A simple life

Bobbie Frere | Acts 4.32-37 | Matthew 19.23-26 

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there was no needy person among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’

In those very early days of the church, the power to preach the gospel and work miracles went hand in hand with generosity. Today, we tend to cling on to our possessions and our time. Bobbie challenges us to live out community values and to work out a genuine response to world poverty. She reminds us that these are difficult questions with no ready-made answers.

The document "An evangelical commitment to simple lifestyle" that Bobbie refers to can be downloaded from http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/1980-04/1980-04-177-lifestyle.pdf.

The recording begins with the readings from Rachel Fasham and ends with a short prayer from service leader Martin Garrod.

An edited video recording of the Sunday service can be viewed on YouTube.