In the early days of the church — the believers fresh from pentecost — they didn’t have massive instruction manuals and page-upon-page of literature of how God expected this new love-centric group of believers to behave. But He did give us the Holy Spirit, and He left the right people in place to train them up to become the very model that we look to today. Love, community, hope, help and nurturing. Let’s dive in today to what that looks like in their world, and how that applies to ours.
1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 – Fathering Sunday.
While you may have an amazing human father, or someone that really, really hurt you — or maybe don’t even know your father. But God is our Heavenly Father. He is our hope in what a father should be. Integrity. Lacking selfish gain. Just authentic love. As the men in our church body guide, protect and love our members, we hope that you see God in their words and actions. And in that, we strive to point to God as the perfection of that concept.
Love. Trust. Integrity.
Acts 2:1-4 – The Day of Pentecost
God is still moving. Still filling. Still making his precence known. We want to be filled by God in the same way, declaring how amazing our Father is. The church behaved like the unified church that God designed and wanted. It was HIS church, not belonging to any one group, person or sect. That’s what we want to be, too. Are you willing to step out in unpredictable outcomes to see what He is about to do?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – The Authority of Scripture
The word of God has the authority to change and set our entire lives. That may sound scary, but God has nothing but your best in store. So let’s look at how God can use it to teach, rebuke, correct, train and equip us for all that He has in store!