Key Verse: Acts 9:31
The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.”
Jesus spent 3 years with his disciples teaching them about the kingdom of God and displaying who He was. He walked with them, ate with them, prayed with them, laughed and cried with them. He displayed not only eternal truths, but also lived out true community. He modeled what the church should look like for His disciples to follow and confidently declared that the powers of hell could never overcome His church (Matt 16:18). He taught his followers that everyone has a place in the body, and we all function best when we function together (Eph 4). He laid his life down for us, His friends. Jesus’ commitment to loving us sacrificially was then seen in the book of Acts within the early church (Acts 2:46-47). They displayed authentic commitment and devotion to the Lord and to loving each other. The early church laid down their lives for their neighbors, preached the truth in boldness, suffered through persecution together and worked in unity; this is the church we are called to be.
Join us as we explore what the church that Jesus died for should look like by looking at the biblical examples of church community that have been set before us.
