A New Found...Fear - Acts 2:43

The summer I turned 16 I had a new driver's dream job. Maybe dream might be a bit extreme, but I was so excited about the opportunity to get to detail and drive brand new cars by working at a car dealership. Each time I sat in the driver's seat of the cars, whether they were new or used, I was a bit nervous. Partly because I had not been driving too long and the other part was because the cars were not mine. I had a sense of fear of damaging them, but yet I was excited to drive these new cars. For a bit of trivia, the Chevrolet Beretta had come out that year - if you want to know my approximate age.

That feeling of fear mixed with excitement is what I think might have been in the minds of the early church as they began their life as "Christ's Church". Below are some applications to choose from to apply from our lesson yesterday as we continued with our look at the early church...

1. We tend to like to tell others when we have bought something new. It is really easy to share about the item. Is your life in Christ new? If so, it should be easy to share. If you're like me, it has been a few years since you "put on Christ", however the sheer impact that it has made on your life should be never fading. Rekindle your memories of the past when you "put on Christ" and stoke the embers to create a flame to cause you to want to share with others.
   
2. One thing that creates a sense of "old" is routine. Our churches are full of routine and tradition. It can be good but it can also be bad. If you are a church leader, specifically, try to bring about something in your assembly (be it each week or once a month) that is a bit out of the ordinary. Something with an edifying goal, but that would be a break in the routine. I doubt the early church had a routine.
   
3. If you are not as involved as you could be, is it as a result of fear? Allow that fear to fuel you instead of fizzling you. Allow it to be a mission that you decide to take on - which is not impossible. Go ahead and try it out...you may like it. Join a group, talk to that person, share Jesus, use your talents, etc.
   

The early church had a lot for us to look at and learn from. If you are involved with a church, examine what they experienced to stoke the fire in your congregation. If you are not involved with a church, the early church was nothing like what we find in most groups on Sunday mornings across America. This was an excited, yet fearful, group of people who just wanted to get together to worship God, the Father of Jesus, whom they recently put on the cross. They were community changers - and God added to their number daily (Acts 2:47).

Have an excitedly scared week!

Approaching things with nervousness...