Jim Gilliam

Jesus told us no one comes to the Father except by Jesus. We believers are to work for Jesus until He returns. He will return soon.

We who belong to Jesus need to act like we belong to Jesus. We do not do good works to be saved. We do good works because we have been saved, to do good works. Some of us will live long enough to see the return of Jesus. Either that or we die, then see Jesus.

God had His chosen people in bondage in Egypt for four hundred years, to keep them separate from people who had rebelled against God. Many years later, God had chosen people among the slaves of Rome.

God created us to have fellowship with God. That fellowship was broken by Adam and Eve. We read in the Bible about others who had fellowship with God, starting with Abel, then Noah and Abraham and Moses and David, and others. Jesus, the Son of God, came to restore that fellowship with God. When He left, He gave us the Holy Spirit, so we, the church, can have fellowship with God and each other. We are to bring others into the church, into fellowship with God.

Our faith is in Jesus, not in rules and regulations. We do not do good works in order to be saved. We do good works because we have been saved.   

God told Abraham the world would be blessed through his descendents. Jesus was born among the jews. He ministered to the jews, and also to the gentiles. The first Christian church was jewish. The church spread to the gentiles. Paul started as a radical pharisee persecuting Christians. Then he met Jesus. Paul became a radical evangelist bringing people into the Christian faith.

Deacons were chosen to serve the church. One of those, Stephen, was a bold witness for Jesus. He was the first person to die for his faith in Jesus. Another deacon, Philip went with some of the church and preached to people in Samaria. Many people in Samaria became believers in Jesus. Philip was then sent by the Holy Spirit to meet an Ethiopian. Philip told him about Jesus, and the man took his faith back to Ethiopia.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to start the church among HIs followers.

Jesus returned, and scared His disciples. He showed them He was alive, and not a ghost. He told them to tell other people about Jesus. He gave them the Holy Spirit, to empower them to tell others.

People saw Jesus die. The reality of His death made it hard to understand that He was alive again. The information was hard to process. But then Jesus showed them He was alive, and explained to them why it had to happen that way.