The Devoted Church

(Over the weekend I preached on "The Devoted Church," from the text Acts 2:36-47. A few have asked to hear it, and I’m humbled by the request. Find the audio here .)

We are all devoted to something. In fact, we are each devoted to many things. It’s what we talk about, think about, give time and money to. We will sacrifice anything and everything for what we consider most valuable, what we are devoted to.

Acts 2:42-47 shows us what the early Christian church was devoted to:

⁴² 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.

Much could be said on this passage, it answers two primary questions:

1. When we get together as the church, what are we to do?

2. What does God want from us?

Let’s consider that second one: What does God want from me?

The answer is found in verse 42: He wants our devotion! The word "devoted" means to be in constant use of, to be committed to, to persevere in . It is synonymous with discipline. The church was founded on the finished work of Jesus — He alone is the basis of our relationship with God. They continued in His grace, living out their new identity as the church of Jesus Christ through a few simple practices or disciplines. They were, to summarize this passage in two points, devoted to God by being:

1. Devoted to Truth

2. Devoted to one another

They were God-centered (devoted to the Truth found in God’s Word, the Bible), and others-directed (devoted to one another).

To help our people dive into God’s Word, we gave some tools for the devoted life (including Bible reading plans).

What are some barriers to community (from being devoted to one-another)?

One main one comes to mind: Pride .

Pride is self-focus.

Our personal pride comes out in four key ways that keep us from experiencing community:

• Self-reliance // I don’t need others; I can do it myself (and they should too!)
• Self-protection // others have heart me, so I’m closing myself off (to never be hurt again)
• Self-righteousness // seeing others’ sin more clearly than our own
• Busyness // can anyone keep up the pace you’re running, for the long haul and be healthy and useful to others?

What barriers are you allowing to keep you from experiencing authentic community, from being devoted to others?

Let’s be open to the fact that God is going to bring people into our lives who will love us and walk with us on this journey. They won’t be perfect, but they will be from God.