How to Know a Person- It's Complicated 9.14.25
How To Know A Person-It’s Complicated.
Sermon Recap
This week we named how complicated relationships can be—partly because we’re complicated people, and partly because the culture we live in makes connection harder. We’re told that the goal of maturity is independence, that the strongest people are the ones who “don’t need anyone.” But here’s the truth: it’s hard to know each other when we think the goal is to not need each other.
That obsession with self-sufficiency has been reinforced by decades of individualism, convenience, and technology. We’ve built a world where you can get groceries, meals, and entertainment without ever looking someone else in the eye. And it’s taking a toll—not only on our physical health, but also on our relationships and our sense of belonging.
When we’re isolated, we don’t always drift back toward healthy community. Sometimes loneliness drives us into tribalism—bonding around shared enemies instead of a shared good. The church, at its best, is meant to be different. It’s a place of counter-formation, where God pulls us out of hiding and into a bigger story: life together, meals shared, prayers prayed, walls torn down, and glad and sincere hearts.
Go a Little Deeper-Acts 2:42-47
Acts 2 gives us the first picture of what life together looked like after Pentecost. Luke says the believers “devoted themselves” to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. They shared possessions, met each other’s needs, and gathered in homes with glad and sincere hearts.
And remember who made up this first group: it wasn’t a tight-knit bunch of old friends. It was the crowd from Pentecost—people from “every nation under heaven” who had heard the gospel in their own languages (Acts 2:5). This diverse, scattered group of pilgrims became the nucleus of the first church. What would normally have divided them—language, geography, ethnicity—was now held together by the Spirit of Jesus. Their meals and prayers weren’t just devotional acts; they were signs of a brand new kind of family.
A few things to notice:
· Devoted themselves – the Greek word means persistence, loyalty, even stubbornness. This wasn’t casual involvement but a new way of life.
· All things in common – Their sharing pushed back against the logic of scarcity. Instead of clinging tightly, they lived like God’s abundance was real.
· Meals as mission – In the ancient world, who you ate with was who you identified with. This mixed community eating together was a public declaration that Jesus had created one new family.
· Joy as resistance – Luke highlights their glad hearts. This wasn’t naïve optimism; it was a defiant kind of joy in the middle of empire and scarcity.
· Multiethnic from the start – As Esau McCaulley puts it: “The church was multiethnic from the beginning. Anything less is a distortion of our birthright.” Pentecost brought together people from “every nation under heaven,” and Acts 2 shows what happened when those differences didn’t divide but deepened community.
This isn’t a utopian snapshot—it’s a community shaped by intentional practices. Ordinary rhythms like prayer, meals, generosity, and teaching became signs of God’s kingdom breaking into the world.
Discussion Questions
1. Which detail in Acts 2:42–47 stands out to you most—devotion, generosity, meals, or joy? Why?
2. How is this example of community different than the community we are used to?
3. Nick said, “It’s hard to know each other when we think the goal is to not need each other.” Where have you seen that play out in your own life?
4. In what ways has convenience (self-checkout, food delivery, streaming, etc.) shaped your habits of connection with other people?
5. What’s the difference between community (built on a shared vision of good) and tribalism (built on a shared enemy)? Where do you see each at work in our culture today?
6. Think about the Mumford & Sons concert image. Why do moments of singing or sharing an experience together feel so much more powerful than doing it alone?
7. How do you think being part of a local church community can be a remedy for the issues of loneliness, isolation, and tribalism we’ve been talking about?
Practice to Try
The Shared Table – Share one meal this week, or grab some coffee, with someone you wouldn’t normally do that with. Consider asking a question that takes things a little deeper than normal such as, “What’s something going on in your life that you’re really grateful for right now?
Closing Prayer
Holy Spirit, You formed a people in Acts 2 who devoted themselves to life together, breaking down barriers of culture and class. Form us into that kind of community today. Free us from isolation and tribalism. Teach us to live with glad and sincere hearts, so the world might glimpse in us Your beauty. Amen.
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