Simple Church: House Church in China

As I sit here in a little coffee shop in Wilmington, NC and reflecting on the last details to finish today for the Christmas Gathering of our House Church tomorrow evening, I am struck with a humbled sense of gratitude.  In all the business and planning we do for our churches in the West, we can lose sight or maybe never see the essence of what church really is.  We can so easily take the Church for granted when caught up in all that we do to run and maintain our traditional Church Organizations; with all the meetings, boards, committees, programs, classes, politics, and facility needs.   

According to the AP reported on November 26, 2009, “A court in northern China has sentenced five leaders of an unauthorized Protestant church to prison terms of up to seven years on charges including illegal assembly, rights groups reported Thursday.”  Among those arrested were the Pastor, his wife and three other church members.  The AP goes on to say, “The sentences are among the harshest in recent years for members of so-called “house churches” — congregations that refuse to register and accept the authority of the government’s Religious Affairs Bureau.” 

A few weeks ago I was sitting in our church gathering, a group of about 20-30 people circled up in a large room off the back of our home.  Looking around the room I was thinking about this story of a pastor and his wife who met just like we were that morning but knowing they were risking their freedom, maybe their lives and yet this did not deter them.  They were doing exactly what we were that morning; singing, reading, praying, studying, laughing, eating, loving, sharing our stories- our lives with each other, and meeting each other’s needs.  However, we were risking nothing that the death of pride wouldn’t fix.  They were risking everything.  It’s amazing how the thought of that can refocus you on what is really important and not, what the church is and not.  It makes you grateful.

According to a study done by the Barna Group, when a Chinese House Church pastor or leader is arrested or killed, the house church may disband, but out of it will form 5 other House Churches. This may explain the latest statistics reported on an article from the Seattle P-I on October 3, 2008:

Zhao Xiao, a former Communist Party official and convert to Christianity, smiles over a cup of tea and says he thinks there are up to 130 million Christians in China. This is far larger than previous estimates.  The government says there are 21 million (16 million Protestants, 5 million Catholics). Unofficial figures, such as one given by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in Massachusetts, put the number at about 70 million.  But Zhao is not alone in his reckoning. A study of China by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, an American think tank, says indirect survey evidence suggests many unaffiliated Christians are not in the official figures.  And according to China Aid Association, a Texas-based lobby group, the director of the government body that supervises all religions in China, said privately that the figure was indeed as much as 130 million in early 2008.  If so, it would mean China contains more Christians than Communists (party membership is 74 million) and there may be more active Christians in China than in any other country.  In 1949, when the Communists took power, less than 1 percent of the population had been baptized, most of them Catholics. Now the largest, fastest-growing number of Christians belong to Protestant “house churches.”

It is clear that this incredible growth of disciples is a result of the unauthorized and uncounted House Church Movement under great persecution.  This has also served to keep Christians in House Churches focused on what is important and not hindered by Western consumer necessities.  Without our baggage, the House Churches in China have become relational not religious, flexible not rigid, creative not stagnate, inclusive not exclusive, adaptable not compromising, disciple building not building churches and giving not getting.  They are not worried about getting their church name out there.  The only name they are concerned with promoting is Jesus.  What if our Western  Pastors, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists and Churches were more concerned with making the name of Jesus famous than the name on the sign out front.

I am not throwing stones.  I’ve been there.  This is not to say that House Churches are where it’s at or what God is doing now.  It’s really not about leaders, traditional churches, buildings, money or programs.  It’s about evaluating what we think and do as the Church and refocus on what is true and really necessary to be the Church.  It’s about shedding unnecessary baggage.  It’s about seeing through God’s eyes, getting His heart and being led by the Holy Spirit no matter what the cost, even if the cost is how we’ve always done it.  It’s about Jesus and people – all else is negotiable and subject to change.

It about being grateful.

Simple Church video…

This is a great video about the Simple Church movement by House2House featuring a number of leaders and Simple Church practitioners.

 

Simplify: The Rabbit and The Elephant…

I picked up this small book after running across it on This Blog.  The title alone was enough for me to buy it.  Curiosity!

I have not finished it yet, but, let me recommend it to you for your reading pleasure.  It is well crafted by 3 great writers, not the least of which is considered one of our most quoted christian leaders of our times,  George Barna. 

Let me quote from George Barna’s website:

“If you put two elephants in a room together and close the door, in 22 months you may get one baby elephant. But two rabbits together for the same amount of time will result in thousands of babies!”  

The idea is that something large and with a complex structure is harder to duplicate.  However, something small and simple is easily multiplied.  What if we applied this principle to Discipleship and Church Planting?

Skye Jethani, managing editor for Leadership Magazine shared these similar thoughts as it related to the church and sharing the Gospel in our times:

“To declare the gospel in a culture where fewer people are likely to step foot in a church means valuing swiftness over bigness, agility over security.  This means smaller, missional communities with less baggage may be better equipped to advance the gospel than some larger churches burdened by their programming and overhead.

Does this mean we should abandon all our institutional baggage?  Of course not.  But like a smart traveler, conditions today require us to be more discerning about what to take on our journey, and what to leave behind.” 

You can read more about this in an earlier post entitle Going Missional.

Is He building His Church or are we building Churches?  We are in desperate need of a Jesus movement, something Spirit lead and empowered that man cannot take credit for.  Are we positioning ourselves in the best way to allow this to happen?  Do our modern Church practices enhance or detract from this happening?  Is the Cross of Jesus and the Gospel of His Kingdom really the central focus of our Church efforts?  Lot’s of questions running through my mind today obviously. 

What are your thoughts on what it will take for Jesus to move in this way today?

Oh yea, buy the book.

Collectors or Consumers…

This entry from my friend Robbie made me think.  Are we collectors of God’s Word or consumers of God’s Word.  I hope we are all consuming God’s Word and meditating on it daily.  So, here’s the poll for the day.

How many Bibles do you own?   

Leave your comment with how many.

He who has an ear, let him hear…

Oh the beauty of diversity.  How different we are in every way, including our ability to communicate.  If you haven’t learned by now then you either don’t realize that people misunderstand what you’ve tried to say or you don’t care if you are misunderstood.   But, if we value relationship with the ones we are trying to communicate with then we will take the time to learn.  To assume you are heard simply because you think you are a clear and precise communicator is a self-delusion and maybe in some cases arrogant.  Either way it does not take into account the beautiful diversity of our hearers.  Communication is an ongoing process that may need to be revisited over and over til what we find is not that we have simply been heard and understood but rather we progressively and more intimately know our hearers as well as we are known.  To truly desire to be heard is to truly desire relationship with our hearer and that is a heart issue not just something wrong with the ears.

A Beautiful thing…

As I woke up this morning I felt an incredible sense of gratitude for the journey I am on.   Life is a marathon, not a 50 yard dash and learning to live in the moment is an art, not a science.  Every canvas is the same.  It doesn’t look like much, kind of plain.  But the moment the master artist puts his hand to the canvas, with each brush of color the canvas comes to life.  To the canvas and those who watch the artist at work, each stroke makes no sense till the masterpiece is done.  Learning to live in the moment and enjoying the journey is all about trusting the Master as He adds color to our life.  Each moment is necessary to the vision in the Master’s heart and mind.  

Put your trust in God’s vision for your life.  You don’t have to understand every moment, just look for the Master of the moment.  Our peace and joy in life’s circumstance is in the presence of God and the trust that each moment is necessary for our completion.  You will miss the beauty of each stroke and color if you are more concerned with understanding why He is doing it rather than embracing what He’s doing.

Trust God’s vision, He will complete it.

Don’t worry, He knows what He’s doing.

Enjoy the beauty of each moment, He’s in the moment.

Be patient, it’s a journey.

Risky Buisness…

We have been teaching a series called “Going Deep” over the last few weeks and it has been an awesome experience for me because it has been shaping me as I teach it. 

The thing I have been pondering is how we mostly present Christianity as a belief system instead of a way of life.  Our faith was intended to be a way of life.  God models this for us.  We know 1 John 4:8 says “God is love.”  This is our belief.  But, in Romans 5:8 God Gives us His way of life, “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   We know the bible says God is kind and we believe it but Romans 2:4 says “the kindness of God leads you to repentance.”  Our belief system has to always be fleshed out.  It has to become for us a way of life.

In our series about “Going Deep”,we looked at Acts 2:42-47 where the believer (system) devoted themselves (way of life).  They devoted themselvesto fellowship and breaking of bread which requires a great deal of humility and vulnerability.  Let’s just say this is RISKY BUSINESS.  I shared in our series how we will have fellowship to the degree that we are known.  This means the risk of exposing ourselves, being real.  It questions “If I let people know this about me, what will they think, what will they do?”

That said, I was privileged this week to be invited to lunch by a new friend.  When we settled down to eat he said the reason he wanted to have lunch with me was to expose himself.  He said he wanted to tell me about his life so we could know each other deeper.  WOW!!!  The courage it takes to let it all hang out.  My experience has been, you never know how people will react when you open up to be known.  I am so blessed, both as this persons friend and as a pastor.  I am blessed to go deeper as a friend and like most pastors, we are blessed when people “get it.”  It takes a great deal of faith to live the kind of life, but is is our reward, our inheritance in the saints.

Hang in there with me, I need to catch up the last two weeks of this series here on the blog. (Breaking Bread & Prayer)

Here are the links for the first 3 parts of this series “GOING DEEP.”

Pt. 1 GOING DEEP

Pt. 2 GOING DEEP

Pt.3 GOING DEEP

Hope Shines…

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”        Romans 8:24

Though you may not see, the Son is always behind the clouds.  Just wait.

I got up this early morning from a sleepless night.  I had to be at the Endodontist first thing.  I have a tooth that was crowned a few years ago and it seemed to be giving me trouble.  My dentist said I might need a root canal.  For a week I’ve been thinking something was not right with the crown, but what do I know, I’m not the dentist.  I hate going to the dentist. 

When I walked out of the house it was a gloomy overcast day.  The sun was nowhere to be found.  But, I know it’s still there.  It’s amazing how the look of the weather can affect your outlook of the day.  Depressing looking days have a tendency to depress.  We can forget the sun is always there behind the clouds.

As I sit here writing this the sun is breaking through the clouds.  It was there all the time.  We cannot always see it when we want, but with patience it always comes.

Don’t worry so much when you see the clouds in your life.  Even if it tarries, wait in hope.  Though all we may see is clouds, the Son is always there.  Our hope is in someone greater than what our eyes can see.  Jesus is always there.  Wait on Him, His timing is perfect.

When I was at the Endodontist, he said he believed I needed an adjustment on my crown and a little antibiotic would take care of it instead of a root canal.  It seens to feel much better.  And, it cost me $95 instead of $1000.  What a blessing.

Going Deep – Pt.3 Fellowship

Fellowship is something that we generally equate to hanging out with other people or doing something together.  In this third week of our series “Going Deep”, we look again at Acts 2:42-47 which says the new believers “devoted themselves to….the fellowship…”.

 

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”  Acts 2:42-47

When we look at this passage as well as other throughout the New Testament we see that what these new disciples of Jesus were experiencing something new.  This was something different.  This was something Deeper!

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life– the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us– that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”      1 John 1:1-10

John shares his first hand experience of the fellowship we see in the book of Acts. 

First, he says this fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.  He uses the words “Our fellowship”, which is a possessive personal pronoun, indicating fellowship as a distinguishing mark of Christians rather than something just enjoyed by them.  This fellowship set them apart as a unique and new experience to them.  It is unique because it is with the Father and His Son.  This is something they had not experience before now.   Their fellowship was based on that which united them; a relationship with the one who’s blood gave grace to cover their sin and who’s resurrection gave them new life and an experience of the Fathers love.

In Thayer’s Greek Definitions, fellowship is the Greek word “koinonia”, meaning association, community, communion, joint participation, intimacy and (social) intercourse.   This is more than mere religion or religious acts.  This is intimate’ knowing and being known. 

Second, he says our fellowship is in the Light.  If we walk in the Light we will have fellowship with one another.  To walk in the Light means to be expose, open with nothing hidden in darkness.  We spend much of our lives trying to hide certain thing from God and most things from people.  Even those we consider closest to us.  This is why so many Christians substitute Religion for true fellowship.  They put on the appearance of outward spirituality while inside they are closed off, bound and burdened by the things hidden in darkness.  Ephesians 5:13-14 tell us that anything brought into the Light becomes Light because Christ shines on you.  It is amazing the relief we feel when we have no secrets, when we open up and share with someone what we have tried to hide.  Satan can no longer hold it over our head and we step out to find, not condemnation, but rather love and grace.  We fellowship to the degree we are known.

• Who do you know like this?
• Who knows you like this?
• Are you willing to expose yourself, take the risk of being utterly transparent and real with someone?

Persevere…

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”    James 1:2-4 (NIV)

An aspect of character we must master is perseverance.  James tells us that it is the quality of character that will bring us to the mature and complete destination God desires.  It is the character that will not leave us lacking and prepares us for every good work God has for us. 

“So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”    John 6:67-69 (ESV)

I have made a decision in my life that has served me well.  I am determined to persevere no matter what.  This is not something I choose in my own strength, but in faith.  I am determined to persevere if it kills me.  I find myself where Jesus’ disciple found themselves after all of Jesus’ followers left Him and the 12 remained.  Their perseverance was based on the fact that Jesus was the Holy One of God and only He had the Words of life.  When we really get to this point, we will persevere.  If we are not convinced of this we will loose heart in the weakness of our flesh.

“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints”     Ephesians 6:18

Three things we must do where things get tough:

1. Pray – pray in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
2. Keep alert with Perseverance.
3. Pray and think about others instead of dwelling on yourself.

God wants us to endure to the end.   If we do not persevere we will miss the joy of our journey.

I want something Relevant…

 

 I saw this cartoon at mentalreflection, thanks Philippa.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”   2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

Going Deep – Pt.2 The Word

In our second week of this series we looked at Going Deep in God’s Word.

“And they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching…”   Acts2:42

In Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, he says “One evidence of conversion is a desire to be instructed in the doctrines and duties of religion, and a willingness to attend on the preaching of the gospel.”  When we come to Jesus there is a desire stirred to know Him and our new life in a deeper way, both in knowledge and experience. 

God, from before time has been a God who reveals Himself and wants to be known, not out of His need but ours.  In this He has not left us without a way to know Him.  He has done so in His Word, both written and incarnate.

“You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness of me…”  John 5:39

In the scriptures we find the revelation of Jesus.  As we behold Him we are transformed. (2 Corinthians 3:18)  For God’s plan has always been to conform us to the image of His Son. (Romans 8:29)  

The new believers in Acts 2 were responding to this desire by devoting themselves to the Apostle to be taught.  And as a result they were experiencing the change of this new life in Christ.  They were going deeper in the Word through the Apostles’ teaching.  The word for teaching here is also the word doctrine, which is not meant to be a systematic order if information.  It is deeper than just knowledge.  Referring again to Albert Barnes Notes, Barnes says it was not to just hold or believe the doctrine of the Apostles, but to adhere to or attend on those teachings.  This was a new and deepening life in God’s Word.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”   2 Timothy 3:16-17

To understand why and how going deeper in the Word and devoting ourselves to it’s teaching changes us, we can look at 2nd Timothy.  It says “All scripture is breathed out by God…”  In the Greek it literally means by the breath of God the Scriptures were formed.  Peter says it this way:

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”   2 Peter 1:16-21

The Greek “carried along” actually means “borne” from the root “to bear.”  Benjamine Warfield says:

“What is “borne” is taken up by the “bearer,” and conveyed by the “bearer’s” power, not its own, to the “bearer’s” goal, not its own.  The men who spoke from God are here declared, therefore, to have been taken up by the Holy Spirit and brought by His power to the goal of His choosing.  The things which they spoke under this operation of the Holy Spirit were, therefore, His things, not theirs.”  Benjamine Warfield

This is why our human words only have power to the degree of our own limited ability and authority, but when we are borne of the Holy Spirit, we are taken up by Him andwhat we then do in Him is by Him through us.  This kindof power is supernatural.  This is the power of the Word given by these men borne of the Spirit.  This makes the Word of God powerful and as we go deeper into it, it works in us powerfully to the end and goal of the Spirit to which the Word belongs.

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”  1 Thessalonians 2:13

In the life of the “borne” again believer, the Word performs powerful and life changing things for those who go deeper into it and put it to practice – obey it.  This is why it says in Ephesians:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”   Ephesians 4:11-16

No one is going to do it for us.  Our new life is a journey and the change we must experience is a process.  It is a process that is hindered if we do not go deeper in God’s Word.  It is amazing that as much as  we (believers) hold the Apostle Paul up on a pedestal, that we would fine this in his writings:

“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:10-11

Let me invite you to GO DEEPinto God’s Word.  Take advantage of the opportunities you have to devote yourself to Apostolic teaching.  Your pastors and spiritual leaders humbly labor to lead you into a deep and rich encounter the the Word of the Word, Jesus.  God is faithful to bring favor in your life from devotion to the teaching of His Word.

“But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who bear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”  Mark 4:20

Going Deep Pt. 1

Last week I started a new teaching series at The Dwelling Place entitled “Going Deep.”  It was prompted by something I posted a few days back where I said “Going Deep is our part, going Big is God’s part.”  As I was reflecting on Acts 2 I noticed something that jerked me back like a dog on a leash.

We have a tendency as church pastors and church planter to give in to the pressure to produce.  Much of our insecurities can be manipulated by the pressure of perceived expectation, that we must make it grow.  Since we are the experts, we must do something to make that thing get bigger.  After all it is the consumers measure for success.  If it’s not succeeding then we are not succeeding.  Let me say to all of you in ministry, “What a load of CRAP!”  Success?  I remember what my Father said to His firstborn, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”  This is it.  I am my Daddy’s son and He loves me.

Moving on.  After finishing a previous series where we looked at what our mission was, I was tempted to work up a mission statement, package it well, capture it in a clever statement and then….jerrrrrk.  I saw it.  

“And they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers……praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”   Acts 2:42,47

The new believers devoted themselves……it produced favor and the Lord added to their number.

Devoted in the Greek means “to be earnest towards.”  It is a compound word for “forward” indicating a direction and movement towards; and to be strong, steadfast or endure.   In the context of verse 42 it means these new believers were moving forward in a stronger and more earnest relationship with Jesus, their leaders (Apostles) and each other.  In other word they were GOING DEEPER in Scripture and teaching of the Apostles, deeper in fellowship, deeper in the practice of faith and deeper in prayer together.

When we enter into this deeper devotion and a missional, incarnational focus on those around us, it will produce favor.  Going deeper in relationship and love with God and people is an attractive thing.  When you find something you really love, don’t you want to tell someone or share it with someone.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  If you don’t want to share the experience of what you have, you might want to check and see if you had it in the first place. 

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”      1 John 4:8

God cannot be contained.  When we try to put God in a box and contain Him, it becomes something other than God.  It just becomes religion and not good religion at that.  Life has to have room to grow or you kill it.    “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”  1 John 4:7

Missional, Incarnational Community…

In the movie Superman Returns, Superman comes to see Lois and explains why he left and came back.  He takes Lois for a flight through the night sky high above the earth.  As they hover, Superman says:

S: What do you hear?

L: Nothing.

S: I hear everything….

S: You wrote “The world does not need a Savior, but every day I hear people crying out for one.”

Isn’t that so true.  If you have the ears and eyes to discern the cry of humanity all around us;  they cry out for a Savior.  From atheist to agnostic to right out vile pagan - While even in the midst of outright denying the existence of God, their lives, their pain, their dreams and life longings cry out for a Savior. 

Instead of self-righteous disdain for the behavior and religious beliefs of others, we should be moved to compassion for a crying humanity in need of a Savior. 

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”   Micah 6:8

Who is going to show them the way?

Missional Community…

“Going deep is our part, going big is God’s part.”

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”      Acts 2:42-47