The Characteristics Of A Great Church Series

Sermon -The Characteristics of a Great Church

Scripture Lesson: Acts 4:23-33 “As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. 32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.”

Introduction: Acts 4, the writer allows the reader to view the inner operations of the early church. It is really a portrait of a great church. It was a great church, not because of its buildings or property, but because of its influence. God was doing great things in the midst of his church. This chapter highlights the first major conflicts between the disciples of Jesus and the Sanhedrin court. Since the arrest, conviction and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus the Christ, the nature of their ministry set them on a collision course with the Jewish religious leaders of that day. The events of the day of Pentecost launched these disciples into public ministry with Peter and John leading the way. Miraculous healing of the lame man at the beautiful gate caused quite a stir and led to this confrontation. Although the Sanhedrin might have been willing to tolerate the miracle, the message of Peter was too much to bear. So, it is today, many people welcome the miracles of God but the resist the message of God. Read the following Scripture.

They could not receive the message that Jesus had been raised from the dead by the power of God and had been made the Cornerstone of salvation. They could not receive the message that no other name under heaven has been given whereby men might be saved. To receive such a message would mean that Jesus was not an ordinary man; He was indeed the Son of God; sent by God to seek and to save that which was lost; and approved by God through the resurrection. They all stood guilt before God. Embracing such a radical idea would be admitting that mankind was lost, separated from God by sin, deprive of the power and strength to save himself. In describing the church, the writer states, “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” Notice the words, “great power” and “great grace.” My subject for this chapter is The Characteristics of a Great Church. What made this church great? Are there any attributes of this early church worthy of emulation today?

The early church was not considered great because of the size of the building or landholdings. It was not because of the massive numbers of its membership. Our generation of church goers seems to be preoccupied with prosperity, material possessions and consumer mentality. Many attribute the greatness of a church with how well it meets my personal expectations. The average church goers shops and hops for the right church. Some people like big churches because they seem to want excellent ministry with little commitment. Others like small intimate churches because they feel needed and wanted.

This great church at Jerusalem is a God-given example of the characteristics necessary for a great church. I would suggest that each listener would read and meditate on the entire fourth chapter of Acts to become intimately acquainted with God’s idea of a great church. I would like to lift several prevailing thoughts and idea that surfaced in my study of the early New Testament church, one of the greatest churches the world has ever known. The early church was considered a great church because of its influence. Launched in a hostile environment, surrounded by pagan religions, this church took on the Jewish religious system and the Roman Empire and won the victory! Why? First, the early church was bold enough to embrace God’s vision and purpose. An anonymous writer once said, “He who would be a mover of the world must not be moved by the world.”