Life Among The Believers - Rev. Wendy MacLean

Devotional

Day 1: Breaking Bread with Glad Hearts

The early believers met daily in the temple courts. They broke bread in homes, ate together with joy, and shared their possessions. No one claimed private ownership—fields were sold, money laid at the apostles’ feet. Their unity wasn’t forced but flowed from awe at the apostles’ signs. Fear and wonder held them together like breath in lungs. [42:57]

Jesus reshaped scarcity into shared abundance. The disciples didn’t hoard miracles but let generosity multiply through open hands. God’s presence became tangible as they redistributed bread and trust.

You inherit this rhythm of giving and receiving. Where does your grip tighten around resources or routines? Practice loosening one finger today. What practical need could you meet if you believed your “enough” was someone else’s miracle?

“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 in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”
(Acts 2:44-46, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Christ to reveal one possession, habit, or hour you can release for communal joy.
Challenge: Donate one item you’ve clung to—a book, tool, or garment—to someone specific this week.

Day 2: Earthset Over the Terminator Line

Commander Reed Wiseman filmed Earth dipping behind the moon—a blue marble half-shadowed, fragile, beloved. From 700,000 miles away, he declared love to all on Earth. The Artemis crew tasted awe that dissolved borders, mirroring the early church’s unity. Wonder humbled them into kinship. [38:33]

God stitches cosmos and community into one fabric. The disciples saw Pentecost’s flames as both intimate and infinite; astronauts saw Earth’s unity through distance. Both revelations dissolve “us” and “them.”

When headlines fracture your hope, lift your eyes. Step outside tonight. Let the moon’s terminator line—where light meets dark—remind you: God’s new day dawns even here. What division in your life could this perspective soften?

“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”
(Revelation 21:1, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific wonders in creation that leave you speechless.
Challenge: Spend 10 minutes outside today observing one ordinary marvel—a leaf’s veins, a bird’s flight path.

Day 3: Restoring Souls by Still Waters

The Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat first stewarded this land. Psalm 23’s “still waters” flow through their unceded territories. Reconciliation begins when we listen to these waters—confessing how settlers polluted streams and spirits. God’s restoration starts where we halt our harm. [15:41]

Jesus leads beside quiet waters, not draining them. The Good Shepherd’s rod corrects without crushing; His staff guides without gouging. True restoration heals both oppressed and oppressor.

Whose history have you rushed past? Let silence unearth the stories buried beneath your feet. When you next drink water, remember: whose ancestral rivers fill your glass?

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”
(Psalm 23:1-3, NIV)

Prayer: Confess indifference to Indigenous pain. Ask God to make you a restorer of broken streams.
Challenge: Research one local Indigenous history fact you didn’t know; share it with a friend.

Day 4: When the Crowd Asked “What Now?”

Peter stood before thousands bewildered by Pentecost’s fire. “Repent and be baptized,” he urged. 3,000 stepped into the Jordan that day, not from guilt, but because wonder undid their old lives. The crowd became a community when awe outshouted ambition. [28:14]

The Spirit still interrupts our agendas. Civil rights marchers, base communities, and Black Lives Matter protesters all echoed Peter’s call: turn toward collective liberation. Movements birth miracles when they kneel to wonder.

What personal mission have you clutched too tightly? Where could releasing control let the Spirit rewrite your script?

“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.’”
(Acts 2:37-38, NIV)

Prayer: Name one assumption about “success” God might ask you to repent of today.
Challenge: Text a friend: “What’s something that filled you with holy awe this week?”

Day 5: Miracles on a Cell Phone

Astronauts filmed Earth’s curve on an iPhone. The early church shared bread on splintered tables. Both acts made the infinite intimate—God’s grandeur fitting into palms and pixels. Miracles aren’t spectacle but attention: noticing poppies in Roman ruins, a child’s sprint through sanctuaries. [45:23]

Jesus multiplied loaves not to stun crowds but to feed friends. The disciples’ baskets held leftovers because God’s economy overflows when we pay attention.

What ordinary moment have you dismissed as too small for glory? Where might Christ be saying, “Film this” or “Taste this”?

“Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.”
(Acts 2:43, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for a recent “small” miracle—a resolved conflict, a healed scrape, a timely call.
Challenge: Photograph or journal one overlooked wonder today; tell someone why it matters.

Sermon Summary

This reflection opens with a land acknowledgement and a return to the comfort of Psalm 23, calling the community to a commitment of reconciliation with the Anishinaabe, Hodnasani, and Wendat peoples. It invites a steady awareness of Eastertide as a tide that moves through doubt, belief, grief, and new life, and it asks listeners to breathe into that movement. Wonder and awe emerge as deliberate spiritual practices, not distractions, and the capacity to notice simple beauty becomes a faithful form of praise. The legacy of Abraham Heschel’s longing for wonder reframes success as openness to mystery.

The narrative traces the origin story of the early movement in Acts, showing how signs and wonders fostered rapid growth, repentance, baptism, and a profound sense of belonging. That early community shared goods, prayers, and daily life in ways that embodied the presence of God and made faith visible. The talk situates that contagious spirit alongside more recent social movements, from civil rights and women’s liberation to liberation theology and Black Lives Matter, and notes how collective moral imagination reshapes who gets a voice at the table.

Attention then turns skyward to the Artemis mission, where astronauts spoke of unity, love, and a humbled human outlook on Earth. That cosmic view becomes an instrument for spiritual formation, what one teacher calls the Artemis effect: stepping beyond daily frames to encounter the larger reality that sustains life. The cosmic and the intimate meet in the claim that God knows each person, and that seeing Earth from afar can soften divisions and encourage shared stewardship.

The reflection closes with a call to live as spirit bearers. Practically, that looks like sharing stories of small miracles, watching for signs in everyday life, practicing generosity, and committing to communal life that reflects trust in the Shepherd who restores the soul. Offerings and acts of sharing receive theological weight as practices that proliferate abundance rather than deplete it. The final blessing sends the community into the week with the conviction that the Spirit goes before, beside, and around them, inviting each person to serve with newness and a luminous heart.

Key Takeaways

1. Awe as central spiritual practice Awe functions as a disciplined way to praise and to reorient the soul toward God. Cultivating wonder trains attention away from ego and empire and toward simple gifts that reveal the presence of God. Regularly practicing awe creates a posture that notices mercy, receives mystery, and resists the urge to measure faith by achievement. [24:17]
2. Reconciliation with land and people Naming the native peoples of this place grounds spiritual life in ethical repair and mutual flourishing. Reconciliation here involves concrete acts of remembrance, restitution, and daily practices that honor shared life on the land. This stake in place transforms worship from inward consolation into outward responsibility. [15:00]
3. Community formed by signs and wonder Signs and wonders catalyzed belonging in the early movement and gave ordinary people a new social imagination. When communities share resources, prayers, and testimony, faith becomes visible and contagious rather than merely private. Such communal practices invite conversion of life and create durable networks of care. [27:32]
4. Cosmic perspective expands moral imagination Seeing Earth from space prompts humility, shared origin, and a sense of mutual obligation across borders and generations. The Artemis effect loosens parochial concerns and enlarges the moral field so stewardship, justice, and awe travel together. This wider view supplies hope that collective action can repair and renew the fragile world. [36:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[14:21] - Land acknowledgement and Psalm 23
[16:18] - Eastertide as a moving tide
[17:34] - Opening song and prayer
[24:17] - Wonder and Heschel’s teaching
[26:55] - Awe defined as praise
[27:32] - Acts and early community growth
[31:19] - Modern movements and shared conscience
[36:44] - Artemis mission and cosmic view
[39:11] - Vision of a new heaven and earth
[42:30] - Being spirit bearers locally and cosmically
[45:33] - Practicing wonder and sharing miracles
[62:03] - Announcements and community life
[66:36] - Offering as spiritual practice
[71:49] - Blessing and sending forth

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

Acts 2:43-47 (NIV)
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.

Revelation 21:1 (NIV)
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Observation Questions

What specific actions characterized the early Christian community in Acts 2:43-47? How did their shared life reflect their faith?
The sermon describes awe as a “disciplined way to praise” and a response to God’s presence. What examples of awe-inspiring moments were mentioned (e.g., natural beauty, shared love from space)? [25:49]
How does Revelation 21:1 connect to the idea of a “cosmic perspective” discussed in the sermon?

Interpretation Questions

Why might sharing resources and daily life (Acts 2:44-45) have been essential for creating a sense of belonging in the early church? How does this challenge modern individualism?
The sermon links the “Artemis effect” (seeing Earth from space) to humility and shared stewardship. How might this cosmic view reshape our priorities or relationships? [39:52]
Psalm 23 speaks of God restoring the soul. How could practicing awe and wonder contribute to this restoration, especially in times of doubt or grief?

Application Questions

What is one simple, everyday moment of beauty (e.g., a flower, a child’s laughter) you can intentionally notice this week as an act of praise? How might pausing to acknowledge it shift your perspective? [25:49]
Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples was named as a commitment. What is one tangible step you could take to learn about or honor the history of the land you live on?
The early church shared possessions freely. Is there a practical way you could practice generosity this week—whether time, resources, or attention—to deepen communal trust?
The astronauts described feeling “small yet powerful” when viewing Earth from space. How might holding both humility and hope together inspire you to engage with global or local challenges? [39:52]
The sermon urges sharing stories of “small miracles.” When have you experienced an unexpected moment of grace or wonder? How could you share that story to encourage someone this week? [45:02]
Revelation 21:1 envisions a renewed creation. What daily habit could you adopt to reflect your role as a “steward” of God’s fragile world?

Sermon Clips

44s

#ChooseWonder

“Near the end of his life, after a serious heart attack, when he was coming back, the theologian Abraham Heschel, said, I never asked for success. I asked for wonder. And we tend to define ourselves by what we believe, what we uphold as virtues, often the successes of our life. But what if, as a people, our primary spiritual practice is awe. And that we're known for our capacity for wonder.”

52s

#CosmicIntimacy

“So from space, we're being reminded to see God's life as a cosmic presence far beyond the confines of our understanding, beyond anything we can know. But at the same time, we're called into this loving friendship with Christ, with each other, with exuberance. And that same friendship is that knowing that God knows who we are intimately. So it's cosmic and it's intimate. Just like it was for those people just as it is now.”

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Life Among The Believers - Rev. Wendy MacLean - April 26, 2026