24 April 2016 - ENCS

About Acts chapter five, Pastor Joshua Harris did share with us today

The story and its interpretation are somewhat controversial, he did say

A Levite named Barnabas sold his property at the end of chapter four

He brought all of the money to the apostles, to share among the poor

Ananias also sold some property, per chapter five verses one and two

But he did not give it all to the apostles, unlike what Barnabas did do

Peter rebuked him for misleading the Holy Spirit and God, per verse five

Ananias immediately fell down and died, scaring those who were still alive

The closer one is to God, the harsher the consequences Josh did say

If a person's behaviour is errant or if God’s word they somehow disobey

Three hours later Ananias’ wife Sapphira lied to Peter about the price

He rebuked her and she dropped dead - unlikely headed to paradise

Great fear gripped the church and those who heard, per verse eleven

Highlighting the judgement of man pales versus the judgement of heaven

The apostles performed miraculous wonders, per verses twelve to sixteen

Many people were added to their number and many healings were seen

Josh reminded us that with ten thousand people in our life we will interact

So our life’s words and actions can make a large difference, that is a fact

By conforming to Christ’s image, we can each be carriers of God’s light

When we are most desperate and on our knees, God shows His might

Per John chapter fifteen, the Lord prunes us in order to help us grow

He gives us talents, gifts, and the Spirit to help others, friend and foe

The jealous Pharisees then arrested the apostles, per verse seventeen

Angels let them out of jail and at the temple the apostles were again seen

They were arrested again and the high priest told them not to preach

But Peter once again said that the gospel to the masses had to reach

Gamaliel urged the council not to kill the apostles, per verse thirty eight

Implying that doing so had no upside but on the downside, a bad fate

For if God was behind the apostles’ plan, nothing would thwart them

Beyond knowing God intellectually, we must know Jesus of Bethlehem

The apostles were nonetheless beaten, but this caused them to celebrate

As it showed they were worthy of suffering as Jesus’ word they did propagate

So they kept preaching and sharing the gospel, per the Great Commission

And nothing on this earth could prevent them from finishing this mission

17 April 2016 - ENCS

Continuing the series on Acts, Calvin Hong spoke on chapter four

He talked about “power, transformation, boldness” and even more

When the high priests heard something different had taken place

They quickly decided they had to get involved and show their face

After the healing, five thousand believers heard and were blessed

Per verse three, Peter and John the priests and guards did arrest

The Pharisees and Sadducees interrogated them the very next day

But Peter and John demonstrated true boldness, Calvin did say

They said that, in Jesus’ name, they had merely done a good deed

Per verse nine, they had helped the cripple who was clearly in need

The priests saw this boldness and could not put up any opposition

Because the Spirit brings about transformative words and action

The twelve disciples were not strong in faith, in Luke we were told

But after the Spirit came in Acts chapter two, they became very bold

Peter was reckless and denied Jesus thrice in one fateful night

But after being transformed, he became salt as well as a light

Every believer requires boldness in the face of unique adversity

Jesus faced adversity too so He sent us the Holy Spirit for free

The priests told them to be quiet about Jesus, per verse eighteen

But Peter and John had to share what they had heard and seen

Daniel and his friends were similarly bold with the Babylonian king

Despite threats, they refused to bow down to any mere earthling

In the same way, when we receive Jesus it changes our heart

And that enables us to be bold as we each do our unique part

When Peter and John returned to the rest, per verse twenty nine

The Holy Spirit filled the room and men, all the way down the line

All the disciples went and spoke the word of God with boldness

The Holy Spirit can likewise help us in situations filled with stress

We should know that boldness comes when we exercise our faith

Christians must act and speak consistently, Calvin did then sayeth

10 April 2016 - ENCS

Nate Curtis spoke about Acts chapter three, part of a historical narrative

The full book is focused on the Holy Spirit and how the apostles did live

In terms of world evangelism, it is clear that the church continued to grow

As chapters six, nine, twelve, sixteen, nineteen, and twenty eight show

The title of Nate’s sermon - and the entire service - was “Power to Heal”

Peter instructed the cripple to walk where before he could not even kneel

Peter refused to take any credit, as he had merely invoked Jesus’ name

Every time a miracle occurred, the disciples' responses were the same

Peter reminded the people of what they did to Jesus, who was heaven sent

He continued in strong words, instructing the people to immediately repent

This message was seemingly delivered every time Peter had an opportunity

We should do the same, for per Acts one it is every follower’s responsibility

Returning to the concept of healing by God, it is true that He will intervene

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, into real lives and stories real healing is seen

And when we hear about such heavenly healings that are obviously great

We should share the testimony with many others and of course celebrate

Nate pointed out that Peter was not well-educated or seemingly qualified

On Jesus' last night, his relationship with Jesus Peter three times denied

Yet because he believed in Jesus, Peter could invoke his healing power

Similarly, our God can use us to fulfil His plan on any given day or hour

Throughout the Bible, God used people with all sorts of sordid backgrounds

Such as  Rahab the prostitute and David whose sin at times knew no bounds

He can therefore use any of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth

As such, it is important to remember that each of us has significant worth

But Nate then asked whether our relationship with Jesus is evident to others

Or whether we keep it hidden except from our Christian sisters and brothers

For if we want to help others by invoking Jesus’ name to heal any malady

Our love for Christ and our faith must be visible for everyone else to see

3 April 2016 - ENCS

Jesus told His disciples, per Acts chapter one verses four and five

That they should not leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit did arrive

The disciples were confused, as their words made clear in verse six

As they still expected an earthly kingdom Jesus to return to and fix

Jesus told the disciples that only God knew the timing, per verse seven

And they would receive power from the Holy Spirit coming from heaven

For without that Spirit, in our own strength we can not God fully serve

But upon receiving the Spirit, we can handle any challenge or curve

Angels came to the disciples after Jesus was taken back up to heaven

To remind the disciples what they should do, according to verse eleven

As a result of this message, all the disciples were together in one accord

For the power of the words from the angels were too strong to be ignored

At the start of Acts chapter two, before all of the disciples’ hope was lost

The Holy Spirit then came into their presence on the day called Pentecost

Fire appeared to each one of them and in tongues they all began to speak

This was a sign of God’s power, which allows us to be witnesses not meek

Devout men from other nations heard the disciples speaking their dialect

According to verses five to thirteen, this empowerment was only one aspect

Of course, these actions and tongues led some of the others to mock

That is a reminder that there is a cost to being a disciple in Jesus’ flock 

The uneducated Peter then stood up and to the book of Joel did refer

God had planned and communicated this event, that was easy to infer

Peter also referenced David’s words, in verses twenty two to twenty eight

Which should remind us of God’s power and planning which are so great

From verse thirty six onwards, Peter then delivered the strongest part

That the listeners has effectively crucified Jesus, this cut to their heart

He instructed them to repent and be baptised, for their sins’ forgiveness

This offer is open to all of us, to escape this generation’s sinful mess