This week’s reflections are written by Rev. Brian Johnson, one of our Associate Pastors here at St. Matthew’s

Rooted 2019 – Week Fourteen Day Five

Today’s reading is Acts 2: 37-47

“What should we do?”, asked the crowd that just had their hearts pierced by Peter’s words.  No more disbelief or scoffing. Now the crowd is seeking what next? I would say this is a very logical next step for this group.  I would be asking Peter the same question, what do we do now that we believe? What Peter says next is very important for the discipleship of all future believers.  First, you must repent of your old ways and turn to God. To repent must be a thoughtful action. You must be able to identify how your past way of life was leading you away from God and then you must be able to live in a way that draws you closer to God.  Repentance is a continual process that we must work on our entire life. Then once you repent, you are to be baptised in the Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. After you complete those steps, Peter says you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This process outlines our current way of accepting new members in our church community.  Then once we have new members in our church community, we see in verses 42 – 47 how we live out together in community. The believers shared together in the receiving of teaching, prayer, meals including the Lord’s Supper, and even their property. They shared in everything for the common good of the community. God added to their numbers because of their faithfulness and generosity.  The church is designed to live out life together and to be generous together. The gospel message is for everyone not just a specific group of people. Anyone can be part of the community of believers and are lead to live out their faith life together. May what Jesus did for all of us lead us in a way that invites others to be part of the community of believers and inspire us to be generous to the world around us.

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