We Are Family | Acts 2:42-47
What if church felt less like an event you attend and more like a family you belong to? In this message, Adam Woods looks at Acts 2:42–47 and explores what made the very first church so alive, attractive, and spiritually powerful. It wasn’t a perfect group of people. It was a Spirit-filled family that protected what mattered most.
We see four simple, but costly, priorities: devotion, generosity, togetherness, and joy. These first followers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to real fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer — and that devotion formed them. They opened their hands with radical generosity, met each other’s needs, and shared their homes and lives. They gathered in large groups and around everyday tables, and God filled their life together with deep joy and awe.
This message speaks to anyone who feels lonely, is searching for real community, is wrestling with money and generosity, or is tired of shallow, consumer Christianity. It’s for the person who wonders if church is worth it, the parent trying to create a healthy spiritual home, the believer who’s drifted into distraction, and the skeptic who is curious if the gospel makes any difference in real life. As Luke describes, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”11 Acts 2:42 (NIV)
In this message, Adam invites not-yet-believers to respond to the good news of Jesus with repentance, faith, and baptism into Christ, stepping into God’s family. For those already following Jesus, he calls us to take practical steps of devotion to God’s Word, open-handed generosity, intentional togetherness, and joyful worship this week. You’ll be challenged to stop just “going to church” and start living as an Acts 2 family where God can grow you and use you to help others find life in Jesus.
In We Are Family, Adam Woods from The Crossing in Milton, DE teaches from Acts 2:42–47 about how the first Christians lived as a church family. He explains four priorities—devotion, generosity, togetherness, and joy—and shows how they can shape church life today. The message calls people to move from just attending church to belonging to a Spirit-filled family centered on Jesus.
Acts 2:42–47 describes believers who devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer. Adam Woods explains that this devotion led to radical generosity, shared life, and deep joy in the early church.
Adam shows that the church in Acts 2 held their possessions with open hands and met needs sacrificially, even selling property to help others. He teaches that generosity begins with trusting God as provider and flows into finances, time, hospitality, and encouragement. The Crossing presents this as a practical way to follow Jesus and reflect God’s heart in Milton, DE.
We Are Family teaches that Christians are not meant to follow Jesus alone, but in a committed church family. Adam explains how prioritizing togetherness—gathering for worship, joining groups, sharing meals, and opening our lives—helps believers move from isolation into real community. The Crossing encourages people to take simple steps into church life so they can experience the kind of relationships seen in Acts 2.
The sermon invites those not yet following Jesus to respond to the gospel with repentance and baptism into Christ, stepping into God’s family. For believers, Adam calls for practical next steps like daily time in Scripture and prayer, intentional generosity, and committing to be with other Christians regularly.
In We Are Family, Adam Woods teaches from Acts 2:42–47 in the Acts series at The Crossing in Milton, DE. He shows how the first church lived with four clear priorities—devotion, generosity, togetherness, and joy—and how those same priorities still shape a healthy church family today. This message speaks to people who feel disconnected, are searching for real community, or want to know what the Bible says about church life that actually changes everyday relationships. The core takeaway is simple: when the gospel truly changes people, it doesn’t just save them individually—it makes them family.
Turn in your Bibles to Acts 2 (p ).
Thank you! [love and encouragement…and Austin]
Have you ever noticed what makes a healthy family really work? It’s not that they’re perfect. It’s not that they never have conflict or never get tired. It’s that they protect certain things. They eat together. They talk about life. They show up for each other when things get hard. They laugh together even when stuff isn’t funny. When those things are present, the family feels alive and it becomes a place people actually want to be.
That’s exactly what we see in the very first church family right after the gospel landed in Acts 2.
We’ve been in this series in Acts, and today we’re going to look at the end of chapter 2 and see what everyday life looked like for this brand-new, Spirit-filled family.
Let me catch us up real quick—it’s been quite a ride so far. Jesus gave the Apostles the mission to go and be witnesses and said the Holy Spirit would be the power to do that—so wait for Him. So wait they did—and they prayed. Then—when the Spirit filled them, they spoke—well Peter spoke up —preaching the first sermon, declaring the good news of Jesus to a huge crowd of people gathered for Pentecost. And when they heard it, many believed—were cut to the heart—and about 3,000 repented and were baptized into Christ that first day!
Where we pick up today—Luke zooms in and shows us what a normal Tuesday looked like for this first church. Here’s what we read:
Acts 2:42—it says:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Amazing, right? You see, when the gospel truly grabs a group of people, it doesn’t just save them individually—it makes them family. You can see that in this paragraph so vividly: They devoted themselves…
Everyone was filled with awe…
All the believers were together…
This wasn’t a handful of super-Christians. This was everyone. This was the church—the family of God—united in Jesus. And they were strong!
What we see here is that every member of this family had four priorities that shaped everything. And they should shape every one of us here at The Crossing too.
So what were they?
PRIORITY 1: DEVOTION (v42)
And I love they way Luke writes it—don’t miss this—They devoted themselves…
Meaning—they chose—on purpose—to be devoted. Nobody forced them into this. These followers of Jesus understood that without faithful devotion, they would never be who God called them to be.
That word devoted means to do something with continuous intense effort. This wasn’t casual Christianity. This wasn’t showing up when it was convenient. These new believers gave themselves fully to being devoted.
And Luke doesn’t just say they were devoted, he tells us what they were devoted to. Four things: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
This is the rhythm of a healthy church family.
Each family member devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching.
That’s the Word of God that was being taught. Remember, at this point, they didn’t have the New Testament—so they’re sitting under the Apostles, learning who Jesus is…what He taught…what He did…what it means to follow Him.
And they couldn’t get enough of it. They stayed hungry for truth. Devoted to growing their faith through Bible study.
It reminds me of my friend Henry. Henry is 11 years old…and he’s began devoting himself to the Word of God.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that if anyone needed a Bible, they could take one from the pews. Henry grabbed one. And later that week, when his mom went up to say goodnight—she found him laying in bed reading his Bible.
Henry—like those first followers—didn’t treat God’s Word like a collection of inspirational stories or a box to be checked for religious duty. He devoted himself—and started building his life around it.
Church, I want to always be like that. I want us—to always be like that. Not an occasional check in… not a once in a while thing—but anchored in—daily—devoted to the Word of God because it’s living and active and through it—we encounter Jesus and learn how to live faithfully. That’s what a healthy church does.
A healthy church is also devoted to fellowship. That word is kononia. It’s a shared life centered on Jesus.
This isn’t just sitting next to each other. This is really knowing each other, carrying one another’s burdens, rejoicing and mourning together.
Being devoted to fellowship means serving together, celebrating together, grieving together, praying together, growing together.
A healthy church family is made up of people who are truly devoted to one another.
They also devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.
They gathered together around tables every day in the first church and when they did…they remembered Jesus. They remembered the cross, they talked about and celebrated forgiveness. And they discussed this new way to encounter God through His Holy Spirit.
Those first followers were devoted to remembering Jesus around their tables whenever they met together.
And they devoted themselves to prayer.
This wasn’t an add-on thing like Hey, we better pray before we leave. This was dependence.
Each person knew they didn’t have what it took on their own. They knew that they needed the Lord. So they prayed. They prayed with lifted hands—praising God. They prayed with bowed hearts— crying out to God. They prayed for boldness and protection, for provision, for one another.
Prayer wasn’t their last resort, it was their first response.
And so, if we put it all together, those first followers were devoted to: the Word of God, the People of God, the Story of God, and Time with God.
And this is a good word for us today. In our busy world, devotion gets replaced by distraction. But healthy families protect what matters most.
So here’s the question to ask yourself: Are you devoted to things that matter most?
Because what you are devoted to forms you. That’s what we see here. This devotion—before anything else—formed the first church family.
And when a group of people are devoted like that—it begins to show up in how they live.
Which is exactly what we see next…because the 2nd priority that marked this church family was: PRIORITY 2: GENEROSITY (v44-45)
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
This is wild! This is loving God and loving your neighbor. When someone had a need, these people didn’t just pray nice prayers—they sold stuff and met the need. It was radical, practical, gospel shaped generosity.
Why could they do this? Because the gospel had already told them they were richer than they could ever imagine. Jesus gave them everything—forgiveness, the Spirit, a new family, eternal hope. When you know you’ve been given everything in Christ, you hold your stuff with open hands.
So let’s make this real—because when we hear generosity, we tend to think money. And rightfully so.
Everything we have belongs to God—including our money. And throughout Scripture, God calls His people to live with open-handed generosity.
One of the clearest ways we do that is through the tithe—giving the first 10% back to God. It’s an act of obedient faith that says, God, I trust You more than I trust myself. I trust You as my provider.
Tithing is giving God the first and best—not leftovers.
And maybe you know this—but tithing is the only place in the Bible where we’re told to test God. Malachi 3:10, God says: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
That’s a promise from God. Trust Him and obey Him—and experience His blessing.
What we see in Acts 2 is that generosity becomes the way of life for the Jesus follower. It’s starts with finances—giving faithfully to the church. Then generosity says, I’ll cover that momma’s groceries…I’ll help that family in crisis…I’ll pay for coffee…let’s loan them our extra vehicle.
And then…generosity keeps going. I’ll be generous with my home—that’s God’s too. So you have people around your table for a meal…you host a LIFEgroup…you invite some young adults over to hear their story and encourage them. Listen, your home doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.
Then…I’m gonna be generous with time and with forgiveness and with encouragement and with grace and with the gospel.
And before you know it, you’re beginning to look a lot like the Lord who so loved the world that He… gave…His One and only Son. Oh—so—generous.
Here in our text, they’re selling ancestral property—land that had been passed down for generations! But they saw people as more important than their stuff.
You wanna talk about uncommon and set apart! Well…those are words used to describe a healthy church family.
I love the way the Apostle John said it: 1 John 3:16-18 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Generosity is the way of Jesus—and it’s a display of love and faithfulness—and so…it should be a priority for His followers.
I tell you Crossing family—our church family is full of generous people. Painting desks, dropping off meals, serving in disaster relief, buying school supplies, committing to BUILD, serving in the nursery so mom and dad can worship together. That’s Acts 2 generosity in real time. And I love that—love hearing those stories.
But maybe for some of us, generosity is an area where God is still growing us. Because generosity isn’t just something God wants from us—it’s something He wants for us. There is joy in it. There is freedom in it. There is blessing in learning to open our hands and trust Him.
So where is God nudging you to be generous right now? Maybe for you it’s taking a first step in tithing faithfully. Maybe it’s inviting someone over for lunch today. Maybe it’s encouraging someone you appreciate instead of assuming they already know.
Don’t miss the opportunity to live generously—because that’s where so much of the joy of following Jesus is found.
When people live open-handed, they also tend to live open-hearted. Needs get met. Walls come down and relationships deepen.
And before long, you see what Acts 2 keeps repeating over and over again—the third priority: PRIORITY 3: TOGETHERNESS (v44, 46)
They were together…They met together…They broke bread together…
This wasn’t a once-a-week thing for the early church. This was life together—large gatherings in the temple courts and small gatherings house to house. “Togetherness” was the rhythm of their lives.
They knew each other’s stories. They ate together. They laughed together. They walked through hard seasons together.
This is why LIFEgroups are so important to us here at The Crossing. LIFEgroups are where togetherness happens so well. Our next Grouplink to launch groups will be happening in early September, so keep an eye out for that. In the mean time, our ladies meet together on Tuesday mornings at 9a—our men meet together on Saturday mornings at 7:30a—we have a midweek gathering called Refill on Wednesdays at 7p—every month our seniors connect together at Coffee in the Cove, that’s the 2nd Thursday at 10a.
There are opportunities to connect here through our church gatherings and there are even more when you grab some people and invite them around your tables at home.
The point is, the gospel gives us permission—and the Spirit gives us power—to prioritize togetherness.
And when devotion, generosity, and togetherness collide—something else shows up—and it’s a priority:
PRIORITY 4: JOY (v43, 46-47a)
We read that everyone was filled with awe…They ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
Glad hearts. Sincere hearts. Awe at what God was doing.
This wasn’t fake happy. This was deep, resilient joy because they knew Jesus was alive and at work among them. Even though they were brand new at this and everything was changing fast, joy marked them.
And joy…it’s attractive. Awe is contagious. When people see a group of imperfect people who actually love being together, and are amazed by God, they want to know why.
Don’t believe me? Just look at the result of a healthy church family living out the priorities of devotion, generosity, togetherness, and joy:
RESULT: GROWTH (v47b)
The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
They had favor with all the people. Their life together made the gospel visible and believable. And it was the Lord who added to the church.
They didn’t have a clever marketing strategy. They didn’t have tons of programs. They didn’t even have a building! What they had…was a healthy family.
And in a world starving for real community…people took notice. People looked at this church family and said, That’s what I want!
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
CONCLUSION
Church, we are family. Not a perfect family—but a Spirit-filled, devoted, generous, together, joyful family. When we live like this—people notice. And the same Lord who added to their number daily continues to add today.
The church in Acts 2 didn’t just sit in rows and listen. They devoted themselves. They shared life. They talked. They encouraged one another. They lived this out together.
So today, we’re going to close a little differently. In my notes, I’m calling this circle time. I know— sounds a little elementary school-ish. But for the next few minutes, I want you to meet and talk with the people around you.
And if you’re new here, don’t panic—we’re not asking for your deepest darkest secrets. In fact— we’ve never don’t this before on a Sunday morning. So we’re all new at this.
Here’s the assignment—turn so you can talk with the people around you and just answer these two questions together:
WHAT STOOD OUT TO YOU TODAY?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?
And…go.
[Gather back]
COMMUNION
Well done, church. I know that felt a little different—but here’s the beautiful thing: for a few moments, we practiced what we just read.
We’re going to close with communion today. And as we do, remember this: at the center of this church family is Jesus.
Our devotion, generosity, togetherness, and joy won’t come from trying harder. It flows from hearts changed by the good news of Jesus.
Let’s never get over what Christ has done for us. Because before we ever do anything for Jesus, let’s be reminded of what He’s already done, for us. We aren’t saved by our devotion or generosity. We’re saved by grace…through faith…in Jesus.
[Bread, Juice]
Now it’s time to go and be an Acts 2 family. And as you choose devotion, generosity, togetherness, and joy—
don’t be surprised when God builds something we could never build on our own. Until we meet again—go in peace.