After studying Acts 2:40-47 over the past few articles, let’s not just learn these practices of the early church, but also live them out:
- Read and study the Bible, and listen to the Holy Spirit’s instructions. We won’t master everything there is to know about an infinite God and His plan while still here on this earth, but we can keep making progress by learning more from Him regularly.
- Have true fellowship with other believers. Don’t just check boxes with how many times you need to go to church or listen to a lesson, but use the opportunities that you have to spend quality time with each other (even if you have to do so over a screen).
- If possible, spend time in meals with other Christians, both to enjoy this activity (since good food is a gift from God), and to remember how Jesus allowed us to become a family in the first place. As I like to say, “You gotta eat!”
- Pray. Pray by yourself. Pray with others. Pray standard prayers. Pray custom prayers. Just pray.
- Be generous. You might not have a surplus of property to sell (or, like some of the early church members, maybe you do), but when God blesses you with something extra, consider who He might want you to share it with. To be able to do so, though, this implies that either, 1) you are in a healthy relationship with others, so that you can understand their needs, or 2) you have church administrators who can help with distribution.
- Praise God. Praise Him for who He is. Praise Him for what He has done. Praise Him for your salvation, your church family, and countless other blessings that He has provided. Praise Him when you are alone with Him. Praise Him in a group, to testify to other Christians. Praise Him to those who don’t yet know who He is.
- And, since each of us can be called upon to tell other people about Jesus, and to present our gladness and joy (i.e., from accepting Him and being part of His family) to others, let’s be ready to share the good word every day, and not make someone else wait for Sunday to accept Jesus, repenting and being baptized, as Peter instructed the crowd at Pentecost.
It is my prayer that, as we obey Jesus’ commands and follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit more and more, the more that God will transform our community, our nation, and our world.
As David Faust wrote in the Lookout (cited below): “The Bible’s church history record is called the book of Acts, not the ‘Book of Inaction’ or the ‘Book of Good Ideas.’ ”
Consider what Jesus instructed His apostles before He returned to Heaven after His resurrection:
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:6-8 NIV
If any of us abdicate our responsibility to be a healthy part of the church, and expect “someone else” in the church to do our work, we’re not only transferring more work onto others, but we are becoming takers in the body. Let’s each do our part.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 24, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, October 1, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 