In Acts 20 we have Paul’s last recorded words to the pastors of the church at Ephesus. This is very instructive. What does he say? What does he emphasize? What does he leave them with? This passage is here to cause us to stop and consider what we want our life to be about, in the end, and start living that way now. The first day is important, but the last day is more important.
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In Acts 18:23-19:41, we get to watch Paul plant a church in the great city of Ephesus. Keep in mind these are real people, real cities and real churches. We will see that Jesus stands above sincere religion, stubborn unbelief, satanic opposition, and empty materialism. This is here to increase our confidence in Jesus Christ and his gospel of Grace. His purpose here is to make us a radically hope-filled, humble, courageous, Jesus-centered people. Let’s see what he has in store for us this morning.
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A survey of the book of Acts will reveal that God’s primary plan for the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ is through the multiplication of local churches (i.e. church planting). Acts 18:1-22 provides us a first hand look of Paul’s church planting efforts in the city of Corinth, a city much like Seattle. What is church planting? Why do it? What role do we all play in it? What should expect from it?
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One of the major themes of the book of Acts (and the Bible!) is that God wants all people, everywhere, to know, love, treasure, and worship him through Jesus Christ. He then sends those who have been gripped by the gospel to be the primary agents in spreading it. But, how do we best do that? We can learn much from Paul here in how contextualizes the gospel for those in Athens. What is contextualization? How do we do it?
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The gospel of Jesus is the greatest treasure in the universe. There are amazing, too-good-to-be-true blessings that come with getting this message right. And, there are serious, grave consequences if we get it wrong. So, it is vital that we ask, how do we faithfully proclaim Jesus in our beautiful, sophisticated, highly educated but spiritually deceived city?
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Beautiful things surprise us, take our breath away and send chills down our spines. Beauty can be visual, audible, or spiritual. We are fascinated by beauty. It captivates the human heart, mind and soul. But, we rarely stop to ask where beauty comes from. The Bible tells us that all beauty finds its origin in God – particularly in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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In Acts 15:36-16:40 we witness the planting of the church in Philippi. It is hard to imagine a more diverse group: severely religious, severely enslaved and severely indifferent. These three are racially, socially, psychologically worlds apart. But, what we see in this passage is that Jesus is an all-sufficient savior that applies and appeals to all people, everywhere – even today.
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In Acts 15:1-35 we get to listen in on the great Jerusalem Council. This episode is far from being an irrelevant 1st century debate. In fact, here we learn about the primary enemy of the gospel and the primary essence of the gospel. This is vital for us as we seek to increasingly become a Gospel astonished church, filled with people who give everything they have because they understand that in Christ they already have everything the need.
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In Acts 13-14 Paul and Barnabas embark on the first of three missionary journeys. The Christian mission is not merely to build houses and help people do a little better. It’s not less than that, but it is much much more. This is not merely the story of two guys walking around convincing others to believe something different. The Christian mission is to reestablish supremacy of Christ among all the peoples of the world, starting with us.
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In Acts 12 is about the deep providence of God. The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison and Herod victorious. But, the chapter closes with Herod dead, Peter free, and the word of God victorious. This is the goal of all that God does, to spread the fame of Jesus, who saves sinners, and makes much of the Father. That’s our mission too.
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