One With Each Other - Community Series

One with Each other

Introduction:?Beloved, on this second Sunday of our stewardship series, we turn to a portrait of the early church from Acts 2—a church not just alive in faith, but interwoven in life. They met together, prayed together, gave generously, and broke bread in one another’s homes. It’s a powerful vision of koinonia—holy fellowship—and reminds us that stewardship is not just giving things away, but binding our lives to one another.

Today is also Mother’s Day—when we honor not just biological mothers, but all women who nurture, build, and sustain life around them. Like the early disciples, these women are often the silent stewards of love, hospitality, and care. They, too, build the table.

1. The Theology of Togetherness

Acts 2:42–47 paints a picture of the church as God intended—not perfect, but deeply connected. The Greek word used for fellowship, koinonia, isn’t just socializing. It means participation, communion, sharing life. The church didn’t just meet—they devoted themselves. This wasn't simply an idealized past—it was a daily practice. They shared possessions, cared for the poor, and ate with glad and generous hearts.

In Wesleyan theology, John Wesley spoke of “social holiness.” He wrote, “There is no holiness apart from social holiness.” This doesn’t mean we are saved by community, but that salvation is never lived out in isolation. Our generosity is the fruit of our life together. We share because we belong to each other. John Wesley once said, “Christianity is essentially a social religion… to turn it into a solitary one is to destroy it.” Our Methodist tradition teaches that stewardship is not private charity—it is communal participation in God’s economy of grace.

2. A Story

A pastor once told about a woman in her church—let’s call her Amma Ruth. She never had children of her own, but always sat on the same bench outside the sanctuary. Week after week, she noticed who looked weary or alone. She invited them to sit with her and offered a cookie or a kind word. Years later, the church placed a plaque on that bench: “Where Ruth built family.”

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n her own quiet way, Ruth mirrored the Acts 2 church. She broke bread, welcomed the lonely, and shared what she had. She didn’t preach a sermon, but her generosity was pastoral.

When we give our time, talents, and treasure, we create beauty beyond what we can see. Like that cracked pot, our gifts may seem small, but they bloom into something holy together.

3. Living the Generosity of God

The early Christians didn’t give because someone demanded it—they gave because grace had changed their lives. Verse 43 says, “Awe came upon everyone,” and the giving flowed from that awe. When the Spirit moves, hearts open. Our stewardship, then, is not a campaign—it’s a response. As Adam Hamilton writes, “Generosity isn’t a requirement; it’s a result of love.”

We often think stewardship is only financial, but in Acts 2, it's so much more. It’s the stewardship of time, devoted to teaching and fellowship. It’s the stewardship of relationships—sharing meals and joys. It’s the stewardship of trust—believing that giving won't leave us lacking.

“Awe came upon everyone, because the apostles were doing many wonders and signs.”

This “awe” (Phobos in Greek) is not fear in the punitive sense but holy reverence. It recalls the Shekinah glory in Exodus, the awe of Isaiah in the temple, and the transfiguration of Jesus.

Luke draws a direct line between a devoted life and God's manifest presence. When the church aligns itself with God’s pattern—Word, Table, Prayer, Fellowship—the Spirit moves. And when the Spirit moves, transformation follows.

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” vv44–45

This is radical generosity—not coerced, but Spirit-empowered. This is not socialism; it is pneumatological stewardship. Notice: they did not dissolve ownership, but they disarmed its power for the sake of the community.

This is grace in action. Wesley taught that true holiness involved both inward and outward fruits. To be made perfect in love means to love one's neighbor as oneself and to live with open hands.

Stewardship is not about maintaining church budgets but about embodying God's economy, where there is no lack, because love compels us to share. This, too, is sacramental. Just as Christ broke the bread and gave it to the many, so the church breaks itself open to feed the body.

On Mother’s Day, we remember that many women practiced this long before we gave it theological names—opening homes, setting tables, and dividing what was little into enough. Their lives are Eucharistic parables.

Conclusion: What Table Are You Building?

We are called not to build towers of isolation, but tables of grace. The early church didn’t gather around status or power—they gathered around bread, prayers, and love. And that simple, Spirit-led community “added to their number daily.”