Being Intentional: Living Less Out Of Habit and More Out Of Intent | Part 1

Be Intentional With Your Church
Scripture: Acts 2:42-47
Key Thought: Those who are the least critical and most excited about their church tend to be the most intentional with their church.

 In Acts 2 we are given an account of how intentional the earliest members of New Testament church were and the results of their intentionality. 

8 Observations of the Acts 2 Church
1. They Were Devoted 
The word devoted in the greek language means focusing hard, refusing distractions, being sternly committed to something - its the exact opposite of living on autopilot. 
• Devoted to God’s Word
• Devoted to Fellowship 
• Devoted to Breaking Bread 
• Devoted to Prayer 
2. They Were Filled With Awe
3. They Were Together
4. They Were Glad
5. They Were Sincere
6. They Were Praising God
7. They Were Enjoying Favor 
8. They Were Seeing People Saved

“They met daily, cared daily, won souls daily, searched the scriptures daily, and increased in number daily. Their Christian faith was a day-to-day reality, not a once a week routine.” Warren Wiersbe 

Three Ways To Be Intentional With Your Church

1. Gather
In Acts 2:42-27 three different times we are told that the believers were together. They were intentional about gathering. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV 

2. Grow 
• In Acts 2:42-47 the Believers Grew Numerically (Wider) 
“…And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47 NIV 
• In Acts 2:42-47 The Believers Grew Spiritually (Deeper) "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." 1 Peter 2:2 NIV

3. Go 
The believers in Acts 2 were intentionally on the GO. It makes sense, they were being led by the very men who had Jesus look them in the eye and say “Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit."  But they weren’t on the go with meaningless church activity. They were on the go with an intentionally simple, but effective, and most importantly Biblical approach to growing deeper and wider.  

They Were on the Go By…

- Opening Up Their Time 

- Opening Up Their Treasures 

- Opening Up Their Talents 

• We Are Saved to Serve. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…”  Mark 10:45 NIV
• We Are Found to Find. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NIV

Question To Consider: How healthy would your church be if others were as intentional as you are with your church?