from Acts 2:1-21
w/ Vern Collins
Tag: Acts 2
(July 4, 2021) “Living Revival: Growing Spiritually”
from Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 85:6 reads, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”
This longing undergirds our series and this season of revival we are asking God to bring. What is hindering your rejoicing? What is getting in the way of you living completely surrendered to the love and presence of God in your life? Where do you need revival?
We are all being formed by someone or some thing…the question is: Who or what are you allowing to form you? Imagine a life ordered toward following Jesus, being loved by Him, learning from Him, and modeling your life after His…when we choose to do that we find that the thing we are growing into is Christ. And everything changes as a result.
w/ Vern Collins
*Including invitation to Communion
(May 23, 2021) Pentecost- “Come Holy Spirit”
from Acts 2:1-21
What might be possible in your life and in the life of the church is you saw the gift of the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost as vital today as it was to those on whom the Spirit fell when the church came into existence?
w/ Vern Collins
(September 13, 2020) “Reimagining Church: Creating the Gathered Community”
from Acts 2:42-47 and Hebrews 10:19-25
Does God love each of us individually? Absolutely. So when we say something like, “my relationship with God is personal,” that’s not incorrect…however, God’s intention is that our relationship with Him was never meant to be PRIVATE. The catalyst for the fullness of life that Jesus promises is found in connection to the community that is the Body of Christ-the church. Now more than ever, we need to consider our level of connection to those who can encourage and walk with us in our journey with Christ.
w/ Vern Collins
(September 6, 2020) “Reimagining Church: Worship”
from Acts 2:42-47, 1Corinthians 10:14-17, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
When we examine the worship practices of the early church, we find that there is little difference between the elements of worship used then and the ones we use today…and yet, it seems that the early church was so ignited in their love for Jesus and their commitment to the sharing of the Gospel that we have to wonder where the difference lies…
It is possible that it is not the power of the Holy Spirit, or the power of the Resurrected Jesus that has diminished, but that we might be treating worship like an add-on as opposed to the lifeline for our walk with Christ?
w/ Vern Collins
(September 1, 2019) “Ambitious Church: Discipleship”
from Colossians 3:16-17, Acts 2:42-47
While the word “disciple” appears over 260 times in the New Testament, the word “discipleship” does not appear once.
Is discipleship meant to describe the process of your own journey in following Jesus or is it meant to describe the work of making disciples? Well, simply put-the answer is-YES.
Throughout the New Testament…even throughout all of Scripture we learn that the act of following God’s leading in our lives is not a straight line…today we would say that it is not a “program” that one follows…but we can say that it is a PROCESS.
Where is Jesus calling you to take YOUR next step in the journey of following Him? Is it in your own relationship with Him? Is it in the work of inviting others into life with Jesus? Ask Him…
w/ Vern Collins
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Our Ambitious Prayer for the church (adapted from Jonathan Leeman’s “18 Things to Pray for Your Church”)
Heavenly Father, as we seek to be a church that reflects the hope of Your Son, Jesus in this world, our prayer for this church is…
That it would grow in being distinct from the world in love and holiness, even as it engages outsiders.
That faithful elders would use Scripture to train members to do the work of ministry.
That a hunger for studying the Gospel would form among members so that they can guide and guard one another in it.
That a culture of discipling would form in which making disciples is viewed as an ordinary part of the Christian life.
That adult members work to disciple children and teenagers and not just leave the journey of discipleship to programming.
It is with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the Name of Jesus we ask these things, Amen.
“The Power of the Spirit to…” (Pentecost Sunday June 9, 2019)
from Acts 2
We tend to land in one of two places when it comes to the Holy Spirit…either you crave the “signs and wonders,” above other expressions of the move of God, or the idea of a Holy Spirit that is present and active just plain makes you nervous.
Acts 2 offers us, perhaps a new understanding of just what the role and work of the Spirit of God is in this world, and how we might be a part of that work by creating space for the Holy Spirit to move.
w/ Vern Collins
“Belonging: Making Time” (February 10, 2019)
from Acts 2:42-47
Somehow we have allowed ourselves to become convinced that busyness equals fruitfulness. The reality, however, is not that we are left admiring all that we’ve accomplished…rather, we are often left just trying to hang on. Though the invitation to a healthy rhythm and the command to rest, the truth is, many of us are simply committed to things we can’t readily drop or opt out of.
So rather than put off taking our next step in belonging…rather than waiting until we get through “this busy season” (which never seems to come)…what if we reimagined what it could look like to be connected….to BELONG to the Body of Christ? What if we allowed God to redefine how our time is spent?
w/ Vern Collins