Acts 2:14a, 36-47 * April 6, 2008 * Easter 3 * Pastor Pagels
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
If you were paying attention to the news this past week, you probably heard about what happened in Oconomowoc on Wednesday afternoon. A gas main ruptured by road construction caused an explosion that destroyed a church in the downtown area. Pictures of the scene after the blast revealed that all that was left of the nearly 100 year old structure was the bell tower.
Reporters rushed to the scene to cover the breaking story, and the tragedy was the lead story on every channel that evening. The pastor and a number of parishioners were interviewed. Some were visibly shaken. Some expressed thanks that no one was killed. One member even talked about rebuilding. At the very end of the story one of the newsroom reporters said something that caught my attention. He made the comment that in the midst of tragedy there was still hope because the church isn’t about a building. The church is about people.
That statement isn’t profound, but it is so true. And for the thirty-five members of
The early Christians understood that. They didn’t have a place to call their own. They met in the temple courts. They met in each others’ homes. But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter to them because they understood that the church wasn’t about the building. It’s about people.
Luke introduces us to some of those people in the text for today. When the sun came up on the day of Pentecost the believers numbered about a hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15), but at the end of the day the church had grown by 3,000 (that’s 26 times!). As impressive as the numerical growth was, it was matched by the spiritual growth of the members.
How did this happen? Who or what was responsible for this exponential growth? It wasn’t a fool proof program. It wasn’t a dynamic speaker (although Peter could preach with the best of them). It was God. It was God working through the water and the Word. And as we examine how the Lord blessed the early church we will see that he works through the same means to build his church today…
THE LORD BUILDS HIS CHURCH
I. He gives people the faith to
believe
II. He gives people the desire
to serve
Our text begins with the last line of Peter’s Pentecost
sermon. He refuted the charge that the
disciples were drunk. He explained that what
was happening was the fulfillment of prophecy.
He went on to explain that Jesus’ resurrection and ascension had been
predicted in the Old Testament as well.
And speaking to a crowd of Jews who had made the pilgrimage to
If these words were a tool in a tool box, they would be a hammer. Yes, Jesus was the Lord of heaven and earth. Yes, Jesus was the Messiah. But Peter really wanted his countrymen to know, what they needed to hear, what they needed to admit was that Jesus’ blood was on their hands.
They didn’t hand down the death sentence (Pontius Pilate did), but they were still guilty. They didn’t execute the death sentence (Roman soldiers did), but they were still guilty. They were guilty because they didn’t do anything to help Jesus. They were guilty because they didn’t do anything to stop his crucifixion. They were guilty because their sins made them guilty.
And if they were guilty so are we. We weren’t there physically, but our sins weighed heavily on Jesus’ shoulders. Like when we hear others misusing and abusing God’s name and we say nothing. Like when we see others ignore God’s Word and disregard his will and we do nothing.
When Peter accused the people of killing Jesus he expected a reaction, but he didn’t know what kind of reaction to expect. Would they get defensive? Would they get angry? Would they do to him what they had done to Jesus?
The people’s response did have to do with pain, not the pain
they wished to inflict on Peter, but the pain Peter’s words had inflicted upon
them: “When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what
shall we do’” (37)?
Pentecost is known for its miracles, the wind, the fire, the speaking in tongues, but the people’s response to Peter’s words may have been even more miraculous. Instead of making excuses they made a confession. They admitted that they were in the wrong, and they wanted to know if there was anything they could do to make things right.
When Peter heard what the people said, he put away his
hammer and applied to these wounded souls the healing medicine of the gospel: “Repent and be baptized every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call”
(38, 39).
Taken by themselves the words, “Repent” and “be baptized,” sound like commands. It sounds like Peter is telling the people: “You need to do this and this if you want to be forgiven.” But in his next breath Peter calls the Holy Spirit a gift. And then he goes on to speak of God’s promise: “This promise is for you. The promise of forgiveness is for you and your children.”
And a few minutes ago the Lord gave us a visible reminder of how he continues to keep his promises today. He kept his promise when baby Eli was brought to the baptismal font. He kept his promise when the Spirit worked faith in his little heart through the water and the Word. He kept his promise when the Spirit made that child a child of God.
This morning we all watched as the Lord added another soul to his church. It certainly wasn’t as impressive as the 3,000 people who were baptized on the day of Pentecost, but it was no less miraculous. In fact, it is a miracle every time God gives a person the faith to believe.
And we want more people to believe. We want more people to believe in Jesus and
be saved and become members of
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (42). It has been suggested that this verse provides us with an outline of the earliest form of Christian worship, and maybe it does. Even if Luke’s list wasn’t intended for that purpose it includes many of the same elements that are a part of our worship today.
The early church was a learning church. The people didn’t have the attitude: “Jesus loves me; this I know. And this is all I need to know.” No, they devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the men who had been taught by Jesus himself. And as they studied God’s Word together, they grew. They grew in faith and they grew in their love for God and each other.
They early church was a loving church. They devoted themselves to the fellowship of
believers. What does that mean? It means that the people cared about each
other. It means that they took care of
each other. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they
gave to anyone as he had need” (44, 45).
The early church was a worshipping church. They devoted themselves “to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Worship wasn’t something they did for about an hour on Sunday morning. They met in the temple courts every day to praise God, to pray to God, to be built up in their faith and to build up each other.
Finally, the early church was an evangelizing church. When the Christians went out in public, when they worshiped in public, other people noticed. They recognized that these followers of Jesus were different, but not in a bad way. They genuinely loved each another. They were eager to help each another.
And those differences made other people curious, curious enough to walk up and talk to Christians, curious to ask questions about their God, curious enough listen and let the Holy Spirit do his work in their hearts. And through the witnessing of those Christians “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (47).
It sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it? Luke’s description makes the early church sound like utopia, like a little slice of heaven on earth. You might be tempted to think that the first century church was so much better than the twenty-first century church, so much better than our church. If only we could go back in time. If only we could go back to the good old days of Jesus and the apostles.
The truth is that the good old days weren’t always so good. The early church was blessed, but it wasn’t perfect because it was made up of imperfect people. And you only have to read a couple chapters ahead in Acts to see many of the same sins we see in the church today.
Instead of comparing ourselves with that church, instead of feeling guilty because we aren’t as spiritual as the first generation of Christians, it would be a much better use of our time to focus on the blessings God has given us. Let’s focus on what God has done for us and what he is doing through us. Let us never forget that the Lord is still building his church. He is still giving people the faith to believe, and he is still giving people the desire and the ability and the opportunity to serve.
This is a learning church. We offer adult classes, catechism classes, senior classes, men’s and women’s classes, English classes, Chinese Bible classes. And as hard as it is to keep track of all the formal Bible studies at St. John’s, it would impossible be to count how many times our people open up their Bibles for personal study of God’s Word.
This church is a loving church. Our council project for last month was the “
This church is a worshipping church. That is why we are here today. We have devoted ourselves to the apostles’ teaching. We confess our sins. We confess our faith. We praise God. We pray to God. We celebrate God’s forgiveness and our oneness every time we celebrate communion.
This church is an evangelizing church. This Sunday two adults will stand at the Lord’s altar and pledge their undying allegiance to Jesus. And when they do they will be united to the body of Christ and to this body of believers. Next Sunday is our Friendship Sunday, and I pray that every one of you will invite at least one person to come and hear the good news that Jesus is their Good Shepherd.
Are we perfect? No. Does God still use us? Yes. And even if our beautiful, historic lannon stone church was destroyed by a fire or a tornado or some other natural disaster, it wouldn’t matter. It wouldn’t matter because the church isn’t about the building. It’s about people, flawed people like you and me, forgiven people who have been brought to faith in a living Lord and Savior, people who have the gift of the Spirit and the desire to serve God and God’s people, people who look to the future with confidence because we know that the Lord builds his church. He always has, and he always will. Amen.