A First Century Church Model

March 21, 2011

[I thank my God] for your fellowship (your sympathetic cooperation and contributions and partnership) in advancing the good news (the Gospel) from the first day [you heard it] until now.

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. Philippians 1:5-6 AMP

The Gospel is the power of God, and when it went to the city of Philippi in Macedonia, the people were radicalized. They grabbed hold of it and stood on the edge of the Mediterranean region reverberating life to their city and all through the populated area of their world. God anointed that group of people to spread the Gospel in the first century, and God has appointed you to reach your world in the 21st Century (Acts 17:26).

In Acts, we see the beginning of the Philippian church when Lydia and her household got saved (Acts 16:14-15), when Paul cast a demon out of the slave girl (Acts 16:16-18), and when the jailer and his family were saved (Acts 16:27-34). These people didn’t just embrace a fancy philosophy; they found something with inherent, life-changing power.

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

As it was in the first century so I believe God wants it to be now. That’s why we keep going back to the Bible to see real people who experienced salvation with God and had a real effect on the world.

Take 15 minutes and read the book of Philippians. As you study the pages, faith will come and you will see the target God has for your life. The Philippians were of the same mind (Philippians 2:2) and committed to the cause of Jesus, and God used them in a powerful way.

God bless you!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. AMP Scripture quotations are taken from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation and The Amplified New Testament copyright 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.