9:00 a.m. “conversions in acts · 2017-01-05 · louise webster, leona willard, & sibyl...
TRANSCRIPT
“CONVERSIONS IN ACTS - 2” By Larry Yarber
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Jesus promised
that He would build His church. He also stated that the gates of hell, (Hades – the place of
departed souls, LY), would not stop Him. This means the church would not come into
existence before His death, burial, and resurrection. This is exactly what did happen. The
church was founded upon the earth on the first Pentecost after our Lord’s resurrection. The
Bible says, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
was added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). The scripture also states
that they were, “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to
the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). A person cannot be added to a non-
existent institution, thus the church was established upon the earth the first Pentecost after
our Lord’s resurrection (Acts 2:1 ff).
The building of the church or kingdom is an ongoing process. This fact is implied in
Paul’s statement to those at Corinth, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are
God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (1st Corinthians 3:9). The members of the
church are God’s building, not the physical structure where the church meets. Every time
someone obeys the gospel, the building grows. Peter said that the church of God consist of
living stones, not dead timbers or inanimate rock, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built
up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ” (1st Peter 2:5). Construction of this spiritual house takes place daily
through the preaching and teaching of the gospel. Thus, Paul warned those at Corinth to
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Sunday L
essons
Jan
uary
1,
2017
Sun
day A
M C
lass
“Th
e F
ive P
illa
rs o
f Is
lam”
Sun
day A
M S
erm
on
“Con
vers
ion
s I
n A
cts
– P
art
2”
“Sunday P
M S
erm
on
“Goin
g F
orw
ard
By L
ookin
g B
ack”
Wedn
esday P
M C
lass 1
/4/17
“Presbyterianism”
God
’s P
lan
of
Salv
ati
on
H
ear:
R
om
ans
10:1
7;
Mat
t. 7
:24, 25
Beli
eve:
Heb
rew
11:6
; Jo
hn 3
:16
Rep
en
t: A
cts
2:3
8, A
cts
17:3
0;
Luke1
3:3
Con
fess
: M
atth
ew 1
0:3
2;
Act
s 8:3
6, 37
Be B
ap
tize
d:
Act
s 22:1
6;
1 P
et. 3:2
0, 21;
Mar
k 1
6:1
6;
Gal
atia
ns
3:2
7
Rem
ain
Fait
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l: R
evel
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:10
EL
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Mic
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Ch
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T
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573-7
14-2
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Cla
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4
17-2
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Hen
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417-2
56-2
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Cli
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417-2
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991
Lan
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hip
ley
417-2
93-9
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Bil
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417-2
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Aa
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417-2
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Jef
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417
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inis
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Larr
y Y
arb
er
Off
ice:
417-2
47-0
017
larr
yyarb
er@
cen
tury
tel.
net
yarb
erld
@gm
ail
.com
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ver
y H
ack
ney
O
ffic
e: 9
01-7
21
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Volume 31, No. 1, January 1, 2017
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Please check the copy that is on the foyer
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**As they mourn and heal, please pray for
the family of Loeta Barr
**Leona Morrison was taken back to OMC
on Thursday of last week with low blood
pressure. She was being moved to a regular
room on Friday.
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May, July, October and December are still open if you can help with this
work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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NEXT SUNDAY, January 8, 2017.
Fill in the Blank: Matthew
Blessed are they that _____________; for they shall be
____________________.
Last Week’s Answer: they; commandments; right; tree;
in; gates
Horse Trader Articles
12/28/2016
Understanding the Message of the
Prophets “Micah – Walking in the
Spirit of Falsehood” By Larry Yarber
“Will The New Year 2017 Be
“Business As Usual?” By Ivie Powell
January BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
This Week 1 - Deborah Martin
3 - Avery Hackney, Randi Russell
4 - Chris Green, Kim Green, Amber Redburn
5 - Louanna Green, Ron Rainwater
7 - Judy Hawkins
Timothy and Tabitha
▪ This Afternoon, January 1st
▪ Small Auditorium
▪ Ages 12 and up
▪ 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
************************
▪ Sunday, January 15th.
▪ Small Auditorium
▪ Ages 11 and under
▪ 5:00 – 5:30
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they
shall see God”
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (Vs.14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus.”
January’s Dinner
take heed how they built thereon, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me,
as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let
every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1st Corinthians 3:10-11).When the end comes, then
the Son will deliver His kingdom/church back to the Father, “Then cometh the end, when
he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put
down all rule and all authority and power” (1st Corinthians 15:24). We are helping the
Lord build this kingdom, today.
In our first lesson on “Conversions in Acts”, we noted how those on Pentecost were
saved (Acts 2:37-38), those of Samaria (Acts 8:5 v12), the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:35-
38), Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:18 22:16), Lydia (Acts 16:14-15), and the Philippian Jailor
(Acts 16:29-33). Baptism is the one constant in all of these conversions. We resume this
narrative now by looking at the conversion of those in Corinth. Upon the preaching of Paul
to this city, the Bible says, “And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the
Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized”
(Acts 18:8). Shortly thereafter, Apollos came to Ephesus and baptized many according to
John’s baptism, “This man was instructed in the way of the lord; and being fervent in the
spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of
John” (Acts 18:25). Even though John’s baptism had some connection to remission of sins,
it was now an outdated and unacceptable baptism, “John did baptize in the wilderness, and
preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4), and, “Then said
Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they
should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus” (Acts 19:4).
Paul rehearses his conversion in Acts, chapter twenty-two, but since we already noted this
earlier, we will not examine this passage again at this time. In all these conversions we are
told that the people heard, believed, repented, confessed, and were baptized. Only one of
the five steps listed above appears in the record of all these conversions. Yet it is the one
the religious world rejects as necessary for salvation. That step is baptism. One can only
wonder why the other four steps mentioned are accepted by the religious world as
necessary for salvation and in the same breath deny the necessity of the command to be
baptized. Have you been saved in the same manner as those whom we have read about
above in the “Conversions in Acts”?
Going Forward by Looking Back
By Avery Hackney
Another year is ready to be put in the record books and with this
changing of the calendar; we have the opportunity to take a look at all
that has happened in the recent year.
2016 has been a year full of laughing, crying, prosperity, and
some loss. Many people take this time to make “New Year
Resolutions”. Some pledge to eat healthier than the year
before, some pledge to handle finances better, others simply pledge to spend more
time with family. All of these changes have the potential of being great, but the
only problem is we do not always keep these resolutions. What if we made
spiritual resolutions and helped one another keep them throughout the year?
The first thing that must be done in making and keeping spiritual resolutions is
admitting you are imperfect and have areas that need work. This can sometimes
be harder than it seems, but it can be done. When we make a resolution to eat
healthier, it is only after we have noticed and accepted the fact we have been
eating unhealthy. So why is it so hard for us to admit we have areas that need
work in our spiritual lives?
Swallowing our pride is the number one key in changing spiritual neglect. Take a
few moments to think about your spiritual life in the past year: did you grow closer
to God or further away? To be honest there is no “middle ground.” You do not
simply stay the same, you either grew closer to God or you went the opposite
direction.
After coming to the realization that there will always be areas we can improve in
our spiritual lives, it is now our job to identify those and make the change. It could
be that your prayer life is suffering. It could be that you need to be more
evangelistic. Or it could simply be that you need to be more loving and hospitable
towards your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you do not know of an area where
you could make improvements - ask those who know you best, such as your close
friends and family members. Now comes the most important part of making
spiritual resolutions: KEEPING THEM. A recent study showed that only 46% of
people who make New Year resolutions will keep them 6 months into the year and
Conversions in Acts – Part 2
even fewer keep them after 6 months. You may be thinking, “I have tried but it is
just so hard!” You are in luck my friend; the Lord has given us the opportunity to be
part of His family. This means we have an amazing support system. If you want to
be more prayerful, you
can go to a brother or sister and ask them to hold you accountable and frequently
ask you about your prayer life to help you stay on top of your goal. If you want to
be more evangelistic, you can ask a brother or sister to help you conduct a Bible
study. Little things like these can help more than you know. In fact, studies show
that people who explicitly state their New Year resolutions are 10 times more likely
to keep their resolutions than people who make them privately.
With all of that being said, we can see that a spiritual resolution is not an
impossible task, it just takes persistence, prayer and pillars of support. You may be
thinking, “I understand a spiritual resolution can be achieved, but do we see this in
the Bible?”
While the words “New Year Resolution” are never explicitly found in scripture, the
principle can, in fact, be found. The major difference in these “spiritual resolutions”
we see in scripture and the ones we see in today’s society is the frequency. While
we usually only think about change once a year, the Bible calls us to strive for a
closer walk with God each day. One of my favorite scriptures is Luke 9:23 which
states “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
The word I want us to focus on in this verse is the word “Daily.” That means that
each moment we have on this earth, we need to be trying to take up our cross and
live closer to God. We also see people like Paul in scripture looking back at their
past life in order to live closer to God. This does not mean that we need to dwell in
the past but rather look to the past to grow and then forget about it so that we can
continuing pressing towards the mark. Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count
not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, (Vs.14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus.” May God bless you in your efforts to walk closer with Him.
Sin – What’s It Worth?
SIN WILL TAKE YOU FURTHER THAN YOU WANT TO GO.
Will cost you more than you want to pay.
Will hurt more people than you could imagine it will hurt.
Will leave you cold, questioning, and cynical.
Will leave you feeling empty, dirty, and worthless,
lie to you, deceive you, and hurt you.
Will take you for all you’re worth.
Will produce hurting, haunting guilt that will make you distrust others
Will produce fear.
Will separate you from all that is good, right, and beautiful.
Will bring short-lived temporary satisfaction of carnal wants that will be gone as
soon as the sin cools.
As you grow old will make you cold, distant, ugly, cynical, and full of hate.
Will steal your joy, your peace, and your friends, but most of all will damn your soul
to eternity in hell.
GOD WILL LOVE YOU DEEPER THAN YOU’VE EVER BEEN LOVED.
Will meet needs you don’t even realize you have.
Will be there when your worst enemy tries to slay you or your best
friend betrays you.
Will answer questions you believed never had answers.
Will leave you fulfilled, cleansed, and valuable.
Will tell you the truth, never lead you into temptation, and hold you
Will love you even when you feel worthless.
Dale Jenkins