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Easter and Christmas are probably the most significant days in the Christian faith. The birth of Jesus and His resurrection, major components of the gospel. Instead of spending just one week focusing on the Easter event, I wanted us to spend a few weeks after Easter reflecting on the resurrection and…

Ball one: Stephen’s defense, defending himself against the accusation of denying their history - telling the history - from a Jewish Christian POV Ball two: That’s ball two - sharing the gospel - he is evangelizing the Sanhedrin Ball three: For us to apply the Gospel Lessons from Stephen’s teaching that…

Last week we spent some time looking at how hope has come for everyone. This week we are looking at how peace has come for everyone! We talked last week about how Jesus came as a hope for the gentiles. Michele Ivans brought up a point after the message that I really didn’t drive home as sometimes we…

All the attention turns to Stephen to see how he will respond to the charges brought against him. Being accused of saying blasphemous words against God and Moses 1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father…

Selection and Purpose of Deacons 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not…

Torah Portion : Numbers 4:21-7:89 Haftarah : Judges 13:2-25 Road Map Review Map of the Journey in the Picture of the Priesthood of Zadok We explained Zadok comes from the word Zaddik - righteous this is the High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek Introduction Torah Portion : Numbers 4:21-7:89 Haftarah…

Secular - A pastor was known for his powerful sermons, but one day he decided to try something new to engage his congregation. He announced that next Sunday, he would preach while standing on his head! The church was buzzing with curiosity. The day finally arrived, and as the pastor stood on the pulpit,…

The Lord’s Supper If you have trusted in Christ in save you from your sins, then you are welcome to participate. There are at least three things that you ought to do during this time: Examine yourself and confess known sin - commit to getting right with someone else after the service if necessary Remember…

Review Tanakh The Brit Hadoshah Eber (ebur) I AM (grafted) Introduction 1 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord ? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time…

Introduction Read: Act. 6:8-7:2 Summarize: ( Act. 7:3-50 ) The envy of the Patriarchs (7:9) Their Rejection of Moses (7:35) Their Disobedient Hearts (7:39) Their Idolatry (7:41) Their Ignorance of Scripture (7:47-50) Read Act. 7:51-60 Today in recognition of Memorial Day, I want to examine one of the…

Today we are talking a bit about excuses to sin. Here is a couple of excuses for thing I thought were funny: When our new hire didn’t show up for work, I called her. She explained that her mother had passed away and that she would need a few days off for bereavement. “Of course,” I said. A week went…

Thanksgiving … for being here Next Sunday Christ the King… celebration of our being a part of the GMC Thanks to Clyde and Pastor Phyllis Today as you could tell by our scripture reading, we are getting back into our study of the book of Acts. Went home… mom not well… visited her in the hospital… met…

I titled the message “Tough Love”, but in the case of our text this morning, tough love does not mean what people usually mean by it. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the terminology Tough Love. This is because often times what people mean by tough love is not really love at all. What many people…

1 The earth is the Lord ’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. 3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord ? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted…

Text Reading: Acts 8:1-4 . Title: Cultivate Love Review & Summary Saul made havock of the church. Last week, I turned my attention to the brief phrase in vs. 3: Acts 8:3 (KJV 1900) As for Saul, he made havock of the church , entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.…

Today we are looking at what happened with Stephen, often called the first martyr of the church, in that he was the first to die for proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. As we look at the account of what took place with Stephen, there is a lot we can take away from it for our own lives. So today,…

Text Reading: Acts 8:1-4 . Title: Havoc in the Church Review & Summary Stephen preached; he gave the high priest and the religious leaders a history lesson that they could not forget! However, their hearts were hardened. They could not hear; they could not receive the truth. So, when conviction set in,…

Main Idea Contend for the gospel, not your reputation. What would you do today if you knew this was your last day on earth? What would you want to fill your final hours? Today, the narrative in Acts turns to one of the seven newly-selected Deacons - Stephen. Stephen was a man of incredible character…

Stephen: A Man Full of Grace The Scripture tells us that Stephen was a man who was full of faith and power and did great wonders and miracles among the people. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Growth in Church Now, before this we should not an interesting…

The Unity of the Church in Danger Theme: God does not want His Church to be neglected. Therefore, the Holy Spirit God appointed godly men by the Church to serve the growing Church. The Problem And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians…

Abraham’s World We learned from Deut. 32: 8-9 that YHWH placed the nations under the governance of junior elohim - the sons of God of His divine council. Having disinterested humanity, unwilling as it was to fulfill the mandate of Eden to overspread the earth, he decided to start over. The reader of…

I read the following in a book this week: “After the Netherlands fell to Germany in 1940, deacons in the Dutch Reformed church rose up to care for the politically oppressed, supplying food and providing secret refuge. Realizing what was happening, the Germans decreed that the office of deacon should…

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been…

11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,…

We've come to the end of Acts and we summarised it from the perspective that it's a Spirit-empowered, boundary-crossing GROWTH story. It encourages us in our faith journey of growth, and as we boldly share the gospel.