Sermon Central
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Walking Thru The Book Of Acts
Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jan 23, 2013 (message contributor)
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1. Jesus' Last Day On Earth
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
If you have never felt the moving of the Holy Spirit in your life, then maybe you aren’t a believer yet.
Last Sunday evening the book of Acts 1 left us waiting—“waiting for the promise of the Father”—the promise of the Holy Spirit coming and filling the hearts of all believers. The promise that was made that day was a promise for us as well and still rings true. The moment we ...read more
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2. Choosing Church Leaders
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
We are going to look at the church’s first business meeting if you will. We are introduced to the remaining eleven apostles tonight. We are going to look at the replacing and the replacement for number twelve, and why this is significant.
The early church had a vacancy. Jesus had named twelve apostles to carry out the ministry of being His witnesses. Now there was only eleven. There was one position left to fill. That was a big opening to fill. In the past two weeks, we have studied the Great Commission and the Ascension of ...read more
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3. The Church Is Born
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
We celebrate the birth of Jesus & all the world pauses to celebrate Christmas with us. We celebrate His resurrection, & most of the world recognizes Easter as a very special day on the calendar. But then comes Pentecost, & hardly anyone realizes it. It’
We celebrate the birth of Jesus & all the world pauses to celebrate Christmas with us. We celebrate His resurrection, & most of the world recognizes Easter as a very special day on the calendar. But then comes Pentecost, & hardly anyone realizes it. It’s an important day because Pentecost ...read more
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4. Worthy Traits
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
This is the first look at the early church. And these verses show us the traits that characterized the daily lives of believers.
As we travel along through the Book of Acts, we come to verse 41-47 in chapter 2. This is the first look at the early church. And these verses show us the traits that characterized the daily lives of believers. Here they are in a nutshell and then we will look at them a little closer. 1. A ...read more
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5. What Should A Spirit-Filled Church Do?
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
We see the power of God healing a human life. We see people who have been touched by the power of God touching others. It’s the story of the lame man who begged by the gate called Beautiful. We see a real example of the power of God to heal.
Luke has described the early church by saying, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” (Acts 2:43). In Acts 2 Luke doesn’t give us any indication what those miraculous signs and wonders may have been. But now, when we come ...read more
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6. Essentials For Life Together
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
The life of the early believers and church was most unusual. It was a far cry from the way the church and its believers live today. Yet, as we study their lives, we get a clear picture of the essentials for living together and for fulfilling the mission
The life of the early believers and church was most unusual. It was a far cry from the way the church and its believers live today. Yet, as we study their lives, we get a clear picture of the essentials for living together and for fulfilling the mission of the Lord. The first thing we see is ...read more
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7. A Picture Of Abuse
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
The experience of Peter and John gives a clear picture of persecution.
The early church was doing well. However, last time (Acts 5:1-11) we saw the introduction and the punishment of hypocrisy as it entered the church for the first time. We saw that it was Satan’s way of trying to stop the growth of the church. Well Satan continues in tonight’s passage ...read more
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8. The First Deacons
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
The office of the deacons was set up to meet a need in the church for day to day ministry. The head ministers had to have help in order to fulfill their preaching mission.
Tonight’s passage is about the birth of the idea of having deacons. This was the birth of a whole new level of ministry in the church. What we need to note is that the office of the deacons was set up to meet a need in the church for day to day ministry. The head ministers had to have help ...read more
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9. A Model Man: Stephen
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
A detailed description of Stephen and the model he was for us to follow.
Last time we looked at the election of seven men to serve as deacons of the first church. One of those seven was Stephen. We finish chapter 6 tonight with a detailed description of Stephen and the model he was for us to follow. For the next three studies, including tonight, we are going to look ...read more
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10. Stephen: The First Martyr
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
Stephen brings up eight charges against his accusers. His sermon was what ultimately led to his death.
Last time we saw that Stephen was seized and dragged before the Sanhedrin and put on trial. We closed chapter 6 seeing a heavenly glow showing from Stephen’s face, indicating that God’s presence was there. Tonight we begin a very long chapter 7 and we look a little closer at ...read more
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11. Stephen: A Study Of Martyrdom
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
A vivid picture of martyrdom which should encourage the believer to stand fast when facing persecution.
Finally, we come to scene 3 in our study of Stephen. Last time we heard a powerful, spirit-filled message from Stephen. He reviewed several of the OT stories and used the examples of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses to lead up to the point of accusing the members of the Sanhedrin of making the same ...read more
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12. How God Uses Persecution
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
Stephen's message was God’s final invitation to Israel. If Israel rejected the message, God would turn elsewhere to root and ground His church. Israel DID reject the message; in fact, Israel killed Stephen and launched a savage persecution against the c
The last time we were in our series in the Book of Acts, we saw that Stephen died as a martyr for Jesus Christ. Stephen preached a message just before he died. His message was God’s final invitation to Israel. If Israel rejected the message, God would turn elsewhere to root and ground His ...read more
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13. A Study On Revival
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
In all this we see that the fruit of revival is more revival, the opening of hearts for both the preaching and receiving of the gospel. That was the case at this time in Samaria. There was a great revival going on.
Tonight’s passage shows us the great need for revival both within and outside the church. Let’s get into this long passage. READ v. 5. The preacher was Philip, a layman, one of the first deacons. As we said last week, the importance of this verse is in declaring that the first ...read more
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14. Led By The Spirit
Contributed on Jan 23, 2013
The eunuch found the true religion when he found the one that Isaiah prophesied of was Jesus Christ. We are promised when we come to Jesus in faith, repenting of our sins and believing He will forgive us, that in effect we start with a clean sheet befor
Last week in Verses 5 - 12 Philip had been involved in the revival at Samaria. It was a huge success. Unclean spirits cast out, sick healed, and multitudes of people were coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and being baptized. The revival was big news, as soon as they heard about it in ...read more