What a Wonderful World, Acts 2:42-47 Yesterday, at the kitchen table, my children asked for a Girl-Guide cookie. I asked them what kind of cookie they wanted - either chocolate or vanilla. One chose a chocolate and the other child picked a vanilla. A few minutes later, my son, Adam, who had wanted a chocolate cookie, in fact wanted a couple of cookies, noticed me having my glass of milk and a couple of cookies. Well, he came and stood up beside me and looked at me and then looked at the cookies I had taken out - okay, it wasn’t just two cookies, there were four. So, here was Adam looking at the stack of cookies and then he spoke - “Daddy, that is not the way it is supposed to be” And you know, he was right. He looked at what he saw before him and he realized that I had not shared fully - and he said so.  IN our world, we realize that what was created by God was a wonderful thing at the beginning. However, the way things are now, are not always the way they are supposed to be. We see in our world much starvation - did God intend such things to be? Of course not. We see violence being done - teenagers beating up one another - families falling apart due to abuse - not the ways things are intended to be! We know of people who walk streets due to inability to find work or people with mental health needs who find a society indifferent to their needs. We have people in churches who struggle to find a place that will accept them - or people who need to feel a sense of care as they face illness o difficult lives and sometimes find a people who do not know how to be welcoming - to quote my son, that is not the way it is supposed to be! There is a song I hear now and then on the radio - it says - I think to myself, what a wonderful world? Oh, how we long for wonderful worlds - places where people, no matter what they face, find a community that supports them and lets them know that they are loved. Places where people who face illness, can find support and understanding. And in our reading from Acts, we see such a wonderful world being offered through the early church.  Here, the early church, confronting challenges, is strengthened by the Holy Spirit and renews its mission- and that mission includes welcoming people through baptism - it includes study of the scriptures and it includes a commitment to develop and maintain a community where people are supported.  As a church, we yearn and strive to model ourselves on such a model of caring and sharing. But it does not happen overnight. It did not happen immediately in the early church - we are told that day by day, as they spent much time together in worship and sharing of bread - that is when glad and generous hearts praised God and goodwill developed - in other words, - community took time and it took effort.  The role of being a welcoming people is so vital for the modern church. There are two interesting facts that might surprise you. The single biggest reason why people start attending a church - it is not because of the clergy, no matter how good looking or modest he might be. It is not because of the super Sunday School or the bible study or a special service. Most people start attending a church because someone significant, like a relative or a friend asked them. Surprising? Well, listen to the second fact. Once a person starts attending a church, what is the single biggest reason they stay going? Again, it is not because of that good looking and modest preacher. Not because of any program or any theological position that they take. No, it is because they sense that they have found a place that cares for them. Just imagine, if we could make our churches even much more welcoming - even more welcoming than they are now - places where people felt that they were accepted, cared for, places where they could ask deep spiritual questions, places where people know they are loved. And the early church and our reading from Acts confirms: that is the way it is supposed to be. There are two benefits of creating such a community, besides that our striving to have a sense of community is what God intends. Besides that. When we develop such a community, people are free to share their vulnerabilities, to share their worries.  And in such a way, when they are supported, we become a visible expression of God’s love for them. But there’s a second reason. Do you remember in the scripture, that it said day by day, as they spent time together, caring for one another, they developed a closer relationship with God, they praised God, and they developed good will to others. But right after this passage, we hear the words repeated: day by day..... Day by day God added to their number those who were being saved. Day by day. As people were developing a community, others were being drawn to it. We see a place where people are being loved and supported, and we will see others who say I want to be part of that. I want to be part of that ministry. I want to be loved.  So God intends the church to be a loving and visible expression of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives, and God intends for it to grow - not just numerically, but also spiritually and emotionally. God intends for the church community to grow. Many of you probably grew up with the words of the hymn: And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love! Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love! Isn’t that the truth! We help people see God’s love for them when we show God’s love for them. Bill Hybels is a church growth specialist and a pastor, and he shares this story of a young couple who brought their infant child to him for prayer. When he took the child in his arms and lifted the blanket that was covering her face, he saw a horribly deformed child. The parents told him that she did not have very long to live, perhaps only six weeks. After he prayed with the parents and their fragile infant, he asked if there was anything the church could do. The parents responded that their small group was already doing all they could do to support them. They had prayed for them during the complicated pregnancy. The small group was there at the hospital when the child was delivered. They were there the night the couple got the bad news. The small group of loving and caring Christian disciples cleaned their house, prepared their meals and were helping them to plan their precious daughter’s funeral. [Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership, p. 22]  This is what it means to be a church community. This is the way it is supposed to be. May the care shown by others encourage us even further as a church community in showing our care. May the Holy Spirit renew us in showing love and acceptance - in showing us, by God’s example, the Way we are called to be.