Sunday Recap (What are we trying to do here?)
This Past Sunday, Evident Grace took a few moments to remind us what we are really doing here. In fact, that was our Big Picture Question: What are we trying to do here?
We answered that question by looking at the very verses that launched us way back in 2012.
Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
And we answered our Big Picture Question this way…
Big Picture Question: What are we doing here?
- Making God’s grace evident through worship.
- Making God’s grace evident through community.
- Making God’s grace evident through service.
Let’s look at them one at a time
Making God’s grace evident through worship.
In Acts, look what they are doing. Peter just finished preaching, and 1,000’s of people professed faith in Jesus. And then…they have to figure how to be a church. And their first value is worship. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They took the Lord’s Supper (the breaking of break), they prayed, and they attended the temple.
That’s exactly what we want to see happen at Evident Grace. We want to be a people who make God’s grace evident through worship. We want believers to gather on Sunday and enjoy their salvation through preaching and songs and prayers and the Lord’s Supper. And, just like that early church, we want to see our numbers added to daily. We want lots of people to be saved, experiencing grace for the first time.
And just like that Acts 2 church, we want to be…
Making God’s grace evident through community.
What did that first church do? They formed a beautiful, community. They studied together, they ate meals in each other’s homes (breaking of bread without the “the”), they met with glad and generous hearts, and they were generous to one another.
How can Evident Grace do that? 4 ways.
We want people to grow in commitment to each other through membership.
We want people to grow in knowing each other through our (eg)Groups.
We want folks to be meeting in discipleship relationships.
And we want to see giving reflected just as it was Acts 2.
These are the elements of a grace-filled community that is growing at EG.
And finally, we want to be…
Making God’s grace evident through service.
Look how that wonderful Acts 2 community served one another. They met each other’s needs. If one person had a need, they met it. And if they didn’t have the money to meet that need, they sold their possessions to make sure that no one would be in want. And this worship, community, and service gave the early church favor among even those who didn’t believe. That favor is what God used for people to believe in Jesus. Like that church, want to serve. We can do it in 4 ways.
Serve within the church on one of our seven teams (first impressions, follow-up, children, Sunday Setup, children, small groups, and worship).
Serve the surrounding community.
Serve with partnering churches.
Serve the world.
Pray that God fulfills this bold vision that God has given us for Evident Grace. And please pray about how you can be a part of what God is doing. If you want to know more, or if you want to be a part of what we are doing, just email us at [email protected], and we will help you connect.