You’re Not Alone!

God Gave Us a Spiritual Family

We are not meant to journey to God all by ourselves.

The current pandemic, forcing us into isolation and social distancing, has been a difficult reminder of our need for other people. We are not meant to be alone, separated from others. We depend on each another not only for our physical needs, such as food and medical care, but also for emotional health. Likewise, we are not meant to be alone on our journey with God. God intended for us to have a spiritual family to accompany us and support us in our faith.

The Bible is the story of God forming a family of faith.

As we explored in our message series, “Preparing the Way,” God always intended for us to know and love him through a family of faith. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were to help each other to love God. After sin entered the world, God called Abraham and began a new spiritual family. Abraham’s descendants eventually became the nation of Israel. God promised that one day, he would bless the entire world through Abraham’s descendants. (Genesis 12:3)

Through Jesus, the family of faith becomes open to all humanity.

God did something no one could have imagined: he became a human being, Jesus of Nazareth. He was born into the people of Israel. Through Jesus, all the nations of the earth are indeed blessed. The family of faith expands into a worldwide family, through which all peoples can come to know and love Jesus. Through this family, Jesus continues to invite all to share in the victory he has won for us.

The family of Christian believers is called the Church.

The original Greek word translated as “church” meant a gathering of people for a specific purpose. The early Christians began to describe themselves with this term. They were not referring to a building for prayer, as we often use “church” today, but Christians united in Jesus as a spiritual family. In the New Testament, we see this word used to describe the worldwide Christian family as well as local communities of Christians.

The Book of Acts describes the first years of the Church.

The Acts of the Apostles is the book in the New Testament directly following the four Gospels. In Acts, we see how the Christian faith began to spread throughout the whole world. We experience the joy of the early Christians, and we are inspired by their willingness to risk everything to follow Jesus and to share his Good News with others.

The example of the early Church inspires us still today.

In this message series, we will explore some of the important themes and events in the Acts of the Apostles. What mission did Jesus give the apostles? How did Jesus continue his ministry through them? What lessons can be learned from the early Christians that still apply to us today, as we journey with God?

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