Do you believe God can really change you and others?

Acts 9 is the amazing account of the conversion of Saul (aka Paul), which will answer these questions today.

The Gospel of Jesus expands to a new territory and a new people group--an Ethiopian Eunuch. God uses Philip to reach this man with the good news of Jesus. Let's learn about this encounter, the theme of circumcision, and how it all points to Jesus Christ.

In this passage, the Gospel confronts sorcery in Samaria.

And after the Samaritans believe, the Holy Spirit comes much later.

How should we understand this?

Is this normal for today or unique for that time period?

Did you realize that God's main way He spreads the good news of Jesus is through you?

What objections and concerns do you have about this?

What reminders do we need about sharing the good news?

In this passage, we learn some surprising ways God spreads the kingdom of God. And we learn how God can use everyday people like us to make a tremendous difference for the Gospel.

Stephen is the first martyr in the Jesus movement. His faithful life, Scripture-soaked words, and courageous death

inspire us to be ready to witness for Christ.

Let's explore what we can learn from Stephen and this passage.

The Early Church had some challenges that threatened its unity. What can we learn from them and their priorities? What can we learn from the way they made decisions? And what does this teach us about Jesus? Let's consider how Jesus continues to build and guide His Church through a difficult challenge.

A “living hope” provided by the work of Christ challenges us to live our hope out in a way that shows believable hope. We are going to be in the book of 1 Peter where we’ll see some significant ways for how we can be believable hope in the way we live our lives.

Sermon Text: Luke 2:1-21

Have you ever struggled with disappointment that your plan didn't work out? Have you experienced hopelessness because God's plan was different than you expected? The Christmas story in Luke shows God's plan working out differently than what God's people expected. It also shows us that God's plan is even better than expected when we trust His plan.

One of the beliefs that Christians have affirmed for years is that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. How do we know this is true? Why does it even matter that Jesus was born of a Virgin? What difference does it make for us today, and how does this give us real hope for each day? Our hope is that the doctrine of the Virgin Birth will increase your hope in Jesus Christ this Christmas season.