The Cost of Community
Acts 2:43-47
Acts 2:43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generositya— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on the sermon using the following Scripture and questions as a way to begin a conversation.
Read Acts 2:42-47
Acts 2:42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Suppera), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
In Acts, chapter two, we begin the exciting journey of the new Church.
From the very beginning of the journey Luke wants us to observe a radical new dynamic of community that is taking place within the newly formed, spirit filled, body of Christ. While it is hard for 21st century Christians to put ourselves into the context of those first century believers we can be challenged to learn from them to develop a way of community living that sets us apart from the world around us and gives us victory in our walk with Christ.
- Acts 2:42 shares that the new disciples who had wealth sold
some of their properties and shared with others in the
community who had need. How can this be lived out today
in our 21st century church?
- Acts 2:46 shows that they met regularly for communion and to
share meals. This implies that the people connected at a
very deep level over the common meal. How can we
incorporate our meal times to both connect with our
brothers and sisters as well as to invite new people into the
community of faith?
- Share with the group at least one thing that you feel God
leading you to do, from reading this passage, that would
help you build a better relationship with your Christian
community and with the world around us?
- One of the key ingredients to the fellowship of the Community
of Christ was their constant joining together in prayer.
Throughout the rest of the book of Acts we find the
community of believers continually coming together in
prayer. Is prayer one of the foundations of your group? If
not, how can it become one of the key aspects of your
communal time together?
As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Am I enjoying Prayer? (Pages 23-27 in The Wesley Challenge)
