Sharing Everything

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” — Acts 2:42

After the day of Pentecost, there were thousands of new believers in Jerusalem. The very first church had begun! What was it like?

The believers loved to learn. Every day they listened to the apostles teaching them about Jesus.

They loved to be together. They met in the temple courts, and they ate meals together in each other’s homes, with glad and generous hearts.

They remembered Jesus by breaking bread together, the way He had shown them at the Last Supper.

And they prayed together.

Amazing things happened through the apostles, and everyone was filled with awe. The believers praised God, and all the people of Jerusalem liked them. And every single day, God added more and more people who were being saved.

But one of the most amazing things was how they shared.

The believers were one in heart and mind. Nobody said, “This is mine, and you can’t have it.” They shared everything they had. If someone owned a field or a house, sometimes they would sell it, and bring the money to the apostles. Then the apostles gave it to anyone who needed it.

And the Bible says there wasn’t a single needy person among them. Nobody went hungry. Nobody went without.

One of the believers was a man called Joseph, from the island of Cyprus. The apostles gave him a nickname: Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement”, because he was so good at cheering people up and helping them. Barnabas sold a field he owned, and brought all the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet, to help people in need.

You’ll meet Barnabas again later in this book. He kept on being an encourager.

Why did the first Christians share like this? Because Jesus had given everything for them. When you know how much Jesus has given you, you want to give to other people too. Their love for each other showed everyone in Jerusalem what Jesus’ love is like.

That’s what the church is meant to be like. Not just a building, but a family: learning about Jesus together, eating together, praying together, and taking care of each other.

Read it in your Bible: Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–37

Dear God, thank you for my church family. Please help us to learn about you, to pray together, and to take care of each other, like the first Christians did. Help me to share. Amen.