Connecting With The Creator's Kids Series

Last week I mentioned that the largest Lego kit every produced is the new Millennium Falcon kit which was released a month ago. The kit has 7,541 pieces is 33 inches long and 22 inches wide and weighs almost 19 pounds.

But, more impressive than what you can create with the kits are the artists who have created some truly incredible sculptures, and they did it without a direction book.

Here are a few I found, my favourite is this model of the Titanic breaking in half, created by Ryan McNaught it contains over 120,000 pieces of Lego.

I built a really cool wall once.

This fall our theme at Cornerstone has been connect and we started with how we’ve were created to connect, then we looked at how we connect with our creator and last week we looked at way that we need to connect with the created, that is ourselves as Christ Followers.

This week I want to look at how we need to connect with the Creator’s Kids. That is: other Christians.

Often when we think of the early church we have a very idealistic view. Everything was peachy keen, it never got messy and nobodies feelings ever got hurt. They only sang music that everybody enjoyed, the preacher never offended anyone and everybody loved them.

Sometimes you’ll hear people say “I wish the church was more like the New Testament Church”. What they mean is that they wish the church was more like the church described in the passage that was read for us earlier, let’s read it again,

Acts 2:41-47 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

And that is awesome. It was also the description of a brand-new church, still had the new church smell. But you don’t have to go very far into the New Testament to discover that like a new car, the new church started to develop a few rattles.

It’s kind of like that prayer that most of us need to start each new day with: Dear Lord,

So far I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm really glad about that.

But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed. And from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help.

The early church was perfect, right up to the point that they added imperfect people.

But it was and it still is God’s plan for believers connecting with believers. Matthew 16:15-18 Then he (Jesus) asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Before Jesus was arrested, before he was crucified, before he was raised from the dead, the church was on his mind.

Let’s start with what the church isn’t about.

At the close of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians he concludes with these words, 1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings.

Let’s start with It’s Not About the Where In the book of Acts the church mostly met in homes.

It wasn’t that houses were sacred and special, it’s what they had. Earlier in the Acts passage we read that they worshipped in the temple daily. That was Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. There are other places in the New Testament when we see the early Christians worshipping at the local synagogue.

But as the divide between the Christ followers and the Jews increased the Christians were less and less welcomed in the Jewish places of worship.