Read Acts 2:42-47. This passage tells us about the genuine community found in the early church. This model of community set here was followed by most churches, not just the one in Jerusalem. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, hearing what Jesus did and how Jesus told the apostles’ to live their life and his parables and stuff like that and then they broke bread together meaning they ate food together and they devoted themselves to prayer. They still have their own homes and they still have their own jobs but they met together every day and shared their lives and stuff with one another. They had glad sincere hearts and they were praising God and enjoyed the favor of all people because everybody saw them and were like wow! That's cool! What they’re doing is awesome and many said they wanted to be a part of this and thus the Lord added to their number daily those who are being saved.
Here it is genuine community! Let’s just live like that then right? Well that sounds good but here’s the reality. My life and our lives don't look like that because we see each other on Sundays for a few hours but we don't like just hang out every day together and be seen by people spending time together praising God together sharing the good news together every day. We don't do that because that would be weird according to the church standards of today.
But are the church standards of today right? Would it be weird to see other people in the church everyday? Would it be weird to live in this kind of early church based, genuine community?
This week take time to ponder these questions about genuine community.
What would it look like for you personally to live in genuine community like the early church?
Is Zion Church of Wauseon a place where there is genuine community at all times in every way? In the last 3 years or so what areas have we been doing this well and what areas have you seen that we have been lacking in genuine community?
If you feel led to share something in response to those questions with me please do. Somehow, be it a phone call, an email, a text, in person next Sunday or sometime throughout the week, share it with me so we as a church can be strengthened to overcome our past shortcomings as we strive to better live in genuine community.
Have a blessed week!
