Acts began with the ascension of the Lord Jesus. Because of His ascension, the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell His people. The Holy Spirit testifies of the Lord Jesus through the believers to the world. It is the day of salvation. This age began with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and will soon end with the pouring out of God's wrath. The Spirit added people to a group who reverenced God, loved one another, and lived godly lives. The work of the Holy Spirit is part of God's work of restoring creation to Himself, which began in the work of His Son. He brings us into the kingdom of God where there is a whole new economy where silver and gold have no value because the true riches are for meeting the needs, not of the body, but of the soul.

The Lord Jesus gave an example of washing one another's feet, showing how much He wants to have free and unhindered fellowship with us. And not only Him, but the Father desires close fellowship with us.

Though we fail like Peter, yet He us able to bring us into intimate fellowship with our Father.

The importance of how we use our tongues [please excuse the background hum]

According to James 4, conflict comes from the Iusts of the flesh. From wanting things you can't get. And you ask but don't get because you have bad motives. James is basically warning against being a friend of the world. We need to humble ourselves before God. God brings humility through trials. Too often we want to have a good reputation before others and don't want others to see us for who we are.

The first encounter with the enemy of the gospel. Jesus had warned that the world would hate them. The leaders in the attack were from the Temple, positions that had been hijacked. Each component of the leaders, left and right, although they seemed godly, were united in anti-Christ policies. They used the weapon of extreme intimidation to suppress the truth.

But Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and He magnified the truth.

The enemy saw two things. Peter and John were unlearned and ignorant, and that they had been with Jesus.

James was writing to Jewish believers, so we need to look at it from the perspective of an Eastern mindset. He was calling on these pious Jewish believers to look beyond their religious actions and examine their hearts before God. If they would humble themselves before God, He would lift them up. It's a relevant message for today.

Chapter 1 true faith is backed by action. Chapter 2 true faith is not marked by segregation and judgement, but by helping those in need. True fatih is backed by action.

Chapter 3 The tongue and wisdom.

Chapter 4 Quarrels come when we don't get what we want. We should be humble and draw near God.

Peter's sermon in Acts 3 was after the lame man was healed. The lame man was brought to the temple gate, but could not enter the temple because he was unable to walk. The lame man is a good illustration of those under the Law. The Law brought people close to God, but could not bring them into the presence of God because of the people's inability to walk in righteousness.

The Law was intended to be applied in the heart. Keeping the Law was not a matter of obeying a set of commands.

We should not make Christianity a set of commands to be kept. This leads to dryness in the Christian life.

Keeping the Law is honoring God and as a result holding God's Law in high regard. The psalmists spoke of keeping God's law in spite of not being able to obey all the commands therein. To keep the Law was to love it because of honoring God. This would lead the Jews to look for the Saviour which God promised.

In the same way, keeping the Lord's commands is loving His commands because we love Him.

John 8a. The woman caught in adultery, and the Pharisees who brought her were all under the bondage of sin. What is the bondage of sin? How does Jesus make us free?

Practical instruction for Christians. The tongue is important because communication is a big part of our lives. Babel shows how unhindered communication can produce impressive results, but also takes people far from God. Our tongue can cause catastrophic results. A brief survey of scriptures that deal with our speech.