Tag Archives: early church

Did Sermon-Free Church Begin At Pentecost?

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Steve Simms

Sermon-Free Church — Did It Begin At Pentecost? Thoughts for Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013 On Pentecost Sunday (May 19) the church in the Western world celebrates the beginning of sermon-free church. The events are recorded in Acts, chapter 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, 2013, Acts, Apostle Peter, bishops, Christ followers, church, church history, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, coming of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jerusalem, New Testament, non-church, non-church movement, non-liturgical, non-traditional church, one anothers, open church, open mike, openairs, organic church, origin of the church, overseers, participatory church, Peter, Peter preaching on Pentecost, praise, praising God, pray for one another, prayer, praying, preaching, preaching the Word, Roman, Roman Empire, sermon, sermon-free, sermons, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual church, the Western church, This was that., Western world | Tagged Acts 2, birth of the church, church history, early church, Pentecost, Pentecost Sunday | 1 Comment

The Amazing Anointing of An Agendaless Assembly

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Steve Simms

There is an amazing anointing on an agendaless assembly. It’s the very presence of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ, Himself. The First Century Church knew this, not as a doctrine, but as a powerful reality every time they met together … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, agendaless, alternative church, assembly, church, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, disciple making, discipling, First Century Church, Matthew 18:20, religion, religious ceremonies, religious tradition, revival, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Western religion, Western world, What is church?, When you come together, worship | Tagged Christianity, church history, early church, in Jesus' name, organic church | 4 Comments

Was Matthias A Mistake? — The Human Need To Institutionalize Spirituality

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Steve Simms

Was replacing Judas (who had betrayed Jesus) with Matthias a mistake? Was it a very early example of the human desire to institutionalize church? Perhaps. The Book of Acts begins with the resurrected Jesus spending 40 days with the apostles … Continue reading →

Posted in 120 in upper room, Acts, acts of God, Bible, choice, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, Christian history, Christian values, Christianity, church, church history, church meetings, church programs, church roles, church structure, disciples, ekklesia, empty tomb, faith, fire, gift of God, gifts of the Spirit, God's authority, God's government, Gospel, Gospels, Greek word, guidance, hearing God, hearing Jesus, heirarchy, His story, history, Holy Spirit, house church, insight, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus' mother Mary, Judas, kingdom of God, life, lifestyle Christianity, Luke, Matthias, missional, move of God, movement, mysticism, non-church, organic church, Pentecost, pentecostals, presence of Christ, presence of God, quench the Spirit, Quotations, quote, Quotes, religion, revelation, revival, rivers of living water, Scriptures, speaking in tongues, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, spiritual warfare, supernatural, The Voice, tongues of fire, tradition, unprogrammed church, voice of God, voices, What is church?, words on fire | Tagged Apostles, book of Acts, early church, Holy Spirit, institutionalization of church, psalms, replacing Judas | 15 Comments

What does the contemporary American church have that the early church in the Book of Acts didn’t have? Here are some possibilities . . . Christian tradition, ministries that people named with their own name, hierarchy, money, church buildings, self-confidence, freedom, one person in control of a church, denominations, laymen, the separation of life into sacred and secular, Bible schools and seminaries, conferences, religious TV networks, televangelists, tax-free status, clergy, a high level of organization, the fear of witnessing to others. Can you think of more things that we have that the early church didn’t have?

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Steve Simms

Posted in Acts, American, American church, Christian, Christian history, Christianity, church, church history, church structure, clergy, denominations, early church, ekklesia, freedom, laymen, non-traditional church, organic church, religion, sacred and secular, simple church, televangelists, the way we do church, Uncategorized, values, What is church? | Tagged Bible schools and seminaries, book of Acts, Christian tradition, clergy, denominations, early church, sacred and secular, televangelists | 2 Comments

Why have multitudes given up on church? What’s missing in our contemporary American church that the early church had in Acts? Here are some possibilities . . . Humility, brokenness, awe, tears, passion, conviction of sin, excitement, self-denial, testimonies, openness, the priesthood of the believer, repentance, persecution, confession, participation, boldness, power, deliverance, miracles, opportunities to minister to one another, healing. Can you think of more things the early church had that we seem to be lacking?

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Steve Simms

Posted in Acts, American church, Americans, ancient history, awe, brokenness, Christianity, church, church history, church structure, conviction of sin, crying, deliverance, early church, ekklesia, forgiveness, humility, lifestyles, miracles, non-traditional church, order of worship, organic church, participatory church, persecution, priesthood of the believer, religion, repent, repentance, self-denial, simple church, sin, spiritual, spiritual formation, spiritual skills, tears, the way we do church, Uncategorized, Western religion, What is church? | Tagged awe, brokenness, contemporary American church, conviction of sin, early church, humility, persectuion, priesthood of the believer | 12 Comments

OMG! Oh My God! Moments

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Steve Simms

A very popular phrase nowadays is “Oh my God.” There has even been a TV commercial for deodorant, I think, that talks about “OMG moments.” Isn’t it strange that in a time when so many want to attack God, religion, and spirituality, … Continue reading →

Gallery | Tagged all-powerful, American, among them, attack, awesome, Bible, blessings, book of Acts, butterflies, can't make it, casually, church, confess, contemporary, death, deep in my heart, deodorant, describes, destruction, early church, English, everlasting, experience, expression, fall, foreign terrorists, forgive us, fortunate, glorifying, God, goose bumps, great, greater, greatly, havoc, hear about, heart, hearts, help us, home-grown, human, I have been, immorality, in my life, in our time, incredible, infinitely, issue, Jesus' death, just an, kneel, language, life, love, many, meaningless, might, mighty, missing ingredient, mockery, moments, moved, newspaper, nowadays, ocean, Om my God, OMG, on the cross, overcome, overwhelming, pain, people experience genuine, phrase, praises, problem, protect, quakes, reading, realize Creator, religion, see, self-destructing, sense of awe, services, significance, sin, sins, speak, spectacular, spirituality, stars, stir, stop, strange, streets, strengthen, struggling, thank you, things, threat, toss, touched, tremble, turn them into a, TV commercial, used, very popular, violence, voice, watching TV, watching TV, weep, when, words, wrongdoing | 4 Comments

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