Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. [Acts 8:30-31]

Phillip and the early church obeyed Jesus even when it was uncomfortable and as a result the Gospel continued to spread and multiply.

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But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  [Acts 7:55]

The life, ministry and death of Stephen parallels the life, ministry and death of Jesus. The Gospel has most often taken root in places prepared by the blood of martyrs.  But before people can give their lives for the gospel, they must first live their lives for the gospel.

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So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. [Acts 6:7]

As the church grows in size, so do the needs!

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Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. [Acts 2:12]

God uses unschooled, ordinary people to multiply God’s kingdom.

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By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. [Acts 3:16]

The Kingdom of God was built by devotion to prayer, obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit, giving God the glory and boldly sharing the gospel.

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For more information about Connection Church Dublin and other resources please visit: www.connectiondublin.com

In the book of Acts, Luke continues the story he began in his Gospel. The book starts off with the apostles (those who saw Jesus) being told by Jesus to wait. The apostles had walked with Jesus through Jesus’ ministry, they witnessed His death and they had just witnessed Him being raised from the dead. We can imagine that they were ready to go out and tell the world what they have experienced.  However, Jesus said to wait. The reason being is that He didn’t want them going at it alone. He promised to give them the Holy Spirit. This would be how the early church had the power to get the gospel (good news) to the ends of the earth.

Just one chapter later, what Jesus promised has happened.  The Holy Spirit comes!  In VS 4 we see the word “enabled”.  This means that the Holy Spirit gave them the power to carry out the mission that God gave them. In this chapter we also see what happens when people respond to the gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.  People were speaking in other languages and many miracles were happening and lives were being changed.  We see at the end of chapter 2 that 3000 people were saved after just one sermon.  We also see that the Lord continued to add to that number day by day and we are continuing to see that this very day.

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For more information about Connection Church Dublin and other resources please visit: www.connectiondublin.com

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. [Acts 2:46-47]

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For more information about Connection Church Dublin and other resources please visit: www.connectiondublin.com

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” [James 5:16 NIV]

Faith, prayer and community are powerful resources in the life of a believer.

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For more information about Connection Church Dublin and other resources please visit: www.connectiondublin.com

The Book of James: Real Authentic Faith | Wk9

The Book of James: Real Authentic Faith | Wk8