Acts
Notes
Transcript
Saul Ravages the Church
Acts 8 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
The ravaging of Saul led to the proclaiming of Phillip .
The ravaging was temporary, the proclaiming led to eternal joy.
The imprisonment of Saul led to the freeing of captive souls.
The proclaiming of Phillip led to joy that still exists.
The Lord redeems broken situations.
Brokenness need only be place in the hand of the redeemer.
The Lord prepares the hearts of those proclaiming and hearing.
When we experience the road blocks that are sure to come in ministry, we need only press on. Blast through the road blocks and live in the power of God who can walk through the storms. Matthew 14
The Lord brings much joy.
Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
I pray for this city to know much joy.
Here are the seven major prayer focuses of America Prays:
Pray for Unbelievers to Be Saved. Pray that people’s hearts will be opened to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Savior. Pray that every person in the world will be able to hear the gospel and the Word of God in their native language (Matt. 9:37–38, 24:14; Rom. 10:1; 2 Peter 3:9; Acts 26:18).
Pray for a National Spiritual Awakening. Pray that Jesus will revive the Church and awaken our nation to His greatness and supremacy. Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on America, forgive our sin, and heal our land. Pray that millions of Americans will be convicted by the Holy Spirit, repent of their sins, and turn to God with all their hearts (2 Chron. 7:14; Dan. 9:18–19; Ps. 85:6; Hab. 3:2; Acts 2:37–41).
Pray for Unity between Pastors and Churches. Pray that denominational, theological, and ethnic walls will come down so that pastors will love each other, pray together, and serve each other (John 17:20–23; Ps. 133:1; Eph. 4:3–6).
Pray for Families. Pray that Jesus will heal, restore, and strengthen every marriage and family. Pray that husbands will love their wives like Christ loves the Church and that wives will respect and submit to their husbands. Pray that the hearts of parents will be turned toward their children to love them and raise them in a God-honoring way. Pray that children will respect and obey their parents (Gen. 2:24; Josh. 24:15; Ps. 127:3–5; Mal. 4:6; Eph. 5:22-33, 6:1–4).
Pray for Racial Reconciliation. Pray that God will heal our nation of racism and that God will use the Church to stand against racial conflict, violence, and prejudice. The Church must lead the way in racial reconciliation by modeling love and respect for every person regardless of the color of their skin or their ethnic background (Rom. 10:12–13, Gal. 3:28, Acts 10:28, 34–35, John 7:24, 1 John 2:9, James 2:9, Rev. 7:9).
Pray for Life to Be Valued and Protected through All Stages of Life, Beginning at Conception. Pray for God to break the culture of death in America and restore a culture of life. Pray for legalized abortion to come to an end (Ps. 139:13–16; Jer. 1:5; Prov. 24:11; Deut. 21:8–9).
Pray for Local and National Government Leaders. Pray that God will give them wisdom to make wise decisions
and to govern with integrity, justice, and mercy (1 Tim. 2:1–2; Rom. 13:1; 1 Peter 2:17; Titus 3:1–2; Micah 6:8).
