Luke records the birth of the Kingdom of Christ, His Church in Acts 2 sharing the following description of their life in the Church: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Act 2:42-47).

Christ desires for His Kingdom, the Church to expand. We need to keep the ones we have and reach out to the ones we don’t. We must close the back door to keep people in as we open the front door to let others in. What we see in Luke’s description of these earliest brethren is a great method to opening the front door and closing the back.

• Acts 2:46 includes the observation that they broke bread together. This is RELATIONSHIP. For the church to grow we must build and maintain relationships with each other. The pandemic and social distancing of the last years offers challenges, but many creative people are exploring and implementing ways to build and maintain this important fellowship. We are social creatures by design and need healthy relationships.
• Acts 2:44-45 demonstrates these early disciples sharing their physical blessings. This is STEWARDSHIP. They understood the Lordship of Christ and that all they had belonged to Him and willingly used those blessings to help others in their need. Stewardship flows from relationship with Christ and with others in Christ.
• Acts 2:47 indicates that they had favor in the community. This is SERVICE. Their life in Christ was not building centric, but community focused. Get out of the building! We are never more like Christ than when we are serving.
• Acts 2:42 says they continued in the apostles’ teaching. They were people of God’s WORD. Just as we cannot survive without physical nourishment, our spirits need nourishment from the Word of God. Spend time reading, studying, meditation on, and digesting God’s Word.
• Acts 2:46 includes mention of their focus on WORSHIP and PRAISE. These early brothers daily preoccupation was praising God for the grace he bestows in Christ. When those around us see praise flowing through our daily lives we are opening the door for them to see God.
• Acts 2:47 concludes with the addition of more and more to their number. This is EVANGELISM. Their open doors of Relationships, Stewardship, Service, the Word, and Praise brought others to know Christ and brought them into His Church.

Let’s open the front doors! Let’s leave them wide open!

– Scott