Passage: Acts 1:14
Notes
Is Jesus worth it?
Will we find people in the 21st Century whose lives reflect the conviction that an Extraordinary God still uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things?
I really believe God wants to use a community of nobodies who know Somebody to make an eternal difference in the lives of those around us!
- Pray!
- Don’t go it alone!
- Be with Jesus!
- Say yes to the Spirit of God!
- Make it about the Kingdom of God!
The story is not over… far from it. The amazing news is that you are part of the ongoing story of God. The 28 Chapters in Acts remind us that an Extraordinary God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things… to change the world. Use this journal to write down stories of God at work in your life… stories of God at work in the lives of those around you – and then share those stories. Allow these stories to be used by God to remind you that He is not done with you – He has more of Him that He wants you to see. Never forget that You Are 29!
Verses
{All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Acts 1:14 NLT}{All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them… Acts 4:32-34 NLT}{The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 NLT}{And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!” All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?” Acts 9:20-21 NLT}{Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NLT}{And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit… Acts 2:4 NLT}{For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him. Acts 28:30-31 NLT}{So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God! Acts 5:38-39 NLT}
Quotes
David Platt : We can rest content in casual, convenient, cozy, comfortable Christian lives as we cling to the safety and security this world offers. We can coast through a cultural landscape marked by materialism, characterized by consumerism, and engulfed in individualism. We can assent to the spirit of this age and chose to spend our lives seeking worldly pleasures, acquiring worldly possessions, and pursuing worldly ambitions – all under the banner of cultural Christianity. Or, we can decide that Jesus is worth more than this. (Radical... Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream); Michael Green : Three crucial decades in world history. That is all it took. In the years between AD 33 and 64 a new movement was born. In those thirty years it got sufficient growth and credibility to become the largest religion the world has ever seen and to change the lives of hundreds of millions of people. It spread into every corner of the globe and has more than two billion presumed adherents. It has had an indelible impact on civilization, on culture, on education, on medicine, on freedom and of course on the lives of countless people worldwide. And the seedbed for all of this, the time when it took decisive root, was in these three decades. It all began with a dozen men and a handful of women: and then the Sprit came. (30 Years That Changed The World); Michael Green : If those first Christians could accomplish so much in so short a space of time with such skimpy resources, what might the worldwide church today accomplish if only it were prepared for the vision, the faith and the dedication they exhibited? (30 Years That Changed The World); Tim Chester & Steve Timmis : I am a person-in-community. I cannot be who I am without regard to other people. By becoming a Christian, I belong to God and I belong to my brothers and sisters. It is not that I belong to God and then make a decision to join a local church. My being in Christ means being in Christ with those others who are in Christ. If the church is the body of Christ, then we should not live as disembodied Christians. (Total Church); Tim Chester & Steve Timmis : To be a community of light from which the light of Christ will emanate we need to be intentional in our relationships – to love the unlovely, forgive the unforgiveable, embrace the repulsive, include the awkward, and accept the weird. (Total Church); D.L. Moody : No one can sum up all God is able to accomplish through one solitary life, wholly yielded, adjusted, and obedient to Him. (); Sam Storms : God doesn't simply give us His Spirit, He gives the Spirit "into" us. Not just "to" us, but by an act of what can only be called intimate impartation His Spirit resides within to encourage, energize, and enable. The Spirit isn't just here, He's inside. (); Charles Spurgeon : Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind or chariots without steeds. Like branches without sap, we are withered. Like coals without fire, we are useless. (Sermons); C.S. Lewis : If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. (Mere Christianity);
