Six:Eight

Today we look at the fact that God has prepared the way for the Gospel to go out to all peoples. He’s planted a redemptive analogy among peoples in their cultures to bridge them to the Gospel! This is illustrated in Acts 17, and in many other missionary stories! The first church proclaimed that the unknown God had become known through Jesus. All truth is God’s truth; there are many things in this world which can encourage faith & lead unbelievers to Jesus.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. No matter how faithful you are, no matter how much attention to detail you put into your next step, the unexpected can still happen, and you can find yourself far from where you thought you’d be. The first church proclaimed salvation came through faith alone. When you’re faced with great failure, remember: all you need to do to be saved is believe in Jesus.

How people are saved is still an important question today as it was for the early church. From the writings of Paul & in Acts 15 we see certain Jewish believers were following Paul around & after he left they’d tell the gentile converts they weren’t fully saved unless they were circumcised & followed the Law of Moses placing upon them unnecessary requirements for salvation. Today we explore more clearly the answer to the question, how are we saved?

The theme of Messianic prophecy deeply appeals to people - many a story is written with that theme. The Gospel’s from the beginning, God defines our worldview from the start. From the beginning of Scripture we see the Good News, Glad Tidings, what we call the Euangelion. How does this give us an eternal perspective & bring hope in our time of need? How are all our hopes & fears of all the years met in Jesus?

The Gospel is for all peoples & the Christian is called to Proclaim Christ to them. Who do you consciously, or unconsciously deem as unclean or unworthy of the Gospel? Who do you avoid sharing Jesus with?

Today we look at what God can do through ordinary people in the simple proclamation of the Gospel!

This 7 week series, Proclaim, looks at what the early church proclaimed about Jesus. We’ll discover a consistent message of sin, grace & salvation in the name of Jesus, showing the crucifixion & resurrection to be central to faith. If you’re a follower of Jesus, the crucifixion & resurrection of Jesus must be central to faith. Testimony of what He’s done in power through history according to the Scriptures & in us - the mission of all Christians - to tell His Story!

Christ the Lord is risen! Christ’s death & resurrection has freed us from sin & condemnation. We’re called in this freedom to live in the light of His resurrection glory. Resurrection brings salvation, and with salvation comes a new identity in Christ & a hope that surpasses everything. Live into the hope of the resurrection by proclaiming “Christ is risen!” Allow Him to restore your soul through salvation - find in Christ your originally intended purpose & identity once more.

Jesus redefines power by entering Jerusalem with a demonstration of both humility & divine authority. He was not what people expected. We model the humility of Jesus whenever we sacrifice part of our own privilege & power to serve others in Truth & Love of the Gospel.

In this story Jesus exorcises a demon from a young boy. One which the Disciples were unable to drive out. As a result, Jesus reprimands them for their failure to trust the One to whom they ought to be praying, but don’t. It would seem they may act in religious ways, but their faith was not placed rightly in prayer - theirs was demonstrated in the reliance of self. But prayer in relationship with Jesus demonstrates a relationship of practical trust in His power to accomplish more than we might ever imagine.