Takeaways from our Summer Worship Series Empowered for Jesus’ Mission
- God is personal – but God is not private. Our faith is personal, but our faith was never meant to be private or individual.
- In Acts we see how suddenly, radically, communal and public the disciple’s faith becomes.
- The power we receive from the Holy Spirit is to fulfill Jesus’ Mission not our own plans.
- As we unleash this power, we will be changed.
- Switched on by The Holy Spirit = Empowered to tell God’s story in both personal and life changing ways.
- How will you tell this story?
- The fruit/evidence of the Holy Spirit in action are good deeds that reflect a heart of compassion.
- Theses deeds of compassion create connections between us and people and God. The result is a transformed community.
- The disciples see an injustice and pattern their response after Jesus. They are prepared to give away whatever they have in order to break down barriers.
The Pattern:
- Notice
- Give away what you have to remove barriers
- Give an invitation to Join their community
- Build a relationship with them
- A beautiful temple gate became a barrier between God and people. What barriers exist in our congregation that we need to change?
- The disciples were “Bold” because they were more concerned about what God thinks than what other humans think.
- The disciples were “Bold” because they did not treasure their possessions or standing in the world. They had already gotten used to giving those things away.
- The disciples did not pray for the safe outcome. They prayed for Boldness instead.
- Pray for God to change part of you, so that you will better reflect or proclaim God’s Good News!
- Cultivating celebrity-hood/fame is dangerous. It allows destructive forces of sin, free reign in our lives.
- The fear of the Lord reminds us that God is more powerful than the stuff/people of this world.
- God will do what is necessary to gain hold of someone’s heart.
- God’s chosen instruments are not based on our lives or values
- Jesus’ followers see Saul as someone who needed to encounter Jesus.
- Chance encounters really aren’t chance encounters when the Holy Spirit is involved.
- The Power of The Holy Spirit is unleashed as we stay focused on Jesus’ Mission
- As the Holy Spirit moves, inevitably our lives and the world around us will be turned upside down. Because the world is not the way it is supposed to be, this is really our lives being turned right side up.