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Today we’ll be reading from Acts 2:42-47:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This is one of my favorite passages in the New Testament that describes what the early church looked like. And in this case it’s the EARLY EARLY church! The Holy Spirit had just come down like fire and rested upon the apostles, Peter preached his first sermon, and the response was 3,000 new believers in response to just 1 message! The church quickly went from 120 people in the upper room, many of whom had spent years with Jesus, to 3,120 who were now committing to following Christ!

Part of the reason I like this so much is it boils down the essentials of what a church service looks like to 4 piece. We begin with teaching. The verbal structure of this signifies that they continually devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. That is they were hungry to hear from God. They needed the growth that comes from spending time in God’s Word, and before they had a full Bible like we do, they had the apostles, who had lived life with Jesus, being trained by him.

Next is the fellowship. Fellowship is often misunderstood today, as it’s not a wing of a church building! As the passage goes on to signify, fellowship involves sacrificial giving, either of your time or your possessions. Fellowship must go much deeper than simply spending time together, as it means knowing what is going on in each other’s lives. The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. This one if somewhat hard for us right now, as it’s nearly impossible to spend time together in fellowship, so remember this feeling right now, and don’t forget to be intentional about fellowship when we can finally meet again!

Thirdly is the breaking of bread and prayers. Because they talk about the food they were eating later, I think this is referring to the regular practice of the Lord’s Supper (which is why I prefer to celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly, but that’s a different discussion!). Both of these things signify crucial matters to the gathering of God’s people: prayer and communion. If everything we do is not girded in prayer, then we’re wasting time! And if we’re not obeying our Lord who commanded us to remember his death, burial, and resurrection, then we’re sinning.