Acts 6:1-15

Read: Acts 6:1-15  Even in the early church there were problems. Already we’ve seen at least the potential for trouble in the selfish act of Ananias and Sapphria. There will always be people who love the spotlight and will do anything to make themselves look good. Beware of such people and beware of becoming like [...]

Acts 5:1-42

Read: Acts 5:1-42 Notice at the end of chapter four, Barnabas gives money he made off the sale of his property to the apostles. We aren’t told the motives behind Barnabas’ action, but contrast his action to what happens at the outset of chapter five. Ananias, his name means “Yahweh” is gracious and Sapphira, her name [...]

maintenance vs. mission

Found this article on William Willimon’s blog. He has some good thoughts about maintenance vs. mission thinking.
MAINTENANCE OR MISSION?
1. In measuring the effectiveness, the maintenance congregation asks, “How many pastoral visits are being made? The mission congregation asks, “How many disciples are being made?”
2. When contemplating some form of change, the maintenance congregation says, “If [...]

Acts 4:32-37

Daily Devotional
Read Acts 4:32-37
 
Look at the world we live in. What do you see? I see rampant consumerism. I see people believing the lie that life is all about them. I see a world that loves to accumulate more stuff than they do help people who have great needs. The little picture Luke gives us [...]

Acts 4:23-31

Read Acts 4:23-31
 
How often do you pray? Are there times in your life when you seem to pray more regularly? By now, one thing you should have stuck in your mind is that the early church was a praying church. After the release of John and Peter from jail they reported to the rest of [...]

Acts 4:13-22

Read Acts 4:13-22
 
Have you ever wondered if God could use someone like you? Maybe you’ve even doubted that God loves you too? Think for a moment about those people in Scripture whom God has used…Abraham was prone to telling lies to protect his life. Jacob was a deceiver too. Moses was a stuttering doubter. Samson [...]

Beyond the gimmicks

I live in an area with a multitude of church choices. We have almost every variety. We are a rural/city smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt. I think we could pass sometimes as the belt buckle.
Our youth group isn’t the largest in town or in our county for that matter. We don’t [...]

Acts 4:1-12

Read Acts 4:1-12
The words of the hymn go something like this, “our hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus Christ and his righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but holy lean on Jesus name.” This song is written by someone convinced that Jesus is the hope of the world. This song writer [...]

Read: Acts 3:11-26

Read: Acts 3:11-26
 
Peter and John draw a crowd because of the healing of the crippled man. How easy it would be to take the credit for such an act. If ever Peter or John ever wanted to be in the limelight now could have been their chance at receiving all the glory. But they don’t. [...]

Thanks to all who prayed

Thanks to all of you who read my post the other day about being swamped with a “to do list” the size of Everest. I made it through the weekend and appreciate your prayers.