Yesterday we changed our church gathering. No big deal, just changed the seating to be more intimate, in a semi-circle. No stage, just me standing at a table at the open end of the semi-circle. The time of worship was in simple format too, voices and acoustic guitar, again no stage. I welcomed everyone to…
welcome to the worst of sinners
SCRIPTURE: Acts 22 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing…
above and beyond the law
SCRIPTURE: Acts 21 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 5:20] Jesus explained that He did not come to abolish the Law of Moses but to fulfill it. Here Paul is accused of undermining…
driven by divine destiny
SCRIPTURE: Acts 20 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. [Matthew 16:21] Jesus understood…
the only way
SCRIPTURE: Acts 19 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ [John 14:6] The Jesus movement was known as the Way [Acts 19:9, 23]. But the movement is not the way, Jesus is. The disciples in Ephesus were heading the right way, but not yet…
on the same team
SCRIPTURE: Acts 18 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: ‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you.’ [Luke 9:49-50] As messengers of the King, we are not competing against…
make me bold, make me noble
SCRIPTURE: Acts 17 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. [Luke 8:15] In Acts 17 we see the message being spread like seed, producing mixed results. Just as Jesus described, some receive it and some do not….
singing in the Spirit
SCRIPTURE: Acts 16 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. [Luke 4:18-19] Jesus reads…
love, despite differences
SCRIPTURE: Acts 15 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. [John 13:35] Can a church have disputes, disagreements? Yes, for sure. The unity of the church does not lie in its total agreement, but in its determination to act with love, regardless of differences.
the Spirit behind the word
SCRIPTURE: Acts 14 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [Matthew 10:19-20] Paul and Barnabas discover the power of the…