In our day and age, the pace of life is increasing almost exponentially. Any piece of technology you buy is out of date before you take it out of the bag. So, the question arises, how can we as Christians be influential in a day where people are bombarded by more information per minute then in any other period in history? Being an effective Christian in everyday life is not a large undertaking, it is as simple as taking out your neighbor for coffee and listening to what they have to say. God sent his son into the world to change it, it is our jobs as Christians to continue that legacy by being in the world not separating ourselves from it.
My point here is one can be in the world, understand the world, but it does not mean you have to partake in it. Being a culturally relevant church is something that is a must, or there will be significant consequences down the road. We even see some of those today with the percentage of people who declare themselves as born again Christians being at it’s lowest point, since such data was collected. Being culturally relevant does not mean you need to understand everything that goes on in the global culture. It simply means, understanding your surroundings and responding to it. A farmer will not be able to sell a cow in New York city to a Wall street investor and a Christian who tries to minister to people without understanding people's situations won't get very far.
Growing up I was always under the impression that the great commission was something reserved for missionaries who go to foreign lands and speak to people who’ve never heard of the gospel. Affecting lives for Christ does not require one to travel long distances, it can be done from the comfort of you own home. Taking someone for coffee costs you under $5, an hour of your time, but can have ever lasting effects on someone’s life. It is our jobs as Christians to affect the lives of those around us. We need to make sure that as St. Francis of Assisi once said “Preach the gospel. When necessary use words.”
As we're going to see in todays passage, as is, in most cases the early Christians had the idea right in the first place. Let me read from Acts 2:42 to 47.
Key Scripture: Act 2:42-47 NIV They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (43) Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. (44) All the believers were together and had everything in common. (45) Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (46) Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, (47) praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Background: The background of my sermon today came from something that God laid on my heart back in August when I was counseling at senior high camp in Oxford. I had been contemplating and evaluating my life since, my wife and I made the move from Calgary to the Maritimes. I was praying and searching what God had in store for my life. Some days I'm still not 100% what all that means, but I do know I'm heading down the right path. I had this piece of scripture and sermon on my heart throughout a couple of the services that weekend and felt I needed it to get off my chest.
Context: Take a look around
Main Text
By taking a look at the scripture there are a few things I’d like to point out. There are a number of things that stick out to me as simple guides in how we should live our lives as Christians. These things are devoting ourselves to the teachings of the apostles, the breaking of bread, to prayer, and to give to the needy.
Each one of these points could have a whole series of sermons around it, but today I’m going to focus more into a few areas of this passage.
To effectively minister in people’s lives we need to understand what their need is, and how can
we meet it. If the church does not stay relevant to the world around it, it will just become part of the
landscape and be forgotten.
An example of this that we see in the real world is that of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). Approximately 6 or so years ago, a new technology began to surface that allowed music to be transferred digitally from computer to computer. Coupled with the ever increasing availability of high speed internet created a phenomena where thousands upon thousands of songs were being pirated all across the world. Now, the RIAA had two choices, it could either a) adapt to this new technology, provide a legal viable alternative to pirating music on the web, or b) stick in their old ways of forcing people to buy music through hard media like CDs and sue everyone. At first, they chose option B, which caused a riff between the general populace that will probably never be completely fixed. Sure eventually they came out with such programs as itunes that let you buy music. But, it was much too late and people were fairly jaded.
I see the church as a whole coming to a similar crossroads now. The church has two options, a) adapt to the current culture or b) stay in it’s old ways of doing things. So you may ask, what does the current culture look like? Again, I’ll use an illustration from the internet, please forgive on this.. it's just that when you work for five years in a certain industry it tends to be ingrained in you. The internet is a beast that changes at speed unlike anything else in human history. Within 10 years it has gone from simply a display and sharing of information, to interactive entertainment, and finally to where it’s at now with completely user driven content. What does that mean? Simply stated websites such as youtube, and myspace allow for the person who visits the site to put their thoughts, feelings, emotions on display for everyone else to see. These sites would be shells, nothing, if people did not go there and supply the content. So, how does this relate to the church? Well, people are not looking to be simply entertained anymore, it’s not enough for a church to put on a show, and expect people’s lives to be effected. It is the job of the church to provide places, and situations where people can be heard, and involved. Separating yourself from everyone and expecting a sign on the front lawn to bring people in will no longer work.. And I’m not quite sure it ever worked in the first place.
Key Point #1: Meet the need
Acts 2:45 - Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
When I lived in Calgary, I devoted a summer of my life to an intern position at North Side Community Church. It was my job to prepare, and run kids programs for the local kids in a low income area in North Calgary. There I met a man by the name of Derek Liebenberg, he had an everlasting affect on my life. This was a man who devoted his entire life to helping others when they had a need. If someone was hungry, he fed them, if someone was homeless he opened his house to them, if someone was evicted from their home and needed to be moved into a uhaul at 10 o'clock in the evening, he was there. He found a need no matter where he went and filled it. Everything he did in life was to further the kingdom of God and help create a sense of community. He did this during his time in Calgary, and his time in South Africa.
I am not saying we need all need to move to South Africa to be effective Christians, what I am saying is that we need to take a look around in our own community and meet the needs of those who are suffering, destitute, and hungry.
Mat 25:31-40 NIV "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. (32) All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (33) He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
(34) "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, (36) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
(37) "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? (38) When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? (39) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
(40) "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Since I’ve been home from Calgary, I’ve seen evidence in this church of following through on this scripture. Just two weeks ago, I went out with my kindle group to cut some wood for a man who had a bad back. 8 hours later, we had eaten, fellowshipped, prayed and cut a lot of wood. We as Christians do not need to preach to people, there is a time and a place for it yes, but if anything the ol’cliche of “Actions speak louder then words” holds true.
Key Point #2: Break Bread
As I stated earlier, the best way to minister to someone is to fellowship with them. The breaking of bread is as simple of an act and yet can have great implications. There is something special about sitting down for a meal with family and friends that is lost in our fast food society. Taking the time to prepare a meal, enjoy it over conversation is a great way to be there for someone.
In my opinion sometimes there is nothing better then enjoying a good meal with friends. One of my favorite prayers that I use sometimes to bless a meal is “Thank you lord for good food, good friends and good times.” In this scripture, I feel Paul is pointing out the everyday things that made the fellowship of believers such a strong movement. He goes out of his way to point out that they ate with each other as well as pray, and followed the teachings.
My point is simple here, without communicating with other people, you will lose touch with them and society. This is something that we as Christians cannot overlook. Sitting down for a meal with them and taking the time to listen is absolutely necessary.
Key Point #3: Commit to Prayer
Giving to the needy, fellowshipping with others are all things we as Christians need to make a priority in our lives. The one thing that holds these acts together is constant communication with God. This is done through prayer.
The early Christians devoted their entire lives to these acts, and God added to their numbers. Maintaining relationships with the people around is vital to our day to day lives. No matter how important that is, the one relationship that supersedes this, is our relationship with God. And how do we maintain this? Simple, by the act of prayer, whether it be in daily quiet times, or in a service, or for others in a small group setting. Praying publicly in front of people is something a lot of people have issues with. A wise person once said to me “We're not public speaking, we're praying to the father”. How true is that, our prayer time is the fuel that keeps our inner fires going. By neglecting it in our daily lives, it's like not calling up a good friend and losing touch with them. How much more important is God's relationship with us?
Prayer should not be reserved for times when we need something, when we're in pain, or when it's most convenient for us. Prayer should be used when those situations arise, but it is something that should not be neglected, and needs to remain a priority in our lives, as much as eating and breathing are. The early Christians knew this, as should we.
Conclusion
If you do not take anything else I've said home today, take this “We as Christians need to invest our lives into other people, if we do not, everything else we do is all for not.”
In my own personal opinion Paul did not simply write this passage as an account of how they lived, but as a small model for us to follow. If we follow the things in this passage in our lives daily, it is written here that our numbers will grow. I hate to use another tired cliché, but it's not what the Church can do for you, it's what you can do for the Church. And that's as simple as taking out a friend for coffee.
