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Sermon: A Community Captivated by the Gospel
Text: Acts 4:32-37
Date: March 14, 2021

Introduction and Scripture Reading

The central truth of our text is that the gospel creates a supernatural unity in the church.

I have titled my sermon A community captivated by the gospel. This body of believers that is described in Acts have been so captivated by the message of the crucified Son of God who died and was resurrected and offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life. That message unified them, focused them on Jesus, and radically changed how they cared for one another. By God’s grace, we are invited into this beautiful community today.

Read Acts 4:32-37

Pray

1 Point: A community captivated by the gospel is unified by their identity in Jesus.
Read Acts 4:32

- described as one heart and one mind.
Totally unified. The unique thing about this is it is a diverse group, men/women, Rich and poor, people from every nation, eventually Jews and Gentiles. It wasn’t a group of people that all looked the same and acted the same. But their common faith in Jesus was greater than the differences. This is a unity that only God could create.

-all things in common
This unity led to sharing all things with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Everyone lived as if whatever they had did not belong to themselves but belonged to the group as a whole.

Ref. John 17:20-23 Jesus prayed for this kind of unity. Believers so united to one another through Him that it would draw others in, “what they say about Jesus must be true.”

Ref. Ephesians 4:1-6 Paul urges believers to live in unity. He does this while recognizing that division comes easy.

Application: We must commit to letting our identity in Jesus define and unite us.
Not politics, race, economic status, our likes or dislikes. None of these should be what defines and unites the church. If they do, we have lost sight of our savior and lost sight of the good news of the gospel.

2 Point: A community captivated by the gospel stays committed to the message of the gospel Acts 4:33

- Great power. This power is from the Holy Spirit. It is what Jesus said they would receive from the Holy Spirit before they were to be His witnesses. That was back in Acts 1. So their message is given in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- The message was focused on Jesus. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The message was on a crucified savior who God brought back to life. The truth of that message changes everything.
- Great grace was on the church. As they stayed connected to the power of the Holy Spirit and focused on the message of their precious savior Jesus, God gave them great grace!

The Apostles’ message had not changed.
Ref. Acts 2:22-24, Acts 3:13-16, 26, Acts 4:8-12
The message didn’t change. They didn’t look for something more attractive. They stuck with what was most important because the message of a crucified and resurrected savior who offers salvation has power.

Paul reminds the Corinthians that the gospel message was the most important message.
Ref. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
It is the most important message today. They didn’t need move on from this message to another message

Application: We must keep the message of the gospel central to all our ministries and our individual lives.
Our message must be focused on our savior and what he has already accomplished not on ourselves. He is the hero. When we keep our gaze on the gospel, it helps us live in awe of God.

3 Point: A Community Captivated by the gospel sacrificially cares for one another.
Read Acts 4:34-37
- Not a needy person among them because when a need arose people sold their possessions

-Example: Joseph, Also called Barnabas, is one of these individuals. He is introduced here as one of the believers who has been so captivated by his savior that it affects how he lives.

Ref. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Paul tells Timothy, Instruct the rich to live this way. Because of the great generosity of God towards you in Christ Jesus, you are to live generously and share with others in need.

Ref. 1 John 3:16-18
What a convicting question. We are called to live generously to care for our brothers and sisters in need.

Application: We must look for needs of others and respond sacrificially when able.