This morning, I am continuing in my sermon series through the Book of Acts. So far, Jesus has risen from the dead, ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit has been given to the disciples at Pentecost to be God’s presence inside of them, Peter has preached to the gathered crowd, and in one day the church has grown from 120 to 3120 in one day. We’re going to go back to v. 37 to read about the end of that sermon, and then look at the picture of the early church, a truly inspiring vision of what a community filled with the Holy Spirit can look like.
Acts 2:37-47 - When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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.
What a beautiful vision of the church. Look at the transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit, uniting people from all different backgrounds into one dynamic community. The early church community that we see in this passage is marked by three features:
