What We As The Church Are To Be Doing

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What We As The Church Are To Be Doing
Even 100 years out the church was flawed
A good model for us is the early church in acts
Peter preached and 3000 souls were added to them
The priorities for the New Testament church are
1. Number i priority is to study the Word
2. Fellowship - basic to the early church Koinonia
Connection - we are connected through many different things
We divide over even more - we divide over what church - the question should be are you going to church - we divide over baptism - are you sprinkled or immersed - the question should be are you walking in the spirit?
We major in the minors - does Jesus ever look down and think "how Sad"?
God doesn't see denominational lines
Inward things are more important than outward differences
Sharing - kinship - share with one another
all had everything in common was how sharing worked itself out in this particular early church - this was not universal or forever
Is god calling us to sell everything - communism? No - scripture is usually one of two types - prescriptive - something we should follow, or descriptive - something God is reporting.
Prescriptive - prayer, communion, baptism
There were some problems, Paul was taking up offerings for them - they were in trouble partly because of persecution and partly because they had sold everything.

Prescriptive - they saw their stuff was not their own but tools to use for the kingdom 1 Timothy 4:32
no one in their midst had any need - as they saw the need they filled it
our stuff is to be used to honor God in any way He wants.
God becomes for us the living God because that is sharing
Partnership - We are not made to survive alone - parts of the body cannot survive alone. The body can survive but there will be limitations
If you leave the body - it wil survive but there will be limitations because God has a roll for everyone to play.
Hebrews - stir one another up
Protection against an unGodly culture
Early church saw Koinonia as critical