The Resurrection of Jesus demands we confidently declare the Truth about who He is, and live BOLDLY in His name!

The Acts of the Holy Spirit - Week 9

After an amazing miracle at the temple makes a lame man well,

Peter and John are quick to make sure everyone knows where the power to heal comes from: the mighty name of Jesus. Peter explains with powerful pictures from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus is God's promised Savior. His point is clear and compelling - this Jesus is worth clinging to in faith!

God’s redemptive path for each and every person is- hear, believe, be baptized, and you’ll be His people

Every Christmas, it's important to remember not just the birth of Jesus but the work of Jesus; not simply that He came, but why He

came. In the third chapter of John's first letter, he lays out three mind-blowing reasons that Jesus came. This Christmas, let's commit to trust and serve this Jesus who came on a mission of love to destroy the works of darkness.

"This passage explores one of Scripture's great mysteries about

the nature of God's will - humans are responsible for their choices before the Lord, yet God is in complete control of human history and His plan takes human failure into account. In the second part of his sermon at Pentecost, the apostle Peter preaches about how Jesus demonstrated the fullness of God's unstoppable plan to save the world. As they saw it all came together, Jesus' disciples couldn't help but declare that God's plan was magnificent. When we

understand this for ourselves, it becomes clear that we can rest in Jesus' control and trust God's magnificent plan."

"In this week's passage, we read about the first Christian sermon ever preached. Peter's message was clear, bold, and powerful. Yet, it wasn't the speaker himself that gave the message authority; it was powerful because the message came from the Lord. The message we preach is the same today as what Peter proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem, and if we will be faithful to share it, we'll find that God's Spirit will work powerfully. Through the Gospel, Jesus has given each of us a word worth sharing."

THE WONDER OF PENTECOST (Acts 2:1-4)

THE UNITY OF PENTECOST (Acts 2:5-13)

The ten days between Jesus' return to heaven (we call it The Ascension) and the giving of Spirit (known in the church as Pentecost) was a period of time filled with tension, expectation, and prayerful waiting. During this period of time, Jesus was not physically present with them, nor did they have His Spirit with them. Why the delay? Why keep them waiting? As we'll learn more about this week, God allowed them to go through a liminal experience - a time of confusion and difficulty - to prepare them for what was ahead. He does the same in us; hard times don't tell us He's far away, they tell us He's at work. That means for those in Christ, there is hope in our hard times.

Think of how exciting it would be to experience what it would have been like to be part of the early church in the book of Acts. What we

read about in this book is believers who, because of Jesus' gift of the Holy Spirit, lived in the power and promises of God. What if that same type of life was available to each of us? How would we begin to live that way? This week, we'll look at the opening passages of this incredible book to understand what we need in order to experience the Spirit-filled life of Jesus.

Jesus comes to calm your chaos

Jesus doesn't leave you the same

Jesus calls you to serve where you are