A Home Church Ministry
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. The beloved apostle brings his epistle to its apex by identifying what differentiates the children of God from the children of the Devil and confronting the gnostic dichotomy between “sin” and “lawlessness” that many believed made it possible to “be righteous” while living in …
1 John 3:14 (CSB) — 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. James 2:14–17 (CSB) — 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have …
Continue reading "“Why’s My Faith So Dead?” – 1st John 3:14 & James 2:14-17"
Greed has gone largely unaddressed in Western Christianity because it has such a powerful grip on our culture and it can sometimes be difficult to identify, but we have protected greed by veiling it in heavy cloaks of subjectivity so that no one can confront it without being condemned as “judgmental” and “divisive”. Indeed, this …
The structure of this section contains the following features: Introduction: The Constitutive Events of the Christian Mission (Acts 1:1–2:41) Part I: The Christian Mission to the Jewish World (Acts 2:42–12:24) Panel 1—The Earliest Days of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 2:42–6:7) Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), …
Continue reading "NOTES On The Acts of the Apostles: 2:14-47"
INTRODUCTION All of us are bringing our burdens, both spiritual and physical, from this week to our worship services: Some of you have faced powerful temptations Some of you have faced health issues Some of you have faced overwhelmingly busy schedules But let me encourage you to surrender those burdens to Christ and let him …
Continue reading "What Must We Do To Be Saved? Acts 2:14-47"
Matthew 12:36–37 (CSB) — 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Why does God care about what comes out of our mouths? In light …
Verse 3: Hope Purifies And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. John’s conclusion to these verses (2:28– 3:2) is that our hope in Christ must compel us to live our lives on this earth in utmost purity as we await his glorious return! “Everyone who has this …
Verse 2: Our Resurrected Bodies Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. The joy of being God’s children raises the question about both our nature and …
The Acts of the Apostles: Notes Notes by David Istre WORKS CITED Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Acts (Martin, F., & Smith, E.) Authentic Christianity: Acts (Martyn Lloyd-Jones) College Press NIV Commentary: Acts (Gaertner, D.) Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Acts (Longenecker, R. N.) New Bible commentary (Gempf, C.) New American Commentary: Acts (Polhill, J. B.) …
An Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:1-2:13, The Holy Spirit Continues Everything Jesus Began to Do and to Teach INTRODUCTION Luke 1:1–4 (CSB) — 1 Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as the original eyewitnesses and servants …
