I want to think this morning of two of the readings we’ve heard today, and both of them offer us guidance, encouragement, and a picture of what Christian life can look like when it is lived with purpose and joy. And I particularly want to think of 3 things - two from our reading from Acts (2:42–47), and one from the Gospel according to John (10:1–10).
The reading from Acts gives us a great insight into the life of the early church. We’re told that the followers of Jesus devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. We’re told how they lived together, sharing what they had. And we’re told that they enjoyed “the goodwill of all the people,” and that “day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
When I was thinking about the reading, two things stood out for me. The first is the fellowship they shared. Now, I’m sure they had their disagreements, because whenever people spend time together, that’s simply part of being human, part of being us! But despite the inevitable tensions, they were bound together as a family. They did things together. They supported one another. They shared what they had, they cared for each other, and crucially, they prayed together.
It’s a wonderful picture of fellowship - not fellowship as a cosy club, but fellowship as a way of life. A community shaped by love, generosity, and belonging. A community where people knew they mattered. A community where no one was left out or left behind.
And that is something the church today is still called to be. We gather in worship, in praise, in prayer, in study, and in friendship, not because it’s a habit, but because it forms us into a people who reflect the love of Jesus. When we spend time together, when we share our lives, when we pray for one another, we become a community where people can truly belong. A community where the love of God is not just spoken about but lived out.
The second thing that struck me from Acts is that final verse: “They had the goodwill of all the people, and day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
To have the goodwill of the people means they were known for doing good. They were known for kindness, compassion, generosity, integrity, and joy. They were known for being a blessing to the places where they lived. And because they were known for these things, people were drawn to them. People wanted to know more about this Jesus who had changed their lives so profoundly.
And this is of course what the church should be known for. Not for our internal debates, not for our disagreements, not for our anxieties about how things used to be or how things ought to be done, but for the way we love. For the way we welcome. For the way we serve. For the way we open our doors and our hearts to anyone who approaches… For the way we run out to meet the person who feels lost or forgotten.
The church does an enormous amount of good, much of it unseen, much of it uncelebrated, but it is real and it is lifegiving. Yet if you ask people outside the church what they think of when they hear the word “church,” too often the first things that come to mind are arguments, rules, or barriers.
And that is a tragedy, because the heart of the gospel is not about making faith feel out of reach or putting up barriers to entry - it is about grace. It is about God who welcomes, who embraces and restores, who delights in every person he has made.
The early church grew not because it had the best structures or the most polished worship or the most impressive buildings. It grew because people encountered love. They encountered hope. They encountered a community that lived differently, not for itself, but for others. A community that revealed Jesus simply by being who they were called to be.
And that is still our calling. To be known for praising God. To be known for doing good. To be known for helping people glimpse Jesus in the way we live. If we are known for these things, if we are known for love, generosity, joy, courage, integrity, and humility, then I truly believe God will add to our number as well.
But that means our faith cannot be only about looking after ourselves. It cannot be only about preserving what we like or guarding what feels familiar. Our faith must be bigger than that. It must reach outwards as well as inwards. It must hold together worship and service, prayer and compassion, fellowship and mission.
We support one another, yes, but we also step out in courage, trusting that God is already at work in the world around us.
And that brings me to our Gospel reading from John. It is a great passage, full of imagery about who Jesus is and how we respond to him. We hear about the shepherd who knows his sheep, who calls them by name, who leads them, who protects them. In those days, the shepherd would often lie across the entrance of the sheepfold at night, literally becoming the gate, so that nothing harmful could enter and none of the sheep could wander off unnoticed. It is a picture of deep, protective, even sometimes inconvenient, love.
But I want to focus on the final verse of the reading, where Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
What do we associate with abundant life? For many people, the first things that come to mind are comfort, security, enjoyment, or success. But none of those things last forever. They are good gifts, but they are not the foundation of life.
Abundant life, as Jesus describes it, is surely something deeper. It is the life that comes from knowing him. It is the life that comes from being loved by him. It is the life that comes from trusting that whatever we face - joy or sorrow, certainty or confusion, strength or weakness - he is with us.
Abundant life is not a life free from difficulty. It is not a life where everything goes smoothly. It is a life found when we walk with him and let him lead us. A life where we know that the one who walks with us has faced everything the world could throw at him - betrayal, suffering, death - and has overcome it. A life where we know that the risen Lord Jesus stands beside us, guiding us, protecting us, and calling us by name.
And that is why so many people, in moments of searching or questioning, find themselves drawn back to faith. Not because they suddenly have all the answers, but because they discover that Jesus is not an idea or a theory - he is a presence. He is someone who meets us where we are, who speaks into our lives, who offers hope when hope feels a bit lacking.
When we know Jesus, we discover that abundant life is not measured in possessions or achievements, but in love, in belonging, in grace. In the quiet assurance that we are held by God. In the courage to face whatever comes. In the joy of knowing that we are never alone.
As the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus is always there for us -always guiding, always protecting, always loving. And he invites us not only to receive that abundant life, but to share it.
To be a community where people can glimpse his love in our fellowship, his welcome in our hospitality, his compassion in our service, his hope in our courage, his joy in our worship.
That is the kind of church the early Christians were. That is the kind of church we are called to be. And that is the kind of church that reveals Jesus to the world. What kind of church are we? What kind of church are we asking God to help us be? AMEN
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