A Vision for the Church

They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe - all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common.  They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.  They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple, followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day, their number grew as God added those who were saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

How many of you are familiar with signs that say, 'Enter at your own risk,' or 'Swim at your own risk,' or 'Use at your own risk' You see them, and the idea is that you're about to do something a little bit dangerous, so if you do it and something awful happens, you were duly warned. Don't complain about it, don't litigate. You were told you should do it at your own risk.

Someone should have put a 'Read at your own risk' warning on my Bible years ago, because I've been reading it and trying to apply its teachings to my life for a long time, and some awful things have happened to me as a result. But I would say awe-ful, A-W-E. Some awe-ful things have happened to me because of it.  It was my own fault. I was told it was a risky book, but I read it anyway. It was in college and seminary that I really discovered it. It makes you do some interesting things.

Acts 2:42-47 talks about the very first New Testament church.  It explores what life was like in the first church God established two thousand years ago, and what life could be like in a special kind of church today.

Photo by Ron Lach

The question for the day is this: What is Jesus up to these days? I mean, Jesus ascended from this earth and now he's with the Father, but what's Jesus' job description between now and when He returns? 

Jesus is establishing and developing biblically functioning communities. Or in other words, Jesus is working on the church. He told Peter in Matthew 16 that He would build his church.  And the gates of hell would not be able to defeat it.  So, Jesus is still building His church.  Churches that will be responsive to their communities and loving toward each other.  They will be communities where amazing acts of kindness will become commonplace, where God's activity will be palpable, where lives will change, where hearts will melt, where differences will fade, where love will reign, where needs will be met, where the unwelcome will feel welcome. Lines will be blurred, and the rich and the poor will come together.  And when people experience life in one of these biblically functioning communities, they will orient their lives around participating in them. How are we going to become one of these communities?  Join us on Sunday, August 3rd, 2025 to find out…