the motives and emotions behind the actions of the early church.
46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple,
and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
The way believers treat each other affects their witness for Christ.
consider the motives and emotions behind the actions of the early church.
share what resonated with them from Acts 2:46-47.
the believers did a lot of things,
and all of those things were motivated by love-
a love for God and a love for one another.
Psalm 122:1
1 I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."Psalm 133:1
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
how do these verses relate to the actions of the disciples in the early church?
Note that while believers can expect persecution,
the Bible also teaches that genuine Christianity draws respect.
read Luke 2:52.
52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God and men.
how was the early church modeling Jesus’s growth and how that relates to Christ followers today?
The early church did all these things, and it made a difference.
They drew people into their ranks.
We need to live out our faith toward God and toward others in a way that’s appealing and reveals Jesus as He is.
Then, people will be drawn to Him.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 36 of the Personal Study Guide:
Review the practices that characterized the early church.
Encourage adults to prayerfully read Acts 2:44-47 to themselves, asking God to reveal areas that need the most attention in their lives.
Urge them to spend more time in prayer this week, focusing on how God wants them to live out their faith more fully in the days to come.
Invite adults to share needs as they feel comfortable.
Pray that God would work among the adults in your group to meet those needs.
During the week, reach out to the group through a text or email. Invite adults to help plan a class fellowship before the end of the quarter. Enlist volunteers to form a team to determine where the group can gather for a meal and fellowship. This could be in someone’s home, at a local restaurant, or even at church. Focus on keeping the event simple and inexpensive. Encourage adults to invite friends from outside the church to participate as well.
Direct the group to examine the lyrics of
“Blest Be the Tie that Binds” (Baptist Hymnal 2008, 389).
Note that it was written in 1782, but it offers timeless truths.
Encourage the group to familiarize themselves with words that may not be as well known.
Sing the hymn together.
Point out that the first verse often serves as a prayer or benediction.
Recommend that when you sing the song together you make it a prayer.