Study of the Book of Acts (Page 2)

True Spirituality is Relational Not Just Ritual Paul’s Ministry in Ephesus Focused on the “Preaching” of the Gospel and the “Teaching” of the Word Take This To Heart As our Lord Jesus said: If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Salvation and spiritual growth are relational not mechanical. The ministry of the Word calls for personal reception of truth…

Acts 19:1-5 From Fuzzy to Focused Paul connects the dots between John the Baptizing Jew and Jesus and emphasizes the fact that “saving repentance” is of the very essence of “saving faith” John preached a baptism (as a sign) of repentance (metanoeo) = as he told people to believe (pisteuo) in the coming Messiah who in fact is Jesus of Nazareth Take This To Heart Faith is…

The NT Church Is Not a “One Man” Team Take This To Heart The Apostle Paul Wasn’t a ONE MAN Team…Neither are World-Class Christians Like James Mitchell, Janice Skinner, Eric Ward and Olga Pollock. God’s Design is for All of His “Draft Picks” to Play Our Positions and Work Positively with our Teammates to Score Points for the Kingdom/Contribute to His Game Plan: Living the…

Acts 18:12-22 One Key Characteristic of Spiritual Greatness One Key Characteristic of “Spiritual Greatness” is Faithfulness Through the Ups/Downs, the Joys/Sorrows, the Good/Bad of Life. Regardless of the Madness Around Them, Faithful Believers Keep on Trusting/Obeying and Serving the LORD Resting in the Fact That God Works Through the Mundane as Well as Through the…

Rebooting Our Study of the Book of Acts Getting Back on the Wagon Where We Got Off of It We took a break from this series after we studied 18:1-11 on 12/6/15 The How Can We Keep Track of the Storyline of the Book of Acts? Memory Aid = Jesus Is Alive As Head Of His Bride The Bottom Line of Our Last Study of Acts (and Today’s Reboot): Routine Faithfulness Isn’t Routine,…

Acts 18:1-11 Routine Faithfulness Isn’t Routine/Automatic   Practical Principles God Works Not Just Through Miracles But Also Thru Mundane Events Wisdom + Work is the SOP for Christian Living/Ministry Rather than Allowing the Faithless to Freak Us Out, We Should Actively Appreciate Those Who Truly Believe in Christ and Who Walk with Him Final Practical Principle We…

Acts 17:16-34 Being “Too Cool to Care” is Chilling to the Soul Being “Too Cool to Care”…is Spiritual Deadsville! Take This To Heart God gives grace to the humble, but He resists the proud. Professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and the fool declares in his heart there is no God. IOWs: They categorically (on faith!) insist that the God of Abraham, Isaac and…

Acts 17:1-15 The Good News is Bad News to Many (What Does That Mean for Christians?) The Good News is Bad News to Many Which Among Other Things Means: Believers Should Expect Opposition When We Identify with Christ: So Let’s Get Over It and Live/Share the Gospel Anyway, the Right Way (with a Balance of Truth and Love, Tact/Timing) Take This To Heart Opposition Does Not…

Jesus is the Answer…….to the Ultimate Question 1: The Savior Does the Work of Salvation/Sinners Who Believe are the Savees And So He, our Lord Jesus Christ Deserves All the Praise (His +R and SAS/LBSR) 2: Saving Faith is a Rational Act But It is Not a Meritorious Work It is ART = A-ctive R-eceptive T-rust in Jesus as Savior (John 1:12) “But to the one who does not work,…

Take This To Heart Speak to God Before You Speak of God to People Before, during and after we “do evangelism” we should pray that the Holy Spirit would convict the unsaved in our lives of sin, +R and judgment and that He would open their hearts to believe in Christ. But when we share the Gospel, rather than explaining the theological details of Efficacious Grace to…