The New Way of Life - Pastor Tom Loghry
In Acts 2:42-47, we see the example of the early church being lived out. Pastor Tom walks through the passage and offers ways that we can live that example out even today.
Transcript:
They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who was in need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The way we live changes over time. Think about how different your life was when you were a child. You spent your time in different ways. You had different responsibilities, limitations, and freedoms. It was a different way of life. Even into adulthood, your way of life changes. My time in college was much different than when I got married and graduated.
Then kids come along. We could keep going until maybe you need to live in a nursing home. Your way of life changes over time. But time and these circumstances I've mentioned aren't the only things that can change our way of life. God can do that too. In fact, He absolutely intends to change our way of life as we come to faith in Jesus Christ and are inhabited by the Holy Spirit.
This transformation is revealed in the early church as Luke tells us in Acts 2 verses 42 through 47. Now these verses are kind of acting as a bit of a summary, kind of just a snapshot on the whole of what those early days were like for the church. This is, the summary is immediately following Luke's record of what happened on the day of Pentecost.
The disciples had been gathered in Jerusalem waiting for the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit. And when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit, they began speaking in tongues that were not their own, foreign languages, so that people who had been gathering, gathered together in Jerusalem, devout Jews, devout converts to the Jewish faith, heard the gospel message in their own native language.
And this was certainly a sign to them of a new work that God was doing to bring together all people into the kingdom of God. Now as a result of the message that was preached that day, Peter preached a message pointing to the reality that was going on here, that the Holy Spirit had been sent and that this was because Jesus Christ was the Messiah.
And the people responded with repentance. They were convicted because they crucified him. As a result of his message and the work of the Holy Spirit, 3, 000 people came to faith. And so at this point, we could probably estimate that between there's maybe between 3, 000 to 5, 000 Christians. We know that before Jesus ascended, he appeared to 500 people all at once.
So, and maybe there was others that he, that were followers, but he just simply didn't appear to them. So, say, between 3, 000 to 5, 000, but we should also know that probably not all of that 3, 000 stayed in Jerusalem, because remember, much of the crowd had come from across the Mediterranean on a pilgrimage for the Feast of Pentecost, and so they went back to their places of origin.
And this can possibly explain how it seems certain churches emerged across the Mediterranean even before someone like the Apostle Paul showed up. Very early origins beginning from the day of Pentecost. Now we're gonna look at each of these verses, just one, one by one. It's a small passage, but just really want to focus on what each, on the weight of what each verse is saying.
In verse 42, Luke says They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. It says that they devote themselves to the apostles teaching. Something that's important for us to remember at this point is that the only Bible, the only scriptures that the early church would have had at this point would have been the Old Testament.
There was no gospels written, there was no apostolic letters written. And so their New Testament, so to speak, if you're thinking about a testament, if you're thinking about a testimony that is given, it's the teaching of the Apostles themselves. And so they're getting this first hand from the Apostles, what they should understand about the Christian faith.
And, they were devoting themselves, to teaching. Teaching is the means, the teaching of God's Word is the means by which He creates growth within us, and it's the means through which He transforms us. And it's something that we need to devote ourselves to. It's not simply a matter of understanding a few key facts about the Christian faith, believing, and then saying, okay, I'm all set.
That's not what they felt. They felt, well, we have so much to learn. And the longer that you go in the Christian faith, even as you understand the basics, and come to put your faith in Jesus, the longer that you go in the faith, the more you come to realize how much you don't know. And that's what I've come to appreciate in the course of my own studies, is that there's just so much I don't know, even as much as there is that I do know, and I'm blessed to know those things.
And that's what you'll find as you go along. But you can only know that, you can only know the depths of the riches of God's word if you're actually pressing in. Otherwise, you'll just treat it as just some cheap thing. It's like, oh, I already understand that. Nothing more to be gained there. That was not their attitude.
They were devoted to teaching. Both the teacher was devoted to teaching the students, the apostles were devoted to teaching, the students were devoted to listening, to hearing. It also says that they were devoted to fellowship. What we're talking about fellowship is we're talking about the fellowship of believers.
While they were devoted to teaching and hearing what the Apostles had to say, it wasn't just about going to lectures that the Apostles were, were offering. Yesterday, we went to a bookstore for my birthday and it just so happened while we were there, there was a couple people there giving a little talk about a book that had been written.
And there was a, I don't know, maybe Fifteen people gathered there to just hear this conversation with the author. Now they were devoted to listening to what that person had to say, but those people are not going to be probably fellowshipping with each other next week. They just came there to hear the author and then they went on their merry way.
That's not the case with the early believers. They're not just there to go and hear some teaching, get some information, and then go off on their own. No, they recognize that there's an importance to this new reality that they've been incorporated into. The body of Christ. They actually value each other, being with each other. Because God's using each one of them as members of the body of Christ to build each other up into who they're supposed to be now that they are Christians. It's not the work of any one person, and this is something that's important for us to remember even today. The work of the church is not me.
It's not just me as the pastor. It's not just any one person. God is working through the body collectively as a whole. And the fellowship of the body is essential. And it's important that we devote ourselves to that fellowship, not merely to occasions of receiving some information transfer. And if I'm honest, I think some people have neglected the fellowship of the body in recent years because of the advent of the internet.
We can get so much information there. And so a lot of people feel like, well, if I can just get that information any time, why do I need to go to church? Because the church is so much more than just the teaching. The teaching is an essential part of it, but it is also the fellowship of the body. It says also that they were devoted to the breaking of bread.
Now you're kind of like, what's that about? They just like to break loaves apart? You know, what are they doing there? It's making an allusion to the Lord's Supper. And it's very appropriate that this follows up noting that they were devoted to fellowship because the two go hand in hand. Sharing the Lord's Supper is that sign of our union together.
And very often when they would fellowship together, celebrating the Lord's Supper as such, flowed right into just a general sort of meal. I think it's fine that we do it the way that we do it here, but this was not how they did it in the first century. You can imagine them just gathered around a common table, they have the Lord's Supper, and then they have a full meal together.
And that's a beautiful image of just the reality of their fellowship, their union now in Jesus Christ. They were devoted to that. And we try to follow that example ourselves. We celebrate the Lord's Supper every week. And lastly, it says that they were devoted to prayer. And we've already talked about this in recent weeks.
The prayer was the bread and butter of the early Christian church. It is their first impulse. In Acts 1: 14, remember it says, they all joined together constantly in prayer when they first gathered in Jerusalem. And in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul admonishes us to pray continually. They were devoted to prayer because they believed in the power of God.
And if you believe in the power of God, If you believe that God will actually answer prayers, and if you desire the Father's will, then you will be devoted to prayer. So that's what we see them doing. They're devoted to the Apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread, and to prayer. And they're witnessing some magnificent things happening as they are pressing in, as they are engaging in this devotion. They, along with the outsiders, were witnessing the Spirit's power being manifest in the ministry of the Apostles. We look now at verse 43. It says, everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the Apostles. Now, the reason why these signs and wonders were appearing, were not just so that they could put on some cool party tricks or something.
You note that the apostles were teaching, remember I said they were devoted to the apostles' teaching. Along with the apostles' teaching came signs and wonders that were a testament to the veracity, to the truthfulness of what they were saying. Some people may have thought what the Apostles were saying was interesting, like, okay, that sounds kind of like an interesting philosophy, but there's lots of ideas out there.
Why should I believe what they're saying? Well, at this important moment in the church, when the church is first emerging, God also gives signs along with their teaching, confirming the authority of what they are saying. Now, even this phrasing, wonders and signs, kind of recalls the exodus of God's people from Egypt.
In Deuteronomy 7: 19 it says, You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. So as in the past, so now, God is giving wonders and signs, both to communicate his presence with the people now, God's people now, those who believe in Christ by faith.
This is a sign to them, but it is also a sign to outsiders that they should believe in Jesus Christ. Now some people wonder, why is it that we don't see this left and right today? Healings and other wondrous works? Well, we do, but we don't see it necessarily, maybe in the same amount of frequency or regularity.
And as Westerners, I think that frustrates us, because we almost want a formula for these things. We want to say, okay, you do X, Y, and Z and a miracle happens. Well, if that was the case, it would not be a miracle, it would just be a natural phenomenon if you can create a formula for it. Signs and wonders are given in accordance with God's plan and purpose.
And we do continue to see it today, especially, I think, in areas where the gospel is breaking out kind of for the first time. I don't know why we might not see it as much here in the West. God only knows. But I hear testimony again and again of how he is acting, how he is showing great signs across the world in these places where the gospel is advancing.
And I could just look up random accounts of this, but just a couple of examples that we have some direct connections to, our Advent Christian missions work over in Africa where we have, we have churches, we have Christian brothers and sisters over there already, and God is working through their ministry.
We had a few of our people over there for a conference in Tanzania, and they talk about how demons were cast out of some people that were being obviously visibly seized by demons. In November, in November 2023, there was a newsletter that talked about how pastors, I'll just read it directly, it says, Pastors Johnson Adoyo and Amos Kamanya of Tanzania journeyed to visit our new friends, the Hadzabi Bush people.
This trip issued, now, the thing about the Hadzabi people is they were not reached with the gospel at all. This is an unreached people group that Johnson and Amos were reaching. It says, this trip issued many challenges, including a power encounter with witch doctors that ended with the witch doctors falling into paralysis and blindness.
Johnson and Amos laid their hands upon them in prayer, and the infirmities were lifted. Although the witch doctors offered no allegiance to the God of the Bible, they did agree not to curse the newly established church. So God is continuing to work today in these wondrous ways, even if maybe we don't see these sorts of signs in our area, but we do even see it, I think, in our area, some of you have testimonies of, of healing. And certainly we don't want to discount the personal transformation of, of ourselves and of others from being people different than we were in the past. That's a miracle. That's a wondrous sign. But some of these visible things that Luke is obviously referring to are continuing to happen today.
Now, no doubt this led to conversions among those who witnessed these signs. But this wasn't the only thing that was leading people to be attracted to the church. It wasn't the only thing that was kind of distinguishing the community of the church. And we look at verses 44 and 45. It says, All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Now, if you've been in the church for a while and you're familiar with these verses, you've probably kind of wondered what that early community was like. Sometimes when we read these verses we think, is Luke describing here kind of like a socialist sort of like arrangement or something like this?
I don't think that's the case at all. And just kind of a commentary on our, our kind of impulse to think about systems. I think our world tends to believe that if we can just get the right system, whether it be socialism, capitalism, any other sort of economic arrangement, then everything will be all set.
And what we're actually looking for, I think, in trying to come up with that sort of perfect economic system is a system in which, you know, everyone gets a six figure salary and we don't have to worry about anyone. But I think that's precisely the problem. That's not the sort of people that God has created us to be.
He has not created us to be the sort of people who don't care about other people. What we want is just a system where everyone is just automatically taken care of. And so when we're looking at the early church here, we should not think that this was some automatic system, as though they came up with some new form of government, or financial policy, or something.
This is more of a situation where everyone in the community is willing to give you the shirt off their back. They said, oh, you know, Joe or Sally, they need, they need something, yeah, here. Do we need to sell a piece of property to help them out? Sure. We'll do that. No one was doing anything under compulsion.
They were doing this cheerfully, out of love for one another. And really what they were doing is fulfilling all of the Old Testament law. God has this great care for the poor that's, that's, testified to in the law that he gives the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 15, for instance, it says at the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
This is how it is to be done. Every creditor shall cancel any loan they've made to a fellow Israelite. So you have laws given of how we're supposed to care for the, for the poor in our, in our community. Now we see here in the early church, the law being truly fulfilled. And that they're caring for one another, not under any law.
But in the freedom of the Spirit, they're just like, yes, we're going to take care of those who are weak in our community and who need help. And what this really is, is the fruit of Christ's command. In John 13, Jesus gives a new command. I want you to think for a second about what that new command might be.
Jesus gives a new command. This new command, he says, is this. A new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
What they're doing here in being willing to sell their possessions and give to one another as is needed is a true testament of their love. It's easy to give lip service to people saying, oh yeah, I love you, I'm, you know, kind of thoughts and prayers sorts of thing, but what if, what about when someone really needs help?
Are you going to show up then?
The Christians, these early believers, were showing up for each other. They were truly showing forth their obedience to this command that they would love one another. And this was the mark of the fact that they were Jesus' disciples. Now, as followers of Jesus, we should, in fact, have charity towards all people.
To show mercy towards all. But we are supposed to especially care for one another as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. In Galatians 6: 10, Paul says, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. In Romans, he says, Be devoted to one another in love.
Honor one another above yourselves. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Now apart from just the fact that we've got Paul saying this is what we're supposed to do, Jesus saying we're to love one another as He has loved us, we also have Christ's teaching in Matthew 25 reminding us who we're truly serving when we take care of one another.
Matthew 25 verses 34 through 40.
Who is being helped here? Because very often when we read these verses, we just kind of make it generic and universal to all humanity, but that's not actually the case here. That's not what Jesus is saying. Jesus says, then the king will say to those on his right come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Notice what Jesus is saying here.
Whenever you see a brother or sister in the faith who is suffering in some manner, whether it be from hunger or thirst, eating clothing, or if they're imprisoned, when you care for that person, what Jesus is saying here is that, is you're showing that care to me. So that's what should be driving our care for one another as a church community.
It's just pure unadulterated love. We're not caring for each other out of obligation. We're caring for one another out of love, and to the utmost, out of love for Jesus Christ. You know, there's been this stigma, I think, especially non Christians can kind of think this way about Christians, that we do good things in order to earn, you know, to get on good, God's good side, to kind of get high marks and get into heaven. Now, we know that's not the case, that we're saved by grace.
But the reason why we do good, especially to one another, is because of this, is simply out of love for Jesus and this reality that we are the body of Christ. When we'll see later on in Paul's testimony about how he came to faith, Jesus confronts him and says, Paul, why Saul, Paul, why have you been persecuting me?
Well, Saul never did a thing to Jesus bodily, but except he did, and that he was persecuting Christians. He was harming Jesus by harming Christians. Well, the reverse is also true. As we care for one another, as believers, we are in fact showing love and care towards our Savior Himself. So, if you really love Jesus, love your brother and sister sitting next to you in the pew.
And what this is really forming is this, is, this way of living together is a pleasing sacrifice unto God. In Hebrews 13:16, it says, and do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased. And so, as you can imagine, the church living in this sort of way is, it's really setting them apart.
They're standing out in the midst of a kind of a cold, ruthless world where, kind of dog eat dog. You have this warmth in the church, of people caring for one another, seeking no advantage for themselves. And so this should, this should prompt us to think about the possibilities that exist for us today, and how we might care for each other, following in example.
Not saying that's impossible. Because again, they're not setting up for us a system, some socialist system. They're setting forth an example of how we should care for us in radically, care for each other in radically sacrificial ways. The believers did not hold each other out at arm's length. Their lives were woven together and filled out by this way of life together.
We see in verse 46. It says, 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
They met together every day in the temple. Now you're probably wondering, Why are they going to the temple? Isn't the temple kind of, done with because of Jesus' sacrifice.Well, it's true, no further sacrifices need to be given, but, in Jerusalem, the temple remains to be a place of prayer, and it's also a place in which teaching would go on. And so that's what's going on when the believers gather in the temple.
They're going there to pray together, they're going there to receive teaching, and also to proclaim the gospel message to others who would hear them. They gather together every day, and this, this example that they're putting forth just echoes with the admonition that's given in Hebrews 10: 25 in which we're urged to not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Now maybe we, we ask why? Why is it that we shouldn't? Seek to meet together as frequently as, as we can. The reason why we should seek to be together and the reason why they did is because of all the things that have been mentioned. If you're going to learn, if there's going to be teaching, if you're going to really grow in your faith, you have to show up.
You can't grow in any depth in your faith if you're not going to actually devote yourself to it. You have to be there. I'm going to be taking a course on firefighting in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I'm missing the first class next week because I'm going to be at a pastor's conference in Florida.
The chief said, that's fine, you're going to miss the first class. That's fine if I miss one, but if I missed half the classes, how much would I actually learn from the course if I didn't show up? It's the same thing in the life of the church. You have to show up. You have to come on Sunday to hear the preaching of the Word.
If, if you're not hearing the preaching of the Word, I can't help you. It's the Word that will help you if you come and hear it's teaching. And to take any other opportunity that we have, and we're going to be sending videos out, things like that, you need to devote yourself to the teaching of the Word, and coming together is one of those ways in which that, that happens.
And when you think about fellowshipping, knowing each other's needs, how can you know each other's needs if you're not coming together? If you're not coming together, you can't know what each other needs. You can't pray together and pray for those needs. And so this is why they live this sort of lifestyle.
This is why this is their way of life. They are together all the time because that's exactly what's necessary in order for all these things to actually flourish. They didn't just meet in the temple courts. They also met in each other's homes and shared in common meals together. You can imagine maybe they had some more formal teaching in the temple, and then they went to the homes and had conversation about it, and maybe shared in the Lord's Supper there.
And what this really kind of brings to mind is what David sings in Psalm 133 when he says, how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. That's what the community of the church is to realize, is that perfect unity that is available to us in Jesus Christ. And actually living that out, not just saying that as an idea, but actually living it out.
They're in their homes, fellowshipping, and it says that they were praising God. When we think about the praise of God, we should recall that praising God, worship, actually goes hand in hand with teaching and instruction. Paul in Colossians 3 and 1 Corinthians 14 has some things interesting to say about this.
In Colossians 3 he says, Through, he doesn't say lectures, he says through psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. There's something instructive in the songs that we sing, and that's why when I select the songs on a Sunday morning, I try to do it carefully, to choose good songs that are going to teach us good things and that align with the teaching of the word.
When we are singing together, we are teaching one another. In 1 Corinthians 14, he says, What then shall we say, brothers and sisters, when you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
That's what we're doing when we gather together, when we're, when we're singing, when we're worshiping, is we're doing everything possible to build each other up in Christ. That's the point. Now the outcome of this way of life, Luke says, is that they gained favor with all the people. The people saw the way that the Christians were living, their love for one another, their care for one another, their righteousness.
And they're like, wow, that's really, I really like those people, one. And probably some of them began to think, I'd really like to be like, I'd like to be one of them. And that's why so many of them did turn to Christ. Why they were beginning to add numbers daily. And that should be what we would aspire to.
Is that we would live that sort of life in our church community so that we would have favor with all people. Now sometimes you can't help it. There are times when we're going to be in opposition to the culture and there'll be certain ways in which we are out of favor with society. But it should be the case that our neighbors see us and say, I'd really love to be one of them.
I'd really love to be a Christian. I'd really love to be part of that church, to be part of that community.
Now remember how we began here. That they were devoting themselves. They were devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer. They were living the life. And as we might expect, their devotion to this way of life, born of the Spirit, was progressively bearing fruit. At the end of verse 47, it says that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Something just important to note here. It says, This is the Lord's doing. No formula here. This is the work of God from beginning to end. Because this transformation that's happened within the people, that comes from God. They didn't come up with this on their own. There are different people because of the Holy Spirit who now inhabits them because of the work of Christ.
And people are turning to Christ because of the Holy Spirit's work in their hearts. And so this is all the Lord's doing as numbers are being added. And this growth, this growth is the fulfillment of what had been prophesied. And Daniel 2, we have this vision of this great statue made up of Various layers representing the empires of the world.
Eventually, that statue is destroyed. And it says, While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken into pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer.
The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. That is the church set upon the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. That's what we see going on here in Jerusalem.
The rock of Jesus Christ growing bit by bit until it fills the whole earth. And we see it filling the whole earth today. All across this world, the Lord is still adding to our number daily, those who are being saved. This is the outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who inhabits the body of Christ, the Church.
The Spirit who cultivates a new way of life in our midst. The example of the early Church should both challenge and encourage us. Are we walking in the spirit, devoting ourselves to biblical teaching, seeking to learn and grow more at all times? Do we yearn for fellowship with each other, truly recognizing each other as real brothers and sisters in the Lord's Supper?
Do we help each other in times of need? Are we known for being a different kind of people grounded in a different way of life? Or is our way of life no different than our neighbors? I think these questions need to be asked on both a collective and a personal level. Sometimes the church collectively doesn't do the things it needs to do in order to support this way of living.
Sometimes the church collectively might go along with kind of the, the stream of culture that really promotes a very kind of individualistic sort of lifestyle. We need to press against that. When things like that happen, change needs to happen on the collective level. On the other hand though, sometimes the church is doing what it's supposed to be doing generally on a collective level.
But you and I, some of us, we miss the train. We become, we're kind of stuck, preoccupied with a different way of life. Now, we might feel guilty about coming up short of the early church's example in one way or another, but I want to impress upon you that the guilt, that guilt is not the point. We're not gaining anything by feeling down.
We should be inspired by the example of the early church. Look at the way of life that God is offering us in the spirit. Look at what's possible. We can live like them today. Now we might have to translate some things to our own set of circumstances. Like for instance, we're not going to be going to the temple.
Maybe there's, you know, the nature of our society today kind of makes it really difficult for us to be together on a daily sorts of, sort of basis. That all makes sense. But their way of life, broad stroke of it, is within reach. It's possible because the Holy Spirit makes it possible. We can be just as notorious for our love of one another.
We can be just as devoted to the truth and just as constant in prayer. The Spirit can fill us with any love that we lack. He can fill us with passion and commitment when we might otherwise just veg out on social media and watching TV. He can give us a real substantial joy in the life that we share together.
Prayer is the place to begin. Praying this way of life into existence. Praying that the Holy Spirit would make more of us than we could ever be on our own. We begin with prayer and follow with action. Let's begin with prayer. Let's pray.
Dear Father, we praise you for the work of your hands. Because that is what the church is. The church is not something man made. The church is the work of God, founded in Jesus Christ, our Savior. And Father, we are impressed by what you desire to do in us, as we see it manifested in the life of the early church. That just as they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and so devote themselves to The teaching of the Word, fellowship, communion, prayer, that Father you, you desire that for us today and that, that sort of love that they shared, that possessed them, is available to us today, Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, Father, we pray now that the, that you would pour out the Holy Spirit upon us. So that we would be filled with such passion.
That we'd be passionate about growing in our faith. That we'd be passionate about building each other up. Seeking each other's good and welfare. Loving each other as you have loved us. And as, Father, we now desire to love you by caring for one another. Father, we pray that you would bring about this work in us.
Making us more than we could ever be on our own. And that, the outcome of this, Father, is that more and more would be added to our number. Not because of what we're doing, but because of what you're doing, Father. And for your glory. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)