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The marks of the First Church are very clear - They Were a Loving Community living with a Commitment to a Christ-centered Community and Biblical Stewardship.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers . . . . Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”—Acts 2:42, 44–45
Welcome again to blog; Vintage Community seeks to be a loving people like the early church. Let's take a firsthand look at how the early church loved God and one another through Christ-centered community.
The early church was a loving church because they cared for one another and for the church’s cause through biblical stewardship. Acts 2:45 says the first church “had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”
The sharing of material things in common is not a required communalism but a voluntary and loving response to one another’s needs. It illustrates just how literally Christians are called to love one another and to provide for the church’s kingdom purposes.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we see a biblical grid for biblical stewardship that the Christian church has followed for the past two thousand years. First, Paul teaches that Christians are to give consistently and regularly (see 1 Corinthians 16:2). The idea is to consistently take a percentage of your income and set it aside for the work of God. Next, Paul says that our giving is to be a personal act (see verse 2). Paul’s point is that every Christian—not just some of us—should set aside an amount of money to give. Finally, Paul teaches that we should prepare ourselves to invest in the work of God (see verse 2). Paul is saying to consider prayerfully how much to give. Do it in advance. It should never be a last-minute or flippant practice. These verses from 1 Corinthians clearly teach that the early church recognized that giving is both a responsibility as well as a privilege.
Like the early church, the Vintage Community is committed to being a loving people through Christ-centered community and biblical stewardship.
We value the kind of Christ-centered community where we can meet together in the name of Jesus and encourage one another to become more like Him. We are committed to offering discipleship opportunities, prayer support, and other ministry events that help provide and promote loving Christian fellowship.
We are also committed to biblical stewardship. Like the first Christians, we are willing to step into the fray when another Christian or a cause for Christ has a financial need. For that reason we believe that it is the responsibility and the privilege of every Christian to give consistently, personally, and prayerfully.
The Vintage Community is committed to being a loving people so we can glorify God and form a community of believers that experiences Christ-centered relationships where everyone is cared for and loved in the name of Jesus.
Community Commitment
Are you committed to Christ-centered community and to biblical stewardship? Are you willing to take the steps required to develop Christ-centered community where you can help others become more like Jesus? Are you willing to make the sacrifices necessary to give consistently, personally, and prayerfully to the Lord through Vintage so that other people can hear and respond to the life-changing gospel message? Most importantly, are you ready to do all of this out of love and devotion to Jesus Christ and His glory?
