- Gathering Around the Word -
A Housegroup Bible Study 21/11/2001 led by Angus Cook
With contributions from other members of the group.
Based on Study 4, "Gathering Around the Word"
from "God's Word - Power to Shape our Lives"
A LifeBuilder Bible Study by Cindy Bunch, (c) 2001 by Cindy M. Bunch.
Read Acts 2:42-47. In this passage we see the believers coming
together from all walks of life to receive teaching, learn from
each other, build community together, and go out into the world.
We see the results of their devotion both to God and His Word and
to each other. The purpose of this study is to help us realise
that God's Word should be central to our lives, and that it will
draw us all closer to Him and each other as we learn more about Him.
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Even a cursory reading of these verses reveal many positive
qualities of the believers lives together.
They were meeting daily for this fellowship.
We see devotion to God and His Word, awe of God and His power,
unity and togetherness, sharing all things for the common good,
caring for the needy (at personal cost where necessary), giving,
dedication to God and each other, much praying, sincerity of belief
and hearts (people who are not sincere are not going to seel their
properties in a hurry), praise of God for His salvation and other
good things He has done, salvation of those outside the group,
evangelistic results (as people get saved and are added to their
number), love for God and each other, genuineness, accountability,
and determination.
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All these qualities are very desirable.
The more we know and love the Lord the more we will see these
qualities being brought out in us and the more we will want them
where we see we do not possess them already. It is interesting to
note that all these qualities are examples of the Fruit of the Spirit
as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23. These are love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
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These elements of their life together form the basis of a strong
community where everybody has a part to play. Everybody is learning,
teaching, sharing, and studying together.
It is their fellowship in the Lord together that enables them to build
such a strong community which is held in high regard by the people.
Often they would eat together - this is a strong sign of fellowship as
food and sharing meals together is very important.
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Here is a good point to stop and reflect on what elements of such a
life you have experienced, and in what way they have affected you.
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The results of the fellowship described in Acts 2:42-47 are many
and far-reaching, but here is a sample of such results:
- Awe of God amongst the believers meeting, and awe among those
not in their group seeing God in their midst.
- They enjoyed the favour of the people generally.
- Signs, wonders, and church growth!
- Togetherness. This fellowship bound them together in a way that
would normally not be possible.
- Sharing. Not just sharing in teaching, meals, breaking bread,
etc, even though we do see this and it is significant.
We see sharing of practical needs, even to the point of selling homes
to make resources available to the needier amongst them.
- Meeting together. Every day they would meet together in the common
parts of the Temple grounds. These meetings would therefore have been
very public.
Although they also met in people's homes, these public meetings would
have been very visible to those going to the Temple to worship and
would have no doubt raised quite a bit of interest and discussion.
- Salvation.
Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
- Sincerity towards each other.
- God's blessing. Where there is unity, the Lord commands His blessing.
See also Psalm 133. Maybe this passage could be seen as a
fulfilment of Psalm 133.
- Evangelistic outreach - this came pretty naturally and was almost unavoidable!
In a nutshell, everyone was a winner! Here we see the results of the Lord commanding His
blessing on the believers as there was unity amongst them, and the people were
witnessing God's love and grace in action.
It must have been very relaxing to have been a part of all this! Many of these
results are a natural extension of the qualities noted in the first point above.
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The idea of sharing everything is somewhat scary!
The thought that everything that is mine also belongs to everyone else,
and all that they own belongs to you. It is also very risky,
but exciting too. This sort of sharing involves faith and trust in
God and each other. In our society we are not used to such commonness,
we all have our own little patches and, as a rule, hold onto them for
dear life!
Perhaps we can share something with one another, even if not everything,
such as lending our car to someone who needs the use of one,
helping someone move, offering our homes to a missionary who is home
on leave, doing the neighbour's gardening when they are unable to do
it themselves.
Something else we can do is get involved in, or start off a
community-building project designed to show the love that God has for
us by showing that love to others.
In the case of my housegroup we can consider the effect our new
outreach to a local estate is having.
And that is only the beginning!
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Such Christian fellowship is bound to impact our lives.
It brings a much more "holistic" approach to our faith where
we care for the whole person / community, not just the spiritual needs.
However, some people will have somewhat negative experiences of
Christian fellowship, and where there are real issues these must be
addressed and deal with in an appropriate manner.
It's OK for people to hurt or be in need, and the purpose of fellowship
should be to draw them in, making them feel loved, accepted, and wanted,
and that their problems are significant and taken seriously.
After all, we see people selling their homes in the passage to meet
the needs of the less well-off!
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Christian fellowship draws outsiders in when the see the love of God
in action. That can be through practical care such as when their cars break
down, they fall ill, or they need a hand in moving house,
emotional needs being met, or spiritual needs being met.
The Church has many ministries through which we see something of the
love that God has for people - such as Alpha courses, groups of people
that visit the homeless, other groups that hold short services for the
elderly, and others that give up time to be with
children and single mothers.
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Gathering around the Word of God through teaching and Bible study
play a very important part in building Christian community.
Firstly, it provides the basis for such community.
It gives direction and guidance, and lays down the "ground rules"
if you like. It answers the "why...?" questions of why we
would want such fellowship and what the benefits of it are.
It inspires us, and also helps us remain focussed on God.
Without God the whole exercise is pretty pointless anyway!
The Word of God draws us together where there would be no reason
for us to be together, and the Holy Spirit cleans us and changes
our lives for the better.
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We need to ensure that the Word is taught and adhered to,
both in our own lives and the lives of those in the fellowship.
To summarise, we must be doers as well as listeners!! See James 1:22.
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