Remember Why We Exist: Becoming the Church

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Holding On With Both Hands in a Shaky World

The early church clung to Christ’s mission like a child gripping a parent’s hand in a crowded airport. Their devotion wasn’t casual—it was a white-knuckled commitment to prayer, teaching, and shared life, even when Rome’s oppression still loomed. Devotion isn’t about comfort; it’s about refusing to let go of Jesus amid life’s chaos. Just as the boy in the story tightened his grip when stumbling, the church’s resilience comes from trusting the One holding them, not controlling the path. When our hearts are captured by Christ, our schedules and priorities realign to His kingdom. [40:19]

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. (Acts 2:42-44, NIV)

Reflection: What activity, habit, or relationship currently competes with your devotion to Christ? How might tightening your grip on His purpose change your daily rhythms?

Day 2: When Fried Chicken Becomes Holy Ground

The early church’s shared meals weren’t about menu items but mutual surrender. Their “koinonia” meant seeing pew neighbors as family—not because they agreed on everything, but because the cross leveled their differences. Like Six Mount Zion’s founders pooling resources in 1867, true community sacrifices preferences to carry one another’s burdens. This isn’t forced uniformity but unity forged by Christ’s love—a love that shows up in hospital rooms, pays bills anonymously, and stays when conflicts arise. [49:01]

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. (Acts 4:32-34, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your church family feels hardest to love? What tangible step could you take this week to see them through Christ’s unifying lens?

Day 3: Rehearsing Heaven’s Song in a Broken World

Every Sunday, the church practices eternity—forgiving like heaven, welcoming like heaven, singing like heaven. Acts 2 wasn’t a perfect utopia but a preview of God’s future: addicts finding family, the hungry fed, generations loving across divides. When society redlines, the church redistributes. When culture cancels, the church reconciles. Six Mount Zion’s ancestors turned sanctuaries into schools and soup kitchens; now, we’re called to rehearse God’s kingdom in a world aching for hope’s encore. [50:25]

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ (Revelation 7:9-10, NIV)

Reflection: Where does your neighborhood most resemble hell? How could your small acts of love today “rehearse heaven” there?

Day 4: Letting God Handle the Headcount

The early church grew because they focused on faithfulness, not flashiness. They didn’t strategize viral growth but shared meals, prayed, and praised—trusting God to add souls. Just as Six Mount Zion survived 159 years through anonymous givers and quiet servants, fruitfulness comes from planting seeds, not chasing trends. Our job isn’t to build God’s kingdom but to join His already advancing work—one forgiven grudge, one served meal, one whispered prayer at a time. [57:57]

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7, NIV)

Reflection: What kingdom work feels “small” or unnoticed in your life? How might trusting God with results free you to serve joyfully?

Day 5: Carrying the Fire, Not Preserving Ashes

Six Mount Zion’s ancestors didn’t build monuments—they carried a holy fire through slavery, Jim Crow, and redlining. Today, the same fire calls us to light prisons with hope, classrooms with wisdom, and streets with justice. The church isn’t a museum of past miracles but a movement of present-day disciples who preach, teach, and love like the God who split seas and emptied tombs. Our assignment isn’t to mourn yesteryear but to ignite tomorrow. [01:06:14]

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV)

Reflection: What “old, old story” from Six Mount Zion’s past inspires you? How will you add your verse to its unfolding song of faithfulness?

Sermon Summary

Acts 2 takes the church back before brands, platforms, celebrity culture, marketing plans, and all the stuff that can make church look busy while forgetting why it exists. Luke shows the Holy Spirit falling, the gospel being preached, people being transformed, and a community being born. The text does not brag about buildings, budgets, followers, or Peter’s new platform. Luke asks a better question: what kind of people did Pentecost produce?

The church in Acts is devoted before it is dynamic. Luke says they “devoted themselves,” meaning they held on with both hands, continued steadfastly, and refused to walk away. Rome was still Rome, poverty was still real, oppression had not vanished, and the religious establishment still rejected Jesus. Yet the Spirit created a people who did not quit in the middle of hardship. Acts shows that God does not measure success the way people do. People are impressed by popularity, but God is impressed by devotion.

The church also becomes a family before it becomes an institution. Luke’s word for fellowship is not just fried chicken, string beans, macaroni and cheese, and cake after church, even though that has its place. Koinonia means shared life, mutual responsibility, and a common life centered in Christ. Acts 2 shows people from different backgrounds, ages, and economic situations becoming family because the gospel redeemed their differences. The church does not demand uniformity. The church creates unity because the people belong to the same Savior.

The text also warns against a consumer spirit that asks what feels comfortable instead of asking where God is calling a person to serve and be formed. The church never belongs to the pastor, the deacons, the trustees, the biggest giver, the oldest family, or anybody’s favorite pew. The church belongs to God. Whenever the church protects position more than mission, the kingdom gets traded for little personal kingdoms.

The story of Six Mount Zion’s founding in 1867 reminds the church that Black churches were never built just to hold Sunday worship. The church became school, meeting place, organizing center, burial ground, celebration space, and a reminder that God said Black people were somebody. That kind of witness survived slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, segregation, redlining, mass incarceration, and every attempt to silence Black life.

Luke finally says the Lord added to their number. The church’s responsibility is faithfulness. God’s responsibility is the increase. The church does not build the kingdom by its own strength. The church bears witness to the kingdom Christ is already establishing. God did not lead the church here to preserve ashes. God led the church here to carry on the fire.

Key Takeaways

1. Devotion comes before church dynamism Devotion is not convenience dressed up in religious clothes. Acts shows a people holding on with both hands while hardship, pressure, and opposition still remain. The Spirit does not always remove trouble, but the Spirit forms a people who refuse to quit in the middle of it. [35:09]
2. The church belongs to God The church becomes sick when ministry turns into territory and mission gets buried under preference. No pew, choir, ministry, parking space, position, or personality owns what Christ died for. God’s church cannot become somebody’s little kingdom and still bear faithful witness to God’s coming kingdom. [29:12]
3. Fellowship means shared life Koinonia is deeper than food after worship or friendly conversation in the hallway. Acts shows a family where possessions, burdens, griefs, and joys are held with holy responsibility. The church gives the world a preview of heaven when grace is practiced, truth is spoken, and nobody is left to struggle by themselves. [48:47]
4. Faithfulness trusts God with increase Luke says the Lord added, not Peter, not John, not the apostles, and not a strategy. The church is called to pray, serve, worship, share, love, and keep showing up. God handles the fruit that only God can grow, and that truth humbles the church while also taking the crushing weight off human shoulders. [57:57]
5. Carry the fire, not ashes The church honors yesterday best by refusing to become a museum for yesterday. God’s past faithfulness is not a permission slip for nostalgia, but a summons into present ministry. The future still cries out for witness, justice, mentoring, grace, and gospel work.

## [65:55]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[22:48] - Becoming the Church Begins
[24:51] - Remember Why the Church Exists
[25:21] - Would the City Notice?
[26:36] - Busy Doing Church, Forgetting Mission
[29:12] - The Church Belongs to God
[30:20] - Acts 2 Before Church Celebrity
[33:52] - Devoted Before Dynamic
[37:25] - An Embassy of the Kingdom
[39:36] - What Captures the Heart
[47:23] - Family Before Institution
[49:01] - Koinonia and Shared Life
[57:22] - Faithfulness and God’s Increase
[63:51] - God Is Still Taking the Church Somewhere
[65:55] - Carry On the Fire

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 2:42-47
“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.” [23:09] [24:44]

Acts 2:41
“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” [23:41]

1 Corinthians 3:6
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” [59:20]

John 13:35
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” [51:55]

Observation questions

In Acts 2:42-47, what specific practices did the early believers devote themselves to, and what do those practices show about their life together? [35:09]
According to Acts 2:42-47, how did the believers handle their possessions and respond to people in need?
What repeated words or ideas in these passages point to growth coming from God rather than from human effort? [57:57]
What pictures are given of the church as more than a worship service or institution, but as a real family sharing life together? [48:47]

Interpretation questions

Acts says the believers “devoted themselves.” What does that word suggest about the kind of commitment Christ calls for, especially when life is hard and inconvenient? [35:09]
John 13:35 says love is the visible mark of discipleship. Why is love between believers such a powerful witness to people outside the church? [51:55]
Acts 2 describes believers holding things in common and giving to anyone in need. How should that be understood today without reducing it to either mere friendliness or forced sameness? [49:01]
Acts 2:47 and 1 Corinthians 3:6 both place growth in God’s hands. How does that truth both humble a church and free a church? [57:22]

Application questions

Devotion is more than showing up when it is convenient. Where has devotion to Christ been pushed aside by comfort, routine, entertainment, or a crowded schedule? What would it look like to give Christ something better than leftovers this week? [39:36]
The church belongs to God, not to any person, family, ministry, position, or preference. Is there any area where personal taste or personal territory has quietly become too important? What might repentance look like there? [29:12]
Fellowship means shared life, not just being in the same room. Who in the church family might need prayer, a phone call, a meal, encouragement, or practical help right now? What keeps people from moving toward one another in those ways? [55:22]
The church is called to be a preview of heaven. Where does the group see a need for more forgiveness, more reconciliation, or more intentional welcome in its own relationships? [50:22]
“By this everyone will know.” If neighbors, coworkers, or family members looked closely at the way this group loves people, what would they see? What might make Christ more visible in everyday relationships? [51:55]
Faithfulness is the church’s responsibility, while increase belongs to God. Where has there been discouragement because results were not immediate? How might trusting God with the fruit change the way prayer, serving, mentoring, or witness is approached? [59:20]
God did not call the church to preserve ashes, but to carry the fire. What is one living work of ministry, justice, mercy, or witness that needs fresh energy right now instead of nostalgia? [01:05:55]

Sermon Clips

54s

#LiveTheGospel

“``Trying to finish point one, but but I want you to know, don't just applaud the gospel. Live it. Don't just admire Jesus. Follow Jesus. Don't just wear the cross around your neck. Carry the cross on your shoulders. Because when a church becomes devoted, it becomes dangerous to the powers of this world. When a church becomes devoted, it becomes a light in dark places, a voice for voiceless, a refuge for the weary, a family for the forgotten, a witness that another kingdom is not only coming, it's already here and begun in Jesus Christ. So before Luke ever tells us what the church did, he tells us who the church was. Yeah. Because activity without devotion becomes performance.”

44s

#TransformationNotConsumption

“Church attendance has become optional. Yeah. Commitment has become negotiable. Consumerism has crept into the sanctuary. Too many people shop for churches the way they shop for restaurants. They ask, what do I like? What what do I prefer? What makes me feel comfortable? Rather than asking the question, where is God calling me to serve? Where can I grow, and where can I be formed into the likeness of Christ? Listen. The gospel has never been about consumption. The gospel has always been about transformation.”

48s

#FromFansToDisciples

“So now the question is not whether they were devoted. The question is whether we are. Will we be devoted to justice like they were? Are we as devoted to prayer, as devoted to serving, as as devoted to telling the truth, as devoted to loving our neighbors. Because y'all, God ain't looking for fans. God is looking for disciples. God ain't looking for a big audience. God is trying to raise up a people. God didn't call in spectators. God is calling servants. God isn't looking for an occasional affection. God is looking for some steadfast devotion.”

64s

#KingdomEmbassy

“We live in the RVA region. Right? We live in North America or The United States Of America as some of us call it. We live though amid division. We live amid violence. We live amid economic uncertainty, political polarization, and community searching for hope. But every Sunday, the church should become an embassy of the kingdom of God. When people walk through these doors, they ought to catch a glimpse of what God's future looks like. A place, watch this, where people from different generations can love on each other, where forgiveness is practiced instead of revenge, where generosity defeats greed, where hope overcomes despair, where every person is treated as one created in the image of God. Listen. We don't simply preach about the kingdom. We are challenged to demonstrate it.”

58s

#ServeLikeJesus

“Let the fire burn in your prayer. Let the fire burn in the preaching. Let the fire burn in the serving and the loving and in the witness. Let the fire burn in our pursuit of justice because when history writes another chapter about six Mount Zion, may it never say they just had a beautiful building. May it never simply say they had a gifted pastor. May it never simply say they had wonderful music. May the history have something to say far greater than that. Let history say they love them some Jesus at 6 Mount Zion. They serve like Jesus. They welcome like Jesus. They stood for justice like Jesus. They refused to bow to fear, refused to surrender to his hope, to refuse to quit when the word became hard, they became the church.”

69s

#DevotedNotFamous

“That's why I love acts chapter two is the reason it guides our mission in our vision here at 6 Mount Zion. Acts chapter two takes us back before denominations. Acts chapter two takes us back before church brands and before social media. Acts chapter two takes us back before church celebrity culture and church growth conferences. It takes us back before marketing strategies, before anybody was worried about image. Watch this. Acts chapter two begins here. The Holy Spirit falls. The gospel is preached. People are transformed. A community is born. Lives are changed. The hungry are fed. The lonely find family. The broken discover hope. The world sees a people who love one another so deeply that it cannot help but ask what is different about them. Y'all, that's the picture this text paints. It ain't a perfect church, but a devoted church. Not a famous church, but a faithful church. Not a church obsessed obsessed with itself, but a church consumed with the mission of God.”

58s

#MakeDisciplesNotCrowds

“Now, that's not a question meant to make anyone feel guilty today. Actually, it's a question meant to remind us why God planted the church in the first place. Because listen, somewhere along the way, many churches have become confused about their assignment. They become experts at gathering crowds, but not always at making disciples. They become good at putting on productions and worship services, but not always at serving people. We, the church, mastered worship schedules while sometimes neglecting the worshipful life. We've learned how to fill calendars without always fulfilling the great commission. And if we're not careful, we can become so busy doing church that we forget how to be the church.”

52s

#LegacyOfDevotion

“so do you wanna know why it's important that we keep going? Not because our ancestors had easy lives, but because they were devoted. Y'all not hearing me. Big mama and granddaddy and auntie and uncle and them didn't have easy lives, but they were committed. They won't like us, and I'm I'm not saying mental health is not important. It is, but it doesn't take much for some of us now to be broken down. Big mama and them, they didn't have easy lives, but they were committed. They prayed when there was no evidence things would improve. They sang before freedom arrived. They educated children when resources were scarce. They organized communities when systems ignored them. They believed that God's promises were stronger than history's cruelty.”

78s

#ConfidenceInTheHand

“A few weeks ago well, a few months ago now, was in the airport headed to Phoenix for a conference, and I was mesmerized by watching this little boy at the airport holding his dad's hand. All of us were running in the same direction. It seemed like the terminal was crowded. People were everywhere. Announcements were blurring overhead, and I'm sure this little boy couldn't have been no more than four or five. And I watched him stumble a few times, But every time he lost balance, he squeezed his dad's hand even tighter. You wanna know why? He wasn't confident because he knew the airport. He was confident because he knew the hand that was holding him. And I said to myself, that's devotion. And our confident is it confidence isn't in understanding every twist and turn of life. That's the problem with so many of us. We wanna control every twist, wanna know every turn, but God says your confidence ought to be an understanding that you might not know the journey, but you know the hand that you're holding. And as long as you refuse to let that go, god's got you.”

62s

#DevotionOverStrategy

“does not say they developed the perfect strategy. He doesn't tell us they hired better speakers. They he doesn't tell us they found a marketing plan, a better marketing team. He doesn't tell us they became popular. He simply says, watch this, they were devoted. They loved one another. God, I'm preaching today. They worshiped. They shared. They prayed. They broke bread. They praised god. And I know for some of you, you ain't saying nothing because that's hard. You rather come to church and hope everybody else do all the hard work, but but they had to do it. And when they prayed, when they broke bread, when they praised god, when they worship, when they shared, god did what only god can do. I believe this is one of the greatest theological truths in the book of Acts. The church is called to be faithful. God is responsible for fruitfulness.”

52s

#LoveOverCulture

“Salvation ain't just about you. It's about us as a people that forms a community that refuses to let anybody struggle by itself. That's why I worry whenever the church begins to imitate the culture more than they do the Christ. Our culture says protect yourself. The gospel says bear one another's burden. The culture says look out for yourself. The gospel says love your neighbor as yourself. The culture says you better counsel them. Jesus says you better forgive them. The culture says build up your platform. Jesus says, why don't you wash somebody else's feet? If our relationships don't look different from the world's relationships, then what exactly are we inviting the world to become?”

40s

#ChurchAsFamily

“The world is not hungry for another religious institution. The world is hungry for an authentic community where grace is practiced, truth is spoken, burdens are shared, and Christ is lifted. 6 Mount Zion, if we're gonna become the church that God is shaping us to be, we cannot simply worship together. We've gotta live together. We must serve together. We gotta suffer together. We gotta celebrate together because that's what families do. And when a church becomes that kind of family, something begins to happen that no advertising campaign can ever produce. The world will start noticing.”

63s

#UnityInDiversity

“Notice what Luke is saying. These people had different backgrounds, different occupations, different personalities, different ages, different economic situations. Some had very little. Some had much more. Yet the gospel created a family where none of those distinctions became barriers because the church doesn't erase our differences. The church redeems them. God help me. The church doesn't demand uniformity. It creates unity. Yeah. And there's a difference because uniformity says everybody has to be the same. Unity says we belong to the same savior. That's what acts says that that they held all things in common, not because everyone owned the same possessions, but because no one believed their possessions mattered more than their brothers and sisters. God help me. Where y'all at today? The early church wasn't practicing forced equality. It was practicing voluntary generosity born out of transformed hearts.”

79s

#DevotionControlsSchedule

“Here's a challenge for the church because some of us are committed to everything except Christ. Some of us are committed to everything except Christ. We'll we'll never miss our favorite show. We'll we'll never miss a football game. We'll drive hours to go see our favorite artists. We'll sit through three extra innings of baseball. We'll spend all day at a day party and all night at the club, but let worship one fifteen minutes older. Everybody looking at their watches. They got brunch dates. They got stuff to do. And we'll stay up until midnight scrolling on our phones, eyes droopy, and then say we're too tired to pray for a few minutes. We'll memorize all the steps, know all the passwords, quote all the movie lines, yet can't remember the word of God. Come on. That's not a lack of time. That's a matter of devotion. Because whatever captures your heart eventually controls your schedule.”

67s

#KnownByOurLove

“We'll sit on the opposite side of the sanctuary because of an argument from ten years ago. You'll stop speaking over something you can't even remember. We'll carry grudges longer than we carry scripture. We'll leave a church instead of having one hard conversation. We'll gossip in the parking lot after praying in the sanctuary. We'll shout all doing worship then refuse to speak to each other before we even get to the car. That's not kononia. That's spiritual immaturity dressed up in your fancy church clothes. Jesus never said the world would know we are disciples because we sang well or because we had the biggest choir or the biggest church or because we had the nicest building, Jesus said, they will know you by your love. so the greatest evangelistic strategy the church has ever possessed is not marketing. It is authentic Christian love.”

36s

#BecomingTheChurch

“And as we begin this new series, becoming the church, God is still shaping us. I don't want us to ask whether we are a good church. I don't even want us to ask whether we are a successful church. I want us to ask a far more important question. Are we becoming the church that Jesus died for? Because the answer to the if the answer to that question is yes, then everything else will take care of itself. This morning, before we talk about what kind of church we will become, we first had to remember why we exist.”

67s

#ChurchBelongsToGod

“But let's now stop with the pastor preachers in the pew two. We've got church members who think every decision ought to revolve around them, people who measure the health of a church by whether they got their way. People who confuse preference with principle. Those who protect tradition more fiercely than they protect the mission of Jesus Christ. We've all seen it. It's the my crowd, my choir, my pew, my ministry, my parking space, my church. And can I be honest today? It's never been my church. It's never been your church. It's always been God's church. The church does not belong to the pastor. The church does not belong to the deacons or the trustees. The church does not belong to the oldest or largest family in the church. The church does not belong to the biggest giver. The church belongs to God.”

50s

#SteadfastDevotion

“Now the word translated devoted is one of Luke's favorite words. It literally means to continue steadfastly, to cling to, to persist with unwavering commitment, to refuse to walk away. It paints the picture of someone holding on with both hands. It is the language of determination, the language of endurance, the language of commitment and consistency. Luke deliberately uses the word because these believers are living in a hostile world. Rome is still Roman. Poverty still exists. Oppression has not disappeared. The religious establishment still rejects Jesus. Nothing about the political system has changed overnight, yet the church remains steadfast.”

71s

#RehearseForHeaven

“See, this is another glimpse of God's future breaking into the present. Isaiah envisioned the day when people would live together under God's reign. Revelation speaks of every tribe, every language, every nation gathered around the throne. Acts two is the first taste of that coming reality. The church is called to practice now where heaven will perfect later. Every Sunday should be a rehearsal for eternity. Hear me. When we forgive one another, we rehearse for heaven. When we reconcile, we rehearse for heaven. When we bear each other's burdens, we rehearse for heaven. When we welcome the stranger, we are rehearsing for heaven. And so church isn't simply preparing to go to heaven. The church is called to give the world a preview of heaven. God. Whoo. One of the greatest contradictions in American Christianity is is this. We claim to love Jesus, but we become experts at avoiding one another.”

54s

#EveryActMatters

“So y'all don't grow weary. Keep teaching. Keep serving. Keep praying. Keep forgiving. Keep mentoring. Keep giving. Keep showing up. Keep loving. Keep standing. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Keep working. Keep on telling the old old story because every prayer matters. Every act of kindness matters. Every child in carriage matters. Every meal served matters. Every tear wiped away matters. Nothing done in the name of Christ is ever wasted. So the Lord is adding. The Lord is still healing. The Lord is still calling. The Lord is still saving. The Lord is still building God's church. And the gates of hell still cannot prevail against it.”

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