One Church in One Place Empowered by an Extraordinary God (Acts 2:42-47) [Jay Thomas]
Acts 2:42-47 is a mountain top text in Acts. It is the first description of the church as church. It is a flow state church - filled with God's Spirit such that it has Fellowship, Learning, Outreach, and Worship (F.L.O.W.) But, the golden thread of this FLOW is the clear togetherness of this new family of God. It devoted itself not merely to ideas and methods, but to gathering at the place of God (temple) and personal homes (the mini-temples of hospitality). I am looking forward to teaching through this and sharing a vision the elders have about a way we might beautifully live into this picture.
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The First Evangelistic Crusade (Acts 2:14-41) [Jay Thomas]
The Spirit of God descends, He is received, and the disciples respond. One of the most important responses is when Peter, filled with Spirit, addresses the surrounding Jews from many nations and tells them that the disciples are not drunk, but rather filled with God's Spirit. He then goes on to preach a gospel sermon that saves 3,000 people! Why was it so powerful? On top of being a pivotal moment in salvation history, and a proper addressing of the crowd, Peter preaches a biblical, Christ-centered, and persuasive sermon that cuts to the heart.
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The Spirit Dwells (Acts 2:1-13) [Jay Thomas]
As promised, God sends the Spirit, the Spirit is received, and the watching world takes note. Acts 2:1-13 is God's Word for us this Lord's Day and in it we are going to see the faithfulness, power, glory, and mission of God. Without this event, my friend, you would not be a Christian. So, let's take note, hunger to learn, and hunger to live in Acts 29 (not the network but the kingdom life now) based in this text.
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Preparations (Acts 1:12-26) [Jay Thomas]
Jesus has gone to the Father, leaving the disciples with teaching and the promise of the Holy Spirit. So, now what? They prepare. They prepare by actually obeying Jesus, waiting as they trust Him, praying together in unity, and getting serious about the Word. Hearts are prepared. Character is prepared. The full apostolic band is completed. The table is set. The church is ready for the Spirit!
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Introductions to the Spirit-Empowered Church Movement (Acts 1:1-11) [Jay Thomas]
We begin the Book of Acts. It is part 2 of Luke's gospel. We move from the ministry of the earthly Christ to the heavenly ministry of the Risen Christ through His earthly people, the church.
My prayer for our study is that we are enthralled, encouraged, and empowered by this Word of God to bear witness to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit as we gather, share, pray, sit under the Word, and worship as the Chapel Hill Bible Church.
Will you pray for this with me?