— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
“Here is the Church and there is the steeple. Open the door and see all the people.”
Many of us learned this fun little rhyme complete with hand motions as children. It was one of the first lessons we learned about what the church was. In today’s meditation we will look at a passage from the book of Acts where Paul describes the early Christian Church and six things about how the church operated.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42 – 47
1. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching”
When the early Christians met they listened to early versions of the gospels and letters of the new testament which were either written or oral texts. Included in these teachings were lessons on how they should live their Christian life.
2. “they devoted themselves teaching and fellowship”
The greek word used in this verse is Koinonia. Fellowship is more than getting together on a Sunday morning. Fellowship literally means sharing and participating in each others’ lives. There are so many ways we can participate in another’s life. Fellowship can occur during communion when we realise that it is not only between God and me but also it is between God and us. One could rightly say that fellowship is the opposite of selfishness. Fellowship is more than being good friends since we are called to have fellowship with all believers, even those who don’t meet our personal friend qualifications.
3. “to the breaking of bread and to prayer”
The breaking of bread is a form of fellowship which includes shared meals and communion. Both of these are intimate acts which we participate as a body. For example when we as a church have a shared lunch and we each are sharing something with others this is fellowship. Our church also has other opportunities of Fellowship with the Women’s Breakfast, Men’s Breakfast, Wise Ones. Youth and children. It is also fellowship when we share ourselves with the person sitting next to us with perhaps kind and encouraging words.
Prayer is also a very intimate act. When someone asks us to pray for them they are sharing their heart with us. When we pray for them we are bringing their requests to God. It is a beautiful experience to pray with others. Our church offers several opportunities to pray with each other including Women’s and Men’s prayer group.
4. “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”
Your offerings are also a form of fellowship. When we give to our church we are sharing from what we have. In order for a church to regularly meet there are finances needed. A church cannot survive without it’s members sharing so that we have a place to meet, a minister to lead us, insurances and also provide for those outside of our church who have needs. Money is a very intimate subject for most but share from what you have, you also become more intimate with Christ and the church.
5. “praising“
Worshipping can also be a very intimate experience when we share our worship with others. For many participating in singing comes naturally but for others it is intimidating. It is a powerful shared moment of fellowship when we participate together in liturgy and singing. Out of many individuals we become one body united in worship.
6. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”
Yes, it should be our desire that our church and the world church grows. We are not meant to be a closed community but we are meant to be growing and sharing the Gospel to others. It is an intimate joy to bring Christ’s good news to those that don’t know him. It is important that our fellowship with others grows in quality and in numbers.
Let us be a fellowshipping church dedicated to the teachings of the Bible passed down to us from generations of saints.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 