Acts: Christians in Community, continued

Hi Everyone

Thanks for a lively discussion last Sunday.

On October 11 we engaged our four key questions, relative to the description of communal life in the first Apostolic "church". The questions are:

1. What does this passage tell me about me?
2. What does this passage tell me about God?
3. What does this passage tell me about my relationship with God?
4. What will I do?

We covered a lot of good ground in our conversation, ranging from feelings of new awareness of the role and presence of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives, and as a vital factor in effective leadership. Much of our discussion focused on the disturbing fate of Ananias and Sapphira, who, apparently, were killed by God for deceiving the Holy Spirit. This evoked musings about what kind of God the first Jewish Christians were expecting, and experiencing -- feeling, from our point of view, very "Old Testament" in character -- a holy God who is strict and, well, dangerous! Yet at the same time we have an understanding, from the text, that these first Christians enjoyed a wonderful fellowship, an exciting kind of awe, and an enhanced feeling of safety.

It seemed, in general, that the issue at hand is not what we do with our wealth, but how we are in relationship with God, and how that affects our choices -- knowing that we, too, have the freedom to act with or against God's will for us. Several folks shared meaningful personal stories about these kinds of choices.

For next week, please review chapters 3 & 4, and begin reading ahead to capture the sense of flow of events as the church grows and begins to face organizational challenges.

We appreciate you all! Have a great week & hope to see you Sunday, October 18 at 10:00 a.m. in the Stephen Ministry classroom.

Acts: Christians in Community

Thanks for a great class on October 4.

We discussed Acts 2:42-47, with reference to 4:32-35. These passages offer snapshots into the quality of community the first "church" experienced. They enjoyed freedom to devote themselves to the teaching of the Apostles; to breaking bread; to prayer; and to sharing and charity among themselves, so that no one experienced material want. We observed that their practices with their belongings would not be considered extreme socialism by modern standards. It seemed like a simple practice . . . those who had more than they needed shared with those who did not have enough. The end result was that no one had need, and all were free to worship and learn from the Apostles.

Let's have more conversation about this practice this week. Is there a way for us to be more like that? What keeps us from a lifestyle that is similar to that practiced by the first Christians?

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Some background notes of interest -- these Christians were, almost certainly, all Jews living in Jerusalem. So in addition to meeting in one another's homes, they worshipped as they were accustomed in temple and synagogue. What is the connection, or disconnection, between sustaining an institutional "church" and enjoying the quality of communal life described in Acts? Also, what difference do you suppose it made in their thinking if they believed that Jesus would return at any time, as described in chapter 1?

Our focus this Sunday will be on our four basic questions: What does this passage teach me about -- me, God, my relationship with God . . . and, what will I do?

See you Sunday!

Remember new persons are welcome at any time.

Dan and Laura

Book of Acts Chapter 2

Hi everyone!

OK, what's with the picture? These folks are a Christian rock group very popular in the 70's, now legendary in some circles, called "2nd Chapter of Acts". I saw them live with Barry McQuire and found them way cool. As you can tell one or more of them are related. The dude on the right is a dude, brother of the dudette in the middle. Don't you love the hair? One of their best known songs is/was "Easter Song". For a very young, new version of them and their cool song, cut and paste the following address into your browser: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30789015

Thanks for a great class last Sunday. Here are some notes:

We read and discussed chapter 2 of the Book of Acts.

The first section describes the coming the Holy Spirit, with signs of the sound of a mighty wind and tongues as of fire. Older versions describe the "tongues of fire" as "cloven", which simply implies they were split, perhaps indicating active and flickering motion. The "tongues" the disciples spoke were the native languages of the Jews and Jewish converts who had made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festival of Shavuot, or Shavot. This festival, in the Jewish religion, commemorated the giving of the law (God's Word) by Moses, and took place 50 days after the release of the Hebrews from captivity in Egypt. The Greek name for this festival is Pentecost, 'pente' meaning 50. In Christianity this festival is observed 50 days after the resurrection of Christ and acknowledges the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, who brought the "Word" of salvation to all people.

We read and discussed Peter's first sermon. In it he summarizes the life, ministry, and meaning of Jesus, and evokes conviction from the Jewish crowd about their personal responsibility for the rejection of God's Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. Responding, many in the crowd ask Peter "What shall we do?" He bids them repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and welcome the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts notes that about 3,000 people did just that.

As application, we felt that Peter gave a good sermon! And that personal repentance for our rejection of Christ needs, perhaps, to be done many times; and we ourselves can accept the promise of God, which is forgiveness in Christ and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit to tell others about Jesus Christ.

We offered prayers for personal concerns to close the meeting.

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For this Sunday, please read ahead, at least through chapters 3 and 4 of the Book of Acts.

God bless y'all and hope to see you this Sunday!

-- Dan and Laura