1,  A new kind of community.  Seven people selected from the  early Christian church were assigned the responsibility for organizing members to meet the  physical needs of the neediest members of the congregation. These would include housing, feeding, clothing, childcare, and many other responsibilities that some families would have difficulty meeting. Thousands of years later our church continues to  follow this custom and others in our local communities. Unlike our spiritual forefathers, today we do not have organizational problems in meeting the needs of the less fortunate around us–or do we? If we do have problems, what are they and what are we doing about them?

2. Dorcas’s  ministry. If you’re a member of the older generation in our church (like me), your early memories of an organization looking after the well being of members and others focused around the name “Dorcas,” in honor of the outstanding woman who launched beneficial services in the early church. A hard-working woman who apparently  was loved by virtually every member of the church, Dorcas was strong and healthy–until what happened? Her death was followed by an amazing resurrection, one of few miracles of life being restored to a female believer in Bible times. Imagine your strong leader of physical aid in your church became ill and died.  Do you think we pray enough for life to be restored under such circumstances? W

3. Giving as a way of sharing. Paul, persecution expert and commander of forces to eliminate Christians…What has happened to him now that the early Christian church has been established? Why does he care about the afflicted in the new church? Your lesson points out that Paul urged “intentional” giving—that is, a planned program to help those in need. After reading of Paul’s experience, do you sense an inner need to follow a system of planned giving—not just the 10% tithe, but more as God gives you the ability to do so? Are we rewarded by following a lifestyle marked by generosity? If so, describe the rewards that come from such a way of life.

4. Paul’s guide to living and loving well. The 12^th chapter of Romans may be the most practical guide in the Bible to church success. But wait a minute, you may protest, times have changed. Can we still follow the principles of gentle love in an age of one miraculous “life-threatening discovery” after another interwoven with frightening threats of devastating nuclear war, famines and devastation of innocent people? There is so much hate and hurt in this war-stricken world, what can we do to share tender and caring love around us?

5. James the just. James is noted in our lesson this week as a brother of Jesus, a relative who wholeheartedly supported Jesus in every respect and became an outstanding leader in the early Christian church. He apparently served as the church’s first president and was the leader of caring ministries to meet the needs of the “forgotten and downtrodden.” And, undoubtedly, he was the author of the short book of James that spells out what Christian believers need to do to reflect the love and caring of Jesus. What a privilege to read and study and become close in spirit to this mighty worker for the cause of Christ!

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Key Thought: Following Jesus’ commission and empowered by the Spirit, the early believers shared what they had, lived lives of faithful service to those in need.

August 31, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read Acts 9:36.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. If you passed away, would your contribution to others and the church be missed and mourned?
3. Personal Application: How would you like to be described in your life and ministry? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Why was Dorcas considered such a great person? All she did was sew and make clothes to give to the poor. Almost every city has places that do the same thing and it doesn’t seem to spread the gospel much.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How does Paul equate the gospel with giving generously?
3. Personal Application: How should we prioritize our giving when we can’t give to every cause or need presented to us? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “It seems to me there would be some great problems that would arise if some people followed this idea. Are we supposed to give to and support the lazy, indolent, drunken, drug-addicted, and rebellious in our midst, encouraging them in their vices?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Romans 12:10-13.

1.  Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Do you believe our ministry should be well-balanced with discipleship, evangelism, and social action; or should one be more important and focused on than the others?”
3. Personal Application: What are some attitudes and practices in your community you need to resist to help you live and love well? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Do these instructions work in the real world; are they realistic and practical ways to live, or are they ideals that really can’t be reached?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read James 2:1-6.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Why is James so harsh on the rich people here? Is it because they are rich, or because they misused their riches.
3. Personal Application: How well have you done with the resources God has given you? Could we do better? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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As the church began to spread—as Jesus predicted—“in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV), new believers took up the faith and ministry of Jesus. Among these was Dorcas—also known as Tabitha—in the city of Joppa. She obviously took seriously Jesus’ particular instruction that when clothing the naked, she was doing it for Jesus Himself (see Matt. 25:38, Matt. 25:40).

Read the description of Dorcas and her ministry in Acts 9:36. How might your life and ministry be described in a similar format to this verse? How would you like to be described?

Dorcas

It seems that Dorcas’s ministry was such that the description of her as a “disciple” (see Acts 9:36) and her faithfulness, energy, and focus on others were recognized even beyond her hometown.

Peter was visiting the nearby town of Lydda, and the people of Joppa asked him to come in response to Dorcas’s untimely death (see Acts 9:37-41). On his arrival in Joppa, Peter was met by many of the people Dorcas had helped through her work for the poor. They showed him the clothes that she had made and undoubtedly told him many stories of how she had helped them and others.

That Peter then prayed for Dorcas and God returned her to life is, of course, no guarantee that life will always work out well for those who devote their lives to serving others. After all, Dorcas had already suffered illness and death, and Stephen, one of those first deacons appointed to minister to the widows in the church, had also become the first martyr (see Acts 7:54-60). A life of service is not a smooth path; at times it could even be the rougher road.

However, in this story God used the recognition of His love and power in both Dorcas’s life and death to make a strong impact on the people of Joppa: “This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord” (Acts 9:42, NIV).

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After Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the group of believers grew rapidly and created the early church, a new kind of community among the followers of Jesus, and initially led by His original disciples. However, this new community was not just something that they made up among themselves; rather, it was built on the teachings and ministry of Jesus and drew on the long history of the Hebrew Scriptures and their prophets.

Read Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37. What do you identify as the key elements in these descriptions of the early church community?

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While it seems the Israelites had failed to ever fully live out the blueprint for a just and generous society, the early church community took seriously the instruction that “there need be no poor people among you” (Deut. 15:4, NIV). One of the practical expressions of their faith was sharing their material resources—even selling land and contributing the funds raised (see Acts 4:34-5:2)—to meet the needs of their fellow believers, as well as to be a blessing to those outside the fledgling community, particularly through the ministry of healing (see Acts 3:1-11, Acts 5:12-16).

Yet, this community was not a utopian society by any stretch of the imagination. As the number of believers increased, tensions grew about the administration of these resources, particularly in relation to the daily distribution of food to widows (see Acts 6:1). The disciples, who were the natural leaders of the group, wanted to focus on preaching the gospel. In order to deal with the situation at hand, they needed to do some re-organizing.

Thus, seven people were appointed to focus on the practical matters of the church community. This was perhaps the first recognition of the different ministries and abilities to be exercised in the church; at the same time, it demonstrated the importance of practical ministry for the church’s life and witness. “The same principles of piety and justice that were to guide the rulers among God’s people in the time of Moses and of David, were also to be followed by those given the oversight of the newly organized church of God in the gospel dispensation”. – Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 95.

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Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 2:42-47; Acts 4:32-37; Matt. 25:38, Matt. 25:40; Acts 9:36; 2 Cor. 8:7-15; Romans 12:1-21; James 2:1-9.

Memory Text: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27, NKJV).

The verses known as the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) are among the best known in the Bible, at least by Christians. The texts often have been described as our mission statement and have been the inspiration for all kinds of mission and evangelistic projects. Indeed, inspired by these texts, Christians have gone all over the world, sometimes at great personal cost, in order to spread the gospel.

And what did Jesus say in the Great Commission? To make disciples, to baptize, and to teach people “to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV). And, as we have seen, so much of what Jesus commanded us has to do with taking care of those in need, those hurting, those who are unable to take care of themselves. As such, we need to remember that these instructions to Jesus’ first disciples were not so much a new assignment, something that they hadn’t heard or seen before, but more a continuation of the mission Jesus already had been working among them. As such, this aspect of Jesus’ teaching can be clearly seen in the lives of the new church community as part of fulfilling the Great Commission.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 31.

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