August 28, 2016

When you visit another country or even another part of our country, you’ll notice several unique features to their community, to their culture. What they believe, whether they are relational, friendly or not, what kind of food they eat and of course what language or dialect they speak. A shared language is one of the key marks of any community. Just a simple “Hello” is often all it takes to recognize the community to which one belongs. The same was true of the first century church. They had a shared language it was the language of prayer. It was a shared focus, one that focused on spending time together talking to God in prayer.

August 21, 2016

When you visit another country one of the most noticeable differences that you’ll notice is the food. Every culture and region has different food. For that matter, even your neighbors will have different dietary preferences. Every nationality has unique taste in food. Some like it spicy and hot, some sweet, some sour. But it’s all about their community, their family. The food reminds them of home.

August 14, 2016

We are all looking for authentic community. This starts with family. Perhaps we hope to find community with our families first and when this isn’t enough or isn’t even close we hunt for family elsewhere. One of the number one compliments that I hear people say when it comes to having a great team is the saying, “Yeah we are like a family here.” If we are working somewhere or joining some organization we really want to hear that expression. As a Guardsman this is like the big thing: we are a family, we are brothers and sisters in uniform, take care of the family… But here is the truth, the most authentic family should be found in the people of the cross.

August 7, 2016

In the book of Acts, Luke described the “authentic community” of the first century church and said they were marked by four devotions. We can experience this authentic community when we pursue these four devotions. Today, we’re going to focus on the first devotion, “A Shared Faith.” The text gives three steps to having a shared faith.