As we get ready to jump back into the book of Acts this summer, let's review what we have studied so far...
We started out with the resurrected Jesus promising the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples before ascending into heaven. Then, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in an extraordinary way and empowered Peter to preach a powerful sermon where many people were saved. And the Church was born. As the early church began to grow in Jerusalem, we followed their journey as opposition came against them from the Jewish religious leaders. Even with challenges and persecution increasing, the Lord continued to grow the church in Jerusalem and we wrapped up our study in Acts 7 with the stoning of Stephen.
Over the next several chapters, we will begin to witness the spread of the Gospel as persecution begins to force Christians to move outside the walls of Jerusalem. We will learn more about the man named Saul, the great persecutor of the church, and his transformational encounter with Jesus. We will also see the Holy Spirit come upon Gentiles (non-Jews) and we will walk with the disciples as they begin to more fully realize the magnitude of what the good news of Jesus means for the entire world, not just the people of Israel. Then with Saul, who would soon be "Paul", now championing the cause of Christ and boldly proclaiming Jesus to anyone who would hear, we will be encouraged and challenged as we learn about how the Gospel continues to advance during the 1st century.
Join us on Sunday mornings at 9am or 10:45am during our morning worship services and get involved in a community group as well this summer as we continue to discuss our way through the book of Acts!