“Living Family” – a message from Acts 2

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our new preaching series entitled “Essential Church.” This series is the first of a three-part exploration of the Book of Acts this Fall, including “Ordinary People in God’s Extraordinary Work” and “Jesus, King of the Nations.”

This week in the series I looked at the final verses of Acts 2, giving attention to what it means to live as God’s family as the church.

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

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“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.” (Acts 2:46-47)

The Rule and Reign of God in the Family of God

God’s rule and reign in a renewed covenant, focused in Jesus, and marked by radical change

The Triune God births a movement powerfully devoted to one another

The social radicality of the early church 

The Sustaining Heart of the Family of God

Apostolic Teaching

Fellowship

Breaking of Bread

Prayer

The Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Family of God 

The wonders of the apostles

The wonders of the community

The compelling nature of the early family of God

Living Family as Jesus Followers Today

Living “at Home” in Jesus Christ

Becoming a Loving “Community of Recognition”

Loving Our Literal Neighbors

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Dig Deeper

Exploring Faith

• What do you find attractive about the early church described in Acts 2:42-47?

Growing in Faith

• Commit Acts 2:42-47 to memory. Reflect on these verses this week. 
• Consider the fourfold description of the hallmarks of the church in Acts 2:42: teaching, fellowship, bread-breaking, prayer. Which of these might God be inviting you into in a deeper way? 
• Where are you currently experiencing this type of community in the church?  If nowhere, how will you seek to join a community of faith to experience this?

Centered in Faith

• How might God be calling you to cultivate family in the local church in some way? Who could you invite into this type of living community with you? 
• Consider exploring a further resource, such as the Bible Project video “Pentecost: Acts 1-7”