2. ACTS 2 (NIV) 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

3. ACTS 2 (NIV) 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

4. ACTS 2 (NIV) 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,

5. ACTS 2 (NIV) 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people
ACTS 2 (NIV) 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

6. The three values of an Acts 2 church: the apostles teaching, fellowship, and prayer
A. The three values of an Acts 2 church: the apostles teaching, fellowship, and prayer.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42
For today, I want us to focus on verse forty-two. This verse tells us that the early church was devoted to the apostles teaching, fellowship, and prayer. Here, the word devoted means to persist, to persevere, and to continue steadfast. The early church, therefore, was persistent in their observance of these three things: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, and prayer. Now let me ask you something, why would you devote yourself to something? You devote yourself to things that you value. For example, if you’re devoted to your family, it’s because you value your family. If you’re devoted to your career, it’s because you value your career, whether for personal or monetary reasons. If you devote yourself to the church, it’s because you value the church. People devote themselves to things that they value.
This brings me to my first point: the Acts two church valued the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, and prayer. The apostles teaching refers specifically to the gospel message, but includes the whole of scripture more broadly. Fellowship is defined as the breaking of bread, which can be summed up in one word: relationship. And prayer is pretty self-explanatory, although I think it’s important to mention that it is being used here in a communal sense. Now we’ve already covered a few of these topics, such as prayer and the gospel, but I think it’s important for us to know that this is what the early church valued.
Rather than dissect each of these values one by one, I want us to look at the big picture to see how these values shaped the culture and experience of the early church. How did the gospel, fellowship, and prayer influence their communal experience?

7. The three values of an Acts 2 church: the apostles teaching, fellowship, and prayer
B. The early church enjoyed a communal experience that was both supernatural and organic; it was spiritual and relational.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…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… - Acts 2:42-46
There are a few aspects of their communal experience that I want us to recognize. First, they had an authentic spirituality. They were people who listened to the word of God, and they prayed. They also, however, had genuine relationships. They ate together, they visited each other’s homes, and they did so with glad and sincere hearts. They met with God and they also met with one another! This brings me to my next point: the early church enjoyed a communal experience that was both supernatural and organic; it was spiritual and relational.
Why is this important? It’s important because sometimes we think that we have to choose between authentic spirituality and genuine relationships. If you consider yourself a relational person, you may think it’s unnatural to ask someone about his or her spiritual walk. If you’re passionate about your faith, you may find yourself only concerned with the spiritual aspects of a person’s life and you may overlook other aspects that are also important. Sometimes we think that we have to choose between authentic spirituality and genuine relationships. Sometimes we think it’s one or the other, but what we see in Acts chapter two is that it’s both/and.
So as a church, there should be no confusion as to what kind of community we are. We are a spiritual community. Our community is built on the foundation of the gospel, and we are a community of prayer. That being said, we should also be deeply relational and invested in each other’s lives. After all, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. As such, we should seek to cultivate genuine relationships that go beneath the surface of just “hi” and “bye.” We should break bread with one another, and visit each other’s homes, not out of religious obligation but with “glad and sincere hearts.”
So our communal experience becomes problematic when we emphasize one aspect of Christian community over the other. We want to be spiritual, but we also want to be relational. We want to be organic, and we want to be supernatural. These two things should never be at odds. Rather, they should complement one another. We should break bread and pray. We should go to church and visit each other’s homes.
But there’s another reason why are communal experience is lacking at times. Sometimes our communal experience is problematic because it’s too programmatic. God is a God of order, not chaos. So he blesses us with ways to organize and structure our lives. This also applies to church! We utilize organization and structure to facilitate the best communal experience possible – to reduce chaos and to maximize edification. For example, that’s why we meet every Sunday at 10:30 AM. Having church on a set day and time gives us structure and ensures that we gather at least once a week to worship God and receive instruction. That’s why we have ministry programs for our kids, youth, men, college students, men, and woman. Structure is good, and organization is good. But sometimes we forget that the program is a means to an end, and we exalt the program above everything else. For example, imagine an usher does an excellent job making sure everything is where it needs to be and the service runs smoothly, but he never really engages anyone on a spiritual or relational level. He executes the to-do list, but he misses the relationships and opportunities to be a minister. Another person might have zero deep relationships, but they’re content because they volunteer for multiple ministries and show up to everything that the church offers. These are a few examples of how we sometimes allow programs to become problems. We have to remember that programs are a means to an end. They exist to facilitate spiritual growth and relationships. We should have structure, but we should also have sincerity. We should have excellent programs, but we should also have solid relationships.
The values of the early church reveal that they were both spiritual and relational. And this allowed them to truly thrive as a community.

8. The early church was devoted to the word, fellowship, and prayer because they valued God and each other
C. The early church was devoted to the word, fellowship, and prayer because they valued God and each other.
So why did the early church value things like prayer, fellowship, and the apostles’ teaching? Their devotion to these three things was an expression of an even deeper value – their relationship with God and one another. They were committed to these things because they had a God-given desire to know God and others, to be known by God and to be known by others.
Deep down inside, every single one of us has a desire to know and be known, both by our creator and by our fellow brothers and sisters. And God has given us ways to grow in this divine knowing – by taking in God’s word, by partaking in fellowship, and by participating in prayer. This is how we can grow deeper in our knowledge of God, others, and ourselves.
It’s out of this communion that we see the miraculous take place. As we commune with God and one another, we’ll see birthed out of that communion radical generosity, glad and sincere hearts, signs and wonders, and new songs of praise. And people on the outside are going to want to join in on this sacred communion, which will lead to more people coming to Christ.

9. Conclusion – You are invited to commune with God and his church.
Before I close, I believe God is inviting all of us into a deeper communion with him and his church. For those of you who believe, don’t settle for superficial spirituality and don’t settle for superficial relationships. God is inviting you to immerse yourself in his word, in prayer, and in fellowship. Maybe start by coming to one of our weekly prayer gatherings, start reading God’s word with a friend, or invite someone over for dinner – break bread! Whatever you do, don’t settle for less than a church experience that is both spiritual and relational.
If you haven’t received Jesus as Lord, I want you to know that you are invited to commune with God and join his family. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins so that in him and through his Spirit you can have communion with God and his church. All you have to do is believe in Jesus and receive his free gift of salvation and eternal life.
*Close in prayer.