This past Sunday we spent time in Acts 6:1-7, where a group of seven men was selected to oversee the distribution of food to those in need so that the apostles could focus on their primary task of preaching, teaching, and prayer. Although this is sometimes seen as the beginning of the office of deacon, […]
Different Roles, Same Church Read More »
What would it look like if we as individuals and a church were perfectly devoted to fellowship? What would it be like if we were perfectly devoted to our shared participation in the Christian life? Compared to what we see now, what would be different? What if church relationships and endeavors always won the rock-paper-scissors
Fellowship: A Central Part to Being a Christian Read More »
Shaping Theme in Acts: Unity. Think about the people in your life – the relationships you have. Try to picture the people that you are connected to, that are connected to you. Is it a lot of people? Is it just a couple people? Try to line them up on a scale from “most connected”
Shaping Theme in Acts: Scripture. Imagine that you were one of Jesus’ early disciples – you devoted your entire self to Him and had followed Him sometime during His three years of earthly ministry. Then He was arrested, publicly mocked, and crucified and buried in a tomb. But now, you’re hearing reports that people have
Shaped by Scripture Read More »
Shaping Theme in Acts: Expansion by Communication We are studying the book of Acts – the history of the beginning of the church – with open eyes, open minds, and open hearts to see what it says about being Christians together. A lot of what we do together is human tradition – many of which can be good.
Evangelism and the Church Read More »
Shaping Theme in Acts: Signs and Wonders One Bible dictionary defines signs and wonders as “events which unmistakably involve the immediate and powerful action of God.” These two words are nearly synonymous and are almost always seen together in both the Old and New Testaments. They do have shades of meaning that are a little different: signs identify