To be Established in the Fellowship of Jesus’ Disciples - Bible Study 3
<b> Acts 2:32-47 </b>
The church is not incidental to salvation. God saves individuals, but he adds them to his people, and he often saves them in the midst of his people. We cannot be content to see individuals won to Christ without also seeing them established in the Christian fellowship. In the future, that fellowship may not look much like the standard Sunday church which we may be used to. Its timing, form, location, size and membership may be very different. But the fact of fellowship around the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be different; in particular, like him, we are looking for fellowships made up of disciples, of learners who seek to obey him and walk in love. I am saying that as a missionary strategy the mission statement is calling on us to multiply Christian fellowships, not to be content with parish based Anglicanism alone, but to insist on a spiritually based Anglicanism in which the reality of the church is more important than its outward shape. I am saying that the quality of our churches as nurturing communities must be strong if we are to survive and grow.
Archbishop Peter Jensen – Presidential Address to Synod – 2001
For Discussion
“We cannot be content to see individuals won to Christ without also seeing them established in the Christian fellowship.” In your own experience, how important is it for a Christian to belong to a church?
“I am saying that as a missionary strategy the mission statement is calling on us to multiply Christian fellowships…”. How important is church planting and church growth? What alternatives are there to the traditional parish based church?
<font color=”#BE2131”> Acts 2:32-47 </font>
Getting started
What is you experience of life as a member of a Christian congregation?
- How did you come to be a member of this church?
- What are the main functions of a local church?
- What benefits do you experience from belonging to this congregation?
- What expectations are there of you within the congregation?
Did you get it?
Acts 2:32-36 is the conclusion to an important speech made by the Apostle Peter. The last verse concludes and summarizes the meaning of that speech.
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2:36)
How did God declare Jesus to be “Lord and Messiah”?
How does God’s treatment of Jesus compare with the treatment of Jesus by the Jewish people?
How did the people who listened to Peter respond to what he told them?
What would repentance mean to these people?
What function did “baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus” play in the lives of these people? How many people believed and were baptized that day? (See 2:41)
What promise did Peter convey to those who follow Jesus as Lord? Why are their children included in this promise? (See 2:39)
According to Acts 2:42, what activities did these new believers devote themselves to. Can you explain what doing these things would have involved?
What kind of “wonders and signs” performed by the apostles created awe amongst the body of believers?
What motivated the believers in Jesus to sell their possessions and give to the needy.
Read Acts 2:46-47. How would you describe the nature of the fellowship / community that these first Christians enjoyed?
“And the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47) Is growth in numbers important for a Christian congregation?
Think it through
Look at Acts 2:42 which highlights:
- devotion to the apostles’ teaching
- the breaking of bread
- prayers
Is this a model for all Christian communities? Why are these things important? How can we do the same things today?
Should Christian communities today practice the kind of “communism” expressed in Acts 2:44-45? How important is caring for those in need in our fellowship?
In Acts 2:46 we see that these Christians “spent much time together” in the temple and in each other’s homes. How important is it for Christians to make time to spend together.
Is the “breaking of bread” and eating in Acts 2:46 the same activity as the “breaking of bread” in Acts 2:42? What is so special about eating together and how does it enhance our fellowship?
As a congregation are we looking to the Lord to add to our number those who are being saved? Do we actively seek the conversion of non-believers? Do we make new people welcome? What role do you and your group play in these things?
by Stephen Fifer
The Rev Stephen Fifer is the rector of Caringbah Anglican Church
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<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/606/1/12/”>In Prayerful
Dependence on the Holy Spirit: Bible Study 1</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/607/1/12/”>Awaiting
the Lord’s Return - Bible Study 2</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/608/1/12/”>To be Established
in the Fellowship of Jesus’ Disciples - Bible Study 3</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/609/1/12/”>Proclaiming
our saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ - Bible Study 4</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>» <a href=”/index.php/article/articleview/610/1/12/”>That Everyone
Will Hear His call To Repent, Trust and Serve Christ - Bible Study 5</a></strong></p>
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