The Study Of The Church

Ecclesiology – theological doctrine concerning the church

Ac 2:43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. Ac 2:44 And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. Ac 2:45 They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. Ac 2:46 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— Ac 2:47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

Now I don't know about you but This is what I consider a great church.

• We see that there is a sense of unity flowing out of the church,

• We see that there is life in this church.

• And While I believe that this is a great church I still don’t believe that it is the perfect church

• And the reason that I say this is because a church is alive and growing should continually grow / take on new forms.

• However, let’s look at the Acts 2 church and see what we can learn for our churches today.

The first thing we notice about this church is that the believers met together constantly.

• They didn’t consider church to be a Sunday only event

• A time where they all got together for an hour or so.

• The text tells us that they met constantly.

• This means that anytime that something was happening at the church

• This group of believers was there.

They would have been there for church work days, potlucks, youth activities, and so much more.

• But, when we read the text I can imagine them not only being there for these events,

• But also just hanging around the church waiting for something to happen.

• The church would have been a place where people gathered.

• These believers put the church at the center of their lives and then worked outward from there.

In today’s society we tend to do the opposite.

• People today have gotten so busy that they put church last instead of first.

• They have adopted the attitude that “If” nothing else is happening

• And “If” I feel like it I may stop by the church for a short amount of time

• Until something better comes along.

We need to reeducate our church families / the communities that we serve.

• Church isn't a place where we go when nothing else is happening,

• Church is the place where we can grow closer to our fellow brothers and sisters,

• While at the same time drawing closer to God Himself.

• The wonderful image of the cross shows both a vertical and horizontal line.

• The vertical is there to show peace and harmony between God in the heavens and us here on Earth.

• However, the horizontal line shows a peace and harmony between us and other believers here on Earth.

This is what the church in Acts displays so beautifully.

• It not only shows that they considered everyone on the same level

• But they took the necessary steps to make sure that everyone was taken care of.

• The text tells us that they sold their possessions / and shared the money with those in need.

• This is hard to swallow in today’s world, and we can see just how far we have backslidden from the early church.

Imagine if you would for just a moment that I were to stand here this morning, in the pulpit and tell everyone to sell their possessions

• And give that money to the church so that we could take care of the people with needs.

• I would be asking people to sell their boats, their cars, and their motorcycle,

• To sell all the unnecessary items that we clutter up our lives with.

• Kids would have to sell their IPods, I Phones game systems

• And everyone as whole would come together and take care of those who didn’t have a place to sleep and food to eat.

It sounds beautiful but it would never happen.

• I would be run out of town and thought to be a cult leader.

• But, this is exactly what the early church did.

• They worshipped together, they ate together, they lived together in a true sense of community,

• And through it all they praised God and they enjoyed each other.

Col 1:18 Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything.