Devotion:
Read Acts 2:41-47.
In the Church, when we mention chapter two, the focus is often on the early part of the chapter: the festival day of Pentecost; people from different nations and languages in Jerusalem to celebrate; the Holy Spirit filling the apostles in such a way that they were able to speak in all those languages to share God’s message; Peter explaining what was happening to the confused crowd. Much of the time, we don’t go very far beyond that.
As a nationally syndicated radio man named Paul Harvey used to say, our passage for today gives us “the rest of the story” of the immediate results from that day. First of all, about 3,000 people joined the movement of those who followed Jesus. Then we get a brief picture of what their life together looked like. I believe it is a picture of “heaven on earth” or the Garden of Eden before sin once again begins to infiltrate. The focus is on being together to learn God’s instructions for living life at its best, on being connected to each other and to God, on using everything we have to serve the needs of others. When that is our focus, more and more people want to be part of who we are and what we are doing.
Personal Worship Option:
Be sure to join us today for worship, either in person or online to hear our guest preacher, Rev. Josh Kilbourne, talk about “The Spirit-Filled Community.”
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