When we focus on following Jesus and doing the right things, what is our expectation? Most of us would think that many blessings come to those who are righteous. And indeed God does tell us in His Word that He desires good things for His children. But God's Word also tells us to expect opposition. We look at the experiences of Stephen in Acts 6. Along the way we consider the ethical dilemma of both the ends and the means of righteousness.

Unity is one important element of the true Christian church, right? What happens when division enters the picture? Is division always a bad thing? How should we handle division? And how possibly could division be a good thing? How could division lead to growth? We study Acts 6:1-7 to discover vital church growth principles.

This week we’ll continue our study of Acts with a focus on 5:33-42. When God asks us to follow Jesus, is He primarily concerned with our comfort our our character? When God’s mission conflicts with our personal wishes, which do we follow? If we believe God has a mission for us and wants us to follow it, what does that say about a health and wealth kind of gospel message? Good questions to consider today.

We continue our study of Acts with a focus on 5:12-32. The church was growing fast and God was doing many powerful things. So many people were responding positively. But not everyone. The existing religious leadership felt threatened and responded with threats of their own. Once again the church was in crisis. How do we respond in obedience in the midst of crisis?

We consider the disturbing story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. This couple made a large donation to the early church, but lied about giving all the proceeds from the sale of property. This story is disturbing because the penalty was death. How does this inform the seriousness with which God takes our giving at church? What are the right attitudes for giving at church?

We consider Acts 4:32-37 and discover that all the Christians had all things in common. So does this mean we should share everything we have with everybody? We look closely at the basis for Christian sharing and how it worked. Along the way we also discover how we should share with one another.

What happens when the church prays together? When does the church pray together? There are many different kinds of prayer. In this sermon we talk about corporate prayer - the powerful kind of praying when the church gathers together in agreement and prays as one. Open your Bible to Acts 4:23-31 and prepare yourself for a fresh wave of boldness.

Never underestimate the power of even one person to stand up for what is right. Today we consider the courage of one nameless man who stood up for the disciples at a crucial point in early the early church. History is filled with men and women who stood for Christ even at the risk of their own safety. What about you? Will you stand shoulder to shoulder for Jesus and righteousness or slink down to the excuse that your personal presence couldn’t possibly matter?

We consider the very first miracle accomplished in the church. We’ve seen many miracles by Jesus in the Gospels. How are miracles different in the church age? What purpose do they serve? Do we still see miracles? What kind of response should we expect from miracles? What part does faith play? Lots of questions. Hopefully we discover some answers from Acts 3.

What does a healthy church look like? That’s what we will discover today as we study the last few verses of Acts 2. We’ll learn how to grow - warmer, deeper, broader, larger and stronger!