The message of Christ is a message that all the world needs to hear. But it is not always a message that all the world wants to hear. Dr. Biles is continuing a series through the book of Acts, looking at the early church. In this message, we will see how serving the Lord brought suffering for Barnabas and Paul. And we will see how the Lord used their suffering for His glory.

Today, Dr. Biles concludes a message entitled, A Church on Mission. He is arguing that you cannot define church without missions. So, our challenge is to share the message and to send the message to a world who needs to hear it. This message is a challenge to believers and churches to capture the heart of God for the world, to obey our Lord's command, to continue the work of the early church to be on Mission for Christ.

There are many great things we do in the church. The kingdom is blessed by the faithful work of so many faithful servants and obedient churches. But, at the heart of our Lord's final instructions to His Disciples and His heart for missions, we are called to take the Gospel to all the world. That is a burden no one shared more than the Apostle Paul. Today Dr. Biles challenges all of us to be on Mission.

There is a great promise of God in Scripture that when we pray - God hears. It's the picture of God that we find consistent throughout Scripture and the pattern of the early church. Today, as Dr. Biles continues a series about the early church, we are looking at a passage where the people of God prayed and saw the power of God. This is a pattern we can all follow. Take your Bibles and turn again to Acts 12 and let's listen to the conclusion of a message entitled, "The Power of a Praying Church".

Sometimes there are things we believe to be true intellectually, that we don't really do in reality. One example is prayer. All genuine believers know the power of prayer. We also know the admonitions in Scripture to pray. But, we still don't always pray. Today, as we continue a sermon series through the book of Acts, Dr. Biles is preaching about the power that is available to the church through prayer.

The Bible tells us that a Christian is a servant and follower of Christ. We bear His name. It is both a picture from where we came and a pattern of what we are to look like. We are to look like Christ. The picture of the early church in Acts 11 is a picture of believers who were committed to Christ and His Word. As Dr. Biles concludes this message, we're also going to see that they were passionate about accomplishing His purpose. Take your Bibles and turn again with us to Acts 11 as Dr. Biles concludes a message entitled, "The First Christian Church".

Happy New Year! Dr. Biles is beginning this New Year with a new sermon series from the book of Acts. This series is about the beginning of the Church. It's a story of how God used the persecution of believers to spread the message of the Gospel. We want every believer to be encouraged that whatever the circumstances are that we face, the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ will endure, His church will prevail, and His will WILL be accomplished. Turn in your Bibles to Acts 11 and let's look at the story of The First Christian church.

This is the last episode of After God's Heart for 2024. It's been our great pleasure to study God's Word with you throughout 2024. We wish you a Happy New Year.

Today, Dr. Biles' focus is on the Wise Men. The Wise Men are sometimes the afterthought of the Christmas story. We know that they were not there when Jesus was born. We know that because when they found Him, He was in a house. They were not Jews, so they weren't the people we normally associate with people of faith. But, somehow the Spirit of God provoked in them a sense of obedience and they followed God's Divine Directions to find the Divine SON. We learn from them a lesson faith we ALL need today.

What God asked of Joseph was as profound and challenging as what He asked of Mary. And it required the same amount of faith. To be sure, she would carry the baby. But, Joseph would carry the family. He would carry the weight of the suspicions of people regarding the moral faithfulness of a young couple unmarried and pregnant. He would carry the responsibility of helping to care for a child that was both his and yet not his. He would shoulder the responsibility of teaching his young son, nurturing his young son, training his young son, and even struggling to understand this young son who ultimately created him! Joseph was a man of faith. It is a faith that you and I need to model today. Take you Bibles and open them again to Matthew 1 as Dr. Biles concludes a message entitled, Two Words, Two People, Two Names and Two Truths.

It's easy from our perspective 2000 years after the events of Jesus' birth to celebrate the wonder. It's more difficult for us to appreciate the faithfulness of Jesus' earthly parents. Mary was told she would give birth and Joseph told that the baby wasn't his. But both were faithful and pure before the Lord. Their obedience is the background to the story. The baby is the focus, but his earthly parents are the also central to the story. Today, Dr. Biles focuses our attention on Joseph - the earthly father of Jesus.