Acts 8:4-8; 35-40
4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Concerned To Care
February 18, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
Luke 15:8-10 (ASV)
8 Or what woman having ten [a]pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Compelled To Love
February 11, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
1 John 3:10-24 (MEV)
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Whoever does not live in righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: We should love one another,
12 not like Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s works were righteous.
13 Do not marvel, my brothers, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love his brother remains in death.
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
16 By this we know the love of God: that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
17 Whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, but closes his heart of compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him?
18 My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
19 By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall reassure our hearts before Him.
20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows everything.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, then we have confidence before God.
22 And whatever we ask, we will receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He commanded us.
24 Now the one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He remains in us, through the Spirit whom He has given us.
Commissioned To Serve
February 4, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
Jeremiah 1:4-10 (KJV)
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Consumed To Give
January 28, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
2 Corinthians 8:10-15 (NTE)
10 Let me give you my serious advice on this: you began to be keen on this idea, and to start putting it into practice, a whole year ago; it will now be greatly to your advantage
11 to complete your performance of it. If you do so, your finishing the job as far as you are able will be on the same scale as your eagerness in wanting to do it.
12 If the eagerness is there, you see, the deed is acceptable, according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
13 The point is not, after all, that others should get off lightly and you be made to suffer, but rather that there should be equality.
14 At the present time your abundance can contribute to their lack, so that their abundance can contribute to your lack. That’s what makes for equality,
15 just as the Bible says: ‘The one who had much had nothing to spare, and the one who had little didn’t go short.’
Connected To Grow
January 21, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
Corinthians 12:20-26 (NLT)
20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.
23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen,
24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.
26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
Committed To Worship
January 14, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
John 4:19-26 (NIV)
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Convicted To Live
January 7, 2018 • Dr. Stan Welch
Titus 2:11-15 (NASB)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
