The Ultimate Valentine

I. One heart Verse 32

a. The word Heart here is from the Greek Work καρδία kardia – in Hebrew the root behind this word is the sense of reason, the emotion ad the will

b. A sub point to this is One soul Here we find the Greek Word ψυχή psuchē (psoo-khay´) From this word we can piece together the word psychē From this word we can find the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions

c. In Acts 5:11 comes from from the sequal of this message we find the simple word Church

i. The Greek Word for Church is Ekkleia

1. EK – From out of

2. klesia the foundation is found in the word Klosis To call out

d. Simply put this group of people were different from any other religious group ever seen before.

i. They were coming together as a body

e. Being of one heart and one soul meant that the early church shared their mind emotions and wills.

i. There was not any separate agenda

f. The greatest present we can ever give is to be of one heart and one mind

i. The example of the couple that each has a jagged edge of ½ of a heart and when the two pieces are put together you cannot see the bad edges.

g. One hurt becomes one hurt in the body of Church

h. One celebration becomes everyone’s celebration.

i. Verse 32 mentions that they had all things in common. This does not mean that they were like clones.

i. Paul gives us great example of the differences in people and how they should all work together.

ii. The problems we have today is we inject too many opinions

1. Opinions are like armpits everybody has a couple and both typically stink

2. The church should not be a mishmash of opinions

a. Not a democracy but a theocracy

b. One mind seeking Gods direction not the popular vote

c. God’s desire was never for Israel to form a coutry ruled by kings his desire was to be the leader.

II. One savior Verse 33

a. The heart of the church here at this time was pulsating around one central theme

i. That them was Jesus Christ and Him Crucified

b. Oh the Fathers Love that Binds forever

i. Were it not for God and His love we simply would not know what love is today.

ii. God’s love is so strong that it Bleeds over to the lost world. Even lost people have the ability to love. The problem is they do not understand the full extent of that love.

c. Great grace was upon them all v33

Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to see the world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the floor, a washbasin, and a wood-burning stove, she dreamed of a better life in the city. One morning she slipped away, breaking her mother’s heart. Knowing what life on the streets would be like for her young, attractive daughter, Maria hurriedly packed to go find her. On her way to the bus stop she entered a drugstore to get one last thing. Pictures. She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse full of small black-and-white photos, she boarded the next bus to Rio de Janiero. Maria knew Christina had no way of earning money. She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. When pride meets hunger, a human will do things that were before unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria began her search. Bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with the reputation for street walkers or prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her picture--taped on a bathroom mirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each photo she wrote a note. It wasn’t too long before both the money and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as the bus began its long journey back to her small village.

It was a few weeks later that young Christina descended the hotel stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet the little village was, in too many ways, too far away. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again, and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina’s eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling invitation. "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home." She did.