In his book ‘Life Together’ the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “Seek God, not happiness – this is the fundamental rule of all meditation. If you seek God alone, you will gain happiness: that is its promise.” It is clear from the New Testament that the first church both knew and lived this principle. Their collective joy reflected it, and their new life together in the Holy Spirit fuelled the fires of their daily walk with Jesus. The empowerment that resulted from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was both personal and collective. It reflected the truth that God’s blessings are not just “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23) for the individual disciple, but also for the whole family of believers. It seems reasonable to maintain that the latter was contingent upon the former. The remarkable growth of the infant church was largely driven by the spiritual life and power of Jesus’ growing company of disciples, but this was not simply a collection of empowered individuals. This was a living community who sought God together. Joy followed, and as we see from the singing of Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:16-40) it could not be contained, even in times of difficulties, suffering, and pain.