The Characteristics of a Disciple of Jesus – Acts 6:8-7:15

What distinguishes a disciple, a true follower of Christ? What characteristics does he or she have? Stephen was a disciple of Christ. We don’t know when he believed (he hadn’t known Him more than two years ago), but we know from the above passage that He was chosen to wait tables. His life is an example of a true disciple of Christ. This is how all of us who call ourselves followers of Him should be.

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Encounter with God – Exodus 34

Today we find that many Christians don’t have time to have a daily encounter with God. We all have excuses from saying we are too busy to just plainly living our lives in our own effort. In the Bible we have an example of someone who had an encounter with God. His name is Moses. From him we will learn how to have communion with God.

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What the resurrected Jesus says to us – Revelation 1:12-18; 22:7, 12-17

What would Jesus say to us now right here? What would He want us to know? We don’t have to wonder. The Lord Jesus told John the Apostle in the book of Revelation words that He wants us to know about Him, about the future and what we should do. John saw a vision of Him and also heard words directly from Him that were meant for us as well.

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Serving in multiethnic church – Acts 6:1-7

During the dispersion, many Jews had inhabited places far from Jerusalem, learning and speaking the Greek language and culture. Many of them believed in the gospel and became part of the Church. The church was one. She was united in Christ. But growth brought a problem. In this passage we look at how this problem is solved.

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The Gospel is Invincible – Acts 5:17-42

In this passage, we look at how the Apostles, Peter, and John are persecuted once again for preaching the gospel (culminating in Saul’s persecution of the church), how God rescues them, commands them to preach, and how they obey Him. We also see how the gospel bears fruit because the gospel is invincible. Nothing can stop it.

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I am not a Good Parent

There is so much written out there about how to be a good parent. This assumes that we all need to be better parents or that we aren’t good enough. In the Bible I find the words of Jesus fascinating: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). What does it mean? Here is what a search (AI gathered) told me it means, “This verse suggests that even imperfect parents can give good gifts to their children, and thus, the perfect heavenly Father will give even better gifts to those who ask Him. The passage emphasizes the importance of asking directly for what one needs from God, as He is more generous and loving than any earthly parent.” Yes, the emphasis is on God being the good Father. It is a common way of comparison that the Jesus used, from the lesser to the greater to make a point.

But now back to parenting. I believe I am not a good parent. I have four children (the oldest one my step child, my last two adopted), three are out of the home. One is 15 years old. Looking at the three who are out of the home, I know I could have done better. I am doing my best with the last one. But when you are involved in parenting you don’t think about it (unless it is your last one). You have make decisions and act. I can say though that every decision I have made was with them in mind. Yet, I know that many times my own sinfulness got in the way. The way I spoke or behaved wasn’t the best. But I wasn’t all bad, I did give good gifts to my children, and always will. But this in no way makes me less sinful or a good or great parent. I’ve come to realize that only my heavenly Father is perfect. He is the only one who gives the perfect gift of eternal life (which is what it basically says in Luke 11:13). He will never disappoint me as my own father that I never had. Being completely transparent, I have told the Lord that I wasn’t meant to be a father and yet he gave me four children to raise with my wife. All very different with unique circumstances.

I wish my children would realize that there isn’t a perfect parent and that what I did for them was with their ultimate good in mind. Just like my sinfulness got in the way so did theirs. But I was the parent. I’m sure they have their “list” of things that I didn’t do well. So do I for myself. All I hope is that they learn as they become parents themselves (two of them are already), that there isn’t a perfect parent and that even the better ones cannot guarantee that they will be perceived by their children as good when they grow up (I am sure there are some children who think so ). Regardless of what we think, we are all sinful people who cannot produce or raise perfect children. But we know who is the perfect Father. We should start by asking him for his good gifts and learn from his goodness. In Jesus’s words stated above, there is the idea the parents do some good. That should matter too not just what we didn’t do.

 

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The Church Purified – Acts 5:1-16

In this passage, we see that Satan attacks through infiltration. He uses people who claim to be Christians and even confess his name to infiltrate the church. Since the beginning of creation, the enemy, Satan, The Old Serpent has opposed God’s plan. He knows he can’t stop God’s sovereign purpose, yet he continues to try. His purpose is to destroy the beauty of God’s plan. He tried at the beginning, but he failed. This is what happened in the beginning of the church. The Lord continues to do so even today. The sad thing is that God has to use outsiders to bring to light the sin of the church because His church refuses to do it internally.

 

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The Generous Church – Acts 4:32-37

The heart of the church is generosity. The generous Church is God’s plan. This is part of our mission. We are the means, through our generosity, by which we show God’s character. It’s part of discipleship. A generous church will have an impact in our community and will open doors for us to share the message of the Good News. This is the purpose, to show the goodness, grace, and love of Christ in a tangible way. This morning, we will look at the characteristics of a generous church through a positive example.

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The Powerful Church – Acts 4:21-34

The church is not a passive institution, but one that is active. It is not an institution that is on the defensive but on the offensive. It is not a weak institution but a powerful one. What makes it powerful? This passage shows us where the true power of the church lies

We see two things that we see in this passage that make the church powerful, in the sense that it has the power of God (through the Holy Spirit).

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When Persecution Comes – Acts 4:1-22

In today’s passage we find the beginning of persecution against Christians. There is a cycle that we can look at that usually takes place when the chase begins. It is important to learn not only how persecution begins but also to learn how to respond. We also learn an important truths related to our faith.

One thing we can be sure of, the church will never be stopped by persecution. The church grows even more when there is persecution.

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