#2.

The Early Church Left an Example of Devotion to the Supper

Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
This is a great verse to help us understand the centrality of the means of grace to the life of
the church. Here is the church in a time of revival, having experienced the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They have already been baptized upon their conversion (the use of
one means of grace) and in our text we find them continually devoting themselves to the
other four means, one of which is the breaking of bread, or the Lord's Supper. How
interesting that this is what they did under the leading and guidance of God's Spirit! It
seems they knew that these activities were critical for their growth in grace and in the
knowledge of God - so much so that they put intense effort and persistence into them (as
implied by the word translated as "continually devoting themselves.")
Have we lost this understanding in our day and age? Do we sense in ourselves how
imperative it is that we take the Lord's Supper regularly (it is hard to see how the church
could have been devoting themselves to something that they did intermittently)? Do we put
intense effort and persistence into our attendance at the Table? If not, would we dare to say
that we have arrived at a point where we know better than our brothers and sisters in the
early church did concerning this matter?
If indeed we have lost the sense of how important the Lord's Supper is (and all the other
means of grace are), could it be because we are not enjoying the same degree of the
influence of God's Spirit among us as they did? Could it be because we have quenched and
grieved Him away from our hearts and our fellowships? In other words, could it be our
fault? And could it be our fault also, if we come to the Table with such low views of its
importance, that we do not receive the full measure of grace that the Lord would impart to
us if we came in a different spirit?
We need to examine our hearts in the light of the example set for us by the early church. If
we find a problem, we need to repent and seek the Lord for more of the presence of His
Spirit among us. And there can be no better place to do that than in using the means God
has provided to us for that purpose - Prayer, the Word, Fellowship and the Lord's Supper!

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