“内中也没有一个缺乏的”
不同的教会都会有不同的特色，往往是基于她的历史、她的音乐，和她支持的事工。今天这段经文中的教会也有一个特色，她是一所“能满足人的需要的教会。”
这个教会里没有一个缺乏的，因为信徒们都是同心合意和有同一见证，都是以基督的爱为根基的。他们有一个故事要传扬，就是耶稣基督降世和为他们生，为他们死，又为他们从死里复活了；但他们也知道，他们不仅要讲，更要活出这个福音对他们的生命的意义。
加尔文神学院讲道学研究中心的主任Rev. Scott Hoezee写了一本书名叫现实生活：真人真事与出色的讲道（Actuality: Real Life Stories for Sermons That Matter）。这本书里面有一章是特别以“不要单单讲，更要做出来”为主题的。
美国小学上课的时候，会有“秀和讲”（show and tell） 的时间，就是学生们轮流带自己心爱的玩具或宠物到学校，介绍给同学认识。可是长大后，我们倾向于多“讲”，渐渐忘记了“秀” 带来的喜乐和效力。
今天的经文以一个“秀”的故事结束。故事的主人翁卖了田地，把卖得的金钱献给教会，来帮助有需要的人，使徒们因他的慷慨和对别人的鼓励，甚至称他为巴拿巴，就是“劝慰子”的意思。
愿我们都效法巴拿巴，做一个会“秀”会“讲”的福音使者。
神啊，感谢祢时常供应我们的需要；惟愿祢的恩典和慈爱感动我们，叫我们去 “秀和讲”耶稣的好消息。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。
使徒行传 4:32-37
32 那许多信的人都是一心一意的，没有一人说他的东西有一样是自己的，都是大家公用。
33 使徒大有能力，见证主耶稣复活，众人也都蒙大恩。
34 内中也没有一个缺乏的，因为人人将田产房屋都卖了，把所卖的价银拿来，
35 放在使徒脚前，照各人所需用的分给各人。
36 有一个利未人，生在塞浦路斯，名叫约瑟，使徒称他为巴拿巴（“巴拿巴”翻出来就是“劝慰子”）。
37 他有田地，也卖了，把价银拿来放在使徒脚前。
“No Needy Persons Among Them”
God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. — Acts 4:33-34
Churches can have a certain reputation based on their history, their music, and the ministries they sponsor. The church in our passage for today has a reputation. They are a “needs-meeting church.”
People’s needs were being met because the church had a unified heart, mind, and testimony—all based in the love of Christ. They had a story to tell—that Jesus Christ came to live and die for us and rose from the dead. But they knew they also had to show what this good-news message meant in their lives with one another.
Rev. Scott Hoezee, director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary, has written a book called Actuality: Real Life Stories for Sermons That Matter, and it includes a chapter devoted to the topic “Show, Don’t Just Tell.”
Maybe, as a child, you had times in school for “show and tell.” Students would take turns bringing a favorite toy or pet and talking about it to the class. As we grow older, we can tend more toward “telling” and forget the joy and the power of “showing.”
Our passage for today ends with a “show” story of a person who sells land and gives the money to the church to help meet the needs of others. His generosity and encouragement to others even lead the apostles to call him Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement.” May we join with Barnabas and be “show and tell” people of the gospel!
Lord, thank you for always meeting our needs. May your grace and love inspire us to “show and tell” the good news of Jesus. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
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