Category: Acts
-
The Forgotten Power of the Local Church Meeting
We worship the God who is sovereign over all things. He has all power. In Him we find peace and rest. He gives life. Yet, churches in our day seem to lack the power and peace and rest and life that we find in Christ. Imagine waking up on Sunday morning, getting dressed, and making…
-
Living in Bad Circumstances?
Do you ever feel like you are in the worst possible situation? If you were to design your own life, what would you change? How many negative circumstances throughout your life would you have avoided? Would you want to have more money, more friends, or more influence? Would you want a different family? Would you…
-
Is Faith Actually Profitable?
Last week, we learned together that we eagerly give our time to the things that we love. If we love Christ, we spend time with Him. If we love people, we spend time with them. If we love food, we spend our time eating. Amen? The action of taking time to listen to what God…
-
Visible Love
How can I know if I actually love God? How can I know that I am actually a disciple of Christ? These questions are valid questions, questions that Christians, specifically those who have been raised in church, struggle with because they don’t want to be guilty of going through the motions. Particularly, I think of…
-
Everyone Has a Meaningful Place- Mentorship
I believe that there is a meaningful place for everyone. When I interned I called the person I wanted to intern under and told him that I was interested in interning at the church. He seemed excited but didn’t really give me that much attention. We would think that he would be ecstatic, ready to…
-
Doing New Things Urgently- Missions
When we lived in North Carolina, we had been at a church for about eight months. We took the youth to summer camp, and our being at summer camp meant there were always pictures being taken. When we arrived back home and looked at the pictures, I saw that I was much bigger than I…
-
God’s Heart for the Nations
One reason I think the church often fails on this earth is because her vision is so small. Because I make that statement, I also have to state that even when the church fails in its mission, God does not. He succeeds in everything He does and He accomplishes the work that He has set forth…
-
Why We Fail At Discipleship
My wife and I really love pizza. There was a period of her pregnancy during which her doctor told her that she shouldn’t eat heavy meals, bread, or much sugar. I was going to attempt this diet with her. The problem? We really love pizza! One day, the craving was so bad that we found…
-
Is Christian Morality Behind the Times?
In Luke’s gospel, we discovered that the goal of discipleship is repentance and that God calls His people into humility. Because Christ calls us into repentance, there are many people who simply won’t become genuine Christ followers. I hear things like, “I would have to give up too much to follow Christ,” “Religious rules are…
-
How to know if the Holy Spirit is actually moving!
According to a 2010 article in Charisma Magazine, there is a step-by-step process we can take to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This will be our last look at the book of Acts for now. Of course, there is so much packed into this narrative that we could not possibly cover it all adequately.…