DAILY READING
REFLECTION
The First Christian Community
by Pr. Dave Mann
What was the first Christian community like? It was certainly a most amazing experience. We may respond to this question by focusing on the dramatic and sensational experiences -- the signs and wonders, and the church's rapid growth. Without a doubt many people were healed, demons were expelled, people were freed from prison by earthquakes, and 3,000 people were baptized and added to the church in a single day.
Today, however, I would like to direct our attention to other important aspects of life in the young church, such as those listed in Acts 2:42.
1) Believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.
The followers of Jesus listened to instruction from those previously schooled in the way of Jesus. The apostles had been with Jesus, learning from his teaching for about three years. Now that we are not living in the era when Jesus is walking with us in person, we understand that our teachers have years of living as believers (not new converts) and that they are schooled in the Scriptures.
2) Believers were in fellowship with each other.
The followers of Jesus spent time together. They gathered at least weekly in a large group for praise and worship. They learned from each other as they shared their lives in small groups. It is important that we know each other – our experiences, our hopes, our dreams, our challenges, and our frustrations.
3) The community shared in the breaking of bread.
This meant that they celebrated holy communion together frequently. Some people in the current era don’t put much importance on this aspect of Christian life. However, the early church understood that there was a wonder and a mystery associated with this experience of how the Lord comes to us in the bread and wine with life and forgiveness. In our part of the body of Christ, we call this experience a sacrament, meaning something that Christ commanded us to do and in which the Lord comes to us to offer forgiveness.
4) Believers were in prayer individually and in community.
The early Christian church was known to be active in prayer, both as individuals and in groups. They did not just say casually, “I’ll pray for you,” as a religious word of courtesy. No, they actually did it at the moment and continued later as well.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our Christian experience were patterned after the 1st-century church? It can be!
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for filling the first Christian church with your Holy Spirit. May the church of today, yes, even my church, follow the same pattern. Let me follow your Spirit and contribute to what you want to do this day, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Good job, Dave. You really divided and explained this passage well. I always thought about how nice it would be to share like the first century church did. Keep up the good work.