8 May 2016 - ENCS

About Stephen in Acts six and seven, Pastor Josh Harris did speak
Stephen was filled with grace and compassion but was not meek
His signs, wonders, and healings led religious leaders to him attack
In these disputes, wisdom and discernment Stephen did not lack
The religious leaders then instigated others to bear false witness
Stephen’s face remained angelic even when facing such a mess
This is consistent with First Peter chapter four, Josh did highlight
If insulted in Jesus’ name, we are blessed with His glory and might

For much of chapter seven, the Old Testament Stephen did recount
Highlighting the Israelites’ oft rebellion against God was paramount
Stephen then told the leaders that they were similarly stiff-necked
Saying that they did not obey the law that angels had put into effect
Asking “was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?"
The leaders were furious although his facts they could not dispute

So they dragged Stephen to be stoned to death outside the city gate
But through it all, Stephen was still filled with God’s love, not any hate
With his last words, he asked God not to punish them for their sin
If he had not done so, they would have taken judgement on the chin
This would have probably changed the course of the Christian faith
For Saul (who became Paul) would not have survived, Josh did saith

15 May 2016 - ENCS

Pastor Josh tonight continued the series on the book of Acts

About Philip and Simon, chapter eight contains lots of facts

The chapter starts with the persecution of the church by Saul

Over the new believers, this of course cast quite a serious pall

But the story of the church was far from over, Josh did say

We should remember this when we face a challenging day

Those scattered preached the gospel wherever they went

To a town in Samaria, Philip was effectively by God sent

Starting in verse nine, about Simon the Sorcerer we do read

He boasted that he was great because of many a magic deed

But the Samarian people were baptised when Philip came along

Even Simon acknowledged that the miracles were very strong

Into the new believers, the Holy Spirit Peter and John did confer

To get the power of Peter and John, lots of money Simon did offer

Peter sharply rebuked Simon and told him to repent immediately

Peter and John preached to many, in verse twenty five we do see

An angel of the Lord then told Philip to take the southern desert road

In a chariot reading Isaiah, an Ethiopian eunuch official then showed

About the passage on the lamb being slaughtered, Philip did explain

We too should have biblical knowledge to share about God’s reign

After getting baptised, the eunuch rejoiced and went on his way

He brought Christianity to Ethiopia that has lasted until this day

This highlights the importance of even one life, Josh did point out

We should take advantage of every opportunity, without a doubt

Philip kept preaching everywhere, refusing to take a proverbial bow

For what matters is not what we did in the past, but what we do now

1 May 2016 - ENCS

Joy Talavera today spoke on “Getting Involved Is An Opportunity”

On the screen, verses one to seven of Acts chapter six we did see

The Hellenists complained that their widows were not getting fed

The Twelve rightly wanted to keep spreading the word, Luke said

So to serve the group, they selected a wise and Spirit-filled seven

Philip, Procurus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmaeus, Nicolas, and Stephen

First, getting involved is an opportunity to be part of a community

Language differences even led the Hellenists to worship separately

But the Bible says that Christianity is for every tongue and race

So in the church, for everyone there is more than enough space

If we speak our native tongue in a mixed group, we tend to isolate

And thus lose the opportunity to from others knowledge inculcate

In terms of ENCS, that means speaking English when we mix

That is consistent with the core message from Acts chapter six

The Hellenists took their complaint to the leaders, Joy also did note

This is more effective and productive than looking for a scapegoat

Second, getting involved is an opportunity to be part of a solution

Four Hellenists were among the seven chosen for food distribution

Implying that they did more than just note an issue and complain

Joy said that perhaps our complaints indicate our service domain

Getting involved is an opportunity to be part of something bigger

The Hellenists did not allow the Twelve's reaction to be a trigger

For the Twelve were focused on the core activity of the group

They did not want to be distracted by serving bread and soup

But they recognised that the issue raised needed to be solved

And it gave others with different gifts the chance to be involved

Each of us has unique gifts and talents enabling us to serve well

And together as a body of Christ, we are even stronger, Joy did tell

Nonetheless, we should always remember the Great Commission

Because all of our actions should help bring God’s plans to fruition

In summary, Joy basically said that we should be involved with rigour

So we can be part of a community, a solution, and something bigger

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