Order Of Worship
Call to Worship & God's Greeting
Way Maker
Spirit Of The Living God
Offering - Doxology - Deaconal Prayer
Bless to be a Blessing
Apostles Creed
Congregational Prayer
Children's Message
“The Church”
Acts 2:47b
Sending and God's Parting Blessing
God's Parting Blessing:
God go before you to lead you, God go behind you to protect you,
God go beneath you to support you, God go beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
May the blessing of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be upon you
Do not be afraid. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen
Have a Great Week!
Sermon Outline
“The Fellowship of Believers”
Acts 2:37-47
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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.
Introduction
I. The Church
A. Definition: “The communion of believers, linked together in one body by the Holy Spirit.”
B. The miracle of the church (H.C. Q&A 3-5)
3 Q. How do you come to know your misery?
A. The law of God tells me 1 1 Rom. 3:20; 7:7-25
4 Q. What does God’s law require of us?
A. Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22:37-40:
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 1 This is the greatest and first commandment. “And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’2“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
1 Deut. 6:5 2 Lev. 19:18
5. Q. Can you live up to all this perfectly?
A. No.1 I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor. 2
1 Rom. 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10 2 Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23-24; 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3; Titus 3:3
II. Text
A. “they devoted themselves …” (v.42)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
B. Not easy
C. Acts 2:42 – Teaching – Fellowship – The breaking of bread – Prayer
D. Everything in common (vv. 44-45)
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
· Luke 6:38
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
· Matthew 25:41-43
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
E. The Result (vv. 46b-47)
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.
Application
Love > Grow > Serve
Kid's Bulletin
"A Birthday Celebration"
Acts 2:1-21
We are going to have a celebration today! Let me show you what I have for this party. (Hold up the birthday gifts, birthday candles, and balloons). Can you guess what kind of celebration we might be having? Of course: a birthday party. Now, there might be someone here today whose birthday is close, but that is not why we are celebrating. Today is the day that we celebrate the birthday of the Church. The day that the Church got its start. We call it the day of Pentecost,, and it’s when we remember the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to His people just as Jesus had promised that He would.
These birthday party items are going to help us to remember what happened in the Church on the day of Pentecost. They will also remind us that the Holy Spirit is still at work in the Church today.
Balloons can add a lot to any celebration, but as you can see, these balloons are flat and lifeless. They need to be filled. They need someone to breathe some life into them. (Blow up the balloons.) The Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were all together in one place when suddenly they heard a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house. (Let the air out of one balloon so kids can hear the rushing sound.) We are here today waiting for the Holy Spirit to fill this place and to breathe new life into the church of Jesus Christ.
Like any good birthday cake, we have candles. (Show the candles.) Later on, we will light the candles and be reminded that on the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire came and rested upon each of the people in that place, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability. Just as on the day of Pentecost, we need the Holy Spirit to come and light our fire and give us the power to do things which will bring glory to God.
What is a birthday celebration without gifts? (Show the gifts.) On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the early church the gifts of forgiveness, truth, and a new life. The Holy Spirit offers those same gifts today. He leads us to the truth, forgives us, and gives us a better way to live.
As we celebrate the birth of the Church, let’s remember that the Holy Spirit is still alive and at work in us today, just as He was in the people of the early church.
Dear Father, we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit. Help us to remember that the Holy Spirit still fills the church with power today, just as He did on the day of Pentecost. In Jesus' name, Amen.
