Why the Local Church matters. Acts 2:44-47
Why should the Local Church matter to you?
Good deeds leads to good will which leads to openness to the Good News! You’ll actually see this in your reading in Acts 2, but it is surprising how often the church gets that flipped. So many churches start with the good news, and expect good will, so they demand people to do good deeds. Let me tell you a quick story.
When I was a youth pastor I was listening to a sermon one time where the preacher asked us all a question.
What do you think God can’t do in your life?
At the time my team and I had just finished up a major outreach event where we had a few hundred kids descend onto our church campus for games, worship and to hear the gospel. As I began to ponder the question I thought. Oh, probably some sort of parent/student mission trip. My second thought, if I’m honest with you, was “oh no! I don’t need this kind of stress!” So when I met with my team next I told them this was something I believe God wanted us to do.
As we began planning, we learned about how a bunch of foster girls in our area were able to get scholarships to camp but they had nothing to pack their clothes in so they were resorting to trash bags. And this is how they were known. As Trash-bag girls.
I immediately thought, “That’s not okay.”
So we did something about it. We got a bunch of duffel bags donated and a few months later we did a three day mission “trip” where we had parents and students together serving in our local community. We cleaned up parks, churches, fed the homeless and I watched as pre-teens went to the store and filled duffel bags with gifts and letters of encouragement for the foster girls who would receive them.
At the end of the trip, we gave the students an opportunity to share how they were impacted by this experience. One girl came up to the microphone and said this,
“I was really impacted by when we went and served the foster girls… because I used to be a foster girl.”
“...You might be the only tangible presence of Jesus that someone might ever experience.”
That’s what the grace of God looks like. Its the church being the church, not a location. The Church is a people who believe in Jesus and have heard his call to be a witness in all the world.
Think about it this way - you might be the only tangible presence of Jesus that someone might ever experience in their life.
You and I aren’t meant to do this alone. There was no way I could have done that trip by myself, nor did God ever want me to. I need my brothers and sisters in Christ, and the reality is they need me. Your local church needs you. Do not withhold the gifts and the community your brothers and sisters need from you. The church is the only place where you can find both a committed community and a firm foundation. There is a reason scripture says it is the body of Christ, because you and I cannot survive cut off from the rest of the body.
When one part hurts, it all hurts, when one part rejoices, all rejoices. We are united in Christ. We, the local church, are God’s plan A and there is no plan B for carrying the Gospel of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had 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.”
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1. Read Acts 2:44-47, how does your local church compare? What are the similarities? The differences?
2. How are you building others up in your church? How can you be apart of loving your community so that your church is ‘enjoying the favor of all the people’?
