the next question in verse 15:
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Peter gave a correct assessment about the identity of our Lord. Jesus said this was given to Peter by His Father. He also said that on this rock He would build His church, a church that would be strong against the power of the enemy.
God has a specific, glorious purpose for the church. For one thing, we are a testimony of Jesus to the world - we are to come to know Christ better, to grow in Him, and in so doing, we can be strengthened in order to be a reflection of His glory. The church is a visible, tangible expression of the character of our Lord.
+++++
From the second chapter of the book of Acts, we see a model for the activities of the early church:
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
We hear a lot about church attendance these days. It seems that story after story identifies the practices of various age and demographic groups; the rise of the so-called "nones" - those without religious affiliation has become a major trend. There is quite a bit of attention that has been focused on the Millennials.
But, what is it that attracts people to go to church, anyway. Gallup released a survey, taken in March of this year, that identified some of those motivating factors. There were seven reasons measured - I will go through them in countdown form. These are the results from those identifying these areas as a "major factor:"
38% - A good choir, praise band, cantors or other spiritual music
49% - Social activities that allow you to get to know people in your community
59% - Lots of community outreach and volunteer opportunities
64% - Spiritual programs geared toward children and teenagers
75% - Sermons or lectures that help you connect religion to your own life
And at 76% - Sermons or talks that teach you more about scripture.
I want to look at that model for the early church. The first component that you notice in Acts 2 is that the people "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine." The authority of God's Word is an important building block. Jesus asked the disciples whom they said He was; Peter answered that He was the "Christ, the Son of the Living God." Our Lord responded by saying that "upon this rock, I will build my church." The foundation of our churches should be a knowledge of who Jesus is, and we discover this through exposure to and absorption of the Word.
But, our motivation for church attendance should not be to be entertained or to, as the Scriptures say, "have our ears tickled." Continuing steadfastly in doctrine means that we allow God's truth to shape us, rather than our trying to fit God's words into our own preconceived ideas. Where there is conflict between what we think and what God says, well, you know what the solution is!
Community seems to be less of a factor according to this poll. But, that wasn't apparently the case with the early church. They were active, they saw God show up in their midst; they had a commonality, they met one another's needs, and they were "continuing daily with one accord. in the temple." It seems that Christian practice wasn't something reserved for one day a week, but there was a consistency in their walk. Now, over 4-in-10, according to this survey, prefer to worship alone and a little more than a third do not like organized religion. But Hebrews 10 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Consistent individual time with God is certainly important, because God calls us, I believe, to learn, grow, and serve together, as one body, united by His Spirit, in spirit according to His purpose.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
We hear a lot about church attendance these days. It seems that story after story identifies the practices of various age and demographic groups; the rise of the so-called "nones" - those without religious affiliation has become a major trend. There is quite a bit of attention that has been focused on the Millennials.
But, what is it that attracts people to go to church, anyway. Gallup released a survey, taken in March of this year, that identified some of those motivating factors. There were seven reasons measured - I will go through them in countdown form. These are the results from those identifying these areas as a "major factor:"
38% - A good choir, praise band, cantors or other spiritual music
49% - Social activities that allow you to get to know people in your community
Now, 36% also said each of those were "minor factors."54% - Dynamic religious leaders who are interesting and inspiring
59% - Lots of community outreach and volunteer opportunities
64% - Spiritual programs geared toward children and teenagers
75% - Sermons or lectures that help you connect religion to your own life
And at 76% - Sermons or talks that teach you more about scripture.
Then, there's this morsel from the survey summary:
The poll also asked the 35% of Americans who are lapsed worshippers -- those who attended a church, synagogue or mosque at least monthly growing up but who seldom or never attend today -- to rate the importance of nine different factors explaining their absence.
There is no overarching reason why former churchgoers no longer attend. Preferring to worship on one's own tops the list at 44%, and just over a third say not liking organized religion is a major factor. These suggest not an antipathy to religion per se so much as a dislike of the group format.The summary relates some of the conclusions that the survey identifies are:
Belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque provides people with important social benefits that Gallup research shows improve personal well-being. While social benefits are clearly important to majorities of those who worship regularly, what most motivates them to attend is learning more about the tenets of their faith, as well as connecting that faith to their lives.So, there you have it - no pressure on those who are called to deliver the Word each week, right? According to this survey, people are drawn to sermon content, and over half rate the personality of the preacher as a major factor.
I want to look at that model for the early church. The first component that you notice in Acts 2 is that the people "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine." The authority of God's Word is an important building block. Jesus asked the disciples whom they said He was; Peter answered that He was the "Christ, the Son of the Living God." Our Lord responded by saying that "upon this rock, I will build my church." The foundation of our churches should be a knowledge of who Jesus is, and we discover this through exposure to and absorption of the Word.
But, our motivation for church attendance should not be to be entertained or to, as the Scriptures say, "have our ears tickled." Continuing steadfastly in doctrine means that we allow God's truth to shape us, rather than our trying to fit God's words into our own preconceived ideas. Where there is conflict between what we think and what God says, well, you know what the solution is!
Community seems to be less of a factor according to this poll. But, that wasn't apparently the case with the early church. They were active, they saw God show up in their midst; they had a commonality, they met one another's needs, and they were "continuing daily with one accord. in the temple." It seems that Christian practice wasn't something reserved for one day a week, but there was a consistency in their walk. Now, over 4-in-10, according to this survey, prefer to worship alone and a little more than a third do not like organized religion. But Hebrews 10 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Consistent individual time with God is certainly important, because God calls us, I believe, to learn, grow, and serve together, as one body, united by His Spirit, in spirit according to His purpose.
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