If you have 5 minutes!
Read Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
On these verses Tom Wright comments:
Luke is careful to point out the landmarks. In fact, Acts 2:42 is often regarded as laying down “the four marks of the church.” The apostle’s teaching; the common life of those who believed; the breaking of bread; and the prayers. These four go together. You can’t separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing. Where no attention is given to teaching, and to constant, lifelong Christian learning, people quickly revert to the worldview or mindset of the surrounding culture, and end up with their minds shaped by whichever social pressures are most persuasive, with Jesus somewhere around as a pale influence or memory. Where people ignore the common life of the Christian family (the technical term often used is “fellowship,” which is more than friendship but not less), they become isolated, and often find it difficult to sustain a living faith. Where people no longer share regularly in “the breaking of bread”…they are failing to raise the flag which says “Jesus’ death and resurrection are the centre of everything” (see 1 Corinthians 11:26). And whenever people do all these things but neglect prayer, they are quite simply forgetting that Christians are supposed to be heaven-and-earth people.[1]
➡ Of these “four marks” – teaching/learning, community, remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection and prayer – are there one or two you focus on more than the rest? What could you do to create a better balance?
➡ Challengingly, the believers hold their things in common. What examples within OH can you think of where people act inline with this? Are there ways that we could develop further in this? What about if we see the whole Christian community as part of our family – some of whom have hardly anything, materially speaking. What does it look like to share internationally as well as locally?
If you have a bit longer :-)
➡ “Everyone was filled with awe at the many signs and wonders performed by the apostles.” Is it just leaders who are able to perform signs? If not, is everyone equally gifted in this area?
➡ “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” There is something contagious – as well as awe-inspiring – about this early Christian community. The great relationship that OH has with the students’ union through Club Mission is, I think, in a similar vein. In what other ways does OH have a positive and attractive relationship with our local community? What as-yet-untapped potential is there for this?
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