Community
About this series
In some senses nothing has changed - the church is still the church, with the same values, the same vision and the same people. Yet, so much has changed - we are now onsite and online, people are still going through a historic event and church life will never be quite the same again. A series on the church is therefore very timely and will hopefully remind people of the unchangeable nature of the church as well as envisioning people for what has changed. We’re framing this series of Sunday talks around eight terms used in the New Testament to describe the church - people, family, community, temple, unity, body, disciples, witnesses. These are the words the New Testament uses to describe the Spirit-empowered people of God and these are key elements for how we want to build Citygate.
About this talk
Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 & Acts 4:32-37
These two famous passages (along with the rest of the NT!) are a challenging reminder that new life in Christ leads to new life with one another. For all the individualism in UK culture (though there are many others represented in Citygate too) and the way church has developed online, we are built for community and will only grow to maturity in community. God is looking for a people to be glorified in and it’s in the church that people will see what community can truly look like.
How do we balance the Bible’s value of every individual life (a feature of early Christianity in comparison to other worldviews) with one’s primary identity not arising from individuality. What does it mean, in the UK today, to express the principles found in Acts 2 and 4? What does it look like for our faith to be personal, but not private.
If you have any questions about this talk, want to find out more about Citygate Church, or want to know more about what it means to be a Christian, please fill in our online Connect form at citygate.church/connect.
Watch it here
Audio only
Talk summary
Questions for Life Groups
The questions below have been created for our Life Groups to facilitate discussion around this talk.
Read together Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37
In our series ' Reforming Church' we are looking at 8 new testament terms used to describe the church that we at Citygate are trying to be more like, how many of these can you remember? We have covered 3 of these so far in our Sunday preaches.
Having re-read these passages on the first church, and heard Tims preach and summary, does it change your convictions about what church could or should be like, does it need to change your convictions about what church should be like?
Tim showed us that early church life was flooded with the Holy Spirit. Without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit we cannot live what is modelled in Acts. Do you need more power from the Holy Spirit to live this life?
Tim also spoke about how the early church modelled taking courageous faith-filled decisions to love one another, they devoted themselves to one another, continued steadfastly to meet, they gave, they sacrificed, they sold fields/houses etc. for the benefit of others. But Tim also pointed out that what isn't mentioned here are the thousands of 'smaller' sacrificial, costly, acts of service for one another, that would also have taken place.
What is the next step for you towards community life, as we see modelled in these passages of Acts?
It might be to do something very costly like, selling property or land to be a blessing to others or the church, if you do not not have those things to give, what do you have that you can give or sacrifice: maybe time, skills, gifts, finance, space in your home (in keeping with the rule of 6 during Covid pandemic)?
It might be to re-engage if you've dis-engaged with church life.
It might be to forgive someone who has hurt you in church life.
What will be different for you going forward as you invest in church life?
How as a life group do you think you could become more like the church we see modelled in Acts?
Try to be as real and vulnerable as you can when answering these questions, it is a very challenging topic so ensure you take time to pray together, for one another in this.
Prayer
Pray for more of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your lives, for a fresh filling and empowering to help you live as discussed.
Pray for anyone who feels they need their convictions about church life to be re-aligned in balance with these Acts passages.
Pray for one another as you commit to your 'next steps' both individually and as a group.
Remember Jesus' words in John 13; 34-35 that as we love one another, those outside of God's family will know that we belong to Jesus because we live so differently from the world. Pray for our witness to those who don't yet know Jesus.
