"All Who Believed Were Together", September 15, 2024 — Santa Teresa Hills Presbyterian Church

“All Who Believed Were Together”

Acts 2: 42-47

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, September 15, 2024

Last Sunday we started our series on the Book of Acts. We learned how the church was born that first Pentecost, with a mighty wind and tongues of fire. Peter and the rest of the disciples preached to a large crowd in different languages, so that each person could hear the Good News in a way that they could understand. I mentioned that people were speaking and listening, that the Holy Spirit helps us to communicate with one another, even despite cultural, socio-economic, and linguistic differences.

Peter’s sermon, concluded with the words, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Some 3000 people were baptized that day – an instant megachurch! And we read that “…day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

Today we will add two new members to our church. We feel happy any time anyone joins us, and we are eager to welcome Pat and Pam.

Most churches are happy whenever attendance and membership are increasing. If attendance is slipping, we think something must be wrong, even if many other things are going well. But is the purpose of the church just to have large numbers of people gathering for worship every Sunday morning? We may have a church full of people, but if our lives aren’t changed, if we don’t make any difference in our community or the world, are we really fulfilling our purpose as a church? Changing lives, changing society, and helping people become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ all matter more than numbers.

In 1 Peter 2, Peter compares the church to a building, not made of bricks and mortar, but of “living stones.” The church is not a dead building, but is alive and growing. Peter says that Christ is the “cornerstone” of the church. The cornerstone is an essential part of the foundation. Without it the building would collapse. Our lives must be founded on faith in Christ, our cornerstone, and our church must be built on that faith. Otherwise, we are just a social club, not a church at all. But beyond faith in Christ, what other building blocks are needed to form a solid foundation for a healthy, growing church?

This morning’s scripture from Acts gives us five of these building blocks. In this description of the early church, we read, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…,” and they would give to any who had need. These five elements constituted the building blocks of the early church: study, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayers, and helping those in need. Some would add coffee, cookies, and potlucks, but I will restrict myself to the building blocks mentioned in Acts.

The first building block for a healthy, growing church is study. Early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” The early church did not yet have the gospels, but they did have the teachings of those first disciples: the men and women who knew Jesus personally, who had sat at his feet and listened to him, who had seen him crucified and resurrected. They were eager to pass on all that Jesus had taught them. Later these teachings were collected and written down in the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The writings of the apostles were also collected in the letters, or epistles, of Paul, James, Peter, and John.

The apostles’ teaching also included interpretations of what we call the Old Testament, as they applied to the Christian life.

For us today, devoting oneself to “the apostles’ teachings” means studying the Bible: reading it, reflecting on it, discussing it with friends and family, discovering what God has to say to us through the scriptures, learning how God wants us to live. How can we claim to follow Christ if we never open the Book that tells about Him?

Our society is full of people who are searching for purpose and meaning in their lives. The Bible has answers to these questions. If we study it, and invite others to study it with us, our church will grow. Our faith will deepen and we will have greater wisdom and insight with which to face the challenges of life. Paul advises the young Timothy, to study scripture, saying “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.” But how can we rightly explain the word of truth if we don’t study the Bible?

Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity, puts it this way: “We must think about things from God’s point of view.

When that shift occurs in our thinking, we see things in a different way. And, our neighbors, both near and far, are viewed differently.” As we read the Bible, we will learn to view things more from God’s perspective. We must change the way we think before we can change the world. Bible study can help us learn to see the world as God sees it.

The second building block of a healthy church is fellowship. The Greek word for “fellowship,” koinonia, implies more than just socializing or casual friendship. It means “communion, close relationship, brotherly (and sisterly) unity.” Fellowship means that we love one another (or try to), that we support and encourage each other, that we are there for the bad times, as well as the good. Many people in our world long for a sense of truly “belonging” to a community or a family. As I mentioned last week, loneliness has become an epidemic. If we, as a church, can create a sense of community, we will grow – and, again, not only in numbers, but in spiritual maturity as well.

It is impossible to live the Christian life alone. Just as the coals of a fire grow cold when separated from each other, our faith suffers when we try to “go it alone.” We must get to know one another at a deeper level.

Meeting in small groups, such as for Bible study or choir can help us get to know one another. Something I appreciate about our chancel choir is that our director, Hugh, always makes time to read a scripture or short devotion, and we always conclude with prayer, praying for each other and our concerns.

The church can learn from 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, which owe their success to mutual support in trying to overcome addictions. The church is a “Sinners Anonymous.” None of us is perfect. We all need to ask for help. By sticking together and supporting one another, we can encourage each other to live the lives God wants for us. People are looking for a place to belong. Let’s help them find it.

The early church also “broke bread” together. This refers to the observance of Holy Communion, which reminds us on a regular basis that “God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” In the early church the Lord’s Supper was accompanied by a common meal, a kind of “potluck.” At that time, people did not sit down to eat with just anyone. Jews did not eat with Gentiles. Religious people did not eat with “sinners.”

Slaves did not eat with their masters. But in the church all sat down together to eat, regardless of ethnicity, class, or other differences. There is something radical here: a glimpse of heaven; the breaking of bread became a foretaste of the kingdom of God.

One reason I love our Church is because we come from so many different backgrounds, cultures, and countries. We have different points of view on many things. Yet we all get along. We live in a world that desperately needs to see that people who are different can get along together, and even love one another. This example may be one of the greatest gifts our church has to give to our divided, fragmented world.

Another building block of a healthy church is prayer. The early church devoted themselves to prayer. One thing I like about our worship service is that we have a time for prayer, in which we pray for one another’s joys and concerns. This is an excellent practice. How we can build on this habit of prayer to continue it throughout the week? Sincere, heartfelt prayer almost always leads to action. If we pray for someone’s needs, sooner or later we will want to do something to help meet those needs. Let’s pray for our fellow church members, elders and deacons.

Let’s pray for the needs of our community and the needs of the world. Jesus even says we are to pray for our enemies. As we listen to one another, pray for each other, and learn from each other, our church will grow. Praying for one another makes for a strong, healthy church.

The final building block for church growth is meeting the needs of others, whether by generous giving or in loving service. In Acts we read how the early church provided for those in need – first those within the church, but also throughout the community. In later chapters we read how they fed the hungry, healed the sick, and made clothing for the poor. Here at Santa Teresa Hills we have a history of ministering to our community through organizations like SMUM and Bread for the World and through projects like the Maternity Clinic in Buea, Cameroon. How can we build on our experience to broaden our impact both here at home and around the world?

A church in a small town in Texas had an oversized influence for good in that community. Their pastor explained, “I thought that if anyone was going to change this town, it was these people. I thought that Christians should have the opportunity to repair the social structures.

People had stopped dreaming. They had to be told they could dream again. And that their dreams could come true.”

What are your dreams for Santa Teresa Hills? Build them on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, with the building blocks of Bible study, fellowship, the breaking of bread, prayer and helping those in need. You might be surprised what could happen. Amen.