Embracing Our Stories: Bold Faith and Community

### Summary

Welcome to our series on storytelling, where we explore the profound impact of stories in the Bible and in our lives. Today, we reflect on how God has been writing stories in our church for over 150 years, and how He continues to do so in our various campuses across the Bay Area. We are grateful for the way God shows up in our lives, and we are excited about the upcoming series, "Hope for Everyone," which will outline our vision for the next decade.

We all have unique habits and quirks, and these often reflect deeper aspects of our personalities and stories. Similarly, the early church had unique characteristics that made them bold in their faith. They shared about what they cared about, and their lives were transformed by the Holy Spirit. This boldness was not just in words but in actions, as they shared their possessions and lives with one another.

The early church's story is recorded in the book of Acts, where we see the apostles empowered by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles and preach boldly. This led to the growth of the church and the transformation of many lives. The early Christians were devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. They experienced awe and wonders, and they shared everything they had, ensuring that no one was in need.

This passage is descriptive of what happened when God showed up in the early church, not prescriptive for all Christians. However, it challenges us to imagine a community so sold out for Jesus that they live in such unity and generosity. At Menlo, we emphasize being thoughtful witnesses, living lives that reflect the gospel and sharing our stories with conviction and compassion.

We often hesitate to share our faith due to fear of social resistance, but the early church's example shows us the power of sharing our stories. Their boldness and willingness to share led to God's favor and the growth of the church. We are encouraged to pray for boldness and to share our stories, knowing that God can use them to impact others.

The early church had deep unity, a willingness to share, leaders who led by example, and the grace of God upon them. These qualities take time to develop and require investment in relationships. We are called to lean into community, even when it is challenging, and to share our stories and lives with others.

As we reflect on our own stories, we are reminded that our legacy is not in our possessions but in the impact we have on others. We have time to let God write new chapters in our stories and to share them with those around us. Let's pray for God to do in our community what He did in the early church, spreading the good news of Jesus and transforming lives.

### Key Takeaways

1. **The Power of Storytelling**: Our stories, like those of the early church, have the power to transform lives. When we share our experiences of God's faithfulness, we invite others to see His work in their own lives. This sharing fosters unity and encourages others to trust in God's ongoing story in their lives. [30:47]

2. **Boldness in Faith**: The early church's boldness came from their deep conviction and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. They shared their faith despite resistance, and God blessed their efforts. We are called to pray for this same boldness, trusting that God will use our stories to impact others. [46:11]

3. **Community and Generosity**: The early Christians shared everything they had, ensuring no one was in need. This radical generosity was a response to God's work in their lives. We are challenged to consider what we are willing to share and how we can live out our faith through acts of generosity and community. [47:35]

4. **Investing in Relationships**: Building deep, lasting relationships takes time and effort. The early church's unity and willingness to share were built on their investment in one another. We are encouraged to lean into community, even when it is difficult, knowing that it is worth the effort. [51:38]

5. **Legacy of Faith**: Our legacy is not in our possessions but in the impact we have on others. We are reminded to focus on what truly matters—our relationships and the stories we share. By living out our faith and sharing our stories, we leave a lasting legacy that points others to Jesus. [57:08]

### YouTube Chapters

[0:00] - Welcome
[0:45] - Introduction to Storytelling Series
[2:30] - Upcoming Series: Hope for Everyone
[4:00] - Personal Quirks and Habits
[6:00] - The Early Church's Boldness
[8:00] - Sharing What We Care About
[10:00] - The Power of the Holy Spirit
[12:00] - The Early Church's Generosity
[14:00] - Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Passages
[16:00] - Thoughtful Witnesses
[18:00] - Praying for Boldness
[20:00] - Investing in Relationships
[22:00] - Legacy of Faith
[24:00] - Conclusion and Prayer

### Bible Reading
1. Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
> "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

2. Acts 4:32-35 (ESV)
> "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need."

### Observation Questions
1. What were the four main activities the early church devoted themselves to according to Acts 2:42-47?
2. How did the early Christians demonstrate their unity and generosity in Acts 4:32-35?
3. What was the result of the early church's actions and lifestyle as described in Acts 2:47? [36:40]
4. According to the sermon, what was the source of the early church's boldness in sharing their faith? [46:11]

### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think the early church's unity and willingness to share their possessions were so impactful in their community? [47:35]
2. How does the early church's example challenge modern Christians in terms of generosity and community living? [50:22]
3. What might it look like today to be a "thoughtful witness" as described in the sermon? [38:09]
4. How can the concept of "sharing about what we care about" apply to our daily lives and interactions with others? [32:11]

### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you hesitated to share your faith due to fear of social resistance. How can you pray for boldness in those situations? [39:37]
2. The early church shared everything they had to ensure no one was in need. What are some practical ways you can demonstrate generosity in your community? [47:35]
3. Building deep, lasting relationships takes time and effort. What steps can you take to invest more in your relationships within your small group or church community? [51:38]
4. Think about your own story of faith. How can you share it with conviction and compassion to encourage others? [38:09]
5. Our legacy is not in our possessions but in the impact we have on others. What specific actions can you take this week to leave a positive impact on someone’s life? [57:08]
6. Identify one area in your life where you can be more open to sharing your story of faith. How can you take a step towards doing that this week? [42:04]
7. The early church prayed for boldness and received it. When was the last time you prayed for boldness? How can you incorporate this prayer into your daily routine? [46:11]

Day 1: The Transformative Power of Storytelling
Description: Stories have a profound impact on our lives, especially when they reflect God's faithfulness. The early church's stories, as recorded in the book of Acts, show how sharing personal experiences of God's work can foster unity and encourage others to trust in God's ongoing story in their lives. When we share our stories, we invite others to see God's hand in their own lives, creating a ripple effect of faith and transformation. This practice of storytelling is not just about recounting events but about bearing witness to God's presence and action in our lives. [30:47]

Acts 4:33 (ESV): "And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all."

Reflection: Think of a recent experience where you saw God's hand at work in your life. How can you share this story with someone this week to encourage their faith?


Day 2: Boldness in Faith
Description: The early church's boldness was rooted in their deep conviction and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Despite facing social resistance and persecution, they shared their faith with courage and confidence. This boldness was not just in their words but also in their actions, as they performed miracles and lived out their faith openly. We are called to pray for this same boldness, trusting that God will use our stories to impact others. By stepping out in faith and sharing our experiences, we can inspire others to seek and trust in God. [46:11]

2 Timothy 1:7-8 (ESV): "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God."

Reflection: Identify one area in your life where you feel hesitant to share your faith. What steps can you take to overcome this fear and share your story with boldness this week?


Day 3: Radical Generosity and Community
Description: The early Christians demonstrated radical generosity by sharing everything they had, ensuring that no one was in need. This generosity was a natural response to God's work in their lives and a reflection of their deep sense of community. They were devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer, which fostered a strong sense of unity and mutual support. We are challenged to consider what we are willing to share and how we can live out our faith through acts of generosity and community. [47:35]

Acts 2:44-45 (ESV): "And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need."

Reflection: Reflect on your resources and possessions. What is one thing you can share or give away this week to help someone in need and demonstrate God's love?


Day 4: Investing in Relationships
Description: Building deep, lasting relationships takes time and effort. The early church's unity and willingness to share were built on their investment in one another. They were committed to spending time together, supporting each other, and growing in their faith as a community. We are encouraged to lean into community, even when it is challenging, knowing that it is worth the effort. By investing in relationships, we create a supportive environment where faith can flourish and lives can be transformed. [51:38]

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Reflection: Think of one person in your church or community with whom you can deepen your relationship. How can you intentionally invest in this relationship this week?


Day 5: Legacy of Faith
Description: Our legacy is not in our possessions but in the impact we have on others. The early church's story reminds us that what truly matters is our relationships and the stories we share. By living out our faith and sharing our experiences, we leave a lasting legacy that points others to Jesus. We have the opportunity to let God write new chapters in our stories and to share them with those around us, spreading the good news and transforming lives. [57:08]

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (ESV): "You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

Reflection: Consider the legacy you are leaving behind. What is one way you can intentionally share your faith story this week to impact someone else's life for Christ?

Huge thank you to Ben for sharing his story. And welcome. We're so glad that you're here.

We're in a series here at Menlo.com, and we're talking about how central storytelling is in the Bible, God's story with us personally, our own story in whatever season or situation that we're in at any given moment. And I'm so glad that you are here today.

We have stories like Ben's being written at every one of our Bay Area campuses: in San Mateo, here in Menlo Park, Mountain View, Saratoga. We are so, so profoundly thankful. We're so grateful for the way God shows up and continues to write stories in the life of Menlo as one church in multiple locations, where God has actually been writing stories for more than 150 years.

So we kicked off this series just a couple of weeks ago. If you missed it, I'd really encourage you to kind of go back and catch up. That'd be maybe something that God could use in your life in a really, really special way.

I do want to let you know about a couple of things. First of all, I want to let you know about something that's coming up here. You've heard, kind of next week we have this unique service, where typically we've done our annual church meeting kind of after all of our services only at Menlo Park, and now we are sort of combining our efforts, and we're going to have those same updates, kind of State of Menlo Church at every campus and every service. I really hope that's helpful for you.

And I want to let you know too that actually after that special service next week, we are beginning a really important series in the life of our church called Hope for Everyone. In this series, we're going to be talking about this key vision that we believe God’s given us for the next decade, not just about Menlo Church, actually, but about the whole Bay Area and specifically what the next three years are going to look like.

We've been kind of diving in and having lots of conversations. I've drank more coffee than ever before in offices, coffee shops, and homes, and had a chance to join small group gatherings for dinners and host vision nights at every one of our campuses, including this upcoming week, to get feedback to hopefully make this the very best plan that honors God for the future in the days ahead.

This series and the initiative that it represents, it's something that we believe God is going to use to help change the entire Bay Area and specifically over the next three years to help us in the future. And so, we're going to be talking about this key vision that we've invested in our current campuses to get them ready as kind of hubs for hope to help create a flywheel of people finding out and discovering Jesus, including purchasing permanent campuses for the two locations that we rent today in San Mateo and Mountain View.

I'm asking you to prioritize being here in person for the next five weeks, especially Sunday, October 13th, which I think we will talk about years from now as a catalyzing moment for the future of Menlo and maybe a lot more than that, that we can look back on and go, I remember when I was there for that. I remember when we stacked hands and said we were in for that.

And so, to proactively learn more about that, maybe start getting some of your questions answered, you can find out more at menlo.church/hop.

Now, before we dive back into our series in storytelling this morning, I'm going to pray for us. And if you've never been here before or never heard me speak, before I speak, I'm going to pray for you. I pray kneeling. And part of the reason that I do that is to recognize God's profound kindness that he has extended to each and every one of us. Whether you're a Christian or not, God has extended profound love to you today. So, wherever you are in your faith, would you pray?

God, thank you so much. Thank you for this really unique day that we've never had, the week leading up to it or the week that's about to come, but you know both. And God, you have us right where you need us to be. Some of us, God, we can feel that. We can see that. Others of us, God, we're just looking for a little relief. We're feeling exhausted. We're feeling overwhelmed.

And God, whatever each person needs, regardless of the message I'm about to give, would you make sure that by the power of your spirit, they receive it right now? God, help us to walk closer with you as we leave than when we walked in. It's in Jesus' name. Amen.

I wonder, do you have a habit or a quirk that you know is unique, but you can't help yourself? You just have to do it no matter what. If you're married, your spouse knows it. So, don't ask them. They're going to tell you.

But I think for me, when I was young, it can be like a good thing or a bad thing. This one's okay. It's fine. I was a Boy Scout when I was young, and there's a slogan in Boy Scouts: do a good turn or do a good deed daily. It can mean anything. The kind of stereotypical example is, will you help an older lady cross the street, right?

But as I've gotten older, I have this kind of internal counter keeping track of whether or not I have done a good deed for that day or not. And if it gets to the end of the day and I haven't done it, I feel it. Maybe it was like picking up litter, holding the door open for someone, putting a shopping cart back, but it's definitely hardwired into me, probably on an annoying level.

I wonder, what is the thing for you that feels like that? Maybe like, are you somebody that you have to load the dishwasher in a very specific way? A couple of you, I hear it. Maybe for you, you are the person in your neighborhood that makes sure that everyone drives the speed limit. Like you are letting people know. You have this sign that says kids at play, even when there aren't kids at play. Like you are letting people know.

Maybe you're the person that you put the garbage cans out at precisely the right position, and you sort of silently judge your neighbors if they don't. Maybe you're the person who's hypervigilant about everyone in the line, making sure that they are doing it the right way and nobody's cutting in line first.

Like we all have these little things about us that sort of are outliers in our personality. We're pretty go with the flow maybe, but there's this one thing that I have greater passion or boldness about than the rest of it for some reason.

Well, we've been in a series about how our stories work and how God works on us through the everyday stories that we live and that he's writing in our lives. And there is a reason that we all carry these things that can feel like outliers. There are these reasons that sometimes that strange boldness shows up in areas that are unexpected in our lives. We all have some kind of thing we could draw the line back to.

And what we're going to see in the early church is that they did too, actually, that they had these things that introduced and increased their boldness in a way that wouldn't have been possible in the early church. And that's what we're going to see to the people around them.

The underlying idea that cuts across all of it for the early church, and that I think God has a lesson for you and me in today, is that we share about what we care about. Actually, it doesn't even matter if you don't want to share about it. If you care about it enough, you will share about it. It's kind of involuntary.

Today is the first Sunday of the regular season for NFL football. Thank God, right? Just like, whoo, some of you feel differently than that. And I'm guessing that if you have someone in your life who cares about football, you didn't need me to share the news with you that today was the first day of football. You had been told. You already knew. They already shared it with you. They've been waiting for today like Christmas with fantasy football drafts and ESPN shows.

It didn't take effort to share about it. What you don't know is that actually those people have been applying effort to not make that the only thing they share with you. Like, that's what they're thinking about all the time.

For others of you, it's not about football. It's about fall. And you didn't need to be alerted that you could get a pumpkin spice latte. You knew it was circled on your calendar, right? Or break out different decorations or wear a flannel. That stuff is ready. Like, your social media feed is locked in about fall.

And that stuff is fun. Maybe you have stuff like that in the fall or at other times throughout the year. But I wonder about your faith. What about how you believe and live as a Christian? I think that our faith can become one of those things that we care about but don't care enough about to share about. We become secret agents for God. And people in our lives would be surprised to find out that we have a personal relationship with Jesus.

And when we look at the examples of the early church, if that's us, if we become secret agents for God, we are going to be challenged by the approach of the early church. Last week, Cheryl did a great job talking about Jesus' life and ministry. And when Jesus' earthly ministry ends, we see the beginning of the power of the church's story, which we are now even 2,000 years later still carrying and living and sharing all around the world in the greatest movement that human history has ever seen.

Jesus' biographies, they're recorded in four books in your Bible called the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, written after the authors of those accounts of Jesus' life. A book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles, records the earliest events in the life of the church. And that's where we're going to spend time talking today.

A couple weeks ago, I gave you this tool to talk about your own story and kind of tracking what are the highs and lows. I gave you some icons of how to do that. For the early church, they experienced Jesus' death, and that was devastating. But then they experienced an empty tomb, a resurrection, and all of a sudden things looked amazing.

As a matter of fact, you may not know this, Jesus, when He came out of the tomb, He walked with the disciples. He lived with the disciples for 40 days before He ascended to heaven. It was one of the reasons that the early church was so difficult to refute. The Apostle Paul says that at one point, Jesus appears to more than 500 people at one time.

So it was a really amazing time until Jesus ascended, went to heaven 40 days later, which for us, we're like, oh, that's cool. But if you go listen to the accounts written in the book of Acts, this was not a win for them. They were not excited about the fact that Jesus, who it felt like they had just gotten back, now was leaving.

And He said that the reason that He needed to do that was that unless He left, He couldn't send the Holy Spirit in His place. And so then 40 days later, Jesus leaves, and He sends the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit. Not an out-of-date logo for Twitter.

And the Holy Spirit, who had been uniquely in the life of empowering kings and royalty throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, now was going to be in the life of every follower of Jesus, including today. And they had this amazing new ability that the Holy Spirit gave them, where they could speak in one language, their own, and they could be simultaneously heard in every language of the people listening. It was like a first Google Translate; no one had ever seen it before.

And empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter gave this amazing sermon. This sermon from a guy who actually had abandoned, betrayed, and denied Jesus three times the night that Jesus was betrayed. Jesus restored him. He preaches a sermon. And in that one sermon, God saves 3,000 people. What an amazing, amazing sermon.

This group of people became so bold that they couldn't help sharing everything. Early in the book of Acts, the author of Acts records the next steps this way. He says, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. And awe came upon every soul, and wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, and all who believed… and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received this food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

This is an amazing, amazing snapshot of something that was taking place at the time. Now, when we read passages like this, particularly in what's called narrative or stories in the Bible, it's really important to understand the difference of something being descriptive and something being prescriptive.

This passage is descriptive of what happened when God showed up, when God did this in the life of the early church. Not prescriptive of what everyone has to do universally, but can you imagine a community so sold out for Jesus, so overwhelmed by their love for the God of the universe, their appreciation for the work that Jesus did on their behalf? Can you imagine a life group, a church, where this is the way they are described? They cared so deeply for Jesus. They cared so much for the work that he was doing that they could be described this way. Could you imagine it?

They didn't have to imagine it because they lived it. They had had a shared experience with God that they couldn't help but share with others. Here at Menlo, we have four things that we call kingdom qualities, really the shape of a disciple we think God is calling us to create as a church. And one of those kingdom qualities that we emphasize here at Menlo is thoughtful witnesses, which means I am living a life that reflects the gospel, the good news of Jesus, and I'm able to communicate it with conviction and compassion, that there are visions for God, that I'm always ready to give a defense for the hope that is in me, that I am a storyteller.

See, they had a shared experience with God. Now, we often hesitate to do what we see the early church do because of what might happen to us, because of the social resistance or ostracization that we might face from a human perspective, which makes tons of sense. But here we see God's supernatural blessing on their willingness to share their stories.

I think sometimes we have in our minds this idea that if I just sort of like do all the right things, then the universe just kind of does what it should do for me. But you see so clearly here that God had an active hand on the early church, that His favor was uniquely on the early church in the first century. And as a result, they found favor with all people, that more and more people kept getting saved, that the stories were worth sharing, that even people in the communities that they were serving, well, they would have said, I don't believe like this group of people do, but I'm glad they're here. They're making our neighborhoods better. They're making our city better. They're making our world better.

I get together with a group of pastors every six months or so who all started at their churches about the same time, but to chime in and fill in the gaps of God's goodness and faithfulness for one another, as somebody kind of downplays what God did or downplays how hard it is to be a Christian. And I think that's what we need to do. I think that's what we need to do. And I think that's what we need to do. I think that's what we need to do.

Because the thing is, like, since we walked through the valleys together, the peaks feel even better. That because we've been with one another in the everyday, today can feel sweeter, no matter what it feels like. And that's what sharing our stories can do, not just telling our stories, but really being in the lives of one another.

Over the course of this series, I've encouraged you to write out your story, kind of giving you tools about how to do that, handouts in the first week, stations of storytelling at campuses across all of Menlo, an online option for you to be able to do that. And some of you, you have done that. I'm so thankful.

Look, it's easy to look around in a community like ours and think, I don't have what that person has. I haven't accomplished what that person's accomplished. I don't have the same life that they have. But I'm telling you, you have a story that's worth sharing, and God's not done writing it.

And you have no idea of what's going on in your life. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life.

And you have no idea of what's going on in the balance of your willingness to share your story with people that need to hear it. Think about what Ben's story did for people even today. Some of you, you have stories of discovering that church turned out not to be the thing that you had written off when you first came to Menlo, or when you first checked us out online.

When we share our stories that are all still being written, it invites other people to do the same thing. And it fosters a piece of the kind of unity that we share. And it fosters a piece of the kind of unity that we share. And it fosters a piece of the kind of unity that we share.

It gives us a snapshot of what God could do now because he's done it before. And when we have stories that we share, it reminds us how naturally it is that can flow from you and me, that we share about what we care about. That when you are reminded of God's faithfulness in your life, when you're reminded of this eternal hope that God has offered through his son Jesus, to become secret agents for God.

In the early church, they witnessed the Holy Spirit do some incredible things that they had really only seen Jesus do before. As a matter of fact, in the early church, one of the things that was pretty incredible was this one moment when it's described that there was a blind beggar that they healed, right? So they're experiencing the ups and downs until this moment happens where not Jesus, but the early disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit, command him to stand up and walk. And then he does.

Now, this was a big problem for the religious leaders because the thing was, even though they would regularly imprison early followers of Jesus, the early followers of Jesus, they wouldn't stop sharing. They wouldn't stop praying for people. They wouldn't stop asking God to supernaturally heal people. They had this life-changing and life-saving message that had changed their lives and those people around them, and they weren't going to be quiet about it.

That's the power of story, right? But the problem is that the religious leaders who were threatened by the power that they saw in Peter and John, they were left completely confused about the healing of this blind beggar because this man who had been healed, he couldn't be refuted. Nobody could look at this guy. They knew him. He had been in their community likely for many years. They weren't faking whatever power this was.

It would have been the longest con job that anybody had ever seen. No, there was something real about the power that they were demonstrating that no one had ever seen before. And that's the power of your story too, that maybe there's somebody in your life that they want to have a conversation about individual details and sort of apologetic arguments for the existence of God.

And I think those conversations are really helpful. I think we should be ready to have those and further lean in and learn more. I think those are good conversations. But I would say oftentimes the best place to start in a conversation with someone about your faith is your story. Because your story and the way that God has shaped you and is shaping you is irrefutable. Like it is you. You're standing right there. You can't be denied. You exist. And the life you have is the one you are living.

Maybe that's why you came today. Because someone invited you here and their life tells a story that is compelling. And it's showing something bigger than them. You can tell there is power flowing through them that's bigger than them. And if you're a follower of Jesus, it might be the reason that your life looks different than the lives of people that you grew up with or the lives of people that you know right now that are close to you.

And your life would look probably more like their life if you were making the same decisions. And without Jesus, you would be. Some of you know this. I'm the youngest of four from a very young age. I'm the youngest of five. I'm the youngest of six. I'm the youngest of seven. And I have a very challenging family background personally. And my life looks way different than my siblings. Two of my siblings are still alive but making very different choices than me. And one is no longer alive because of his choices.

It's not because I'm better. It's not because I'm smarter. It's because I trust a better author with my story. That's available to you too. That if you think you're writing your own story, you're not actually. And the author of all of our stories wants to be involved in yours more than maybe you've let him be so far.

And just like that can give us boldness to see that contrast, to live in the daily faithfulness of choosing Jesus, it gave the early church this desire for boldness that they saw in Peter and John. They wanted the same power that they saw in them. So they prayed for it. And when they prayed, it says that the room shook, that God filled them with the Holy Spirit, and gave them the boldness to keep sharing God's story with the world, even when they would face resistance, which they would.

And because of that, they shared about what they cared about. Because of this boldness that they prayed for and received, the author of the book of Acts describes it this way. It says, "Now the full number of those who believed were one heart and one soul. And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all."

It continues and says, "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet."

Again, Luke, the author of this book, he isn't trying to write a prescription for all of us to follow. He's talking about what happened when God showed up in the lives of the early church. This is what they chose to do when they saw God work through their boldness. This was their response to God working. They weren't just sharing their story. They were sharing their stuff. They weren't just sharing their stuff. They were sharing their lives.

Now, I've seen some of this happen before, but I'm not expecting anybody to drop any deeds for their property in the offering boxes on the way out today. But I wonder, what are you willing to share? Are there things in your life that you can go, you know, I'm really genuinely open to the Lord asking me to give this up, to share this, to make this available to others?

Remember that with our stories, we share about what we care about. That's not just the words that we say. That's the way that we live. What do you share and with whom do you share it? Both of those things say something. This group of people was willing to give up everything because of what they found in Jesus.

And I fear, unfortunately, that too often American Christians are not willing to give up anything. And that makes me concerned about what we think we have found in Jesus, of how much we genuinely appreciate, admire, respect, and revere the name of Jesus and the work that he's done on our behalf.

That when we give him credit for the life that we live today and the one we wait for eternally, how does it affect our every day? Does it? See, Luke, he's giving us a pretty amazing picture of what God did in the life of the early church because they were willing to share their stories with boldness.

And it parallels what he did in the life of the church in the passage that we read earlier. I wonder for you, like, when's the last time you prayed for boldness? When's the last time you said, God, give me an opportunity to share my story and the way you showed up in the middle of it?

We watched this amazing thing take place in the life of the early church, and we watched God sustain and build its impact over and over and over again. And it wasn't always up and to the right.

Now, they had four markers as an early church that I think are important for us that we should be thinking about today. One is that they had deep and lasting unity, that as many distractions as they could have had, and they had a lot of potential distractions, keeping focused on the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ had lived a perfect life, died on their behalf, and come back from the grave so that everyone could come to know and grow in Jesus now and forever.

That was the first thing that they had to do. And they had to do it. And they had to do it. And they had to do it. And they had to do it. And they had to do it. And they had to do it. And they had to do it.

And it was their North Star, and nothing was going to prevent them from sharing that with the world. Number two, there was a willingness to share, not only that message, but their very lives. It was second nature to them to give what they had, that they considered everything they had something that they had together.

Number three, they had leaders that were willing to lead by example. They weren't asking the other people to do things that they weren't doing. And then finally, the grace of God was on them. This is a little bit like the favor that we saw in Acts 2, but this is not a math formula.

We're not doing the things that God tells us to do because those are just the things that that's the way the world works. Well, I think there's a piece of that that's true. We're also asking God to show up and uniquely bless us in these moments to say, God, not for my gain, but that other people might gain by knowing who you are and growing in the knowledge and favor that you provide, growing over time.

Now, the thing is, this list, it doesn't happen all at once. It takes time. And oftentimes, it takes us making space for one another to grow in relationship over time. A couple of weeks ago, we had Group Connect weekend with hundreds and hundreds of people who signed up for more information about community all across Menlo, and it was awesome.

And I hope your life group gives you a deep sense of belonging, but that will take time too. It's not going to just be that you show up the first week and you have lifelong friends. It's going to take investment. It's going to take risk.

And I think sometimes we want everything to be easy. Sometimes our expectations of relationships mirror a modern dating show that sometimes seems to create a picture that a lasting and deep relationship is made over just a few hours or days or weeks, but it's not true. It takes time.

What are the communities or people that you have avoided investment in? And why? Where are the people and communities that you've given up on? Because it wasn't easy, because it didn't always feel like it came naturally.

I think for a lot of us after the last several years, actually what comes naturally is isolation. We have to work harder to lean into community, but it's worth the work. See, the community that we see in the book of Acts is one where they were vulnerable with each other, where they shared a common cause of being vulnerable with each other.

And I think that's what's so great about this book. It's a story of people bringing hope with them every day, to every place and to every person that they would meet. And it shifted their priorities from what they had to get to what they had to give.

And I wonder what it would look like if that was what our communities were characterized by. Now, the church in Acts, it wasn't always a story that was up and to the right. They had major moments of crisis, including the very next chapter from the one that we're reading.

But they stayed on mission to share their stories of hope with the world around them, even when it costs them. Because we share about what we care about. I don't have to tell you to share about your greatest and deepest priorities in life. You do that all on your own.

But what would it look like to say, God, I want to care about you more deeply, that as I care about you and realize who you are more deeply, sharing about that becomes more natural in my life.

Life, God used the resilience of the early church, their willingness to share their story, even when it costs them personally to do it. And it did for many of them, their very lives. And it was this way of spreading the good news of Jesus to the entire world.

And if they set an example for us, what does it look like for us to do the same thing now, thousands of years later? It's not going to just be the ups. It's going to include hard moments too.

Author and speaker Ruth Haley Barton, she makes the point this way. She says, "We set young Christians up for disappointment and disillusionment when we do not teach them the whole story. The story that includes the highs and the lows of the spiritual journey. The highs can be very high, but the lows can be devastating. If they are not warned that the spiritual journey includes both, they may give up when they encounter the lows, wondering what they did wrong."

Some of you, that's why your story became a tragedy for you, because you somehow along the way thought that the difficult thing you faced must be your fault. When in reality, oftentimes, at least in part, it's because we live in a broken world and God can even use the hardest parts of our story, even the parts that are our fault, for our good and his ultimate glory.

So here's the thing, like over the course of the next few days, over the course of the next few weeks, maybe wonder, I wonder what you would think to yourself. What is it that you want to leave behind one day?

For some of you, that leave behind thing is going to take place in many years. For some of you, it feels way closer. And you're thinking about wealth or possessions. And I've got news for you, they will all fade away and they will be the thing that actually lasts the smallest amount of time.

Your story, that's what will last the longest. I would encourage you to tell your story to a loved one. And I would encourage you this week to tell the story of a loved one, a loved one that you lost, that's no longer around. Remember the power of their story too.

I want you to maybe think about this question this week. What story do I help people tell about me? Is it that you were kind and patient? Maybe that you were willing to help others or you were able to overcome challenges beyond your circumstances because faith wasn't just an accessory to your life, it was essential. It was the core of your life.

If you're waiting until life slows down to be intentional about the kind of story that you are living and leaving behind, I've got really bad news for you. A lot of times, people that do that, they wait too long.

I spend lots of time over the course of years with people in their final days on earth. And I can tell you that the things we spend a lot of our lives thinking about and worrying about, wealth and portfolios and what physical possessions we have or what we do, we don't have the ones that we hope to give to other people. Nobody on their deathbed talks about that. Not one.

What they talk about is their story. What they talk about is the legacy that they live and the one that they're leaving behind. And hopefully, the best time is they're talking about the really good things that they left behind.

The people that they've invested in and the priorities that seem so important over the course of all of our lives, they just fade really quick. They start to share about what they really care about because that's what people do. People and memories. The legacy that they live, the regrets sometimes that they carry, and the impact that they hope they will leave behind.

The good news for you today is that no matter how much time you have, you have time. You have time to share your story. You have time to let God write a new chapter in your story even right now, even this week.

And so no matter what your faith has looked like, no matter what your life has looked like, let's pray that God chooses to do in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area what he did all these years ago in the story of the early church that spread around the world that we are still sharing all these years later.

Can I pray for you?

God, we all think about the schedule that's in front of us this week. And we know there are going to be conversations where maybe there's opportunities to talk about the hope that we're walking out, that we're living in our lives.

And we're going to have ways to shut that conversation down. And we're going to have ways to deepen that conversation. We're going to have times where we could spend time thinking about and documenting our own story of this most recent season or over the course of our life.

And God, there will also be noise that we can just let flood in and take over. God, would you remind us of your love for us? That apart from you, God, we wouldn't know you. That apart from you, this life and the next would be different. It would be nothing but tragedy.

Would you give each of us a deeper appreciation for your love that you have extended to us, even those who don't know you yet, God. That it's in that capacity we find to love you and know you, that your spirit shows up in our lives and transforms us.

I pray that it would. I pray that our stories would not end with us, but just like so many have done before us, we would share and that you would use those to pass on to the next generation. It's in Jesus' name, amen.

1. "We share about what we care about. Actually, it doesn't even matter if you don't want to share about it. If you care about it enough, you will share about it. It's kind of involuntary. Today is the first Sunday of the regular season for NFL football. Thank God, right? Just like, whoo, some of you feel differently than that. And I'm guessing that if you have someone in your life who cares about football, you didn't need me to share the news with you that today was the first day of football." [30:47] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "I think that our faith can become one of those things that we care about what we don't care enough about to share about. We become secret agents for God. And people in our lives would be surprised to find out that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. And when we look at the examples of the early church, if that's us, if we become secret agents for God, we are going to be challenged by the approach of the early church." [32:11] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Can you imagine a community so sold out for Jesus, so overwhelmed by their love for the God of the universe, their appreciation for the work that Jesus did on their behalf? Can you imagine a life group, a church, where this is the way they are described? They cared so deeply for Jesus. They cared so much for the work that he was doing that they could be described this way. Could you imagine it? They didn't have to imagine it because they lived it." [38:09] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "Look, it's easy to look around in a community like ours and think, I don't have what that person has. I haven't accomplished what that person's accomplished. I don't have the same life that they have. But I'm telling you, you have a story that's worth sharing, and God's not done writing it. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life. And you have no idea of what's going on in your life." [40:50] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "I wonder what it would look like if that was what our communities were characterized by. Now, the church in Acts, it wasn't always a story that was up and to the right. They had major moments of crisis, including the very next chapter from the one that we're reading. but they stayed on mission to share their stories of hope with the world around them, even when it costs them. Because we share about what we care about." [53:50] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "The good news for you today is that no matter how much time you have, you have time. You have time to share your story. You have time to let God write a new chapter in your story even right now, even this week. And so no matter what your faith has looked like, no matter what your life has looked like, let's pray that God chooses to do in Silicon Valley, and the Bay Area, what he did all these years ago in the story of the early church that spread around the world that we are still sharing all these years later." [58:17] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "I think sometimes we have in our minds this idea that if I just sort of like do all the right things, then the universe just kind of does what it should do for me. But you see so clearly here that God had an active hand on the early church, that His favor was uniquely on the early church in the first century. And as a result, they found favor with all people, that more and more people kept getting saved, that the stories were worth sharing, that even people in the communities that they were serving, well, they would have said, I don't believe like this group of people do, but I'm glad they're here." [39:37] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "I wonder, what is the thing for you that feels like that? Maybe like, are you somebody that you have to load the dishwasher in a very specific way? A couple of you, I hear it. Maybe for you, you are the person in your neighborhood that makes sure that everyone drives the speed limit. Like you are letting people know. You have this sign that says kids at play, even when there aren't kids at play. Like you are letting people know." [29:32] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "I think for a lot of us after the last several years, actually what comes naturally is isolation. We have to work harder to lean into community, but it's worth the work. See, the community that we see in the book of Acts is one where they were vulnerable with each other, where they shared a common cause of being vulnerable with each other. And I think that's what's so great about this book. It's a story of people bringing hope with them every day, to every place and to every person that they would meet." [52:58] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "I would encourage you to tell your story to a loved one. And I would encourage you this week to tell the story of a loved one, a loved one that you lost, that's no longer around. Remember the power of their story too. I want you to maybe think about this question this week. What story do I help people tell about me? Is it that you were kind and patient? Maybe that you were willing to help others or you were able to overcome challenges beyond your circumstances because faith wasn't just an accessory to your life, it was essential. It was the core of your life." [56:25] (47 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)