There were four things that the members of the early church devoted themselves to in Acts, Chapter 2. First it was the “Apostle’s teaching,” Second it was to “fellowship” and the third thing was “The breaking of bread.” There are lots of different opinions about what this means and the text might be intentionally ambiguous about whether this refers to common meals or to the Lord’s Supper, communion as we know it. Both were done in individual homes. It probably refers to both. They likely stopped in the midst of the common meal with their friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, and acknowledged the bread and wine symbolic of the Lord’s body and blood in remembrance of what He did for them on the Cross of Calvary. To ancient Jews, eating together was a sign of acceptance. It was sacred time. Every meal among the disciples was an anticipation of the final great banquet. The orthodox Jew today, still puts an empty seat at the table during the Passover celebration, awaiting the coming of the Messiah.

We read in Acts 2:46, “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.” The church continually grew! NOTICE THE GROWTH OF THE 1ST CHURCH! Acts 1:15, 120 believers. Acts 2:41, 3000 were added to the church that day. Acts 2:47, the Lord added daily to those being saved. Acts 4:4, the number of men grew to 5000. Acts 5:14, more and more believed & a multitude was added. Acts 5:28, you’ve filled Jerusalem with your teachings.
Acts 6:1, the number of disciples rapidly multiplied. Acts 6:7, the number of believers increased rapidly. Acts 21:20, Tens of thousands have become believers.

The first century Christians lived incredibly contagious lifestyles. They had been redeemed from the condemnation they all experienced under the Jewish legal system and had truly been set free to live life with new hope of eternal life which inspired a healthy, happy and meaningful life in the present. They lived in a community that was wonderful and rare, caring for, and being cared for by each other. I would argue that today there aren’t that many contagious Christians anymore, and fewer contagious churches. The true key to living a new life, a new life which is truly contagious to others who see it, is a life in which love for others and true biblical community is obvious. Jesus explained it to us clearly. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Chuck
“So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” Acts 19:20