SPB Sermons | Sunday 27 April 2026
The Simple Faith
Acts 2:42–47 is not a memory of a golden age of the church long past. It is a blueprint for what it means to be the people of God in any place and any time — whether in Jerusalem, under a mango tree in Tanzania, or on York Street in North Belfast today.
Under the Mango Tree
About twelve years ago, Rev Andrew heard a friend describe a small Anglican church in rural Tanzania that gathered every Sunday under a mango tree. When it rained, they held a plastic tarpaulin over their heads. They heard from God's Word, sang his praises, prayed, and went back into their village to do life together. Simple, beautiful — and every week, the Lord was adding to their number. Eleven years ago this very Sunday, Rev Andrew found himself sitting under that same tree. It was the same faith in heart and form, utterly different in outworking and practice. And it was a picture of Acts 2.
A Blueprint, Not a Memory
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
There is nothing spectacular about what Luke describes in Acts 2. There are no grand schemes or impressive structures. There are pillars — simple, faithful pillars on which the life of the church is built. They were true two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, true under a mango tree in Tanzania, and they are true today. When a church keeps the simple things, God builds his church through them.
The Word of God: central, taught, and non-negotiable.
The breaking of bread and prayer: the means of grace, received together.
Common life in grace: love that endures, forgives, and transcends every boundary.
The rhythms of everyday faith: from the temple to the home, every day of the week.
Pillar One
The Teaching of the Word
Luke places it first for a reason. It is by the Word that we know who Jesus is — not by sight, not by feeling. If a church loses the centrality of Scripture as something truly taught, it has lost its foundation. We gather around God's Word because it is the means by which God speaks to us, through us, and by us.
Pillar Two
The Breaking of Bread
Communion is not an extension that makes the service run on. It is the gospel story relived — grace received together, at the same table, in equality. We come not because we deserve it, but because he gave it. Every time we break bread, we remember who he is and what he has done.
Pillar Three
Common Life in Grace
This is not communism. It is love. Forgiven people forgive. Loved people love. Grace has gathered them from every corner of the city and the cross makes them common. They have nothing in common but Christ — and the world will know they are his disciples by how they love one another.
Pillar Four
The Rhythms of Everyday Faith
The early church did not go home after the Sabbath and wait for next week. They moved from the temple to their homes — breaking bread, praying, growing together, every day of the week. Their discipleship was owned, not outsourced. Faith that lives produces fruit.
The Heart of the Sermon
We Were There to Build a Building. God Was Building His Church.
The team that travelled to Tanzania went to finish a church building for that little congregation. And in the weeks they were there, they watched the Lord do something else entirely — sinners coming to faith, the hurt finding healing, the lost being baptised. Not because they were suddenly perfect, but because they had found what they were looking for.
The Lord will build his church. Not me. Not you. But we get to play our part — to keep the simple things, and watch what God does with them.
Listen to the Sermon
The full sermon is available to listen to now. We hope it brings you back to the simple things — and stirs a fresh love for the Word, the table, and the people of God around you.
Join Us
You Would Be Very Welcome
St Paul's & St Barnabas is an Anglican evangelical parish in the heart of North Belfast, seeking to make Christ known and to love our city in his name. Join us in person on Sundays at 208 York Street, Belfast.
And the Lord Added to Their Number Daily
Whether under a mango tree or in a building nearly two hundred years old — if we keep the simple things, God will shape our hearts by his Spirit, and in a faithful, ordinary way he will add to our number those who are being saved. That is what we are here for.
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