The Believers Share Their Possessions Acts 4v32-37 A Tale Of 2 Temples Herod’s temple: an imposing cathedral. Jesus’ temple: His people. The early church Jesus approached life in a radical new way. John 15v12-14 The Way of Jesus is to lay down your life. John 13v34-35 The Way of Jesus is to live by the law of love. 1 John 4v10-12 The Way of Jesus is to love the way God loves. Matthew 20v28 The church’s mission is to introduce the blessings and abundance of the Kingdom of God to a lost and broken world. Gospel=Good News! Not Communism, But A United Community. People, even in church, can feel incomplete, disconnected, unmotivated and insecure. Deep unity is not easy to maintain – work of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4v2-3 Blessings of community outweigh the risks. -Feeling connected and complete. -Motivation to holiness and excellence -Security comes from being loved, not from “performance”. -Impossible to fulfill our mission without community and unity. Not A Commune, But A Community On A Mission. “Their loves, their hopes, their passions joined.” -John Wesley Mission happened right in the middle of them exercising community. Acts 4v33 Not Communism, But People Practicing Generosity And Equality They did not consider their possessions as their own, but “shared everything they had” Acts 4v32 As a result “there were no needy persons among them.” This practice is NOT “Christian Communism.” Christian Community celebrates the voluntary renunciation of wealth, communism REQUIRES it. Acts 5v4 Christian Community owned and used private property, communism FORBIDS it. Acts 12v12, 2v46; Luke 3v11 What Principles For The Church Today? Should I sell everything I have today and give the money to the poor? Not really… Our possessions don’t belong exclusively to us, but to God. 1 John 3 v17-18; 1 Timothy 6v18 We should ensure that there is no one in need, especially in the body of Christ. Acts 4v34; 2 Corinthians 8v13 What would our lives/church look like if we didn’t judge our lifestyle by looking at our peers in society, but by how well we meet the needs of others around us?