Moving Fellow Christians Forward
Each of us must learn to biblically strengthen our fellow Christians in their faith, knowing how to encourage them and to wisely correct them when needed.
Series: Acts
Verse by Verse
August 25, 2019
• Acts 1-28
Verse by verse exposition of the book of Acts
Understanding the Work of the Holy Spirit
Acts 19:1-12
Mature Christians must be discerning to rightly understand the biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit’s person and works, both past and present.
Discerning the Work of Demons
Acts 19:13-20
Mature Christians understand the spiritual battle we are in, always assured of the enemy’s defeat and the foolishness of trusting in anything less than the Sovereign Christ.
Fully Aware of Our Society’s Idolatry
Acts 19:21-28
Modern culture is still inundated with idols, as each day people pursue goals which the one and only true God can truly and completely supply.
Anticipating Culture’s Mob Mentality
Acts 19:29-34
We need wisdom to discern the larger movements of society that rise up with hostility against the gospel and the values of God, knowing the Holy Spirit is graciously at work to defend us.
Confident in God’s Ever-Advancing Gospel
Acts 19:35-41
We ought to be confident in God’s sovereign work to advance the gospel in our generation, always seeking to be a righteous and wise agent in this successful task.
Rightly Depending on Our Comrades
Acts 20:1-6
Active, strategic, and frequent encouragement among Christians is biblically essential and should be the priority for all of us.
Taking Comfort in God’s Expressions of Grace
Acts 20:7-16
We must work to be aware, reflective, and profoundly grateful for God’s grace in forgiving us, kindly upholding us, and providing us with a secured eternal hope.
Caring About What Matters Most
Acts 20:17-21
Our desire to be useful to the Lord for the spiritual benefit of others must begin with a sincere devotion to the Lord and a commitment to his eternal priorities.
Caring Less about Your Own Comfort
Acts 20:22-24
We must evaluate our competing desires to serve God and our own comfort, resolutely deciding to persist in fulfilling the particular calling he has laid on our lives as Christians.
Motivated by the Finish Line
Acts 20:25-27
Knowing time is always running out, we must discern and fulfill our God-given stewardship to faithfully invest in the lives of others.
Always on Guard
Acts 20:28-32
Our service in the church must always prioritize biblical truth, guarding against the selfish ambitions that fracture the church and derail the sanctification of its congregants.
Policing Your Motives
Acts 20:33-35
Being useful in the spiritual lives of God’s people is aided by hard work and generosity, and is thwarted by cravings for wealth and the trappings of worldly success.
More than a Task
Acts 20:36-38
Our work for God’s people is more than our duty, or an expression of our love for Christ, it is also our loving service for the people we have every reason to affectionately cherish as our spiritual family.
Well-Meaning but Misguided Friends
Acts 21:1-16
We will have well-meaning friends who, out of love for us, will inadvertently tempt us to abandon the course of Christian obedience God has laid out for us.
Misunderstandings & Accommodations
Acts 21:17-26
Strategic accommodations and biblically allowable personal adjustments will be necessary as we face the painful misunderstandings sure to continue among God’s people, this side of heaven.
Facing God’s Plans with Courage
Acts 21:27-36
Being a Christian will require unique courage and boldness because of the unavoidable clash of our theology, values, and identity with so much of the rest of the world.
Seizing God’s Opportunities
Acts 21:37-40
We should look for every opportunity to be strategic and faithful to serve the needs of those around us, even when we are in difficult seasons of life.
Repentance & Faith
Acts 20:21
When we recognize our sin before a holy, just and loving God, we will feel the pang of sorrow for our offense. But the happiness of knowing we are forgiven through repentance and trust in Jesus, our savior, should bring joy.
The Grace of God
Acts 22:1-5
We need to understand God’s amazing grace and sincerely respond to it with our whole hearts in light of the sinfulness of our sin.
The Gift of Repentance
Acts 22:6-11
God graciously works through a variety of means to bring us to repentance, both at the outset of the Christian life and throughout it, so that we might walk in fellowship with him.
The Role of Water Baptism
Acts 22:12-16
Given the various and conflicting views of water baptism, we must seek to digest and rightly understand all the related biblical data on this important ordinance.
The Sovereignty of God
Acts 22:17-21
We must consider how God has been at work from long before we can imagine, leading us into the path he would have us obediently walk.
The Endurance of the Saints
Acts 22:22-30
God has planned and is always at work in and for his children to move them across the finish line of the Christian life and into the promised kingdom.
The Path of Sanctification
Acts 23:1-5
God is at work on us, using a variety of means to bring us into increasing holiness in the Christian life.
The Hope of the Christian Life
Acts 23:6-10
The Christian hope is to be firmly fixed on our participation in Christ’s coming kingdom, which provides us the strength and courage to face all the current challenges in the here and now.
The Callings & Purposes of God
Acts 23:11-22
Though God’s plans for our lives will involve some fearful circumstances, we must be unafraid and resolute about fulfilling God’s calling on our lives as we hold on to his promises.
The Divine Use of Secular Means
Acts 23:23-35
Even in our fallen messed-up world we must recognize and respond to God’s sovereign use of governments to accomplish his will for his people.
The Kinds of Opposition to Expect
Acts 24:1-9
We can expect in our day all sorts of opposition for being faithful to Christ and biblical truth, but we must remember our calling and courageously endure whatever comes our way.
The Elements of a Good Defense
Acts 24:10-21
We must respond to anti-Christian accusations against us with a respectful, positive, and well-reasoned defense, doing all we can to represent Christ in a dignified manner.