Four Essentials of the Christian Life

Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

After Jesus ascension to heaven the disciples gather in Jerusalem and wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit. They receive the Spirit and start preaching to the people gathered in the city for the feast of Pentecost. Many believe and the church grows rapidly in numbers. Luke tells us now that the new group of believers continued to practice four essential aspects of the Christian life: teaching the Truth, fellowshipping, eating together, and praying. The disciples had been given the charge by Jesus to go into the world and make disciples, so they started in Jerusalem with the new converts. They didn't just care about adding in numbers to the early church, but to turn them into healthy Christians. They achieved that in four ways.
First, they taught the apostles' doctrine. The believers that walked with Jesus and sat under His teachings for about three years now became the teachers and passed on the knowledge of "the Way." They spent time in the scriptures and expounded on them in the light of Jesus' life and death. Before the  new converts were able to successfully walk with God they had to be educated in the things of God.
Second, the new church continued in fellowship. The Greek word is koinonia and speaks of not only gathering together in the name of God as a group of believers but also having communion together with a common spirit. It is more than just being together physically, but rather having all things in common. It is a way of being in one accord and sharing life with one another with love and compassion. This is probably where the practice of sharing their material possessions started.
Third, the breaking of bread, tells us that the group of new Christians ate together. They probably met in their homes as early home churches while they shared in fellowship. This also is where the early believers start following Christ's commandment to remember Him with the Lord's Supper. Bread and wine would have been present at the meal and they would break the bread to remember Christ's body that was broken for them and the blood that was shed.
Finally, the believers would pray together as they met. Jesus taught them that prayer is vital to a healthy Christian life. Many times in the gospel stories we see Jesus praying to the Father for wisdom and guidance. In the upper room, the disciples prayed and waited for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Now they had to learn to walk with God, empowered by the Holy Spirit. This can only be achieved if we follow God in all we do and let Him instruct us daily. The life line to hold onto in our attempts to die to self and walk in newness of life is a continuous attitude of prayer and dependence upon God.

So here we see the pillars of a successful Christian life: the teachings of Jesus (the Bible), the fellowship of believers, the Lord's Supper, and prayer. For any one of us to be successful in our Christian walk we need to have all four present in our lives. To be witnesses for Christ to all the world and make disciples wherever we go we cannot forsake this model of the early church. To walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and die to self can only be achieved in this way. If we leave out the Bible, we do not know what to believe and will be lead astray by all sorts of strange doctrines. Without the fellowship of believers, we are lone warriors for Christ and will not be able to stand against the attacks of the enemy. Our strength is in numbers. The body of Christ can only function if all parts are working in unison. If we do not remember what Christ has done for us we will start to become self-righteous and try to walk in our own works, which will only lead to failure. We have to recognize that we bring nothing to the table, that it is Christ in us that gives us victory. Without prayer, we cut ourselves off of God's speaking into our lives and will wander aimlessly through life. We cannot forsake any of these aspects of the Christian life if we want to be strong and victorious in our quest to be Christ like.

Application
I want to be successful in my daily walk with the Lord and follow the model of the early church. Today, I will write this verse on a piece of paper and stick it where I can be reminded of these four essentials of the Christian faith throughout the day.