Welcome to Sunday Online!
Today we're continuing a series on the book of Acts called LIMITLESS.
In the book of Acts, we’re going to see the gospel spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, just as Jesus said it would, and despite a number of obstacles and trials that come along nothing can stop it. We’re going to see the gospel spread to all different kinds of people, inviting them all into God’s kingdom. We’re going to see the power of the Holy Spirit, who enables people to see the glory of Jesus.
We’re going to see that the gospel is limitless — It’s for everyone!
The spread of the gospel is limitless — Nothing can stop it and nowhere is too far for it to go.
The Holy Spirit is limitless — Bringing power, healing and faith to everyone who believes the good news.
The power of the gospel is limitless — Bringing new life to the ends of the earth.
We’re hoping this series will give us greater confidence to know that God is at work in us and at work in our city and region. There is no one beyond the reach of the gospel, so we can have confidence to bear witness to Jesus and his resurrection.
There is also a call to consider the resurrection for ourselves. The main characters in each chapter stake their lives on the truth of the resurrection. Rather than a comfortable existence, this book should shake us and provoke us to consider our own walk with Jesus. Are we prepared to stake our lives on it, to the point of expecting and rejoicing in suffering for the name of Jesus?
It is our hope that we’ll press on to grow as disciples who sacrifice, serve and speak for the sake of others, to grow the renown of the gospel and to grow the church, all for the glory of Jesus. We can only do this, under God, in the power of His Spirit, so will you join us in praying that God’s Spirit would be powerfully at work in us.
Prayer Points
Here are some prayer points that you might like to use with your family or on the phone with others:
- Praise Jesus because he has done everything necessary for us to be saved, fulfilling all God’s promises to his people and guaranteeing we’ll have everything we need while we wait for his kingdom.
- Ask for God’s help to place our confidence in Jesus to provide and ask Him to guard our hearts against selfishness and pride as we serve others.
- Keep praying that God would give 8000 new people to Jesus in our generation in Rockhampton & Gracemere for a start, because Jesus is worthy of praise and because he offers his salvation to everyone. We’ll pray for opportunities every day, every where we go, to speak to every one about Jesus.
- Pray for our mission partner, Cam, that God would provide all he needs as his people generously share and grow as his disciples.
The Bible reading for today is Acts 6v1-15.
Acts 6v1-15 — New International Version (NIV) from biblegateway.com
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy placeand against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Family Bible Time
Please check out the curriculum over at The Gospel Project by LifeWay.
This is a combination of their resources and ours, including videos and pdfs.
You will need to register for an account, but it's worth it, because we'll be using a number of resources from The Gospel Project during this seres.
SONGS FOR REFLECTION DURING OUR ACTS SERIES
Here are some songs to encourage you during the day. If you go to youtube you can shuffle the music and subscribe to rockypc MUSIC PLAYLISTS
In case you've been having trouble finding it, here's a link to the channel — click the subscribe button.