How strangers became family
Key Passage: Acts 2:41-42
Date: March 12, 2025
Acts chapter number two. Acts chapter number two, we have been in this chapter. Last week we covered most of the chapter, and of course it is the day of Pentecost and God sending His Spirit upon them and cloven tongues of fire setting on them, the sound of a mighty rushing wind, the miracle of speaking in other languages.
The people started coming from all over—these Jewish people from around the world. It’s interesting: “out of every nation,” it says, “that is in the earth.” That’s very, very interesting. You can think that through a lot, what all that means.
Then Peter stands up, begins to preach, and he preaches Jesus Christ. He uses the Old Testament a lot and does a great job.
And then they’re drawing the net. We’ll pick up today in verse number 41, Acts 2 and verse number 41 in God’s word tonight.
If we put a title on it—I want to always try to do it on the internet—it would be: How Strangers Became Family.
These people from all around the world came to Jerusalem, and just a bit later, they became a family. I’m talking about family, family. And how did this happen?
Starting at verse number 41: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Peter just preached Jesus. By the way, not all of them did, but some of them did. And that’s the way it is. Don’t get stuck on those that don’t, all right? There’ll be some of them that do.
They got saved and baptized. And the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls saved. Wow. Some have mentioned that: Where in the world did they baptize all of them? Well, if you look right outside the temple there, there’s a lot of pools. And then even on the south side of Jerusalem, there’s the Pool of Bethesda. There are plenty of pools around there. Even looking at some of the old diggings, there are pools all over there. They had plenty of room to baptize 3,000.
Three thousand saved and baptized. In verse number 42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
These people just got saved; they’re from all around the world. Last week we read those 15 different places they were from.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” What’s the first word? Doctrine. And what’s the second one? Fellowship. And in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Well, that’s an amazing formula for a young Christian. Get involved in these things here.
Wow. You’ve got 3,000. In the early church, it was 120, meeting in the upper room, praying. And God just poured out His Spirit, and through that, He drew people from all over. And 3,000 of them were saved and baptized. And boy, they started doing these four things. And before long, they were family. I’m talking about family. And God used them. It became the hub. Really, the early church is when it just took off—revival. This was an awesome time frame and just the space of time for the early church. It would be awesome to be there living in it, and just what the early church was like at this point was just amazing.
I look at these four things that they did, these young converts, this early church. What a pattern. What a pattern.
Four things. Four things He says here in verse number 42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.”
Now, that’s teaching the apostles, the early church leaders. They’re not here anymore. Apostles were ones that had seen Jesus physically, were with Jesus. We know we’re not living in the apostolic age. No, we’re not there anymore. In our day and time, this doctrine, this teaching, would be from the Word of God. All right, doctrine. How important.
Of all the four things He mentions, the first thing He mentions is doctrine. Doctrine should be the glue that holds us together. All right? There are other things we look for, but the first… You know why I go to this church, or a church beyond God calling me to this specific one? Because it believes the doctrines according to what I believe the Bible teaches. That’s the first thing. It’s the main thing. It’s the first thing He lists here.
I’m amazed in our day and time how many churches, if you look on their website, it’s hard to find out what they believe. I’m like, that’s the reason why I want to choose a church: because do they believe what I believe the Bible is teaching? It’s the glue that holds us together. Doctrine, how very, very important it is.
By the way, modern churches, they get a little out of whack a lot of times. It’s building relationships and then getting doctored? No, the Bible’s doctrine first, then relationships. You’ll notice this tonight. Jesus didn’t go everywhere building relationships and then preaching the gospel. No, He went there and preached the gospel and tried to win people to the Lord. And then He built relationships. I’m not against relationships, but doctrine first.
And we are to go on the gospel, yes, try to build relationships, but don’t spend all your time. Look, half the time, something’s going to offend them, and you will offend you, and you never get the gospel. Just give them the gospel. Somebody gets saved, then you’ll build a relationship with them. See, we’re not against relationships, but doctrine was the first thing mentioned here.
Let me just mention a couple things about some doctrines to look for. First John, we won’t turn it over there, but it says the first thing you check out is: What do they believe about Jesus? Do they believe Jesus is deity, God in flesh? Do they take it when Jesus said, “If you see me, you have seen the Father”? Do they believe that? And do they believe Jesus was Immanuel, God with us? Do they believe that? Isaiah 9:6: He was the mighty God, the everlasting. Did they believe that? What do they teach about Jesus Christ?
Do they believe Jesus rose again physically? You know, Jehovah’s Witnesses, yeah, He rose again, but just as a spirit. No, do you believe He physically rose again? By the way, Jesus proved it by eating and touching, “Handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” He rose again. What do they teach you about Jesus?
Do they believe in the Trinity? Do they believe Jesus shed His blood for all mankind? 1 John 2:2: Propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Do they believe that? What do they believe about Jesus? Check that out.
What do they teach and believe about salvation? Do they believe it is Jesus, and Jesus only? Is it Jesus plus you keeping the sacraments, or is it just Jesus? Is it Jesus plus baptism, or is it just Jesus? Is it just Jesus, or do you have to do certain things, or the five points, or the pillars? What do you have to do? Is it just Jesus? Jesus, or do you have to add things to it? No, it’s just Jesus. No other mediator between God and man. It is just Jesus. Find out what they are teaching about salvation. Do they believe it is Jesus alone?
Do they believe you can lose your salvation in terms of security? If I can lose my salvation, I’m doing something to keep my salvation. That adds works to salvation. No, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” According to His mercy He saved us. It’s just Jesus. What do they teach about salvation?
What do they believe about believers’ baptism? Do they believe it’s part of salvation? If they believe it’s just Jesus, then after you get saved, believers, then believers, then you get baptized. Do they teach that or not? I know what these believe, but they believe that. That’s why I ought to go to a church, because they believe what I believe.
What do they believe about the Bible? Do they believe the Bible is the sole authority? Is it in error? Does it have errors in the Bible? Is it complete? Do they have a Bible they use? Do they believe in the Old King James, or is it whatever version is out there? Where do they stand? If it’s in the original language, which text are you using from the original language? You see, all that—what do you believe? Doctrine ought to be the first thing. Why do we go to that church? Because it’s the glue that holds us together.
Are they practicing the Great Commission? Everybody believes in it, but are they going to the nursing homes or the bus ministry or soul winning, or whatever? Are they trying? Do they have people who smile that leads them to the Lord after church, like Brother Wonded on Sunday afternoon? Praise the Lord for all that! Finally, are they reaching out? Do they have truly practicing outreach in the Great Commission in some ways? Do they have missions? Do they have missionaries that are reaching, getting the gospel out? They’re focused on that.
Praise the Lord for the missionary letter Brother Patrick read, and doing a great job. It’s amazing. Just a young couple, got two little ones, if I remember right, have done a great job. I love to hear him reading that story—people getting saved over there, people growing under the Lord. It’s exciting. That’s where it ought to be in a church that supports that.
What do they believe in concerning end times? Do they believe in the imminent return of Christ, that He can come back anytime? Everything’s done, ready for Jesus to come back. Does he believe that? Do they believe in the pre-tribulation rapture? See, that Jesus is going to come back, and then the rapture, then after that, the Bible. Check all those doctrines out.
I’m a Christian first, but I’m also glad to be a Baptist. Why is that? Because it’s the closest thing I can find in the Bible. It means something. That’s why we have it on the sign. I’m not trying to turn people away, but people all know this is where we stand. That’s why we have it on there. People that believe like that say, “Hey, that’s the doctrine. That’s what I believe. I go to that church.” That’s the first thing: doctrine.
One of these young converts, where they’re growing, doctrine. Praise the Lord, about to start the discipleship class up next Sunday. That’s not everything, but that’s important. It’s a great class for that. What are they going to do? They’re going to learn doctrine in there. And they’re going to learn about the Bible. Why do we use the King James Bible? They’ll learn about eternal security, about baptism, about the church, about the end times a bit. They’re going to learn church history. We’ve been using Trail of Blood in that class. We had a teacher at Bible Institute who did a great job. But I’ll be honest, it’ll be years before any of that. We’ve been using that book forever around here, and that’s what it ought to be. And we teach that in that class. We can’t teach it all, but I’m just saying they’ll get in that class and they’ll learn those things. See, that’s important. We do our best to get them in there. We can’t make any member of the group, but we’re trying to get them in there, get them some doctrine. They’ll leave that class knowing what they believe, why they believe it. But that’s our goal.
Sunday school—get somebody in Sunday school. Sunday school is great. Preaching kind of appeals to the heart. Teaching goes to the head. Appeals to the head, pours into the head. We had someone years ago in Sunday school; we were going through end times a little bit in Sunday school. A good, solid family came to me afterwards that series, and they said, “You know, we were not pre-trib. We were, I don’t know, mid-trib, post-trib, until that class.” They said, “But we’re pre-trib now.” And I was shocked. I never thought that. But they were in Sunday school, the Word of God was being taught, and God spoke to their heart about that. And they said, “Hey, we’re preaching now.” Praise the Lord. But they were in Sunday school. That’s so very much through preaching. God has manifested His word through preaching, Titus 1:3 says that. And boy, you’ll get doctrine from the preaching of the Word of God.
But the first thing, these young converts, 3,000 people. Wow. How many around here would like to have 3,000 people saved and baptized? We’ll be going through a lot of building programs real quickly here. Wow, you know. Woo. Amazing. Wonderful. God, where God guides, He provides. Amen. I like what Brother Adam said—I’ve heard that many a time. Brother Adam had a new one on Sunday morning. It was good. God’s will, God’s will. Amen. I like that there, you know.
But these young converts, what happened? Man, the first thing, they continued steadfast in the apostles’ doctrine, doctrine. You know what? In any church, I don’t care what the church, every once in a while you’re going to get mad at somebody. I mean, you know, who’s going to put up with a pastor talking about the role guys over there? I mean, they probably ought to be mad at me, you know. They’re great guys to put up with all the crazy stuff. But, you know, the pastor’s going to take you off, or some sister, or some brother. That’s just part of it. Well, how do you stay? Well, that church believes like I believe. That’s why. It’s the glue that holds us together. Doctrine.
Doctrine—we are losing that in this end time, and people don’t know what they believe, why they believe it. They’re not grounded in the Word of God. That’s why they change with the YouTube videos and the TikTok videos, well, this week and that week. And I’m not saying those are wrong. I’m just saying, you see how people change with what’s out there on these things. You see them changing back and forth, you know. They’re not grounded in the Word and the doctrine.
And I get that doctrine. The first thing these young converts did was study the apostles’ doctrine. All right. What’s the first thing? Come on now, young converts, do better. What’s the first thing?
Let’s get the second thing in here. How did these people go from just young converts, strangers from all around the world, every nation under heaven, boom—they became family? Well, they got saved, baptized, and continued steadfast in the apostles’ doctrine, first thing.
What’s the next thing here in verse number 42? Fellowship, fellowship. First thing is doctrine, and then what’s the second thing? Fellowship. Oh, how very important fellowship is. You know they make fun of us Baptists? I sometimes make fun of us Baptists for eating all the time. My man, that’s part of fellowship. You’ve heard me tell it. Some of you remember it’s joke number 33.
But in elementary school, they’re having a classroom report, and they’re supposed to bring something about their religion. And one boy walked in and had that cross. And by the way, hey, by the way, Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore, amen. And then on a crucifix. “I’m a Catholic,” you know. The next boy came in and he had the little hat. “This is a beanie. I’m a Jew.” Next boy came in and he had a little casserole dish. “This is a casserole. I’m a Baptist.” Maybe we should say naan or pudding, amen. That doesn’t work too. Preacher’s fellowship, but they always have chicken and naan or pudding now, you know. But you know what? That’s a good thing. That’s fellowship. It represents fellowship.
And the second thing listed here: fellowship. Look over, if you would, please, in Matthew chapter number 12. This is just an amazing lesson in so many different ways. Jesus is teaching over here. Matthew chapter 12, Jesus is inside this building, this house, whatever it may be. People are in there. He’s teaching, He’s preaching to them. And watch what happens in Matthew 12. Look in verse number 46.
Are y’all stuffy out there? Is it just me? Warm, warm. Can somebody just turn the fan on? We won’t turn the air conditioning on. Just turn the fan. I would appreciate it, Brother Kevin. Just get a little airflow. That way we won’t have all the… We’ll spread the coughing out amongst all of us. How about that? I’m choking there. Just get a little airflow.
Look at verse number 46. “While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with him.” That’s His half-brothers. Probably four of them. There were four of them, by the way. That could have come inside that building. Everybody else did. They stayed out. “Hey, tell Jesus, come here and talk to us.”
Watch what Jesus does. Then one said unto him, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.” But he answering said unto him that told him, “Who is my mother? And who are my brethren?” And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, “Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
You know, it’s amazing, and you hear this often. Honestly, I’m closer to my church family than to my blood relatives. That’s what Jesus is talking about right here. That’s exactly what He’s saying. His mom and his brother were outside, “Hey, come out here and talk to us.” They came in there and been a part of it all, following Jesus. Now, later on they did, after His resurrection for the most part, especially His brother. And they’re like, “Whew.” Jesus said, “No, I’m just going to keep doing God’s will for my life.” And He said, let me tell you a little secret Jesus is telling. He said, “Hey, most people are doing God’s will? That’s my family.” That’s what He’s saying. That’s my family.
Yeah. And family, that fellowship, it becomes crucial that they have a place to belong. We all need community. We all—all of us. Some more than others, people more than other people. That’s fine. Everybody’s right to be like they are, but everybody needs a place to belong. You know, people, one of the main reasons why they join these groups is because they have a place to belong. They’re welcome there. If they’re not there, somebody will miss them.
I can’t think of anybody right off the top of my head, but it’s a sad thing. If you meet somebody in a nursing home, you’ll find it often—I imagine Brother Tim sees it many times—but you’ll see somebody in a nursing home and they never have any family visit them. They’re just all alone. And they just need to know that they’re missed by somebody. Community, belonging. Everybody needs someplace where they just belong there. It’s their community. They’re accepted there.
I say this quote quite often. This is a great quote: “Acceptance is the optimum environment for growth.” You know, we ought to have—we’re all a little bit like this here—but we ought to have some crazy people visit our church from time to time, and they ought to feel welcome. Amen. Now, all of us, man, He said the church reflects a pastor. That’s why we’re all a little crazy here, man. But acceptance is the optimum environment for growth. Come as you are! Some people balk at that. No, no, come as you are. Come on, come as you are. Now leave changed by God Almighty, but come as you are.
And fellowship—just a place to feel welcome, they feel at home. You know, if our church is to have—every church goes through stages—but we want a church that has young baby Christians way down here, don’t have it all together. None of us really have it all together besides Jesus, amen. And some of those are the sweetest times.
A fellow that’s in the ministry now at a church, but he really got reached in our church years ago. And the first time he came to my house, he was blaring music out of his truck, like, “Whoa.” And he thought I’d be really happy. I didn’t say anything at that time. He’s grown. He’s in the ministry today. But we want people like that, just brand new. Then we want Christians that are kind of, you know, they’re growing. They’re not, you know… And then we want mature. You know what a mature Christian is? Isn’t someone that thinks they have it all together, snobs. They’re people that can reach out to other people in love and help them. That’s mature Christians.
And we want a church that can kind of go through the whole scale of someone and say, “Well, so-and-so wasn’t dressed so good at such a church. Aren’t you going to say something to him?” And I didn’t say this, but a little bit in my mind, I thought, “I don’t want him about it dressed horrible,” but I said, “I’m glad we have people like that in our church.” Because I want people down here. I want people to grow. I don’t want to be there for 140 years, you know. I want them. I know it is.
And just the fellowship that comes in, they feel at home. And the fellowship, you know, people need to see what a Christian marriage and a Christian home looks like. How are they going to know? I mean, we read that we get the doctrine from the Bible and we teach them that—all that’s important—but they need to see it in shoe leather. What happens when a Christian husband and wife gets in a fight? Does the guy get a black eye? That’s what happens. They need to see what it looks like, how it’s just lived out. Nobody’s perfect at it, and they need to see that too. They need to just kind of see Christianity modeled in front of them. How do we handle our ups and downs? They need to see how that. We all have to go through that. But fellowship is important. Having it, raising their kids, all those things.
It is so important when someone comes to our church. I think our church is good at these. I’m not preaching on it because there’s a major problem. Pray, Lord, it’s in the Word of God. We’re just going through the book of Acts. There ought to be a welcoming spirit. Man, when they just come, they ought to feel welcome. They ought to feel loved and friendly. I tell this to a lot of people: Man, you come to our church, they’ll shake your hand off. And for the most part, it’s true. And welcoming. They ought to just have this attitude, this spirit of it. We ought to have this attitude. I’d love for us, and me too, to just kind of work at cultivating this little bit more of this attitude, this spirit. We want to minister to you. We want to minister to people. We want to serve. Jesus, He didn’t come to be ministered to; He came to minister. And when you come, we want to minister to people. I want to serve them. Just that attitude. There’s just a welcoming spirit: “Hey, we want to serve you. We want to try to be a blessing to you.” We have to work at that, and I think we’re very, very good at that.
Hey, don’t wait for them to come to you. Don’t wait for them to come to you. You’re good at these things, but don’t say, “Well, they never talked to me.” Well, phoo on that. You’re going to talk to them. You know? Man, “He that will have friends must show himself friendly.” Go be a friend to them. You know, we’re all prone to certain people, and that’s not wrong, but you have to work at it. I have seen cliques, and I will never be part of the in crowd, the popular crowd. You know what I was thinking about this? If there was an in crowd among the apostles and Jesus in that day and time, I don’t think Jesus would be a part of the in crowd. I just don’t think He would be, on purpose. He is the crowd Jesus. But I ought to be all that. No cliques. No the in crowd, the popular crowd. The world has that—the popular crowd. Phoo on the popular crowd! Man, we’re a family of God. Amen.
What ought to be? Just welcoming, just a welcoming, friendly spirit. We love everyone. That spirit. An including spirit. I mean, we welcome them in the first, but they’re included. You know, they say—I don’t know who “they” are, whoever they are—they say this, and it’s true: People want relationships within six weeks, and they want responsibility within six months. They want to be included.
I mean, just somewhere they’re… You say, “Well, there are leadership requirements.” We do have leadership requirements for teachers that are teaching the Word of God and on and all, but there are a lot of positions that don’t have leadership requirements. Man, let’s get them involved. Somebody asked me about—this is so common—“What do you think? Should I get so-and-so to help me in this class?” I said, “Man, get them.” If you can include newer people, I’ll… Somebody, they’re working 400, 50 different posts around here. You know what I’m saying? They’re involved in every single thing in the world, and praise the Lord for that crowd. I would never want to shoot that crowd. They’re the ones that keep things going around here, you know. But man, if there’s somebody new, get them involved. Man, they want to be included. They’re going out to eat. Don’t just go with the same four people all the time. Include somebody new in there. Yeah.
Including a welcoming spirit, an including spirit. Get them involved. It’s so very, very important. I mean, the fellowship… You imagine—I don’t know this, but if I read between the lines there—there was at least one person of those 120 who said, “Well, I don’t know. I’m afraid they’re going to take my spot in this church.” You know, the 3,000 people just heard a preacher today talk about that, really, honestly. And he said—I think it was a lady in the church—and she had said, “Well, these new people in our church, I’m afraid they’re going to take my spot.” And he said, actually, he said, “We might need to take her spot.” That’s what he said. No, include people. Including them. Get them involved. It’s so very, very important.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I’ll forget; teach me, and I’ll remember; involve me, and I’ll learn.” If I had somebody go to the soul—the gentleman in the nursing home—it’s just include people. Get involved. Fellowship, that’s all part of it.
You know, this is interesting. The early church, talking about the church, the Acts Church, they were far, far from one-service-a-week Christians. You know, in our day and time, it’s a little bit… Now, praise the Lord, they have to come one service before they can come two or three or more, you know, so not trying to beat that crowd over the head. But there is this modernistic church where, you know, they got one service on Saturday and about three services on Sunday morning, and that’s it, and have a little bit of youth on Wednesday night. Man, the book of Acts—man, it was far from one church service. It was daily. I mean, you talk about, man, they’re involved big time.
Look at this thing. Look over in verse number 44. Look at verse number 44. This is really, it’s like, “Whoa,” right here. Look at there’s verse number 44: “And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” I mean, they were far from one service a week. They were so involved. They’re taking care of each other financially.
And I love that. We’re not perfect at it, but that’s part of true Christianity. Our church helped someone, oh, a month or so ago; they were going through a tough time. And someone was involved, and it would just stay that way. And a little bit later on, the man that the church we had helped came to me and said, “Hey, so-and-so gave me a gift card. Do you know anything about that?” I said, “No, I don’t think anything about it.” He said, “Well, does that have something to do with y’all helping?” And I said, “Well, I got to be honest, he didn’t know about that, but I didn’t say anything about it.” And he said, “I’m going to give it back to him and tell him, ‘Pass it on,’ praise the Lord. We’re not in such a need. You take the gift card and give it to somebody else in need now.” I loved hearing that. I like that. I just… just…
The book of Acts—they were so much family. They’re taking care of the needs. “By the need”—that’s the term the Bible uses, need. You can’t take that out from the rest of the Bible. The Bible said, “If any would not work, neither should he eat.” Somebody’s just lazy. Maybe they want this, this, this, this… No, the need. There ought to be like that. We’re looking to help the needs of each other. I’m trying to. That was far from one service a week type of Christianity. Man, they’re so involved. They’re helping out each other financially.
Yeah, that’s what’s going on. Look at this. Look at verse number 46. Verse number 46 here: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” Wow. We’re not talking about weekly. They continued daily with one accord in the temple. Now it’s interesting. Some will debate a bit about the temple. Some will say they went to the temple to witness; that’s where a lot of the lost Jews went to. Some say services. I’m sure they had some service, probably a little bit of both of them going on. Well, they were daily in the temple, and every day they were coming together. Wow.
“And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” By the way, they were eating with each other, gossiping, complaining, all the others of their… They’re glad! Woo! Rejoicing. Shared in fellowship.
Fellowship is so important. Just including people, welcoming people. Fellowship and spending time with them. Some of you are so good on Sunday afternoons; you go out to eat with a crowd, but you invite the new people. That’s so good. We’ll always be like that. It’s welcoming. Welcoming goes beyond, you know, shaking their hand; you’re including them. I want to feel a part. Want to get some relationships, then get some… get some things they’re doing. What a wonderful thing.
I went to the Bible College—the name of it was Howells Anderson College, First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana. Now, the college name Howells was named after a preacher named Jack Howells. Well, then the Howells Anderson—the Anderson came from a very wealthy man named Russell Anderson. He’s a millionaire; he’s in heaven now.
But Russell Anderson, one of the first times—he didn’t live in that area; he lived away—and one of the first times, I don’t know if it was the very first time, but it wasn’t the first time, maybe the second time. But right at the beginning, when he visited that church, he would pass through on trips and go there on purpose. Large church. I think the first time they came, I’m not sure about that. Well, there was a family at that time that the lady always had the meal prepared Sunday afternoon. By the way, she still went to church, but she had a meal prepared, and she always had extra because I went to church. They would look for new people, visitors, and they would invite them over to their house.
Now, in our day and time, you know, we’re so standoffish, especially after COVID. I don’t know if people want to come to your house right off the bat meeting, you know, but they’re afraid you’re going to mug them or something, you know. Or sell you on the market or something, you know. Maybe going out to eat, whatnot, after meeting them a time or two. But that lady, that day and time, it was appropriate, and she was always ready. And that man had visited their church on a Sunday morning. She didn’t know who he was. They didn’t know. That family didn’t know. That family didn’t know. That family didn’t know. That family said, “Hey, we have extra food. Why don’t you all come to our house and eat?” And he did.
And lo and behold, that kind of bonded him to that ministry, that preacher. And years later, they went to start a Bible college, and they needed millions. Back then, that’s when millions were millions. And part of him getting bonded to that ministry was that family inviting him over for fellowship. She was a good cook, too. I mean, that’s key. I’m teasing about that. And hey, he gave money, money, money to that. And that’s how the name Howells Anderson came about. And because I wonder if that family had not invited him over and been working at having fellowship, I wonder if that college wouldn’t have been there. You just don’t know.
Doctrine, doctrine. What’s the second thing? Fellowship. What’s the third thing? Somebody stopped that clock. That’s the third thing. Wow. Can’t believe it is moving along so quick. What’s the third thing? Somebody said, “What’s the third thing?” Breaking of bread.
Now, there’s a debate here. Some will say, is this going to eat at people’s houses, or is this the Lord’s Supper? All right? I think—and I’m preaching, so I get the right to say what I think—this is what I think, and I’ll tell you why I think this. You get to heaven, maybe I’m wrong, but this is what I think. He’s already talked about fellowship. Typically, fellowship includes eating and whatnot. It’s amazing how many times you’ll find Jesus eating with His apostles. Now He’s talking about breaking bread. I tend to think this is the Lord’s Supper.
Look down in verse number 46. We already read it: “And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, and did eat their meat…” Do you have meat with the Lord’s Supper? You have the bread, and the Jews typically, there’s no meat. I think He’s kind of clarifying down here in verse number 46. Down in 46, He’s talking about going to eat. Let’s go and eat at each other’s house. What a fellowship is like that. I think up here, He was talking about the Lord’s Supper. Now, that’s my opinion, and everybody’s going to argue about that a little bit.
But think about this: It was just about 50 days after Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection. Think how fresh it was. And they just… They’re kind of putting it all together: the Old Testament that the Messiah is going to die and three days later rise again, and John in the well and all that—it’s kind of, “Man, we get it.” And Jesus’ death and resurrection was a big deal to them because it just happened. It’s fresh. A little less than two months ago, He died. Many of them were there. We saw Him die on that cross, and how real it was to them. I think they were having the Lord’s Supper a lot during that time.
Now, I don’t think it’s mandating to us to have it all the time. I don’t have it so often as just ritual that doesn’t mean anything to us. I think they were having it a lot. That’s my opinion. You’d be wrong if you want to. No, I’m joking with you. Look, it’s something about when you keep Jesus in the center of it all—His death, burial, and His resurrection. He gave His body and His blood for us. You keep a community, a group of people where Christ is the center, even in the fellowship, and it brings the sweetness. It brings it—it’s something unique the world cannot mimic. And I’m just working at, by the way, it keeps… it keeps backbiting and gossiping and all that self-centeredness down a little bit because you’re working at keeping Christ the center.
All this—apostles’ doctrine, and the fellowship and all, everybody’s house fellowship—but they would often be having the Lord’s Supper, and I think they were really just… it kept Christ in the middle of it all. His body and His blood were given for us. And what we have to work at is keeping Christ in the center of it all, right in the middle of it all. And we already pointed out in verse number 46: gladness and singleness of heart. They weren’t complaining, moaning, and groaning. They were having good fellowship, and they were keeping Christ in the little bit of it. And there was joy. They were glad. That’s important.
Now, I would tend to think it may be a touch different. It’s about 2,000 years ago now. We don’t have the Lord’s Supper as much as we have it. We’ve got to have it; it’s a Bible mandate for us to have it. We do it, but we’re not having it as often, but we have to work at keeping Christ the center of everything.
You know, I just think about how do we do that? Our conversation, I think, is so key. It’s amazing. Just a little statement—even wherever you’re at, just say, “Hey, God gave us a beautiful day.” You know, it kind of just changes the thing because you’re putting God in the middle of that. Just a little bit of things. “Hey, you know, man, God answered my prayer the other day.” “Hey, I saw something new in the Bible I never saw before.” I mean, just working at it, keeping God in the center of your conversation, the center of our fellowship. I can sometimes become so business-oriented and task-oriented. I want to work hard for the Lord, but I want to keep God in the center, Jesus at the center of it all. It’s so good. It’s so good.
Apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and in prayers. I’m going to talk about that. Maybe we will make more next Wednesday. We’re going to close it out. But I’m going to ask, as we’re kind of getting down to that prayer, we’ll discuss it. We’ve been praying these last couple of Wednesday nights. I think God’s honored that. God has given us such a good weekend last weekend. I think part of that is you’ve been praying for Wednesday nights. I’m going to… we’re just going to pray in just a moment here and be dismissed. But I’m going to ask you again, would you grab a partner? Maybe you want to pray with someone different. Maybe have the Lord lead you, but grab a partner, or by yourself, however you want to do it. But let’s, before we leave, let’s pray.
Friend Day is Sunday. How many of you are trying to get someone to come to church? Oh, that’s important. You probably got people like this: “I got a neighbor I’m trying to get to come.” There’s a fellow just got saved, trying to get him to come. A fellow that’s saved, hasn’t been in church, and you’re trying to get him to come. And all of you, you’ve got people like that. Let’s pray they come. Pray God works. Let me ask this church just to be bathed in prayer when people come. Just pray that they come, feel welcome and invited and included here. Building programs are just right around the corner. Oh, how we need prayer for that. These people that are sick, let’s pray for them. Let’s… let’s… let’s just take some time. This early church, man, they just… Last thing: prayer. We’ll talk about it probably next Wednesday—well, not that it will be, it will be the following Wednesday—but let’s… let’s… let’s put that into practice: in prayers. Amen. It unifies people. This prayer changes things. And so we’re just…
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - ＂How Strangers Became Family＂ The book of Acts Wednesday PM 03⧸12⧸2025 [5jM9A3bkxpA]