After the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, what comes next?
The apostles, continuing to be led by the Holy Spirit, developed a rhythm of life around five spiritual practices to help those who responded on Pentecost take their next step towards a Christ-centered life. We discover the first four in Acts 2:42.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
The first practice they devoted themselves to was the
apostles teaching
. They devoted themselves to learning the stories about Jesus and the stories Jesus told and how they fit into the great story of God told in the rest of Scripture.
The second spiritual discipline listed is
fellowship
. This is more than just hanging out with people we already like. Remember, this group has mushroomed from a few hundred to a few thousand almost overnight. Not only that, but this new community is also made up of people from all over the world. The fellowship of the early church was a multi-cultural fellowship of women and men learning to trust and love each other in
all their unique and glorious differences.
The third practice named is the
breaking of bread
. They continued Jesus’ radical practice of sharing meals with friends and strangers and as they broke bread together, they would remember the meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the night he was betrayed.
The
prayers
are the fourth discipline listed. Undoubtedly, they would pray as individuals each in their own way. But as we see in Acts 3:1 with Peter and John
“going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, around three o’clock”
they also maintained the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer (morning, afternoon, and evening).
The fifth practice,
sacrificial generosity
is found in Acts 2:45,
“they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
As their love for God and neighbor grew, they discovered the joy of giving.
The purpose of all spiritual practices is to grow in love for God and neighbor. It is my experience, and that of the church from the earliest days, that our love for God and neighbor grows as we devote ourselves to these five practices.
