42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
In the early church, and I would argue today as well, there are some essential elements of the healthy church. They include the elements outlined in this verse. The first centers around the Word. They gathered and made the Word a central part of their lives. They had jobs and families to support, and yet the Word rose in importance in their lives. When they gathered the apostles would teach. They taught what they knew from the Old Testament and what they had heard from Jesus. The Spirit guided them as they taught and the Spirit enlightened as they listened. At this stage of the Church this happened daily. They did not have personal copies of the Scriptures so they gathered together. There was not radio or MP3’s to hear teaching so they gathered. One advantage is that they were together. They could hold each other accountable to what was being taught. They were there supporting each other. We probably need to get together more often than once a week. We are missing out on the vital connections that happen when we jointly wrestle with the Scriptures. They also gathered for fellowship around food. At this stage they probably ate a meal together and took time to remember Jesus’ sacrifice through breaking bread and sharing wine. It was probably a full meal. Later in the history of the Church the meal was scaled back to just the elements of communion due probably to some selfish abuses of the meal. These are talked about in First Corinthians. But these earliest believers probably had a full meal. They also spent time in prayer, probably for and with each other. That corporate communication with the Lord strengthened and unified the body. Common struggles were expressed in prayer and shared triumphs as well. When one struggled, all had the opportunity to bear some of that burden. Joys became common joys lifting all. I want to encourage you to be a part of all these elements at the church you attend. Don’t skip out on the meal because you are tired. Don’t sleep in either. Excuses for not participating are just that, excuses. You will get much more out of the time than you give up. All three are vital to our survival as Jesus-followers.
The Arnold Journey 