Can society today get along without the church, and do we ourselves still need it, after eighty-four days of learning to live without gathering? This sermon, preached at the first service after the pandemic lockdown, returns to the portrait of the earliest community in Acts: the apostles’ teaching, the breaking of bread, prayer, and care for those in need (Acts 2). The speaker shows that these simple practices carried the church through two thousand years, yet the heart of it all remains a community unafraid of death. Listen if you are asking what the church is still for.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Which practices of the early church does Luke list in Acts 2:42-47, and which one surprises you most given the setting of that time?
- The passage says the first believers met with glad and sincere hearts, and no one forced them to come. What do you think made them want to be together so much?
- The sermon reminds us that the church is not a building but people. How has the season without in-person services changed your understanding of what the church is?
- The speaker warns against treating sermons like a series we binge online. What can't be experienced in front of a screen, and what comes only from being devoted to one another in community?
- Barbara's story, coming to faith in Jesus at 83, shows a faith that removes the fear of death. How can a community of believers offer the world hope in the face of that fear?
- Which practice of the early church, such as praying together, breaking bread, or helping those in need, do you want to intentionally live out with others this week, and how will you do it?
