One of the most moving and passionate scenes in all of Scripture took place at a seaport town when the Apostle Paul, about to board a ship to Jerusalem where he expected to suffer, summoned some of his closest friends to bid them farewell. Just before his ominous journey, he and his disciples knelt down and prayed together, wept, and embraced one other. And then these men kissed him, their spiritual father.
Few of us know the depths of love that these men experienced with one another. Their relationships were shaped by the kingdom of God. This is the way it’s supposed to be! But, sadly, many of us have learned to keep a “healthy distance” between ourselves and other believers (which is actually unhealthy). We expect that, eventually, something will go awry, that what is good and beneficial in the church will be swallowed up by something sinister or, at least, some disappointment.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! God has called his church to be a place of deep camaraderie and enduring friendship as we come together in faith to advance his kingdom.
A Spiritual Ecosystem
09/26/2021
September 26, 2021 • Acts 20:17–38
Righteousness, Self-control & Judgment, Part 3
November 14, 2021 • Acts 28
Week 37: Unstoppable Kingdom - A Journey Through Acts November 14 - Acts 28 Over the last couple of weeks in our series on the Book of Acts, we’ve slowed down a bit to sharpen our focus on transformation. Specifically, we acknowledge that God loves us, and out of that love, calls us to repent (aka a change of mind/heart ultimately leading to a change in our behavior). He does this because he doesn’t want to leave us where we are – in our sin, our addiction, our selfishness, our paranoia, and our pain. But there’s another reason he calls us to repent. He desires to use us – in our gradually transforming state – to bring healing to those around us… because he loves them, too! So there’s a lot at stake. The million-dollar question, of course, is how to engage this transformation. And that’s what we’re talking about this Sunday in our final session on the Book of Acts.
Righteousness, Self-control & Judgment, Part 2
November 7, 2021 • Galatians 5:19–25
Week 36: Unstoppable Kingdom - A Journey Through Acts Nov 7, 2021 - Galatians 5:19-25 As we’ve studied the Book of Acts this year, many of us have noticed a contrast between the early church and our own. This has led to a longing for God to do among us what he did so many centuries ago — the manifestation of his power, his deliverance, the transformation of our world, and a church singularly devoted to the glory of Jesus and the good of all people. Curiously, these primitive believers didn’t have all the advantages we have today: countless bible studies and curricula, conferences, worship music, and the like. What they did have was a sincere faith and simple (not shallow) practices that guided their lives. What if we who have been rescued by Jesus adopted those same practices?