It’s great to be back after taking vacation. Last week I got the chance to be in the New Orleans area to visit my family. It’s where I was born and raised. While I was there, eating all of my favorite cajun food, I couldn’t help being a bit nostalgic. I was reminded of some of the things I love about how I grew up - not only the amazing food and places but the community that I grew up in. A few things that stuck out to me–

1. People always stopped by our house. - in their everyday coming and going. On the way home from work, on the way to the store. If my parents kept a calendar, I never saw it. People just called on their way.

2. People were always sharing things - deer meat for shrimp and crabs

3. There was always a seat at a table for someone. People outside of our family at holiday

Fast forward, if you’re not expecting someone and you hear a knock on the door– we’re going straight to the ring app to see who it is before we step anywhere near the door. Now you have to calendar everything with people weeks in advance to spend time with them. Make it joking but also true. (The idea that we have people who I could call at 2am if I had an emergency but no one to stop over for dinner on a Wednesday night.) What’s happened? How come we don’t just “stop by” anymore?

We long for meaningful community and people we can share our lives with– in crisis and the best moments–yes, and also in the ordinary, everyday moments of life and faith.

What if this kind of life and community is possible? What if it’s not a thing of the past but, what if this deep, meaningful everyday community is the life God always had in mind for us? And not just for us....what if community actually plays a significant role in the making of a movement?

How do we step into it? How do we create it? What obstacles are keeping us from it?

Acts 2:42-47

The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost. Peter addresses the crowd, leading people to repent and

be baptized, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And on that day 3,000 people accepted the

message and were added to the number.

Lives are being dramatically changed by Jesus and there’s a big group of believers— what

happens next?

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking

of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs

performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in

common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who 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.

People’s lives were transformed by the message of Jesus. Their response was to devote themselves to Jesus AND to each other. So who were these people– who just couldn’t help but be together and share everything? After reading that passage you might think, wow– these people had everything in common and were living in harmony– maybe they were just all the same.

These people were different in so many ways.

They were from different countries: In Acts 2 we see they were from Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome. They spoke different languages. They had different customs and practices. Jews from outside Judea would have different cultural norms from local Jews. They had different religious backgrounds: both jews and converts were present. People came from different Socio economic status: There were people with property to sell and people who were in need. Different genders and age: men and women and young and old. They had different occupations.

These people in Acts were so different from each other. They had every reason to be divided and yet they found themselves together. Not just together in a casual way but in each other's homes.

It makes me think about us. We live in a diverse city here in San Francisco. We are a very diverse group of people in this church community. If I could list off all the categories of differences from Acts and we would find the same to be true here. People from at least 60 different nations, speaking different languages (P.S. - don’t miss the Spanish night of worship in July!). People here come from different religious backgrounds, occupations, socio economic status.

Our culture looks at these differences and tries to divide us in every way possible. You can watch the news or open your phone - social media. Today it’s so clear to see that - how culture uses our differences to try to divide us and categorize us. We have different preferences– about what we like and how to live and how we think the world should be run. Even in our busyness culture tries to divide us, right? Your busy doesn’t quite compare to my busy. If we’re not careful the world around us will tell us to find people who are like you– who think like you and talk like you and who are going to agree with you most of the time— and build community with people like you.

In Acts we see something completely different. With Jesus at the center of our lives, we have more in common than could ever divide us. [on screen] Differences do not have to divide us. The things that make us different is what makes us a beautiful and dynamic community to be a part of. Look back at Acts–these people were so different but they had Jesus and His mission in common. You didn’t have to tell these people to come together. People WERE together, they simply were. They couldn’t help it. They come together as a natural response to life transformation they had experienced- not to anything else. Not out of obligation. Christian community is the response to the transforming work of Jesus.

And it’s evident here among the early church. The move of God we’ve been studying in Acts is happening in the context of community.

How did all of this happen? What was present in the making of this movement in the early church?

Let's look back at verse 42. The 3,000 people who were just baptized–it says they devoted themselves to several practices (the apostles teaching, prayer, fellowship, breaking of bread) and a way of living (unity and generosity). Let’s first focus on their devotion.

The Greek word for devoted (proskartereo) implies ongoing and intentional perseverance. It means to persist with intense effort and remain faithful to something. You see we want the outcome of devotion without the “intense effort” devotion requires. Not just in our faith. I want the outcome of great health without the devotion to eating well, sleep, and exercise. We want the outcome of financial freedom without the devotion to disciplined decisions every day to budget and to generosity. We want the benefit of community without the devotion– the time, energy, and sacrifice it takes to create it. The community that you and I long to be a part of, the movement of God that we want to see happen in our time and our city– it will not come from a half hearted commitment to Jesus and His people. It requires devotion.

Devotion is ongoing.

The believers in Acts were not content to meet once a week for a church service or a Bible Study. They met daily, cared for each other, shared their faith ,and read the word daily. Their faith was a day to day reality. It was ongoing. In their day to day reality they saw the Lord added to their number daily.

Devotion is intentional.

The early church was intentionally devoted to Jesus and his people. They were devoted to the apostles teaching - the words of Jesus. They were devoted to the breaking of bread– that references communion and shared meals. They were committed to remembering Jesus' death and what that meant for them. They were devoted to prayer– to talking and hearing from God.

They were devoted to each other– close relationships, caring for each other, praying for each other.

Devotion requires perseverance.

This is the hardest part of devotion–it requires perseverance, even when we feel like giving up–especially when we feel like giving up. I love the Greek here - to remain faithful to something - it gives us a picture of this staying power. Look at verse 46 - every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. No doubt things got complicated with the early church– we go on to read about some of it in Paul’s letters.

People who are so different, coming together with one mission– it is going to get messy. It will always be easier to step back. Devotion means that we keep going when our differences make it hard. Devotion means that we keep seeking to understand one another when we disagree. It means we keep caring and keep praying for one another when we don’t share the same circumstances or life experiences.

Being devoted to fellowship requires perseverance.

Where is God inviting you to increase your devotion?

Is it to one of the practices?

● Teaching, fellowship, communion, prayer

Is it to a specific way of living?

● Unity, generosity, glad hearts

Let’s be honest. There are real obstacles to living with this kind of devotion to community today. San Francisco is expensive and logistics are hard. Just to get to church today you had to think about transit, traffic, and parking. To be present with people in an ongoing way takes a lot of energy and effort. We are really busy people. Our calendars, which were created to help us manage our time, now keep us from the life we were made for.

It’s not just time and logistics, fear can be an obstacle - fear of being vulnerable or a burden or the unknown of how people will respond when you put yourself out there.

● Show up for people

● Stop by

● Interrupt and be interrupted

● Bother people. Don’t ask what they need. Take a guess.

● I am my brothers keeper

Community is risky and it’s worth it.

Devotion is hard and it’s possible.

It’s happening here at Epic:

Kuda and Russ - Leading small group together

Joy/Eugene and Alex Starnes - Becoming family

Lindsey and Minnie Lee - Mixt and Christmas Concert

God is moving here and at work among us and you can be a part of it.

How will you step into community here?

How will you create community here?

● Devote yourself to God’s word

● Devote yourself to God’s people

● Step into a small group

● Invite someone to your table

● Meet a need

● Voice a need and receive prayer