Mark 14:22-25, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:17-20.  “Do this as often as you gather in remembrance of me.”  1.  Because Jesus said so.  2. Because the founder of Methodism John Wesley practiced and encouraged Holy Communion at every opportunity. 3. It connects us to our brothers and sisters in other traditions who celebrate each week. 4. When I meet Jesus face to face, I need a better answer for “Why did you only offer me to my people once a month?” than, “It takes too long?”

 

Yes, all who seek to follow Jesus Christ are welcome at the Lord’s table at Acts 2 UMC.  What about the scripture that talks about bringing condemnation upon yourself if you take the Lord’s Supper with a wrong heart?  We believe if you are seeking a relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior then you have a right heart.  We trust the Holy Spirit and invite only those who want to meet Jesus at His table.  The founder of Methodism John Wesley understood the sacrament of Holy Communion to be so powerful that he called it a “converting ordinance.”  This understanding includes both children and adults and goes as far as to say that one can come seeking the Lord Jesus Christ and be converted to Him at His table.  I personally have watched this happen at a church where I served on staff.  It was a beautiful transforming experience.  We baptized the convert shortly after his conversion experience at Holy  Communion.

 

The music is at a level where anyone and everyone can sing along joyfully.  The music is also in a range or key and in a rhythm where the congregation is strongly encouraged and expected to sing praises to God.  Worship team participants are lead worshipers and not performers for the congregation.  Everything we do in worship is to honor God and to be experiential, participatory, image rich, and in community.

 

In all things, we try to follow Jesus' teaching that the most important commands are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves; therefore, we try to be considerate of others by not intentionally offending our neighbors with our clothing. Normal attire at Acts 2 ranges from t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops to dresses, suits and ties.  We want you to wear what is both comfortable for you and God honoring.

 

The children go to our Sunday School program called “Live BIG” (Live Your Belief In God) or they attend “Children’s Worship” which is a worship experience and not a Sunday School curriculum. The children return to worship following the message to take Holy Communion with their families.

 

Birth to three years old.  We also offer a Sunday School class for two and three year-olds.

 

The Apostles' Creed contains the core beliefs that the Christian Church has taught since the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, which were revised in 381 AD, and have been passed on generation to generation . This is staggering, if you stop and think about it.  We at Acts 2 believe it is important to understand that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves, our denomination, our country, and even our time.  The church of Jesus Christ spans century and millennia, as well as beyond state and nation.  When we say that “we believe in the holy catholic church", we are simply using the traditional definition of "catholic", with a small “c”, which means universal.  Therefore, by saying the Apostle's Creed we state that we understand and believe we are connected to every Christian in the world of all denomination, no less than all of Christ’s followers around the globe.  We now share that Good News that has been passed on to us since the time of Christ and the first Christians as found in the book of Acts chapter 2.