𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Have you ever joined a group of people that share a common interest or hobby? Tell us about your experience.
• Recall an unforgettable meal you had with your family or friends. What made this experience special?
• Tell us about one of the greatest sacrifices a family member or friend made for you. What did you learn from this experience?


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴’ 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮:𝟰𝟮

(Read also 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟮:𝟰𝟯–𝟰𝟳.)

Acts 2 started with an account of what happened on the day of Pentecost. People had just experienced a powerful manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–4). After this, Peter preached a sermon that gripped the hearts of people, which resulted in around 3,000 people putting their faith in Jesus Christ and being added to the Church. After hearing of Jesus’ love and sacrifice and putting their trust in Him, they wanted to know Him more. As a result, the Church grew not just in number but also in devotion to God and their relationships in community. We will look at this today.

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴’ 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮:𝟰𝟮

The early Church displayed hunger to know God more. They spent time with Him as they prayed together. They not only studied God’s word (the apostles’ teaching) together, but also spent time to fellowship, eat, and partake of communion (the breaking of bread) as a community. Why is it important to study God’s word with other believers? How have the last few years limited our face-to-face interactions with our church community? How have you learned to value fellowship with believers in spite of limitations and restrictions?

𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 . . . 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮:𝟰𝟰–𝟰𝟲

Believers gathering together and sharing all they had in common speak of communion and participation. The early Church not only shared their time and food with one another, they also shared their lives. They worshiped God together, welcomed people in their homes, and sacrificially gave to help those in need. Just like any relationship, our relationship with God and with God’s people grows in quantity and quality time. Sharing lives in a church community includes being sensitive to the needs of others and to the leading of the Holy Spirit to address those needs. It means doing things together as a group of believers. How do Matthew 25:34–40 and 1 John 4:20–21 relate loving God to loving and sharing our possessions with one another? What are practical things Christians can do today to grow in their love for one another?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Church community is more than just attending a worship service together. Starting this week, what can you do to build and strengthen your relationships in church? How do you think Christians can grow in their love for one another?
• Is there something preventing you from sharing your life and building with your church community? Take some time this week to reflect, pray, and ask God for wisdom on what to do next. A conversation with a fellow believer may be helpful.
• Ask God for two or three people that you can encourage this week. Determine practical things you can do to help them.


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for your church community. Ask Him for the grace to continue building and sharing your life with God’s people beyond the worship service and the Victory group meeting.
• Ask God to use you to encourage people to keep on meeting together as a church community. Pray that God will use you to bless others.
• Pray for those who may be having difficulty connecting in the church and now prefer meeting online. In spite of the available alternatives, pray that people will not lose their zeal in meeting together face-to-face and praying for one another.