They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 Another mark of the first church was fellowship. In Acts 2, Luke describes the fellowship of those first Christians like this: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as…
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 Another important earmark of the early church was prayer. Communication with our Heavenly Father is what fueled their ministry and gave power to their witness. As Christ followers, we need to gird ourselves up in prayer to effectively live out our…
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 Jesus came and brought the kingdom of God to His followers. He then gave His life so that we could be part of that kingdom, that we could live in the presence of God forever. When Jesus was resurrected, He gave…
And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. Jude 1:22-23 Being an effective Christ-follower saves people from God’s judgment. We show the grace and mercy we received through our compassion and…
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. Romans 3:22 I saw yesterday that Time has put out their list of the 100 most influential people for 2017. You may not be surprised, but I wasn’t on the list. What was surprising is some…
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. Acts 3:15 Have you ever really thought about the death and resurrection of Jesus? Why does the resurrection even matter? Jesus was miraculously conceived. He was born of a virgin. He did not inherit the sin nature of an earthly father. He was completely…
When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw [Jesus] eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:16-17…
Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 We live today in what I would call a very spirituality pluralistic society. In other words, tolerance is a really high value and it’s very common today for many people to believe things like: All roads really lead to…
It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30b Today is Good Friday. This is the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross. Read Luke 22:47-23:48 and John 19:1-37. These passages show the road that Jesus took to the cross. From the betrayal by one of His own, the beatings, scourging and shame He endured,…
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My…