The Devoted Church

The Princess Bride: Adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, sword fighting, revenge, and true love.

Our text this morning is a lot like that… It has so many wonderful truths contained within its few verses.  Within 7 verses we find: Salvation, Baptism, Revival, Corporate Worship, Preaching, Fellowship, Potlucks, Prayer, Miracles, Sacrifice, Finances, Generosity, Worship, Evangelism, Small Groups, Gratitude.  This is like the princess bride of Passages.  

I am really excited for it, but as you can imagine, we don’t have a lot of time, so let’s dive in.

Acts 2:41-47

What makes for a Healthy church?

Most of us have thought about what we want our church to look like.  When we are searching for a good church, each of us has a particular set of attributes in mind.  A strong children’s ministry, A certain type of music with certain instruments, a certain length of sermon, perhaps a strong Sunday school program, or maybe a good women’s ministry.  

We all have thoughts on what makes for a healthy church, but I want us to put those aside for the next 40 minutes, and consider that the church is not some exterior organization. But nothing more than a gathering of God’s people.  A church is not defined by programs, or buildings, but by we ourselves who take part in it.  A church is only as strong as it’s members.  If you are looking for some programmatic corporation that can meet all of your desires, you are barking up the wrong tree. 

The picture we get of a healthy church is a people devoted.   

Devoted To The Apostles Teaching

• • What did the early Church look like?
  • Preaching was prioritized by the early church.   
    • It was a sermon that birthed the Church.  
    • The apostles taught Jesus from the Scriptures… We just got one example.
    • The Spirit was moving, It would have been easy for them to say, “we don’t need all that theology, that’s too much doctrine.  I have the spirit and that is enough”.
      • Wrong.  The Spirit gives true Christians an appetite to feast on God’s word.   They were hungry for instruction, to grow, to learn, to equip themselves for the mission.  
      • The teachings of the apostles were not suggestions.  They were commands.  It was instruction for life.  You can’t go to God’s word and say, “Well thanks for the input, I’ll take it under advisement.”  You can’t do that.   
    • As Mark Dever puts this, Preaching God’s word is the most important part of a healthy church.  Because if a church gets this one right, the rest of it falls into place.  
      • It’s like an overflowing freshwater spring.  It fills all the rest of the categories we are going to discuss. 
  • Worship – Praising God
    • The primary reason we should come to church on Sunday morning is to worship God. However, according to the polls, the primary reason people come to church on Sunday morning is to enjoy fellowship with their Christian friends. What motivates people to come to church is not worship but fellowship.
      • Just a word of Caution, fellowship is good, but Worship is the goal here at Celebration.  We want them both.  But don’t put people before God. 
    • Everybody Worships.  even those who are not Christian are going to worship.  You might worship a person—boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, child. You might worship a thing—job, health, beauty, pet, sports team, income, grade point average. You are going to worship. You are going to give your life, your energy, your time, your talent, your treasure to something..
      • We here at celebration, want you to put your affections in the only place that matters… toward Jesus Christ, and what He has done. (Gospel)
        • Revelation 5:13 – And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!
  • Size (BOTH BIG AND SMALL)
    • In the Temple – Corporate  AND  In People’s Homes – Private
      • Most churches are one or the other… 
        • House Churches Only– I know a lot of people doing house church.  I think that’s great.  But I take issue with anyone saying that should be all there is to church.  We see a picture of a larger group gathering as well. (a place for worship, celebration, preaching.) Sustainability is an issue with house churches.
        • Big Church Only –  There is little room for fellowship and community.  Deep relationships. Accountability.  You cant do that stuff in Large group corporate worship. You need them both.

• There should be big, and little.  Not just big, and not just little.  

Devoted To The Fellowship (Vs 14)

• A note here on church membership…
  • There is a lot of debate about church membership… Especially here in Montrose.  A Lot of churches don’t have it… A lot of churches have it but don’t really do anything with it… Here at Celebration, We think it is both Biblical and Healthy for 5 reasons.  

1. Membership is a sign of devotion for both the leaders and the members.  
   • It says, I am committed to this. I am serious about this.  I am a part of something bigger than myself.
2. Membership helps to combat church hopping/shopping, and Christian consumerism  we see… Especially here in Montrose.

• There are sometimes good reasons to leave a church.  But it should never be easy. 
  • And I say this knowing that our church has grown by 300% in the last 3 years.  Many of you came from other churches, I have heard your stories, and my heart breaks for you.  Bad experiences can cause us to clam up, put up walls and guards against getting wounded again.  I get it.
    • Let me encourage you, not to give up on devotion to the fellowship of the Church.  

1. Membership gives us ownership in a unique and powerful way.
   • Membership and voting steers the church.
2. Membership guards our leadership and teaching.
   • Not just anyone can lead and teach here at Celebration Church.  Membership helps us create a healthy standard of belief, so you can trust that when your kid goes to youth group, they are not going to be taught out of the book of Mormon, or the Quran, but they will be taught the truth.  
3. Membership helps the leadership to know who we are accountable to God for.
   • Acts 20:28 – Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood
   • The early church was keeping a membership roster, how else would they have known that 3000 people were added to their number?

• They were Together, and had all things in common
  • The early church was committed to gathering together. We will read about this more in the coming weeks, but suffice it to say that they spent A LOT of time together. 
    • Disclaimer: This may hit close to home…  The early church prioritized the gathering above just about everything else.  They did not stop gathering so their kids could participate in little league on Sunday.  They did not stop gathering when their favorite sports team was playing.  They did not stop gathering when it was hunting season.  They did not stop gathering when too many people started coming.  
  • Pandemic/Online Church – People and churches had all sorts of stances.  But some churches completely moved the goalposts.  They said things like, “church can be decentralized, Church isn’t about a place after all.  We can do church online.”  
    • Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
    • Watching Church online is not church.  We have had more than 25,000 views on our YouTube channel in the last 3 years, it has had wonderful reach, and been an extremely useful tool, but it will never replace the gathering of the body of Christ.
      • If you are watching online, we are so glad you are!  But I promise, You will be blessed more by finding a fellowship to be a part of. 
• They were Selling their possessions and Distributing as any had need
  • Let’s talk about giving for a minute…
    • This heart we see in the early church is not normal.  It goes against human nature.  Usually, you have to be taught to be generous.  
      • Discipled to a place where your money is not your idol.
    • It is a very engrained sin in America.
      • We think by keeping it all for ourselves we will be better off, but consider what Proverbs tells us. 
    • Proverbs 11:24-25 – One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
      • The cure for greed is generosity.  The cure for materialism is to begin to give it away.  
        • Giving Journey (We here at celebration believe in generous, sacrificial giving.  The Old Testament was 10% – We feel that is a good goal to shoot for. But for some of you that feels impossible, I understand.  Might I suggest that you just take one step forward on the giving journey? (giving nothing, Giving a little more, giving generously.)
          • The blessing is primarily for the Giver.  God loves a cheerful giver.  When you give God’s loving affection is on you.
• Breaking of Bread
  • Something special about a meal
    • There really is no warmer experience of friendship than sharing a meal with someone. 
    • We do this through our celebration Groups
  • Celebration groups Vision and Structure
    • Backbone of our church.  – On equal footing with Sunday morning worship.  If you are wondering how to get connected at Celebration, this is it.  
    • We have 15 of these, Our goal is to have 30 by 2025.  
    • Relationships, Accountability, Prayer.  Most of our groups have food. 
• Glad and Generous Hearts
  • Glad – This should remind us that our disposition matters.  Are you glad to be a part of your church? Are you grateful for God bringing you here? Or are you critical? When you walk through these doors, are you looking for a fight? Looking for problems? Are you someone who makes a mountain out of a molehill?  Do you go through the budget with a fine toothed comb? Do you punish every misstep of the church?
    • Luke writes that the New testament church was grateful to be a part of Christ’s bride.  Even when it was a little broken.  Even when it was a bit messed up. They were not excluding, they were not attacking, they were not divided. 
  • Generous – People were generous with everything they had.  They gave it all freely.  A generous heart is extremely important to the health of a church.  
    • The Congregation – And sometimes it can be the congregation that keeps a church from this. We get so focused on our money and our resources and our time, that we guard it even against God.  Unwilling to follow the example of scripture, sometimes we believe the lie that says, “We need to be stingy, we need to be miserly, It’s just good stewardship, were just counting the cost, we are ”
    • The Pastor – Sometimes it is the pastor, who is not generous.  Perhaps he is burned out, or maybe he has seen too much.  Maybe he has been wounded a few too many times, and now He doesn’t really give himself fully to the church anymore.  He is not generous with his sermon prep, He is not generous with his hours, He is not generous with what he has, and the church suffers. 
      • SIMPLE TRUTH (I really believe this) = When a church is grateful and generous it grows.  When a church is critical and stingy it doesn’t. 

Devoted To Prayer (Conclusion)

• If we are honest, this is the one most people are weakest at.  It is the one that we overlook, dismiss, and minimize.  
  • But there is an old saying…“Wherever God erects a house of prayer, the Devil builds a chapel there, and ’twill be found upon examination that the latter has the largest congregation.”
    • A thriving prayer life is one of the best measurements of a person’s spiritual health.  
  • Here at Celebration Church, we have just scratched the surface on learning how to pray. In the years to come we want to emphasize even more strongly ways in which we can become prayer warriors, ways in which we can band together as a fellowship of believers who corporately and privately bring their prayers before the Lord our God.
• A healthy Church is devoted to: The Word, Worship, Fellowship, Gratitude, Generosity.
• If you are visiting, meaning you don’t have a church home, I would strongly encourage you to find a place and commit to it.  It doesn’t have to be here, but make sure that wherever you go, it is following these criteria.  No church will be perfect, it is made up of people like you and I.