FBCD_FaithEssentials_June_FlipBook

Todd Gaddis

you have to influence others, and vice versa. “Encourage one another day after day, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). Community— Concerning the early church, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship , to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42, emphasis added). The word in the original language for fellowship is koinonia. It means “sharing in common, communion” and is used 20 times in the New Testament. We desperately need this fellowship, perhaps more than ever, in this high–tech, low–touch world saturated with too much information and too little interaction. And the church is the premier place to find this koinonia. Instruction— Note from above that, in addition to fellowship, the Jerusalem believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. Later in Acts, we encounter the congregation at Berea, who “Were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11). In a world becoming increasingly biblically illiterate, we must follow the example of these early congregations. Our churches, along with help in the home, must be the standard bearer for solid instruction in Scriptural truth. Missions— Soaking up all this fellowship and instruction within the church is fine, as long we squeeze out the sponge in ministry beyond our walls. We need to spend less time gazing in front of mirrors and more time peering out of windows. By the grace of God, with the help of the Spirit, I want to be an Acts 1:8 Christian. In this verse, Jesus challenged, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” This isn’t an “either/or,” but rather a “both/and” when it comes to meeting physical and spiritual needs. It’s also “both/and” when it comes to local and distant missions. Successful churches are visible in their communities—feeding the hungry, encouraging first-

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