Sermon Acts 2:44-47 “Biblical Community”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Acts 2:44-47 “Biblical Community”
February 10, 2019

Listen to this sermon.

We have been looking at spiritual practices which bring us closer to God and make us more like Jesus.   Worship, prayer, Bible Study, a single-minded focus on Jesus, and submission to God’s will are all crucial to your spiritual development.   Today we turn to another important spiritual practice, Biblical Community.    We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The New Testament was written in Greek.   And it uses a particular Greek word over and over again.   This word is “koinonia”. 

There is no word in English that means the same thing as “koinonia”.   So translators have some difficulty.    Most translate “koinonia” as “community” or “fellowship”.   But translations cannot tell you what “koinonia” means without some additional explanation.

“Koinonia” has three aspects.   First, it is a group of people who come together to form a community or fellowship.  Second, these people share their resources.  And third, they have a mutual interest.   So, “Koinonia” is a group of people who come together to share their resources to accomplish mutual interests. 
The most common “koinonia” is marriage.   A husband and wife join together in marriage.  They share everything they have.   And they mutual interests such as raising a family. 

Our God is “koinonia”.   When we began the Believe series we asked: “Who is the God we worship?”  We worship one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a “koinonia”.  They come together as one God.   They share all their knowledge and power.  And their mutual interest is to love their creation.
Humans were created in the image of this God.   So we were created with the need to be in “koinonia”.    When God created the first man, Adam, he said, Genesis 2:8 ... “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 

It is not good for us to be alone either.  We were created to be in “koinonia”,  a community which shares its resources and has mutual interests.   We can satisfy our need in for “koinonia” many ways.   We can get married.   We can join clubs, associations, fraternal organizations.   Any of these can be “koinonia” if people gather together, share their resources and have mutual interests.

The New Testament is very clear that the church is to be a “koinonia”.  We gather together for worship, prayer, Bible study, service to ourselves and others, and care for our buildings and grounds.   We share our resources through gifts, tithes, and offerings.   And we have the mutual interest of bringing the people of Middletown to Christ. 

So, what are some of the ways that we have been a “koinonia” this week?  Last Friday we comforted Norma who lost her husband and offered food and transportation.  We took Craig for his colonoscopy.   On Tuesday morning we talked about biblical community and prayed for the church.   We practiced singing and playing bells for worship.   We talked about lights and signs for our new entrance.  We put up some wind flag to mark the entrance.  We cleaned the sanctuary.  We make bulletins and slides for worship.   We come together, share our time and money, and have the mutual interest of advancing the kingdom of God here in Middletown. 

And this brings us to today’s scripture.

Acts 2:44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

This is the “koinonia” of the early church.   They gathered together to remember what Jesus said and did.   They broke bread and drank wine together as Jesus commanded them in his memory.   They shared their resources with each other taking care of each other’s needs.   They also took care of the people in the community.   They were sincere in their faith and happy.   They praised God for their blessings.  And it should not be surprising that almost everyone wanted to join them.  I would.   Wouldn’t you?

So why are people not banging down our doors to be part of our “koinonia” here a New Covenant Church?   Are we caring for anyone with a need?   Are we sharing our resources sufficiently so that we can respond to needs?  Do we have glad and sincere hearts?   We must be missing something. 

Let’s take a closer look at what was happening in the “koinonia” of the early church.

Acts 9:36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor.

Tabitha had the reputation of caring for people.   This was the reputation of the early Christians.   Everyone thought of Christians as people who were always doing good for others.   They fed the hungry.   They clothed the naked.   They cared for the sick, the widows and the orphans.   And everyone in the community knew that if you had a problem find a Christian to help you.

Evidently, everyone in the community depended on Tabitha.   So when she got sick everyone was concerned.  And when she died everyone grieved.

37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

Tabitha had cared for others.   And now in her death, everyone wanted to care for her.  The washed her, placed her in a bedroom, and called for an apostle to come.

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

So we see Tabitha’s ministry.   She cared for the widows.  She made clothes for them.  These were destitute women with no husbands and no sons to care for them.   They could not own land or businesses.   So their only hope was to find a Christian who cared.   The widows found Tabitha who used the resources of the “koinonia” to care for them.   And so they grieved Tabitha’s death because they lost this good friend.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.

Not only were the early Christian able to care for others with their own resources they were also empowered by the Holy Spirit to care for people in extraordinary ways.   The Apostle Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit to raise Tabitha from the dead. 

What if we cared for people in Middletown the way Tabitha cared for people in Joppa?  What if we were empowered by the Holy Spirit to do extraordinary things?   What would happen here in Middletown?   Well, here is what happened in Joppa.

42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

What if New Covenant Church had the reputation that we really cared for the people of Middletown?    What if we made sure that whatever people needed, a meal, a warm place to stay, clothes for the kids,  an ear to listen to problems?  What would happen to our church if this was our reputation?  People would want to be part of our “koinonia”.   They would join with us.   They would share their resources.   And they would join us in our mutual interests of praising God and serving God’s kingdom by caring for people.

So I urge you to continue being a “koinonia” for Middletown.  Care for people.  Meet their needs.   Feed the hungry.   Find warm places for people to stay.   Provide clothes for children to wear in school.  And invite people to join with us in this “koinonia” where we share our resources and have a mutual interest in following and becoming more and more like Jesus.

Let’s pray.   Father in heaven we thank you for Rev. Burkley and his work in starting the “koinonia” in Middletown.   We thank you for our desire to care for one another and the people of our community.   Help us to see the needs of people in this community and give us the resources to meet those needs.   We thank you for our partnerships with Our Daily Bread, Neighborhood House, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A and Compassion International.  And bless us Lord with people who want to be part of our “koinonia” which we call New Covenant Church.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.   Amen.