Sermon Central
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Studies In Acts
Contributed by Greg Nance on Jul 29, 2004 (message contributor)
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1. We Have A Job To Do
Contributed on Jul 29, 2004
Jesus left this world to prepare a place for us. He left us with marching orders that keep us busy till he returns. Luke’s inspired message of Acts reminds us of our task and our strength in Christ.
Acts 1:1-11 We have a job to do. Scott Bayles, from the Church of Christ at Freeport Illinois said something like this: The average Christian in America has heard over 4000 sermons, sung over 20,000 songs, participated in over 8000 public prayers… and converted zero sinners to Christ. He ...read more
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2. The Spirit And The Witness Of The Word
Contributed on Jul 29, 2004
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost marks the birth of the new covenant people in Christ. The fullness of the Spirit inspires the witness of the Word.
Acts 2 The Spirit and Witness of the Word The event of the coming of the Holy Spirit & the message in all languages 1-13 The explanation of the Event of His coming & the message preached 14-40 The effects of His coming & the message received and new life given 41-47 1. Pentecost was ...read more
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3. Meaning Of Membership
Contributed on Jul 31, 2004
The common communion of Christians includes conviction, conversion, and commitment to membership. And the benefits are out of this world.
Acts 2:41-47 The Common Communion of Christians – A commitment to Membership A young man came to the Grand Canyon for the first time and when he got to the edge and saw it he gasped, “Wow! Something big happened here!” 150 years ago an Indian from the dessert plains made it across the ...read more
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4. The Tale Of Two Tithers
Contributed on Aug 21, 2004
When Satan messes with the motives of members of the church, he makes my money more meaningful than my membership. But the cost is high! Hidden sin has an unhappy ending.
The Tale of Two Tithers An older man was walking on the beach and found a magic lamp. He picked it up, rubbed it, and a genie appeared. "Because you have freed me," the genie said, "I will grant you a wish." The man thought for a moment and then responded, "My brother and I had a fight 30 ...read more
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5. When It Is Of God...
Contributed on Aug 31, 2004
Does heaven hold on to your heart? Giving yourself completely to a holy cause that lasts forever is the most fulfilling of all human experiences. Find the greatest blessings of the Christian life: give it all you’ve got!
When it’s of God… Acts 5:17-42 When we lived in New Hampshire, about this time of year the Striper Bass would begin to swim up the coast of Maine and sometimes we would go out at high tide and fish for them off the rocky coast at York, Maine. Roy Smith, from West Virginia, was a sportsman ...read more
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6. Passing The Towel
Contributed on Sep 7, 2004
Service is central to Spiritual development and growth of the Church. A look at Jesus and the early Church supplies a great example of the process for building workers.
(Open with an illustration: Hold up, one at a time, several kinds of towels and mention their use: paper towel, dish towel, face towel, bath towel and beach towel). The story is told of a young Christian nurse that began working with lepers in India, bathing their wounds and bringing them food ...read more
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7. Throwing Stones At Blazing Bones
Contributed on Sep 11, 2004
Steven’s preaching, like Jeremiah who said the word of God is like fire in my bones, was an outpouring of Spirit filled power. The opposition had no choice but to silence him or submit to his message.
Of all the weapons of mass destruction that have ever been available in the world, words are the most powerful. Of all the forces that shape and change cultures and societies, words are the most powerful. “The tongue has the power of life and death,” says the Proverbs. James warning us of the ...read more
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8. Saul Snaps And Saints Scatter
Contributed on Sep 21, 2004
God’s purpose for the church will be accomplished. But will we be part of it? That depends.
I love this illustration from Sermon Central: A teacher was asking children in his Sunday school class, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would I get to heaven?” “NO”! The children answered. “If I cleaned the church everyday, mowed the yard, ...read more
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9. The Joy Of Ministry And Baptism
Contributed on Sep 29, 2004
When Philip preaches Jesus, people look for water! What’s the connection? Look and see...
I visited Amazon.com and hit the search command with these words: “The joy of…” to see what books began with that title. There were 111,218 entries! Although not all actually had that title: these were among those listed: The joy of cooking The joy of signing The joy of motherhood The joy ...read more
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10. Saul's Big Flip Flop
Contributed on Oct 16, 2004
Nothing can explain what happened to Saul of Tarsus short of God’s intervention in his life. Has that ever happened to you?
The experience of Saul of Tarsus has to be the most ironic and dramatic change story in the New Testament. Here’s a man with a clean conscience, doing the unconscionable. Here’s a man with high religious standards performing terrorist acts. Here’s a man who hates Jesus, but wants to please ...read more
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11. Cornelius' Friends And Family Day
Contributed on Oct 16, 2004
Welcome to God’s Great Family! God wants a house full of family and he is preparing both the seekers and the speakers when it comes to evangelizing.
Welcome! We want to extend a special thanks to all our guests who have come to celebrate the worship of our Lord. God’s family is international. We have several Spanish speakers with us today along with all our other friends and family. We want everyone to be able to participate in the worship ...read more
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12. Fasting Together For God's Blessing
Contributed on Nov 26, 2004
The Antioch team took the call of Christ so serious the Lord selected from them missionaries to take the gospel to the Gentile world.
The Church in Antioch – the first place where the disciples were called Christians – was a team building church. Earlier in Acts 11 we hear of how this church began and how the gospel began to spread outside the borders of Israel into the Gentile world as certain brave souls began preaching the ...read more
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13. Builders And Wreckers
Contributed on Nov 26, 2004
What kind of Christian are you? God’s kindom is either growing or suffering because of your faith or lack thereof. Determine to serve as one who builds and blesses!
I watched them tear a building down; A band of men in a busy town. With a `HO-HEAVE-HO’ and a lusty yell; They swung a beam and a sidewall fell. I asked the foreman, `Are these men skilled? And the men you’d hire if you had to build?’ He gave a laugh and said, `No indeed! Common labor is all ...read more
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14. Church Conflict Resolution
Contributed on Nov 27, 2004
When God brought the Gentiles in it was a major hurdle for some of the Jewish Christians. How did they deal with the divisive fall out? How can we practice what God taught them?
We really need to review where we’ve been to appreciate where we are in Acts 15. Here it is in a nutshell. Just before he ascended back to heaven, Jesus commissioned the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for power from God to accomplish the witnessing work of bringing the gospel to the whole world. ...read more
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15. Relationships Count
Contributed on Dec 4, 2004
God given relationships make all the difference in where you spend eternity.
Acts 15:35 But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching, with many others also, the word of the Lord. 36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." 37 And ...read more
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16. Welcome The Word
Contributed on Dec 11, 2004
A key indicator of whether you are one of God’s chosen is whether or not you welcome his word.
Have you ever had to make a speech when you were sick? Well, it looks like that was exactly what Paul did in our study today for his first recorded speech in Pisidian Antioch. His health was ailing, but many of his listeners welcomed the word just the same. It just goes to show that even a sick ...read more
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17. God In Conversions And Conflicts
Contributed on Dec 11, 2004
Look for God’s hand in all of life. We rejoice in his presence when souls are won to Christ. We can also rejoice in his presence when things look critical.
Acts 16 describes the conversions of Lydia and an unnamed Philippian Jailer. Some commentators also believe that the girl with the spirit of divination whom Paul exercised was converted. That may be possible, but we have no information to confirm or deny it. What the Holy Spirit did inspire to ...read more
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18. Defend God's Honor
Contributed on Dec 14, 2004
What offends you most? What will you defend with the greatest passion? The answer for Paul was clear: Defend God’s honor from idols and rivals!
12/19/04 Text: Acts 17:16-34 Reading: Romans 1:18-25 Longing to See God Honored Intro: Does anyone remember the TV show “Welcome back Cotter?” It was a sitcom about a teacher who returned to work in the city high school he had graduated from. Well, one time, Cotter and John Travolta ...read more
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19. Deadly Determination
Contributed on Jan 15, 2005
The road to Jerusalem was a road to pain and suffering for Jesus and for Paul. What made them stay on the path? What will keep you on the same path to glory?
In August 2004, Gene Banister, a Christian teacher, reports, “We have been studying with a group of 49 students in Bahrain. This week, 31 of those 49 were baptized. We hope there will be more baptisms soon. We are told we will soon be studying with a large group of students. The church in Bahrain ...read more
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20. What Would You Risk Your Life For?
Contributed on Feb 5, 2005
When Paul spoke to Felix about faith in Christ he discussed righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. It scared Felix, but not enough. What motivates us to live for Christ?
What would you risk your life for? Acts 15:26 speaks of “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul asks the question in 1 Cor. 15:30, “Why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?” In Romans 8 he quotes Psalms 44 and applies it to Christians: “For your sake we ...read more
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21. Persuaded?
Contributed on Feb 20, 2005
What’s so persuasive about the Gospel of Christ? It depends on who’s telling it. Those that live it can tell it with power.
Almost Persuaded There were seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia. They had been on a 16 day mission and were just 16 minutes from landing. They were almost home. Almost. As the shuttle was entering the atmosphere something went terribly wrong. Later studies indicate that some ...read more
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22. Strength In The Storm
Contributed on Feb 26, 2005
Stretching you past your limits to cope, God can use a crisis to bring us close and draw a crowd along with us to him.
Paul’s trip to Rome beginning in Acts 27 is the story of a stormy trip and shipwreck. Few things are as awesome to experience as a big storm. This past year, Florida saw four hurricanes plow through and wreak a path of destruction. We can begin to think we are large and in charge when God ...read more
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23. Can You Hear Me Now?
Contributed on Mar 5, 2005
Facing obstacles to sharing the gospel is common, but God will find listeners who learn to live for Jesus. When one door closes he opens another.
Here in Acts 28:16-28 Paul explains himself, the gospel and their rejection of it. Why I’m wearing these chains. Why Jesus is the Christ. Why do your hearts reject him, and where will God go from here. Jenny and I were walking along in the neighborhood a few weeks ago when we came across ...read more