What a Normal Church Looks Like

We are in the middle of a weird section in Acts. It’s kind of difficult for a preacher. You see, Acts is a historical book. It just is giving us the history of the early church. And as a historical book - sometimes it just records details for us and we are like “what do we do with that?”

At first glance - it would seem like our passage this morning is like that. Lots of little seemingly unconnected details. A lot of “what do we do with this?” kind of stuff. But I think as we look at this there is a lot we can learn from this passage of scripture and I’m excited about showing that to you this morning.

Let’s start by reading the text. Acts 20:1-12

”And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.”

So this story, it’s interesting. I mean, you have a teenager falling asleep in a church service and falling out of a window and dying and then being miraculously healed. That’s interesting. It’s memorable.

But what does it teach us?

The first couple verses tell us about Paul’s travels - but again- what does it teach us? What do WE do with it?

I want to ask you a question this morning that I think this passage answers as well as anything in the new testament. That question is “What is a normal church?” or “What does a normal church look like?”

There are two ways to use the word “normal.” One way is “like everyone else.” In that sense - we don’t want to be a normal church. The other way is “the way things should be.” That’s what we are getting at this morning.

There are all kinds of churches aren’t there. You’ve got the super traditional presbyterian type churches. The loud and proud charismatic churches. The modern hip theatre churches. There are churches that meet in coffee houses and just have a “conversation.” But my question is - what is a normal church supposed to be like?

As believers - we cannot define that on our own. We have to look to the Bible.

But amazingly - there aren’t a lot of passages that describe the day to day life and ministry of the churches in the New Testament. But there is one here. You see, this passage might not have an OBVIOUS application for us - but it does have an application. Definitely. This passage gives us a glimpse into the life of the early church and we can see in this passage what a normal church should look like.

So I’m going to give you five things and I’ll explain the passage as we go along.

First,

1. A normal church is a loving church. (1) Let me show you where we see that. Look at verse 1.

”And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.”

Paul is in Corinth. Remember, they have just had this riot there. Paul’s been there for awhile. Now it’s time for him to leave and notice what it says he did. He called the disciples - that’s all of the Christians in the church at Corinth - and he embraced them. He gave them each a hug.

Can I tell you that when you look at the church in the New Testament, you see an affectionate church. They loved each other and they weren’t afraid to show it.

This is all over the New Testament. Paul said in Romans 16:16

”Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.”

(I once saw that verse on the back of a church van in town, kind of thought that was strange.)

But listen, they weren’t afraid to show physical affection one for another in the New Testament.

Many times Jesus had people showing physical affection to Him. Whether it was John leaning on his breast at the Last Supper or the woman who broke the alabaster box on his head and kissed His feet over and over.

Now, what does that teach us?

First, I think it teaches us that Paul wasn’t some standoffish overly elevated man who never had anything to do with the people. He loved the people. He let them touch him. Jesus let his followers touch him and show Him affection.

Listen, that’s a comfort. It’s ok to love on Jesus. It’s ok to show Jesus affection. He’ll love on you back. It’s ok.

But I think the main thing we see from this is that we ought to show each other we love one another. This ought to be a part of the church. This is what normal church looks like.

I absolutely despise this idea of church where it’s just a place we come on sunday to watch a show. No! It’s a family. It’s a body. It ought to be obvious to outsiders that we love each other and we ought not to be afraid to say “I love you” or even to give a brother a hug.

Listen - I struggle with this. I’m as bad about this as anybody out there. So people show affection freely - I’m not one of them. I have to work at it. But affection should be a part of the the church.

That’s normal.

The second thing we see about the church is:

2. A normal church is a giving church. (2) You are probably looking at this passage and thinking: “Ok, pastor - where do you get that?”

Well look at verses 1-2 again:

”And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece”

“Ok, Pastor - still not seeing giving.”

You are right. If you just read this on the surface there isn’t much about giving. But if you take the rest of the New Testament and the letters that Paul wrote about this time and you put the pieces together. You realize WHY Paul went to Macedonia. He went their to collect an offering.

In Romans 15:25-26 it says:

”[Rom 15:25-26 KJV] 25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.”

Paul is saying “I’m headed to Macedonia and Achaia to take up a collection. Achaia was another name for Greece. This is talking about this passage. It’s also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16 and in 2 Corinthians 8.

So, what was the offering for? It was for “the poor saints which were at Jerusalem.” These early church Christians were giving enough to give generously for a bunch of people they probably didn’t know and would never see.

This was a big deal. There was a lot of logistics involved. You couldn’t just send it via PayPal. You had to have an entourage. Protection. You had to take a long and perilous journey.

Let me tell you - a normal church is a giving church. It’s a church that gives to causes bigger than itself. In this story it was poor believers in Jerusalem. Today it might be missionaries. It might be some cause in a foreign land. It might be a church that loses everything in a flood. It might be poor people in the church or in the community. But if we are going to be a normal church according to the New Testament we have to be giving to causes bigger than ourselves.

So a normal church is a giving church.

To find the third thing you have to skip down a bit. In verses 3-6 it tells about Paul’s plans to sail to Jerusalem, but some people were probably planning to off him on the boat and God tips him in on this so he goes another way. He stops in a city called Troas and while he is there he meets with the church there.

Now, look at verse 7. Verse 7 is where we are going to get the rest of our things.

”And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”

Ever wonder what a first century early church actually did. What a normal church looks like. The third thing:

3. A normal church is a committed worshipping church (7) It says they meet “on the first day of the week.” They met on Sunday. Saturday was the sabbath for the jews. Sunday is the Lord’s day for Christians. They were committed to worshipping God together on the first day of the week.

Paul writes about this in that passage I mentioned before in 1 Cor. 16. He says “take up your offering on the first day of the week” That’s when Christians met together.

Listen folks - we are missing that today. For too many people, attending church on Sunday is optional. I’m not talking 3 times a week like many people do - I’m talking Sunday. Everything else takes precedence. Vacation. Sports. Their hobby. Everything.

Sunday is the Lord’s day. Listen - I’m a triathlete. I swim and run and ride my bike and I love it. There is a race in town today. All of my triathlete friends are racing it. I’m in shape. I’d do really well. I’d love to be in that race. But listen folks - it’s not the day for racing. It’s Sunday. It’s the Lord’s day.

Now, listen, I’m not saying it’s wrong to do anything else on Sunday. What I am saying is that Sunday should be special. It should be the Lord’s day and that meeting together with believers on this day should take precedence.

We see how much precedence it took in this passage. These people didn’t live in a day and age where you got Sunday off. Christianity was new. Many were probably slaves or servants. They were expected to work on Sunday. So they met together at night after work and they stayed together all night long worshipping God.

They were committed. After slaving. After working. Knowing they had to work the next day. They still met together for worship on the first day of the week.

Look at the fourth thing:

4. A normal church is an ordinance practicing church (7) It says “the disciples came together to break bread.” We know that the early church did two things together almost every time they met. They had what was called “the love feast” which was just a fellowship meal. It was like a potluck. But after the love feast they would take the Lord’s supper. That’s what is mentioned here.

There are two ordinances that we believe in. They are ordinances. They aren’t sacraments. They don’t save. They teach. We are commanded to do them. They are the Lord’s Supper and Believers Baptism.

They are both pictures. Object lessons that teach us about Christ and what He has done for us and we are commanded to do each of them.

The early church took the Lord’s supper so seriously that apparently they did it every Sunday night.

So a normal church practices the ordinances.

One more thing and we’ll be done. You knew I was going to go here:

5. A normal church is a bible preaching church (7) The last part of verse 7 says:

”Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”

These people didn’t just get together for a potluck. They got together after a hard days work at the biggest house they could find, they settled onto the third floor where it was open and flat, and they listened to preaching. Paul preached the Bible to them. Time wise - this is the biggest thing we see here.

I mean, it says he preached until midnight. Then it tells the story of this boy Eutychus, who was probably just a young teenager, falling asleep and then falling out the third story window. (They didn’t put glass in windows so at most there would have just been a shutter.)

The boy dies. That will wake you up. That will make for a memorable church service. He dies and Paul miraculously heals him. Look at verse 10:

”And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.”

It’s kind of a confusing sentence construction but most commentators think that there is a miracle here. That the boy actually died and Paul, much like Jesus and Elijah when they rose people from the dead, comforted people by saying “he’s just sleeping” or in this case “his life is in him” and then healed him.

But look what verse 11 says:

”When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.”

This could mean two things: either Paul just had a long conversation with people or he went back to preaching. In either case - this early church got together to hear preaching. And it was LONG preaching.

I try really hard to be deliberate with my preaching. It don’t think of it as 30 minutes of time. I think of it as 30 minutes times as many people as are here. So I try to know exactly what I’m going to say and to make it interesting. Sometimes I’m more successful than other times. I know the old addage that says “the head can only absorb what the seat can endure.” Ok.

But I also know this. There are a whole lot of people who don’t want to hear preaching and a whole lot of churches that accommodate that with very short token sermons.

Listen folks, we don’t come to leave. We come to worship and listen to the word of God. And it’s not something we just made up - it’s what churches have been doing since the beginning.

I want to close by reading something to you. This was written by a man named Justin Martyr in AD 150 - besides the Bible, it’s the earliest description of what the early church did. I just want to read one paragraph:

And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

Sound familiar?

So, here is the questions I want you to ask this morning. Not “are we a normal church” but “are you a normal church member?”

Do you have a genuine love for your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Do you love the brethren?

Are you a giving Christian? Do you see the needs of those around you and give to help them?

Are you committed to coming together for worship? What does it take you to miss church? Is Sunday special or just another day? Do you practice the ordinances? Have you been baptized after salvation? Do you partake in the Lord’s Supper when we have it? Do you love Bible preaching? This aren’t arbitrary things. They are what churches have done from the beginning.