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In our world today, it’s very easy to be around people—but not really be together. I remember back when I was a waitress, seeing couples come in to dinner together and be reading their own newspapers at the table, or sitting in total silence while they were eating. Nowadays, it’s common to see people sitting in the same room—and yet all being on their phones—together, but not really together. We eat on the go, we text instead of talk, we can be constantly connected…and still feel completely alone. It’s easy to fill our schedules with activity—running from one thing to the next. We can come into a space like this every week, recognize faces, exchange a few words—and still not really know each other. We’ve learned how to be busy, connected, and independent.
We’re in this series called At the Table, and today we’re talking about something that feels very simple on the surface—but is actually much deeper: The Table of Shared Life. We do spend a lot of time at our tables for regular meals, parties, events. It’s all good stuff! And what we eat, and how we eat, and who we eat with, defines who we are as people. We eat with our families, we eat with our friends, and perhaps we should even consider eating with those we don’t like very much. After all, Jesus hung around with some pretty crazy people. Today we’re going to look at the early church and what was going on that made the table so special.
In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, the disciples are filled with power, and Peter stands up to proclaim the good news about Jesus—his life, his death, and his resurrection. And as the people listen, something begins to happen inside of them. We pick up the story at verse 37.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:37-47
The enthusiasm at Pentecost was not just a superficial revival that produced a short-term high. What happens next becomes an embodiment of Pentecost.[1] Those who were baptized that day committed themselves to spiritual formation—learning how to live in a new Christian fellowship with others.[2] And where Peter’s preaching led to many converts in the beginning of Acts 2, it is the lifestyle of the community that leads more and more people being added.[3] Our passage in Acts highlights four major things that the church does. This wasn’t a strategy. It was a response to what God had done.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42
These aren’t random activities, they were rhythms…a way of life. These are practices that became the basis of their shared life as followers of Jesus. Based on these highlights in Acts 2, a shared life has these four anchors. They go together. You can’t separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing.[4] They might look a little bit different in our context today, but they have the same underlying principles.
Let’s walk through them and look at how we can apply these as we think about OUR shared life together. In Acts 2, shared life was: Formed by Truth (Teaching)
The early church doesn’t try and create the emotional feelings of Pentecost after the event. They move immediately to the task of teaching.[5] It’s not just about gaining information. This is about spiritual formation. The apostles may have taught at large gatherings in the temple courts, which could host huge crowds,[6] and some teaching may have happened during shared meals at homes.[7] The wealthy people with larger homes in that day would not be able to host more than fifty people comfortably, and ten or fifteen people meeting in a home was probably more common.[8] It may have been like meeting as a mega church, which was then supplemented—by small groups that met at people’s homes.[9] For those of us who grew up in church culture, it’s hard to imagine life without some form of gathering and learning on a regular basis. For those who had never experienced this before, it had to be eye-opening and amazing! They were not strangers to community or Scripture, but now they were learning about Jesus and reordering their lives around HIM instead of the Temple and former traditions.
We live in a world where we are constantly being shaped—by news, social media, opinions, pressure. We are all being formed by something. When Acts says they were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, it means their lives were being shaped by that teaching. A formed life isn’t built on one sermon a week. It takes regular Scripture reading, reflecting, and learning in community. We never stop the journey of spiritual formation. As we sit under the Word, we are formed—into people who have hearts that line up with God’s heart. And over time—(because it takes time)—you can recognize the changes. When life gets hard, you can tell what has been forming you. Are you more anxious, or more trusting? Are you becoming more reactionary, or more grace-filled? Are you choosing convenience, or integrity? A formed life—looks like someone who doesn’t just ask, ‘What do I want to do?’ but ‘What is true? What is faithful?
What voices are forming YOUR life right now? What are the teachings that are shaping US as a church when we leave this place? It’s easy to get caught up in the worldview or mindset of the culture around us.[10] It takes a steady intake of God’s truth, to combat the cultural narratives, the algorithms that vie for our attention and crowd out honest reflection. In Acts, they weren’t formed alone—they were formed together, being challenged and encouraged by Scripture, and learning in community. They DEVOTED themselves to it. At the table, we don’t just share meals—we share our lives—and that includes being formed together.
In Acts 2, shared life also meant being: Bound Together (Fellowship) After Pentecost, a diverse and unified body of believers was formed.[11] This kind of community was not self-constructed. The believers were gathered into it by the Spirit of God. That koinonia, or fellowship, is something beyond the bounds of conventional friendship.[12] It’s deeper than casual conversation.[13] When we hear the word fellowship, we often think of coffee, conversation, maybe a potluck. We tend to schedule community. The early church lived it. They didn’t just have occasional gatherings, and they were not just socializing. This was an ongoing life.
In Act 2, they had everything in common, sold property, gave to anyone in need. This text refers to close mutual relations among the believers, which could mean a combination of sharing resources with those who were less fortunate, and just a general close association.[14] But it’s not just a social connection. This was shared life—emotionally, spiritually, even materially. Now, Luke is NOT describing a full utopia where people give up all their private property. Their resources also don’t become community property.[15] If there is a need, they figure out a way to meet it together. Fellowship in Acts 2 wasn’t just about being friendly—it was about being known. Their fellowship was costly. But they also had glad and sincere hearts.
It may be easy for us to have proximity to people. But not always shared life. True fellowship means moving beyond ‘I recognize your face’ to ‘I know your story.’” It’s not just asking “how are you?” but actually listening. It’s not just being friendly—it’s being open, sharing not just highlights, but struggles, too. Fellowship in real life may look like: Bringing a meal; Checking in during the week; Sitting with someone in grief; Praying for each other; Walking through hard seasons together; Celebrating joys together; Putting the phone down; Being present, not just available; Staying after instead of rushing out; Making space in your schedule; Not just sharing a meal—but sharing what God is doing in your life. Fellowship means no one carries life alone.
Now, let’s be honest for a minute—none of us has the capacity to do this with everyone. You can’t deeply share life with every single person in this room. I can’t either. Even Jesus didn’t give equal access to everyone. There were circles of relationship—and that’s not failure, that’s design. We have limits—of time, energy, emotional space. And those limits aren’t a weakness… they’re part of how God made us. The danger is not that we have limits—the danger is when we use those limits as an excuse to stay disconnected. Acts 2 doesn’t mean everyone was equally connected to everyone. It means no one was left to walk alone. For most of us, this will look like a few people—a small circle where we are known, where we show up, where we carry life together.
At the table, we don’t just share meals—we share our lives.
In the first century, the early church ordered themselves as a big family. ‘Family’ means helping each other, whatever needs may arise.[16] In our contemporary world, this feels a little more complex. We get the joy of discovering what it can look like to share resources, and care for each other’s needs, whether that’s physical, emotional, or spiritual. It happens in the networks of the local church and also with Christian agencies that specialize in things like counseling, housing support, food assistance, and crisis care.
The verbs in Acts 2 are communal and ongoing: they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, then then, their shared life was: Centered Around the Table (Breaking Bread). Table fellowship ranked right alongside teaching and fellowship! The table wasn’t just where they ate. It was where their shared life became visible. Eating together is a mark of unity, solidarity, and friendship, a visible sign that social barriers have broken down.[17] Scholars are unsure as to whether this means simply eating meals together or remembering the Lord’s supper. Regardless, eating and drinking together is a partial fulfillment of the promise of the Messianic banquet, and the table becomes a holy place. In Acts 2, it’s probably both: the ordinary and the sacred… woven together.
Every time we gather at the Lord’s Table, we’re reminded—we are one body. And what we practice here, we’re meant to carry into our everyday tables. There’s something about sitting at a table that opens people up. At the table, everyone is human. And when we sit, talk, laugh, and pass the potatoes—it bonds us in a different way. Conversations deepen. Stories come out. Walls come down. People are seen. The ordinary becomes sacred.
Breaking bread in Acts 2 wasn’t just about eating—it was about making space for one another in everyday life. It’s about making room in our lives, too. We have food everywhere, but fewer tables. We eat in the car, eat alone, eat while distracted. We guard our homes, our schedules, and our hearts. The early church opened all three. Just as with the early church, sharing meals is a way to identify with our spiritual extended family.[18] This is shared life. The table is where shared life becomes visible.
And then in Acts 2, shared life is: Dependent on God (Prayer). They devoted themselves… to prayer. Not occasional. Not emergency-only. This was a community that didn’t just believe in God—they depended on Him. The early church may have prayed at the same time as the Jewish hours of prayer.[19] They may have used fixed prayers that they learned at the synagogue, mixed with personal and spontaneous prayers.[20] We know that they continued to go to the Temple.[21]
Prayer in Acts 2 wasn’t just something they did occasionally though—it was how they lived. It was the way they brought their real lives before God—together. It was how they carried burdens, how they sought guidance, how they stayed grounded in something bigger than themselves. Prayer is not an add-on, or a special event for us, either. Prayer is not just for Sunday mornings or prayer meetings. It’s for everyday life. It is woven into the fabric of our lives. And prayer makes shared life possible.
We can pray around a table. It doesn’t have to be polished—just honest. We can bring our struggles, our questions, and our gratitude. Prayer is where we admit we’re not in control. One of the simplest and most powerful things we can do—is pray WITH people, not just for them. Pray with someone right in the moment: after a conversation, on the phone, in the café area. I’m still learning to do that. Because prayer reminds us that we’re not just sharing life with each other—we’re sharing life with God. Prayer keeps shared life from becoming just human effort. It reminds us that we are held by God, and we can bring everything before God together in prayer.
At the table, we don’t just share meals—we share our lives.
Acts 2 is a moment in time where everything is heightened. Many people were just pilgrims staying in Jerusalem—but they were far from home. The Spirit has just come, thousands have just believed, and this brand-new community was forming and figuring out how to live together in response to what God had just done. There were no established structures yet. It was a unique moment. If we’re honest, it doesn’t always look like that for us now. We may not live in the same homes, or sell everything we have, or gather in the temple courts every day—but we are still called to be a people who share life. It may look different today, but it’s no less real.
So, Acts 2 isn’t giving us a program to copy. It’s not a checklist—it’s a picture. It’s showing us what happens when the Holy Spirit forms a people. Even if the exact form doesn’t carry forward…the heart of it does. The invitation is still the same. To be a people who are formed by truth, bound together in fellowship, centered around the table, and dependent on God in prayer. The table is the imagery…The shared life is the point. We, together, are the body of Christ, and we proclaim that we are a part of something unique—Jesus’ globe-spanning body. When we share our lives together…we make that reality visible. The church is the new family, the new Temple, where God meets his people in grace, and it becomes a small working model of the new creation.[22] It is the dawn of the new age,[23] writes N.T. Wright. So what does our shared life say about us? Do we look connected? Do we look generous? Do we look like people who actually need each other?
Look around you today—go ahead, take a look. We are a FAMILY of believers. We’re so different—and yet we worship as a family in Christ. We have different experiences, different schooling, varying occupations, hobbies, different tastes in music, different cars, different political views—different sports teams that we cheer for. Jesus is the ONE thing that brings us all here together—and it’s what we stake our lives on! That hasn’t changed. But here’s the question for us now: are we just gathering in the same room…or are we actually sharing life? And what kind of life are we sharing? Shared schedules? Shared stress? Or shared life in Christ? We don’t have to create this kind of life. We being INVITED into it. The same Spirit that formed that first community…is forming one here. So, we, too, are called to embody the peculiarity of this same call—to devote ourselves to teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.[24]
These aren’t separate activities, or random acts, or believing the same things. They are repeatable rhythms that form identity, and sustain Jesus’ followers, from that day to this.[25] This is a well-rounded picture of the church.[26] It is the Gospel embodied in community.[27] At the table…we don’t just share meals—we share our lives. Let’s make space for THAT.
Prayer: Gracious God, your table is wide, and your welcome is wider. We’ve seen the beauty of the early church—not just in what they believed, but in how they lived together. Transform us into a community that doesn’t just share space, but shares life. Move us beyond surface-level connection into something deeper—where we are known, where we are supported, where we are formed together by your Spirit. Bless our tables, open our homes, and open our lives. And in all of it, make us one in Christ. Amen.
Bibliography
- Bruce, F. F., The Book of the Acts, Revised Edition, TNICNT, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988.
- Garland, David E., Acts, Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017.
- Keener, Craig S., Acts, New Cambridge Bible Commentary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
- McKnight, Scot, Acts, New Testament Everyday Bible Study, Grand Rapids: HarperChristian Resources, 2022.
- Parsons, Mikeal C., and Martin M. Culy, Acts: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Waco: Baylor University Press, 2003.
- Willimon, William H., Acts, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988.
- Wright, N. T., Acts for Everyone, Part One: Chapters 1–12, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.
- Wright, N. T., The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering What the Church Was and Is, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2024.
Going Deeper Questions
Read Acts 2:42-47
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.
- What stands out to you most about the life of the early church in this passage?
- Which part of their shared life feels most compelling to you? Why?
- Which part feels most challenging or unrealistic?
Formed by Truth (Teaching)
- What voices or influences are currently shaping your life the most?
- In what ways are you intentionally engaging with Scripture during the week?
- When life gets difficult, what tends to come out of you first—trust, anxiety, control, grace? What might that reveal about what is forming you?
- What does it look like for truth to move from something you agree with to something that actually shapes your daily life?
Bound Together (Fellowship)
- What makes it difficult to move beyond surface-level relationships?
- How do you tend to respond when someone shares something difficult or vulnerable with you?
- When you think about things like bringing a meal, sitting with someone in grief, or simply putting your phone down to be present—what tends to make those moments happen, and what tends to prevent them?
- Where in your life are you currently experiencing real fellowship—not just being around people, but being known? If you are not, who are 1–3 people you could intentionally share life with in a deeper way?
Centered Around the Table (Breaking Bread)
- When was the last time you had an unhurried, meaningful conversation around a table?
- What kinds of environments or settings help you have more meaningful conversations with others?
- Where in your everyday life do you already have natural spaces for connection (car rides, walks, sidelines, coffee, serving together)? How could those become more intentional moments of shared life?
- Where might God be inviting you to slow down and be more present with someone this week—even outside of a meal?
Dependent on God (Prayer)
- How would you describe your current rhythm of prayer—individual and with others?
- In what ways does shared prayer change how you carry burdens compared to handling them on your own?
- When someone shares something difficult with you, what usually keeps you from praying with them in the moment?
- What might it look like to bring prayer more naturally into everyday conversations and shared time?
At the Table, we don’t just share meals—we share our lives.
Closing Questions
- As you reflect on this passage, where do you sense an invitation from God in your own life right now?
- Which of the four rhythms—teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, or prayer—feels most present in your life? Which feels least present?
- What is one small, concrete step you could take this week to move toward shared life with others—with your time, attention, or resources?
- Who comes to mind when you think about sharing life more intentionally—and what might it look like to take a step toward them?
Prayer: God, thank you for the gift of community. Help us to make space for one another, to be known and to care well, and to walk together in your gr
[1] Based on Willimon, William H., Acts, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988, 39.
[2] Scot McKnight, Acts, New Testament Everyday Bible Study, Grand Rapids: HarperChristian Resources, 2022, 39.
[3] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 33.
[4] N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part One: Chapters 1-12, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, 44.
[5] Willimon, 40.
[6] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 177.
[7] Crag S. Keener, Acts, New Cambridge Bible Commentary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020, 170-171.
[8] Keener, 178.
[9] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 173.
[10] N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, 45.
[11] Willimon, 40.
[12] Willimon, 40.
[13] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 171.
[14] Mikeal C. Parsons, Martin M. Culy, Acts: A Handbook on the Greek Text, Waco: Baylor University Press, 2003, 46
[15] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 175.
[16] N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering what the Church was and is, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2024, 28.
[17] Willimon, 41.
[18] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 172.
[19] Willimon, 41.
[20] David E. Garland, Acts: Teach the Text Commentary Series, Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, General Editors, Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017, 173.
[21] Acts 2:46
[22] N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering what the Church was and is, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2024, 28.
[23] F.F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, Revised Edition, TNICNT, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988, 73.
[24] Based on Willimon, 42.
[25] N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering what the Church was and is, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2024, 28.
[26] Willimon, 42.
[27] William H. Willimon, Acts, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988, 39.
Preach it Sista 