In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirt. It is the Holy Spirit who will give them power to be his witnesses throughout the whole earth. Then Jesus ascends into heaven. Here is an outline of today's message: 1) The Mission- the mission given to the apostles is to advance the kingdom by being witnesses to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection to everyone on earth. 2) The Power- the apostles were helpless to accomplish this mission- but promised the power for the mission in the gift of the Spirit and told them to wait for it.

When considering the gray areas we need to 1) instead of Judging, Welcome, 2) instead of Tearing Down, Build Up.

How do we respond to what others believe within the church when it is not exactly the same as how we believe? Some of these areas can be called "Gray Areas." We need to 1) Leave Room for Gray Areas, and 2) Learn How to Think About Gray Areas.

Mike Brown joins us today from Family Table Ministry. Family Table is a ministry to minister to children in the foster care system in Los Angeles County. As we are adopted into God's family, children in foster care need to experience the love and acceptance of Christian families. James 1 tells us that true religion is visiting the widows and the orphans. This tells us that an evidence of true faith is reaching out to the helpless and hurting in our society, to move toward broken people.

Mike Brown joins us today from Family Table Ministry. Family Table is a ministry to minister to children in the foster care system in Los Angeles County. As we are adopted into God's family, children in foster care need to experience the love and acceptance of Christian families. James 1 tells us that true religion is visiting the widows and the orphans. This tells us that an evidence of true faith is reaching out to the helpless and hurting in our society, to move toward broken people.

Boaz redeemed Ruth and Naomi. It was a costly decision just as when Jesus redeemed us. Naomi experienced the results of that redemption, an overflowing fullness, just as we experience God's overflowing love in our lives.

Naomi gives Ruth some "Risky Plans." Will Boaz accept Ruth or reject her? The topics are: 1) Active faith ... faith requires action. Faith cannot be passive. 2) Faithful Love ... In chapter 3, we see faithful love in the lives of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz.

Ruth finds favor from Boaz in Ruth Chapter 2. The four points of this sermon are:

Boaz Welcomes Ruth

Boaz Provides for Ruth

Boaz Encourages Ruth

Boaz Protects Ruth

In all of this Boaz is showing hesed, faithful love for Ruth, who was an outcast, foreigner, and vulnerable. It’s a kind of love that reflects Christ.

This is the first sermon in a new series on the book of Ruth. This sermon contains an introduction to the book of Ruth followed by two points, 1) Bitter Loss and 2) Loyal Love.

In our last message from 1 Timothy, Tim talks about the characteristics of a healthy church. They are: 1) Sound Teaching, 2) Communal Prayer, 3) Qualified Leaders, 4) Mutual Love and 5) Personal Godliness.