Soul Squad - Finale

They followed Jesus together

People reading the Bible together

Doing devotionals

Songwriting

Serving

Church

The Holy Spirit fell on them

I am confident we’ve seen the work of the Holy Spirit through this group and the people init

They became bold together

(Peter addresses the crowd and 3,000 were saved)

People in the group made Facebook videos, spoke with co workers or family, and shared the Gospel more

They publicly proclaimed their faith in word, but also in action

People in our group have done the same through baptism

Like a family, they taught, learned, prayed, and grew together. They covered each other's needs.

Acts 2:42–47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

We have shared meals

We have had a ton of fellowship and fun

We’ve made lifelong friendships

We’ve invested time, money, and energy into others to cover their needs

We’ve met faithfully for almost two years without any extended breaks

We’ve opened our homes to each other

They brought healing to others

Acts 5:12–16

12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

The Lincoff’s

Over time, their numbers expanded

Acts 6:1–7

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

We were certainly a large group in comparison to other groups, but it was never a mistake. Look at us all together right now.

They scattered, and it became the best thing for the Church

Acts 8:4–8 (NIV)

Philip in Samaria

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

Some have broken off to pursue a calling God has for them.

Others will be breaking off to form a new group to reach more people who need this community.

I trust and believe this will be the best thing for the Kingdom, even if it hurts

They withstood persecution

Stephen was stoned. Others were flogged and arrested.

Maybe we’ll have to face it in our lifetime. I believe we have been strengthened through this group to face things we weren’t strong enough to face before

Their lives and their deaths all had meaning and purpose. We all benefitted from them. For them, it all started as a small group of believers. What it turned into was an overthrowing of an empire, a global phenomenon.

I believe in all of you, but more importantly God does. You were all created meticulously for a purpose. God’s calling and drawing you in and he desires for you to meet it and see it through. Maybe his plans for you will inspire millions in the generations to come. Answer the call.

Tonight, we end where it all began for the early church

Matthew 28:18–20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You guys have heard me say over and over again Love God, Love others, share the Gospel and make disciples. It’s all the same thing. It really comes down to loving God. Jesus knew this in the order of the commandments he listed as most important. Before anything else, he said love God. If you truly love God, you’ll love others, and if you truly love others, you’ll tell them about Jesus and help them know him. Jesus asks us to follow him. God asks us to love him with all of our hearts, souls, and strength. Answer the call like the early church did.