostles took them back to the teachings of Jesus to teach them how to grow.

Take your bible and look up Matthew 5 where Jesus was teaching the people on the hillside about how to live.  He starts with the beatitudes teaching them to be Kingdom minded vs. 3-4, meek (strength under control), vs. 5 Right walking vs. 6, Merciful (seeing the needs around them) vs. 7, Pure of heart vs. 8, Peace Makers vs. 9, Strong under persecution for righteousness sake vs. 10-11.  He reminded them that their rewards would be seen in heaven not just here on earth.  Jesus taught that there is something beyond life here on earth and our life lived here is preparation for life lived there.

He went on to teach about how to treat others.  We are to be salt and light pointing to the way to Christ. Vs. 13-16.  We are to not carry anger and really understand that by hating we are really killing relationships. Vs.21 Jesus told the followers to not lust or divorce knowing how satan uses our fleshly desires to take us away from the purity God has in store for us not just personally but in our marriages.  Vs. 27-32.  Jesus wanted his followers to be people of their word and not swear by anything to prove their integrity.  He simply said let your yes be yes and your no be no.  vs. 33-37.  Jesus taught not to retaliate but to love your enemies.  Now that was a foreign concept then just as it would be today.  In the philosophy of the world “get yours before they get you”.  Vs 38-48.  In chapter 6 Jesus taught on caring for the needy, vs 1-4, how to pray vs.5-15, the purpose and act of fasting vs 16-18.  Jesus’ followers would be different from the world because they would lay up treasures for a life yet to come and not be anxious believing that God was in control.  Vs. 19-34.  Chapter 7 taught the believer to not judge others vs. 1-8 and to depend on God by asking for what was needed. Vs. 9-11.  The rule to “do to other as you would have them do to you” must have blown many away because their rule had always been do as they have done to you.  Jesus’ teaching were never easy and often went counter culture. Vs. 12-14.  God’s disciples were easily identified by the way they lived bearing good fruit. Vs15-20.  Their faith in some One and something bigger than them would be evident. Vs 21-23 The ultimate picture was painted of a Christ follower being one who built his home on a firm foundation so that when the storms of life came, because they were coming they would stand! Vs. 24-27.

Are you overwhelmed yet?  I know that is a lot to drink in at one sitting.  But take time to look back over the things Jesus was teaching because it is a followers handbook.

Many in our world might consider these truths to be rules and be a rigid way of life.  For the Christ follower we come to realize that they are teachings that help us to have true life.  John 10:9-10 says that the sheep hear their shepherds voice and they follow.  The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy but Christ has come that we would have life and have it abundantly.  The apostles were teaching the people that abundant life comes in following Jesus’ teachings.  Matthew 7 vs. 28-29 concluded by declaring that Jesus is the final authority and as these new believers saw and knew He was the only one who not only was raised from the dead and many of them had seen with their eyes.  He was also The One who ascended into heaven right before them.  They were eye witnesses to His authority.  That is still why though we have not seen Him physically with our eyes we have read the stories from God’s word that are true and we too believe.  He has all authority to tell us how to live.

My closing illustration has to do with how life works best.  We know that in our homes God chose to make the man the head of the home.  It doesn’t mean he is smarter, wiser, or even the most discerning.  It does mean that in God’s order this is how the home is to work best.  When we get out of order with the wife trying to lead the home things can quickly become chaos because you can only have one leader.  There is life in the right order but chaos ensues when things get out of order.  It is the same in a job situation where the workers try to take the reigns and tell the supervisor what they will or will not do even though the supervisor knows what is expected from the owner.  It is the same in a church where the laity tell the pastor what they will or will not do no matter what the pastor has heard from God.  God has order there for our safety, security and yes LIFE!

True togetherness starts with a relationship with The Shepherd, Jesus.  Just as Acts 2 taught.  Jesus was not a character from a fiction novel but a real man who was and is the one and only Son of God.  John 3:16 tells us because God loved us He sent Jesus to die for our sin so that we believe in Him we would have eternal life.  He says, if we confess our sin, which is anything that does not obey what God says to do, if we say, God you are right I did do that please forgive me. He will forgive our sin and cleanse us.  Through forgiveness of sin we are made right with God.  That is where togetherness starts.  Then we follow His teachings as we learn to live together as a community of faith and grow as a Christ follower.

The question we all need to ask ourselves is “has that relationship with Jesus started”?  If not, pray today and ask Him to forgive your sin and help you get started on that relationship. The next question is “what will I choose chaos or order, destruction or life”?  By following the apostles’ teachings we can know true togetherness with Christ and other Christ followers.  The next two sessions will address how to grow in your relationship with others and with Jesus.  Spend a few minutes in prayer asking the Father to help you grow to be one with Him and those around you.

Our next post will be a quiet time that we would love for you to do with us.  Then tomorrow we will post two more sessions that we will have tomorrow.  We will post pictures of the girls here so you can be a part of all that is going on!  Welcome to the party.