Then on the day of Pentecost after Peter preaches an amazing message about the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and then 3000 were baptized in a day, Luke then describes, much like John just did but with more detail, the kind of fellowship all those people were led into as their next step in Acts 2:42, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 NASB1995. Then in verse 46 he gives us the setting for this fellowship. “… breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,” Acts 2:46b NASB1995. Notice the first move wasn’t to take this precious harvest of 3000 newly baptized people and pack them into the nearest auditorium their in Jerusalem and call themselves a mega-church. Rather they were immediately placed into smaller gatherings that met from house to house as their primary gathering for church life. This doesn’t mean that there weren’t larger gatherings, particularly on the Sabbath, at the Temple or the synagogue, however my reading of the New Testament points clearly to the small home gatherings during the week as the primary setting for church life.

It’s in this context that Paul, whom I believe wrote Hebrews, says, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NASB1995. The question you need to honestly ask yourself is do you see the day drawing near? And if you do, then how do you meaningfully experience what Paul just described in this passage or what Luke and John described in the previous passages if you’re only defining your church life by the large gathering on Sabbaths? And as wonderful as the large gathering is, I believe it is secondary to the smaller gathering during the week that lends itself to deeper relational connections. The Biblical reality is that the bigger the larger gathering gets on Sabbaths, the more smaller gatherings are needed during the week! As a matter of fact, Jesus’ baseline definition for church, which just means “gathering” is “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”” Matthew 18:20 NASB1995.

So, real talk. Are you experiencing this? Have you heard the Gospel, been baptized and now have an abiding relationship with Jesus? If so, great! Then, are you regularly gathering in community, primarily with a small gathering of followers of Jesus during the week and then with the larger gathering on Sabbaths? If not, you’re really missing out. Here at SMC we call these small gatherings Life Groups. They are mostly online, however as we approach the Fall and especially the New Year, we are intentionally seeking to equip and launch far more in-person groups in an area near where you live. We’ll be revisiting this real soon at the conclusion of this series. However, I strongly encourage you to sign up now for the ones we currently have or indicate that you’d like to get equipped to start a new one. Here at SMC we call this second step in Jesus’ discipleship pathway COMMUNE, as in community.

You see family, God has created you in His image and redeemed you through Jesus Christ so you can thrive and flourish in an environment of other-centered love.

Because you learn how to live in the rhythm of love when we do life together!
You learn how to forgive in order to live free when we do life together!
Isolation & dysfunction give way to healing & wholeness when we do life together!
Less people fall through the cracks of the large gathering when we do life together!
Addictive patterns loose their appeal when we do life together!
We literally replicate the divine life within the Godhead when we do life together!
And our love for one another will attract the world when we do life together!

When the love of Christ is the Why for your life, then He’ll lead you to gather in community with other followers who are learning to live and love like Jesus. It’s this love that lead Jesus to willing go to the cross and be separated from His life together with the Father and the Spirit, so that you could be brought into life together with Them and with each other eternally!

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