Church Life

                        “The Road to Conversion”

                                      Acts 9:1-9

Death and Darkness (vv. 1-2)

Life and Light (vv. 3-9)

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Jo. 10:2-3 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. .

Jo. 9:39-41 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Eph. 2:1-5  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Eph. 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  

1 Tim. 1:13-16 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Your Conversion:

Faith (Ma. 1:14; Jo. 3:16; Ro. 10:9; Eph. 2:8-9) 

Fruit (Mt. 7:17-21; Jo. 13:34-35; 15:4-6; Gal. 5:22-24; 1 Jo. 1:6-7; 2:28-29; 3:6-10) 

Fortitude (Ma. 13:13; 1 Cor. 15:1-2; Col. 1:21-23; 2 Tim. 4:7-8)

Church Life

                                “Principalities and Powers”

                                              Acts 8:9-25

A Profession of Faith (vv. 9-13)

Deut. 18:10-12a 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.[a] And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. 

Mt. 24:24, For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 

2 Thess. 2:9-10 9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.

Jo. 2:23-25  23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.

A Possession of the Spirit (vv. 14-17)

Ti. 3:5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Col. 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Eph. 4:5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism).

A Punishment of a Sinner (vv. 18-25)

1 Tim. 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith. 

2 Cor. 5:17, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come). We don’t see that here?

2 Cor. 11:14b-15 Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. 

Pro. 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 

Thanksgiving Sunday of Praise and Worship

     “Give Thanks in Everything” (1 Thess. 5:18)

Ja. 1:2-3 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

Eph. 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Give thanks in prayer to glorify the Lord- 

Col. 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Phil.4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Future Grace

Present Blessings

-           You have complete and assured salvation and the forgiveness of sins (Ro.6:23)

-           You will have all your greatest, real and physical needs met (Phil. 4:19)  

-           You will be raised the dead and will never, ever suffer and die again (1 Cor. 15:52-53)

-           You will someday soon see, be with and be like Jesus (2 Cor. 5:8; 1 Jo. 3:2)

-           You will for the 1st time ever experience perfect and exceeding joy in the presence of God forever (Psa. 16:11; 43:4)

Church Life

                     “The Seeds of of Persecution”

                                      Acts 8:1-8

Seed and the Sowers are Scattered (vv. 1-3)

Seed is Sown and Begins to Grow (vv. 4-8)

Lu. 6:22–23 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”

 Church Life

                     “Message of the Martyr, Pt. 6; Truth in Love”

                                              Acts 7:51-60

Preaching Conviction (vv. 51-53)

Mt. 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Ro. 8:7-8 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Jo. 6:44,65 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.... 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Offering Compassion (vv. 54-60) 

Ro. 9:2-3 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,[a] my kinsmen according to the flesh.   

Church Life

                         Message of the Martyr, Pt. 5; New Temple”

                                                 Acts 7:44-50

The Old Covenant Temple (vv. 44-47)

Psa. 132:4-5 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, 5 until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

The New Covenant Temple (vv. 48-50).

Psa. 11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 

Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.  (Jo. 2:19-21)

Heb. 9:11-12 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,[e] then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 

Mt. 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Rev. 21:3,22-23 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God. ...22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  

Jo. 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

                  - Our Temple (1 Cor. 6:12,13c,15-16,18a, 19-20) 

Ro. 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Church Life

                              " Message of the Martyr, Pt. 4; Exodus”

                                               Acts 7:35-43

The Redeemers (vv.35-38)

Nu. 14:2-4 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Lu. 10:16“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 

The Rejection (vv. 39-40)

The Rebellion (vv. 41-43)

Ro. 1:22-23 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Ro. 1:24-27 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 

Church Life

                  “Message of the Martyr, Pt. 3; A Deliverer”

                                              Acts 7:17-34

Consecration (vv.17-22)

Captivity (vv. 23-29)

Commission (vv. 30-34)

              - The “I AM” (32a; Exo. 3:13-14) 

Church Life

                  “Message of the Martyr, Pt. 2; God with Us”

                                     Acts 7:9-16

Providence (vv. 9-13)

Isa. 45:5a; 46:9-10. 

Pro. 16:4,9 33 

Ro. 8:28 

Promises (vv. 14-16)

"Why?"- evil, pain and suffering?

1. Salvation (Gen. 50:20) as we just heard today from Joseph. I can tell you the gospel is going out & the Lord is going to save people in the aftermath of that storm and recovery as hundreds of Christian volunteer workers (FBC Disaster Relief) are going to love on those victims and serve them, showing and sharing Christ and his gospel.  E.g .of 2 former church friends of mine and brothers -David Rodriguez (and Fred S).  So many stories like that..

This is a massive truth that echoes somewhat what the Lord said after the Tower in Siloam fell and killed those 18 people. Rather than directly answer the ‘why’ of that disaster he told them, “Repent or you will likewise perish!” God sovereignly chooses some to suffer an affliction or tragedy so that will uniquely comfort others, even leading some to salvation (2 Cor. 1).

2. Sanctification (Ja. 1:2-4)

It is the will of God in both what he desires and what he decrees, that his children suffer because it strengthens and confirms our faith. Life is hard but that matures in the faith. I’ve never heard of anyone maturing in faith and character while sipping on daquiris at the beach. I love being at the beach but that’s not the best way to grow in Christ likeness. Pain is.

C. S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world” (The Problem of Pain).  God uses suffering to bring us to the end of ourselves and back to Christ to draw close to him and be dependent on him and that’s worth any cost.  

1 Pet. 1:6-7 rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

You don’t want to be found without a tested faith when Christ returns. Listen, one of the greatest proofs in the NT of knowing you’re a Christian, is not a prayer you prayed so many years ago with a decision, or even giving and church attendance as good as those things are. It’s endurance- perseverance of faith (fortitude). Will you hang on to Jesus with everything you’ve got when you have nothing else? As someone wrote, “You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”  

3. Glorification (Jo. 9:3)