9-7-25 - Day By Day Those Who Were Being Saved

So

for the next few weeks, we're going to be stepping away from the book of Deuteronomy. We're going to be, focusing on small groups. The purpose and the benefits of small groups are our top. This sort of ministry, small group ministry is not the sort of thing I can point to

a chapter and verse and say, see, look, right there. They're small group ministry. They called it.

They're small group ministry. They called it. They right there. They're small group ministry. They called it.

The substance of what we mean to accomplish in our small groups is all throughout the story. Time, you will receive the benefits of it. It's not some sort of mysterious thing or is it it's not an automatic. To encourage one another. It's not that you can't do those things outside of small groups, but you and I often need a context in which to do the things that it's scripture calls us to do.

Other passages. I did consider preaching on those this morning, and I decided against that. There's so many of them, and I didn't want to be limited. But foundational and fundamental unity that a church ought to have. What should bring us Yeah.

Every family, every home has an ethos. It has a culture. It has priority. Things that they all agree about. It has It doesn't it's not to say they don't have things they disagree about, but there's some basis for their love and their commitment to one.

There are many

there are many there are many there are many and that join them

and that join them and that join them and that join them and that join them

and that join them rally around and that join them together. But we ought to be and we ought to be and and There are a lot of other things we talk about prioritize differently. But these things, there should be no question as to our commitment to them and to those we do. So our sermon this morning, I'm not going to dive into each one of these aspects of Christian Unity important and the benefits that they produce in our lives. I'm sure there have been times in your life where you've done things without necessarily understanding why you're doing it.

Just someone someone said go do it and you say I'm gonna go do it. Small groups is not that way. We're not having a small group. So go do it. That's not the whole goal.

That's not the point. The goal this morning is for you to understand the purposes and the benefits of obedience in this. So that your so that we are better equipped to give ourselves to this work and to one another. Our sermon text this morning is acts two verses 42 through 47. Would you please stand as we read the word of the Lord?

Says they were continually they, the being the disciples, were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. And many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Mind in the temple, and breaking bread from House to House. They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day, those who are being saved. Lord. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day.

Those who are being saved. This is the word of the

The the the the the Christian commitments after Jesus. The Christian

commitments after Jesus. The Christian commitments after Jesus. Commitments after Jesus. The the stories that had gone up from heaven. They're there at Pentecost

and then Peter's preaching and all the people are there and coming to faith. And these are the things we're given as the the fundamentals of the Christian faith. We have an outgrown these.

We have a matured beyond. We have a matured beyond. And then, These are the things that make up our Christian life. One of the things I want to draw your attention to at the beginning of the passage in verse 42 is it says they were continually devoting them.

Stories.

And so while they're doing these things at this point, what the passage teaches us is that we ought to be continually devoted to the things they were doing, not just acutely devoted to them. The Christian life is not so much an event or a particular experience at a time it says that there were 3,000 people added to their number. Just just the verse before. And there were there were 3,000 added to their number. We look around like, wow.

Why didn't that happen anymore? But it's a strange appetite. There's an extraordinary thing going on in this passage and not the sort of thing that is normative in the Christian life or in the church going on. Was it the the exception to the norm? Was the exception.

And so I don't want you to get lost in the in the the extraordinary details of this passage. Because if we do, what will happen is we'll get lost. We will lose the things that are most foundational that those people, those 3,000 or that small group were committed to and and devoted to. And so these people, large number of them, thousands and thousands, were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching. Not just here, but for their lives.

And if we think about continual commitments, continual devotion, we find that it's a hard thing to do. How many of us know if we stepped away from the apostles teaching, the breaking bread of prayer, if I just said, tell me a good thing to do with that you don't do that you should do. How easy is it for you to commit yourself to it? Well, the real question is, how long do I have to commit myself to it? I could commit myself to it for a week.

No problem. I could get maybe maybe two weeks, maybe a month, maybe three months. I could commit myself to it. But continual commitment to a new way of life or a new habit. It's actually quite difficult, isn't it?

It's very difficult. Even if the thing we're changing is small. And what that reveals to us is that we have a hard time committing ourselves over the long haul to things. We tend to be unstable. We tend to be shifty.

Right? How many of you own chickens right now? You own chickens? You the only people that own chicken? You own chickens?

You own chickens? How many of you use stone chickens? You stone chickens? Do you stone chickens? How many of you want to own chickens?

K. So now you all know who to talk to about why they got rid of them. You can see the people who are in the middle of it, and we can know that all of you who raise your hands later will be selling chickens sometime in the future. Chickens are great. You know?

I saw a skit one time, and it described them as little meat footballs that produce extra bonus food every day. Just delightful things that eat the dirt and birds that can't fly. They're just, you know, the best thing in the world. And none of us can stick with it. And I've I've joked with Eric about it, and you know, Aaron.

I love it when they I'm glad you I want chickens. We can have them in our neighborhood.

But you

do know that most people who get chickens get out of having chickens. Why is it they get out of having chickens? It's a lot of work. Gabe's like, I can tell you what we got out of it. A lot of work.

Right? They're gross. They stink. Right? There's all these things we you could have known before you got them.

But you decide no. But then you have them, and you're like, wow. We if we wanna go away for the weekend, we have to make a plan. Oh, there's a the fox in the neighborhood. Oh, these stupid things are killing each other.

Oh, they stopped laying eggs. Isn't that the whole point? Like, there's all these things. And what you realize is you weren't that committed to having chickens. You're committed to having eggs in your backyard, but you weren't committed to the work to having eggs in your backyard.

We're not and I'm just using this as an example. I'm not telling you to have chickens or not to want chickens or anything like that. I really don't care. But my point is, we're not real good at sticking with stuff. Once the shine wears off, we're like, we stick with the work a little while longer, and then we're like, you know what?

And not over the short term, but over the long term. Just when it was easy and exciting to be devoted to these things, but when it was, when it was perpetual, when it was cost. They were devoted to

these things. It was a momentary. It was a momentary. It was

a momentary. It It was a momentary. It was in It had risen through their conversion to become the ordering principle of their lives. And whatever else happened in their life, whatever other troubles came, whatever other sorrows came, wherever they went home to live, they were committed to these things. And so it's quite different than those of us who want chickens.

If someone came to you and said, I'll I'll give you chickens and all of the stuff you need for the chickens, but you have to commit to keeping them for seven years. You're like, oh, I don't seven seven years. Level. But when it comes to these things, they were continually devoted to them. Lord.

Was he devoted to these things? Aw, he was devoted to these things. We ought to be devoted to these things. Grab a hold of the things they were committed to and say, oh, that's that's actually the substance. The substance isn't 3,000.

The substance is the apostles teaching and fellowship, breaking bread and It's easy to get lost in these things. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. It's a many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. When Jesus was alive, for similar reasons. They saw that, oh, the healer is here.

So they're bringing their their sick out, hoping his shadow would fall on them. The same with the apostles. There was quite a sense of awe. But it wasn't the point. It says all those who had believed were together.

They had all things in common. Here's a question. How much time do you spend with other people voluntarily? In person? Not much.

My guess is not much. My guess is you spend more time on your phone than you do with other people on a daily or a weekly basis. These people didn't have phones, but they had believed together. They had all things in common. You just sort of see them the picture of it.

If you can imagine day to day, they're going about from house to house and into the temple, and that they're just kind of this group, large group, probably in smaller groups, going through life together, doing things, hanging out, eating, having all things in common, even to the point of selling their property and their possessions and sharing them with

anyone who might have need.

This sort of behavior is the result of their continual devotion. Does your continual devotion lead you to desire and to want to be Maybe certain of God's people, but certain others we'd prefer not to. The result of their continual devotion was that they spent a lot of time together, had all things in common even to the point of selling their property and giving to one another. With reference to the government. It's like socialism in the Bible.

You're right. And while this may not be a good model for civil government, it is the principle expression of Christian unity that we find in the church. That we give of ourselves. We give of our things to other people. I remember when I still lived in Chicago and I just come to come to faith years ago, there was this big church, probably theologically, long way away from us.

But they had a ministry, not just a one off, they had a ministry

of giving cars to poor people who needed them.

Where did they get those cars? Where did they get those cars?

Where did

they get those cars? They heard, oh, you have a ministry of helping poor people who need a Yeah. So we'll give you a car. Yeah. To give to them.

I had a friend who got And it wasn't a fancy car. It wasn't a new car. It wasn't but it was better than the not having a car. Right? They pay the transfer fee, then taxes, or whatever, and they pay the registration to get you on your feet, you know.

It was a ministry of their church to give cars to people who needed them. Could you imagine how opposed our hearts would be to something like that? Like, if I came

to you

and I said, hey, guys. I want to start a ministry next year. I want us to give cars away. Michael's like, yeah. Where are we gonna get them though?

Right?

All of

a sudden someone's gonna have to figure it out. Right? But let's leave that aside. Let's say that's that may that maybe that's two years out. Let's come a little closer and say, can we help one another?

Can we share and give to each other the things that the other that the people around us need? Can we give our time? Can we give our energy? Can we give our skills? Can we give our talents?

Can we give the things that we have that are of value can, but should we? That's sort of the question. This idea sort of runs it runs up against the idea of, personal responsibility. And I'm not here to deny personal responsibility or that people ought to provide for themselves. In fact, scripture encourages those who steal to steal no more, but rather to work with their hands so that they're able to provide for themselves and to do what?

To have something to share, something to give, something to obey and demonstrate their commitment, their unity to this passage. So the idea that we never have enough is simply not true. Do you remember when Peter and I think it was John were leaving the temple and the the the man was begging alms, wanting money? What did they say to you? Silver and gold I do not have.

They gave what they had. All of this passage is built on Peter giving what he had, which was a sermon. And God works mightily through it amongst the people to save them, to establish a church of people who believed together, were baptized together, who ate together, who had all things in common, who were glad to become poorer so that their their brothers might become wealthier or wealthier or provided for. They didn't seem to have the hang up that we have about people providing for themselves. They looked for opportunities to give and then they gave.

And I don't think we should presume that they gave out of their surplus, but perhaps even their their their deficit because someone else needed it more. Something that's quite countercultural these days. It's meant to be lived open and in front We're supposed to know what's going on in other people's lives. We're supposed to love them through it. Do you get irritated when you hear what other people have going on?

I do sometimes. Sometimes I get irritated when I hear what you guys have going on in your house. Why do they do that? What don't they know better? Haven't I didn't I teach them not to do that?

Right? You ask yourself these questions. Whether I've taught or not isn't the point. We get irritated with each other. We get irritated with each other's kids.

We get irritated with the cleanliness of someone else's house. We get irritated with the type of food they serve. We get irritated that they don't show up on time or that they stay too late. That our lunch small group turns into a dinner time small group. And after all, who's supposed to provide the extra food?

I'll tell you who's supposed to provide the extra food. Okay? The host is. If you agreed to host a small group in your home, you should see it as a victory. Food.

I'm not saying you can't ask people to chip in and give you $10. Do that too. But if your answer to like it's almost dinner time, and we don't want to go into our pantry or our deep freeze, it's like, hey, it's time for that's the wrong answer. Can you imagine these people going from house to house, taking their meals together? Right.

Just somebody opening up your fridge and just deciding that whatever you were going to have for dinner on Tuesday night was for them right then. Right. Cultivate an appetite for that. That's what it means to be continually devoted to these things. If your idea is that small group I'm not saying it doesn't have a start time, it doesn't have an end time, and that there's no such thing as a bad guest in your home, or that you can't have boundaries.

I'm not saying that stuff. I'm talking about what goes on in your heart, not what you actually do with the people. Your your your attitudes probably your behavior is probably actually better than what goes on in your heart. And the way you can know is what you say to your spouse once everyone leaves. Can we have next week off?

You need to take me on a date. What do you say? I don't know what you say. Day by day, they were continuing in with one mind in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. It sounds sweet.

And it's what we ought to aim to aim for. But joy in those things, it's aim for. But joy in those things is the fruit of us being continually devoted to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to hearing the sorts of things I'm saying right now. I'm realizing the problem's not with what I'm saying, but with what goes on in your heart. Goes on in my heart too.

This is a battle for all of us to be continually devoted to the things that these believers were devoted. Here's another way of thinking at it, coming at it the other direction. When you need something, when you need help, what do you do? When you have a question, where do you turn? Some of you think, I don't ask for help.

I offer help, but I don't ask for help. And that's a failure. If you're buried under a project, or you're too old to do it yourself, you got nothing to prove except that you need the body of Christ. The story that always sticks out to me. It's sweet to me as Daniel.

He knows it's coming. Are we going to talk about the shadow of the roof? Either one, right? Did it was by asking people who had any clue how to do that to come and help him. And we gladly did it.

And it was our nights and our weekends for weeks in the hot summer sun. And, Port Maria Anne, I don't know how much extra food you had to come up with for your new roof for free. Your two story shed with hand built trusses. Oh, man. It was sweet.

It was so sweet. It was such a it was such hard work. And there were times I was like, Daniel, why did you do this? Like, why do you get in so far over your head? And then somebody else has to come bail you out?

But it was a privilege flashing in your chimney in the rain on your steep roof with brand new shingles. Remember, Dan? Oh, yeah. Because Daniel doesn't know how to do that stuff. He's just like, I need a new roof, guys.

Hey. How about I want the shingles and they're here. You wanna come? It was really a sweet thing. And it was a sweet time building the shed on the roof with people in our way with all the shingle rows going like this because nobody knows how to chalk a line, and it doesn't leak.

Examples of living life together. But you're like, oh, I can't call and ask them. I already asked them. Oh, no. Why not?

What I'm really talking about is a way of life. What was established in this passage was not a list of tasks, but a way of life. What I'm setting before you in small groups just a part of of it is really a way of life, a set of devotions, a set of commitments that govern everything you do. Okay? Here's an example.

I've never been to the Indy five hundred, and the reason I've never been to the Indy five hundred is because I don't like car racing. Okay? If it was if it was on a Wednesday if it whatever. If I had nothing else to do but sit at home by myself, or I could go to the Indy five hundred, I would sit at home by myself. I have that much desire in in in Indy five hundred.

Okay? So but the the the thing is the Indy five hundred, which is a big deal, greatest spectacle and whatever, every year, Memorial Day weekend here in Indianapolis. Right? The reason I'm opposed to it, it's not because I don't like car racing. Some of you like car racing, and that's fine.

The reason I'm opposed to it is because it interferes with worship. It's just that simple. You can't come to worship at this church and be at the Indy five hundred on time. And if you hustle, you can make it part of the way through, but then you have to miss small group. And I think your priorities should be settled such that you never make it to the Indy five hundred.

That's what I mean by being continually devoted to these things. You ought to see other things rising up in your life vying for your time as threats to, affronts to, attacks upon your devotion to Jesus Christ. I don't think you should look at worship or at men's and women's groups or small groups as we'll make it

if we can. I think you should be at those things. I think you should be at those things. I think you should

be at those things. I think you should be at those things.

I think you should be at those things. I think you should be at those things. I think you should be at those things. I I think you

should be at those things. I feel more strongly about worship than I do about other those other things, but only just a bit. So these things ought to govern our lives, our devotion to these things. It ought to be evident where we're at and what we're about on the Lord's day especially. I know that Sundays are a long day.

You all know I have 11 kids. If you if you think you've got schedules and conflicts and and and nap times and Hungary and brother sister. I get it. I get it. And those things are not what govern your life.

Your kids are gonna be cranky on Monday. They're just gonna be cranky on Monday. Mom, I'm sorry. Dad, you should know that. Your kids are gonna be cranky because right now, they're missing their nap.

Their schedule's all messed up. They're supposed to sit still and be quiet, or they're getting all stirred up in the in the nursery. But then they're gonna go outside, and they're gonna play, and they're gonna run, and they're gonna have fun, and they're gonna feed them sugar, and all this all this good good stuff. It's gonna mess them up. So why do it?

The reason to do it is because you're committed to fellowship in the breaking of bread. That's why. Does it have a cost? Yes, it does. I get the nap times.

I get it. I get potty training. I get it. I know they're not gonna go to sleep at the right time tonight. And you're gonna be really tired because if you're here at Sunday school and you stay through small group or or the picnic or whatever, you're like at church from 09:30 in the morning until like two or 03:00 in the afternoon.

And that's if you're not on the setup or tear down crew. There are people that were here at 08:00 this morning preparing for worship. And there will be here there will be people here cleaning up from our meals and making sure the church is ready. They'll probably be here till 04:00 today. And sometimes it's the same people on both ends.

Like they were here at eight and they didn't leave till four. And it's their privilege. I hope that if I'm describing you, you see that work as a privilege and a blessing to us because it is Have I been clear? These things are important. They should govern your life.

Other things should be like, I'm sorry, we can't make that. Trauma. We were thinking about not coming to small group. What should I say? What should we say?

Well, they don't know anybody. That's okay. We're a friendly group of people. We'll get to know them. We'll feed them.

Right? Bring them to small group. Why? Because of these priorities. They're important.

This is a way of life. So how do you prioritize your time? Top priorities. We get them done. We make sure it happens, because it's important to us.

And if we have to say no, we say no to something else. None of us does everything. Those priorities show us what's important to us. And I want to say to you very clearly, those things are a choice. Those things are a choice.

Nothing you're doing in life is because there is no other choice. When your kid takes a nap, is a choice. But they're tired. I know they're tired. I know they're tired and they're gonna but here's the thing.

I've seen kids fall asleep on a floor. I've seen kids fall asleep in a stranger's bedroom. I've seen kids fall asleep on their mom's or their dad's shoulders. They'll sleep. But where and under what circumstances they take their nap, that's a choice.

My kid can't fall asleep anywhere else. Fair enough. Will you train them to fall asleep somewhere else? It's possible so that you can participate. Why are you putting so much pressure on me?

Because these things are important. That's why I'm putting so much pressure on you. Because it's easy for us to say, oh, yeah, yeah. These things are important. Yes.

Yes. I'll do those things. But then as soon as something small comes along, hard. Remember, we've got 11 kids. I've only got seven of them here.

Seven? Seven of them here today. My wife's home not feeling well, and she's got an older kid home to help her with some of the younger kids. But we have choices, guys. And as we make those choices, we reveal what is the not what the non negotiables are.

Actually important to you. These people, at this time, were continually devoted to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. They were going around having all things in common, eating in one another's house day and night with gladness and sincerity of heart. It was their way of life. Remember I told you at the beginning that the point of the sermon was not just to say you have to do this thing, but to explain to it why.

Right? Do you think these people were happy doing this, living this way? I think they were I think they were very happy living this way. Now, are you happy living the way you live? Does it make you happy?

Do you go, I couldn't imagine things being better. No, I imagine that you get grumpy and you get frustrated and you get tired and you have things you'd

the these the

the the the the the the the the the and we're happy for it. So if our devotion is continual and is deep, we should expect to reap the blessing of that in our lives. If on the other hand, our commitment is sporadic and shallow, We should also expect to reap the fruit of that. In second Corinthians nine verse six, Paul says, now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. And so if we apply that verse, this idea of sowing sparingly versus bountifully, and reaping sparingly versus reaping bountifully, if we apply that logic to our topic, we can conclude that you should expect to receive out of small groups and demotion to these things what you put into them.

And so if we have reasons to miss small group, it shouldn't surprise us that we will have a hard time finding space throughout the week to get the reading and the questions done. I have no doubt that you have time to read a psalm and answer half a dozen or a dozen questions about it throughout the week. I have no doubt every person in here who can read has time for that. It is not too much. But if it's not a priority to you, you will struggle to find that thirty or sixty minutes in a week's time to do it.

If you can't find your way to small group every week, you should expect to find the prayer time less helpful. Do you ever not wanna go to small group because somebody else's kids are naughty? Do you ever not wanna go to small group because your kids are naughty and you know that everybody else knows your kids are naughty? The wrong answer is to stay away. Right?

Everything you wanna do is pull away. What you need to do is lean in because there's a problem and staying away from it is not gonna fix it. You're not gonna fix it at home, parent. You've produced a grumpy child so far. Maybe they're just teething.

Maybe we're working on nap schedules. I don't know what it is. But there's an issue that's probably showing its face all throughout the week, not just on Sunday afternoon. Right? And you're like, well, we don't wanna it's I don't get anything out of small group anyway because I just have baby's just a fuss.

So we're just not gonna go. It's just the wrong answer. It's it's wrong headed. It reveals to you that this ministry is not important to you. And you think you're loving the people, they'll just have a better time without me.

They may in the short term, but you will be harmed by it in the long term. Because there's a hurdle you're not getting over with the child in the training. And it may take a few months for you to to to get the to get the trajectory sufficiently noticeably changed. But if you back away from that work, it's gonna take way longer than a couple of months. Couple years.

You'll end up being the family that just like, well, our kids are just awful until they're three. They just scream their head off and cry all the time until they're three. It doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't have to be that way in your house. It doesn't have to be that way at church.

It doesn't have to be that way at small group or anywhere else you go where they do that stuff. So if someone comes and they seem to be struggling with their kids in your small group, don't tell them they have to leave by your attitude. Tell them Bringing them a plate of food while they're caring for their children. A continual devotion to these things is a way of life. When it gets difficult, you don't shy away from it.

You lean into it. You will reap what you sow. And what I hope is that our small group ministry is a fruitful ministry, that

it bears good fruit in your life, that

you get stuck together with people that you wouldn that you get stuck together with people that you wouldn't have naturally gotten stuck together with, and that you'd grow to love. As a result of you spending time together, breaking bread, studying the word, praying for one another, lack of it. It's not energy or being tired. It's not the kids' nap schedules or their food sensitivities. Midst of a busy and changing life.

Many of you have young children. You have changing responsibilities. It's overwhelming. I get it. Remember, loving kids, we understand.

The older parents, we understand. You will come out the other side of it and the things that you committed to while you're walking through it will bear fruit later in your life. Let me come at this a different way. Do you want your children to be committed to and to raise your grandchildren in the church? Many of you have such small children.

It's hard to think about grandchildren. There's only a few grandparents here. But if you were to spend time thinking about your children and what you'd want to be important to them and what you'd want them to teach your grandchildren that aren't here yet, perhaps, or are still very young, but you already love. What would you want them to do? Would you want them to go to small group?

Or would you want them to be like, oh, man. The Colts are playing at noon. I think you'd want them to be like, well, you can catch the highlights later or whatever if that's really what you wanna do. But first things first, son. How is it you expect your children to learn that for the benefit of your grandchildren?

If you don't model it for them, It's funny. Have you ever asked yourself this? Would you how would you want your kids to treat your grandchildren if they were in the same situation you are? What if your kids said, hey, Saturday afternoon for the birthday party because the kids got naps. I bet every grandparent would be like, that's fine and we understand.

Don't worry. Said no grandparent ever. Right? Like that would not be an acceptable answer. You'd be sad.

You'd be kind of irritated. You'd be like, why don't you figure it out, son? Like, come on. Like, can we help? Like, you'd offer us well, they can take a nap over here in this thing.

Like you'd want them to go through it. Right? So take your own advice. Go through it. Model for your children what you want them to do with your grandchildren and trust that they'll do it better than you if you show them an example, a good example.

If you show them a bad example, they'll do it worse than you. They will be less committed to the things you're committed to. If you don't because they will figure out what's most important to you and they'll love those things. Whatever it is, if it's car if it's if it's the Indy five hundred, if it's deer hunting, if it's football, if it's the Premier League, if it's whatever you spend your time doing. Your kids will know what it is, and they'll be as committed to it as you are.

Finally, it says that the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who are being saved. Middle, at the end. Well, in the middle and at the end. Day by day, they were continuing with one mind in the temple. Day by day, the Lord was adding to their number those who are being saved.

It's a perpetual thing. It's a marathon. It's not a sprint. Your life is a marathon. And at the end of it, we're gonna see what was important to you and what you built and what you neglected.

It'll be evident. And so my expectation to you is build the thing that you want built at the end of it. You You won't be able to rush and build it at the end. This is how we build a life on the rock, Jesus Christ, day by day, week by week. Come to a small group.

I don't we don't come to small group because it's easy or convenient. It's it's the easiest, most convenient time of the week to do it. I think it would actually be harder to get you guys to show up for a couple of hours on a Tuesday night we know you're not at work. You don't have to work late, though you do have to prepare for the week ahead. Day by day, week by week, year by year, we live our lives.

And we demonstrate what we're committed to. What's important to us, what we love. It ought to be these things. It ought to be fellowship with one another. It ought to be the breaking of bread with one another.

I know it's hard to get there. If it's hard to get there, ask for help. If someone's upset I'll put it this way. If someone's upset at you for asking for help to do a good thing, the problem is not with you, it's with them. So don't be shy about asking.

None of us are as independent as we like to think. We feel a lot of pressure to live all by ourselves, figuring it out all alone. It's not how they did it. It's not how we should

do it. Day by day, the Lord was adding to

their number those who are being saved. The Lord was adding to their number those who are being saved. While it was miraculous in that moment, the influx of conversions, of converts. You do have to think honestly about how

you claim the promises, God's

promises for your children. Do God's promises for your children. Do you claim them day by day according to your devotion to the Lord? Or do you just claim them theoretically and as a part of a theological system that you ascend to? But then live your life.

Promises for your children. And the way you can expect God to work in their life is to put before them constantly these things. To talk and talk and talk about that, but you can't make it to the things where God has ordained himself to work. You're working against yourself. You're saying one thing and doing another.

It's it's hypocrisy. And so I'm just trying to say, make your life make sense. Make it yes yes yes to small groups. Yes yes yes to small groups. And then when but you said all these yeses when there was no need to say a no.

When there's an opportunity and you have to say yes and no to something, if what happens is you say no to small group at that point, then your prior your commitment wasn't that high. Now, I'll end with this. I'm not trying to bind you guys consciences. I expect that there will be weeks that you will miss small group because you've got sick children, or there will be weeks that you will be out of town and traveling. I understand that.

I'm not talking about this in terms of like, if you if you miss if you ever miss once that you somehow sold the farm and it's all all hope is lost. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just trying to deal with your heart and say, do you love this and want this? Or you can come every week and not want to be Or you can come half of the time and be way more engaged. If your heart is there, if your love is there, if your priority is there, okay, we'll know because you'll be active on the communication threads.

And we'll know because you're involved, you're at the end of the year, you're more involved with those people involved in their lives than you were. The fruit will be evident. And so the goal is not to just say you have to be there every week. That's a really formulaic wooden rigid way to say it. I'm just trying to deal with your heart and where your heart wants to be.

Is your heart continually devoted to the things that these people's hearts were continually devoted to? Or is it is it wandering astray somewhere? If it's wandering astray somewhere, you can have perfect small group attendance and not reap the benefit of it. So give your heart to the things that these people gave their hearts to and expect God to bless you as you do it. Let's pray.