Good morning everyone. Excellent. What an encouraging and exciting morning. John and I, our summer project for this year was Delve and we are so excited about it.
Regardless of whether there was a PowerPoint or not, John had fireworks and stuff coming up. I saw it earlier. He was gutted he didn't get that PowerPoint.
Delve, get involved. It is excellent. Fantastic to get reading Mark's Gospel together. Get involved. Pick up your copy before you go this morning.
Continuing on with the excitement, we are starting a new series this morning that's going to take us the next three Sunday mornings.
Looking at this thing that we call church.
One of you have ever asked yourself that question, why do we do this thing on a Sunday morning?
What does it mean to be part of a church?
With that in mind, why don't you turn to Acts, the book of Acts chapters 1 and chapters 2.
And let's pray.
And let's ask that God would help us this morning as we turn to his words.
Let's pray together.
Father God, we love you.
And we thank you for our time together this morning.
And we ask now that as we turn to your words, the Bible,
as we think about this thing called church, that you would teach us by your spirit.
Would you give us ears to hear?
Would you give us minds to learn?
Would you give us hearts to absorb and to love you more?
And we ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So you've been quiet this morning.
Why don't you turn to your neighbor just before we kick this off for 30 seconds.
What brought you to church this morning?
30 seconds.
Go for it.
Okay, excellent.
Going to rattle on this morning.
I would love to know what you said.
Maybe you're a student here this morning.
I do look around and I see students.
Normally they're over here, but I see them branching out over this way.
It's great.
Did you come for the free lunch?
Maybe.
Maybe you came because you love the singing.
The band were great this morning.
I loved it.
Maybe you came because you like the teaching.
Maybe you came because you like the sense of community.
Your friends are here.
Or maybe this is just something, church, that you've always done.
What is this thing called church?
And as we turn to Acts chapter 1 and 2, so this is the story of the early church.
That's the question we're going to ask these people that we meet.
What is this thing called church?
What does it mean to them to do church?
Here's the thing for us this morning.
You speak to these early Christians.
They're not talking about coffee or cake.
Right at its core.
The reason that they meet together is to celebrate the fact that there was a man who lived and a man who died and a man who rose again.
Certified dead on the third day.
Smashed death to smithereens.
And that changes everything.
Everything.
Life as they know it, flipped upside down.
Jesus is the reason.
Not that they go to church.
It's not something that you go to.
Jesus is the reason that they are church.
And here's the big idea for us this morning.
The gospel.
So there's good news about Jesus that we'll come on to see what it is.
The gospel births the church.
Church isn't a social club.
It's not a time for a get together for a jolly sing song on a Sunday.
Church is about Jesus.
You see, the elders of this church, we didn't wake up one morning and have an inclination to meet together publicly.
No, not a chance.
The church is a people that God has birthed through the gospel.
Here's what we're going to do this morning.
We're going to go on a whistle-stop tour of Acts chapter 1 and 2.
And I want us to see this.
And I want us to love this.
So this is going to require us to have eyes wide open.
Fingers at the ready.
A bit of a paper chase.
But here's what's going on in Acts chapter 1 and chapter 2.
The book of Acts, written by Dr. Luke.
The sequel to his gospel.
And it's really the story of all that Jesus continued to do after his resurrection.
It's the story of the unstoppable gospel as it reaches and it grips the world.
Here's what happens from verse 1.
Look with me.
Verse 1.
In my former book.
So there's the sequel thing, right?
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proof that he was alive.
He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
So who is this book of Acts about?
It's about Jesus.
Jesus, who suffered, says Luke.
Did you notice that?
He suffered.
He was certified dead.
But he presented himself alive.
And convincingly so.
He is not dead.
He's alive.
And it wasn't a magic trick.
It wasn't a delusion.
It was convincing.
This is what Luke is saying to this man, Theophilus, who he's investigating all this stuff for, that he's looked into this.
That he's asked people.
And it wasn't a one-off appearance.
Jesus appeared.
Many proofs over 40 days.
Theophilus, we're not dealing in the realm of ideas here.
We are dealing in the realm of fact.
Here's the thing.
Jesus is still dead.
If you can go to Jerusalem somewhere and you can find his skeleton,
then church as we know it, Christianity stops here.
Stone dead.
Killed.
But Jesus is alive.
And that changes everything.
Let me ask you this morning.
What do you make of that?
Jesus is alive.
I remember when I was a teenager.
When I was thinking through all of these things.
This is what it rested on for me.
Thought through it.
If Jesus, regardless of what he did, if he claimed to be the son of God,
and if he said he was going to defeat death and he didn't,
then he isn't a wise teacher.
He's an absolute fraud.
He's not worth following on Twitter, let alone with my life.
But, but if he did rise from the dead, then I concluded two things.
Firstly, it's got to be worth my time to look into it and investigate it.
Consider the evidence.
Secondly, if that is true, if he did rise from the dead, my life can't remain the same.
It just can't.
How could my life remain the same?
If Jesus holds the keys of death and life in his hands,
then I need to hang all of my life on every word that he said.
Friends, where are you with this this morning?
Do you see, regardless of what you think, that you cannot remain neutral to this news?
Here's what Tim Keller writes.
Guy I love to read, a Christian author.
He says this.
If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said.
If he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?
The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching,
but whether or not he rose from the dead.
So do you see what Luke is saying here?
Theophilus, Jesus is alive.
And Jesus talked to his disciples.
What does Jesus tell them to do?
We'll look at verse 8.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria
and to the ends of the earth.
So Jesus says to these men who have seen and heard,
go and tell.
Now remember who Jesus is talking to here.
He's talking to the disciples, which would be the 11 of them at this point.
And see the thing is, as you read through the gospel accounts of Jesus' life,
these are not men with spine, right?
As you read it through, looking at Peter for example,
in terms of his standing up for Jesus,
the slightest interrogation of a little girl,
and he falls to pieces, doesn't he?
See, if I was to pick my dream team for world domination,
this would not be my starting 11.
They just wouldn't.
Now as a boy, I remember I used to play top trumps.
Someone else used to play top trumps as a kid?
Come on, show me your hands.
We're not embarrassed here.
Excellent.
So this is what used to happen with top trumps.
Your card,
your character on the card,
had certain attributes out of 10,
and you had to beat your opposition with your,
you had to trump them, you get the idea.
I like to think of the disciples like top trumps.
They would have the lowest stats possible.
You'd be gutted when you flipped that over.
Think about it, right?
Bravery, 1 out of 10.
Faith, 2 out of 10.
Anticipation, 0.5 out of 10.
I mean, you're losing all the time with these guys.
So when Jesus says,
go, knowing what I know about them,
I'm not that optimistic for them.
But what does Jesus say to them?
Look at this carefully.
This bunch of unspectacular men.
Where's the power going to come from?
It's not going to come from them.
It's going to come from him.
Jesus will send his spirit.
The spirit will give them power.
And the spirit will enable them,
give them boldness to speak.
And they will be his witnesses.
Now working in the legal profession for a few years,
I love the term witness.
I know what it means.
We all know what it means, doesn't it?
It means to tell what you've seen.
It's basically what it is.
Tell what you know.
And that's what Jesus is saying to his disciples here.
Go and witness.
Go and make me known.
And notice where they are to do this.
Jerusalem.
And in all Judea and Samaria.
And to the ends of the earth.
In other words, where they are,
the regions round about them,
and as far as they can possibly go.
This thing is going global.
The news that Jesus is alive is for everyone.
What happens next in the narrative?
Jesus ascends.
And Jesus sends his spirit.
And we get that scene at Pentecost.
Halfway through chapter 2,
God's spirit falls on them.
And speaking in different languages,
they declare the mighty works of God
to the watching world.
And Peter stands
and addresses the confused and mocking crowd.
And he delivers what I guess is the first distinctly
Christian sermon.
Look at it from verse 22.
Remember this guy who fell to jelly?
He's now addressing a crowd.
What a difference.
Here's what he says.
Fellow Israelites,
listen to this.
That's brave, isn't it?
Listen to this.
Jesus of Nazareth was a man
accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him,
as you yourselves know.
This man was handed over to you
by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge.
And you, with the help of wicked men,
put him to death
by nailing him to the cross.
I mean, he's pulling no punches there,
isn't he?
No punches.
This guy who turned to jelly
is now accusing the crowd
of crucifying Jesus.
Jesus, this man that you saw,
you saw him do miracles.
You've heard about him.
You killed him.
And hang on a second, Peter.
Put yourself in the crowd at this point.
Hands up if you would have objected
to what Peter said there.
I would have objected massively.
And do you know why?
Because I wasn't in the crowd.
I didn't kill Jesus.
Did everyone who was in that crowd
physically kill Jesus?
Did they all physically drive the nails
into his hands and his feet?
Some of them weren't even on town
probably on that day.
And yet what does Peter say?
You crucified him.
Now how does that work?
How does that work?
Well, the Bible would say
that you and I are sinners.
That you and I are guilty
of falling short of God's glory.
By our very nature,
we are in rebellion against him.
We don't want anything to do with him.
We want everything to do
with ourselves.
Now I wonder if you know
that's true in your life.
I was reminded of it this week.
Here's how this worked out in my life.
I study two mornings a week.
Many of you won't know this.
I study two mornings a week
at Edinburgh Theological Seminary.
The artist formerly known
as the Free Church College.
Two mornings a week I do that.
And BBC Alba,
so the Gaelic TV channel.
How's your Gaelic this morning?
Mine's not very good.
BBC Alba did a documentary
on our class last year.
And they did a documentary
specifically focusing
on the free church candidates
that were going through the system.
BBC Alba produced this documentary.
It went out a couple of weeks ago.
There's four of them.
Four half an hour episodes.
They got that much out of our year.
Four half an hour episodes.
And on these episodes,
when I watched it,
my classmates,
as they're being interviewed,
are pouring out their lives
in front of the camera.
Really interesting.
My family have suffered
because I've decided to do this.
Financially,
I've suffered
because I've chosen
to take a step out of work
and pursue God's calling.
I mean,
this was really emotional stuff
on this camera.
But here's my question for you.
As they followed us
around the classroom,
these boys around the classroom,
who do you think
I was looking for
the whole time?
Go on.
Me.
Right?
I love me.
My back of my head
made two appearances
in those four episodes.
And here's the thing.
Each time I was watching
it on my laptop,
I paused it
and I shouted through to Alex,
Alex,
I'm on the telly.
Every time,
back of my head.
I don't even speak Gaelic.
Chloe told her,
our little seven-month-old daughter,
wasn't that fussed.
But do we not know that
to be true in our lives?
Think about your own life.
Think about the orbit
of your own life.
Who does it revolve around?
Are you like me?
We're all like me.
Aren't we all the same?
Does our lives not orbit
around ourselves?
Are we not infatuated
with ourselves?
We love us.
We do not love God.
We are sinners.
And that sin
has separated us from God.
And that is serious.
And if it wasn't true,
friends,
this morning,
then Jesus wouldn't have
had to come
to earth
and to die.
It was our sin
that put him there.
Now many of you
will remember,
maybe,
Mel Gibson
had a film out
a few years ago,
I think it was
maybe ten years ago now,
called The Passion of the Christ.
I wonder if you've watched it.
I remember going to the cinema
and it's one of only two films
I can remember in my life
where it stopped
and nobody's moved
at the end of the film.
Passion of the Christ.
Mel Gibson directed it.
He wasn't in one single,
he wasn't in many scenes,
but he was in one scene.
He,
it was his hand
that drove the nail
into Jesus' hands
in the film.
And he wanted to make
a statement
as if to say
he had some responsibility
for what happened
at Calvary.
Friends,
it was our sin
that put him there.
And the cross,
it finds us out.
And I find that truth
to be so liberating
and here's why.
I remember when I was
saving up for an engagement ring.
Alex had been going out
with her for a year
and she's far too good for me.
I was punching a well
above my weight.
I decided this is a deal
that I want to seal.
And I looked
at an engagement ring
and I booked
at the price
of an engagement ring.
And not long after
coming out of uni,
I decided that I was
going to have to make
some cost-cutting measures
in my life.
And one of the ways
that I was going to save money
was that I was going
to cut my own hair.
Has anyone tried that before?
Cutting their own,
not get someone else
to cut your hair,
cutting your own hair.
Genius, I know.
And here is what happened.
I lived my life
at work.
I lived my life
with my friends
and nobody ever
commented on it.
But secretly,
I gasped.
It was a state.
Now I wonder if you've
ever had an experience
like that.
You've tried to apply
mascara at about
six in the morning
and just forgot about it.
Big streams down
your eyes.
Maybe this is what
happens to me all the time.
With a little girl,
I find breakfast,
her breakfast,
randomly on me.
This is what happens.
Now what do you need
if you know what that's like?
What do you need
in that situation?
You need somebody
to lovingly
point it out.
Don't you?
Somebody to lovingly
point it out.
Here's what happened
to me when this happened.
I turned up to meet Alex
after I cut my own hair
a few times
and she looks at it.
One look.
It's all she needed.
One look.
That looks ridiculous.
If this is going to work,
that's going to change.
She didn't put it like that.
But do we not know
that to be true?
We need somebody
to tell us the truth.
I need the truth.
I don't need sugar coating.
I've got a sweet tooth
enough as it is.
I need somebody
to tell me
exactly how it is.
I cannot work
with a lie.
But the truth,
regardless of how
soul destroying it is
and how much your pride
is affected,
the truth,
you can work
with the truth.
truth.
And that's why
I love the Bible.
It's why
I love God's Word
because God's Word
gives us the ultimate
reality check.
We've used that phrase,
don't we,
all the time in our culture
if somebody gets
a reality check.
If you're English here
this morning,
you'll know that your
rugby team got one
a few weeks ago.
And speaking as a Scot,
you'll know that Australia
are about to get one
this afternoon.
A reality check.
That's what God's Word
gives us as we come to it.
That I am not an accident.
I am not the product
of an impersonal universe.
I, you and I,
are fearfully
and wonderfully made.
We are valued.
Why?
Because we were made
in God's image.
We are loved.
I am more loved
than I am ever capable
of grasping.
But here's the thing.
At the same time,
I am more broken
than I ever think
I'll realize.
My sin has separated
me from God.
That sin needs dealt with
and that's a massive
reality check.
I am beautifully made
but I am broken.
And God,
in His grace,
offers the solution.
Do you not know that
to be true
in your own life?
I know that to be true.
I found this so liberating
at the time.
I know my tendency
to selfishness.
I know my thoughts.
I know my hearts.
And as I come to God's word,
God's word puts all the cards
on the table.
It says,
I am beautiful
and yet I am broken.
And I found that
the most liberating truth.
That God knows
what's going on
inside of me.
He knows the numbers
of hairs on my head.
He knows the depths
of my heart.
And He loves me enough
to point it out.
my sin
put Jesus there.
How does that make you
feel this morning?
Isn't it not massively
interesting
when we compare
what God's word says
to what our culture says?
We hear this stuff
all the time
that you and I,
we can define ourselves.
We can just live
how we want.
We can be who we want
to be
and it's okay
that we deserve
the best,
that nobody should stand
in the way
of our personal happiness.
And friends,
my question to you
this morning
is which voice
are you going
to listen to?
The flattering one
or the honest one?
God's word
tells us
what it's like.
It gives us
the ultimate reality check.
It gives us
the diagnosis.
But praise God,
He also gives us
the prescription.
Back into Acts,
look at verse 24
of chapter 2.
This is still
Peter going at it here.
What does he say?
But God raised him
from the dead,
freeing him
from the agony
of death
because it was
impossible
for death
to keep its hold
on him.
What's this book about?
Who is this book about?
Jesus,
the risen champion.
How does that
make you feel?
Given everything
that we've seen before,
how does it
make you feel?
Well,
let's look at
the crowd's reaction.
How did they feel
when they hear
this message?
Verse 37.
When the people
heard this,
they were cut
to the heart
and said to Peter
and the other apostles,
brothers,
what shall we do?
Peter replied,
repent
and be baptized
every one of you
in the name
of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins
and you will receive
the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
The promise
is for you
and your children
and for all
who are far off,
for all
whom the Lord
our God
will call.
How did they feel
cut to the heart?
And do you see
how they do not
remain neutral
to what Peter
has been saying?
They do not sit
on the fence.
They repent.
What it means
is just in their life,
they did a 180.
They acknowledged
their failings
before God.
They stopped
walking their way
and they started
walking His way.
And Peter uses
two words here
that I think
are so wonderful.
Two words.
First word,
forgiven.
That is what God
is offering,
that is what God
was offering
that morning
and that is what
God is offering
this morning.
Forgiveness.
This isn't cheap
forgiveness.
This is extremely
costly forgiveness
through the blood
of Jesus.
forgiveness.
Now friends,
we need to see
what is driving
the cross,
the great love
of God for us.
Because He could
have quite justifiably
left us on our own.
We rejected Him.
He could have chosen
to have nothing
to do with us.
And yet,
He sent His Son
who went
to the cross
paying the penalty
that you and I
deserve to pay
for our sin.
Jesus gave it
all for us.
second word
that Peter uses,
gift.
This is not about
us earning
God's love.
This is all about
God's grace.
God giving us
something that we
do not deserve.
The gift of the Spirit.
This is what happens
as men and women
come to put their
faith in Jesus.
That God sends
His Spirit,
His real presence
to live in their lives.
so that we no longer
remain detached
and separated
from God.
We become His.
No longer orphans
but adopted
as His children.
Reconciled.
Put right with God.
The God who created us.
Friends,
you were not made
by accident.
You were made
for a relationship
with the God
who created you.
How do you get there?
Through the gospel.
The offer of the gospel
is God Himself.
That is the sermon
that Peter preaches.
And look at what
Luke tells us
at verse 41.
How did this message
go down?
Well, those who accepted
His message
were baptized
and about 3,000
were added to their
number that day.
So the ESV,
if you've got an ESV
with you,
it uses that word
souls.
And I'll admit
I love that word.
Because these are
real people.
These are real
confessions.
These are real baptisms.
And 3,000,
that's a real number.
3,000 people respond
to what Peter
has been saying
and put their faith
in Jesus.
They trust in what
Jesus did,
that He paid their debt
and His victory
has become their victory.
His perfect obedience,
His righteousness
has become their righteousness
and Jesus has reconciled
them to God
and the resurrection
proves that it's all true.
It's the gospel.
It's the new life
that you and I have
because God
has given us it
in Jesus Christ.
Now here's the thing.
Do you see
this message,
this gospel message,
it births
the church.
It births the church.
This isn't our doing.
This is all
God's doing.
God saves a people
through the gospel.
He redeems men
and women
and creates
a people
for Himself.
This message
is glorious.
It's glorious.
No other message
works.
No other message
could work
and that's why
we as a church,
we stand on this message
because it's the power
of God
unto salvation.
It's the centerpiece
around everything
that goes on here.
The gospel is glorious.
And look what happens
naturally
as a result of that.
Look what the gospel
creates,
verse 42.
This is what Luke
tells us
about this group
of people,
this group of Christians.
They devoted
themselves
to the apostles'
teaching
and to fellowship,
to the breaking
of bread
and to prayer.
Everyone was filled
with awe
at the many wonders
and signs
performed by the apostles.
All the believers
were together
and had everything
in common.
They sold property
and possessions
to give to anyone
who had needs.
Every day
they continued
to meet together
in the temple courts.
They broke bread
in their homes
and ate together
with glad
and sincere hearts
praising God
and enjoying
the favor
of all the people.
So they repent
and they believe
the good news
as individuals.
But do you see
how quickly
Luke begins
to talk of them
as a collective group?
Now if you just look
at those verses there,
how often he uses
the words together.
Together.
That's not an accident.
That is emphasis.
These people
were together.
This new community,
this community
of Jesus'
living people
had been brought
together
through their
common faith
in Jesus.
And that common faith,
the gospel,
shaped their community.
And I think
there are two
really quick marks
of this community
that Luke draws
their attention to.
First mark,
devotion.
Did you notice
that word
as we went through?
Devoted to what?
Well three things.
Devoted to the words.
That is the apostles
teaching,
what they heard
from the apostles
about this man Jesus.
Devoted to fellowship.
Do you see that?
That they're looking
out for one another.
They're meeting needs
that arise
in their community.
They're eating together.
They are together
in their homes.
They've got everything
in common.
And they are devoted
to,
can anyone guess it?
Prayer.
Devoted to prayer,
to seeking God,
to humbling themselves
and asking for
his help and power.
As they seek
in their community
to impact it
with the good news
of Jesus.
Here's my question
for us this morning.
As a church,
as individuals,
are we devoting
ourselves to these things?
That's where
our three things
come from
in our transformation
statement.
I'm pointing at the wall
because it's over there.
Okay,
I've not lost it.
It's over there.
Prayer,
word,
fellowship.
These are the things
that we devote
ourselves to.
And we've not just
got that out of thin air.
This is where
we've got it from.
Are we devoting
ourselves to God's words?
Are we committed
to one another
because we are
connected in Christ?
Are we,
as a family
of God's people,
are we devoting
ourselves to prayer?
They are a devoted
community.
Second mark
of this community,
praise.
Do you see that?
That they attend
the temple together.
Look at the description
of these people.
Praising God
with glad
and sincere hearts,
giving thanks to him
for what he's done
for them in the gospel.
Do you see that
there's a distinct
sense of joy
as we read
about them here?
This joy inspired,
given by the Holy Spirit.
And notice that phrase
at verse 47.
Back in the text,
what does it say?
We're almost done.
Verse 47,
they enjoyed favor
with all the people.
So what is going on here?
The outside world
is looking at
what's going on
in this community,
this transformed community,
and they are dumbfounded.
The way that these people act,
the way that they speak,
the way that they live
their lives,
the way that they witness
for Jesus,
clearly caused
the watching world
to see something different.
What a challenge
is that is
for us this morning.
Think about the circles
that you move in.
Think about the people
that are in and out
of your lives every day.
The office,
the classroom,
the lecture hall,
the sports team.
Do people see
something different
in us?
Are our neighborhoods
here at Brunsfield,
are they thankful
that we are here?
Do we enjoy their favor?
Why?
Because they know
that we are people
who deeply,
deeply care.
See,
this news about Jesus,
it has transformed
and it has created
a people individually,
but it has created
a people corporately.
This is the church,
God's people
who has transformed,
this community
of cross-shaped people.
They are not
a perfect people.
Do not fall into the trap
of romanticizing this.
You just look at
Acts chapter 5,
okay,
a few more on.
Look at the book
of 1 Corinthians.
This early church,
they do not have it sorted.
But there are two marks
that I think
we should be seeing
in our community
as we look at this.
A people marked
by devotion
and a people marked
by praise.
The gospel births
the church.
And just as we close,
look at the end
of verse 47.
We'll just look right.
And the Lord
added to their number
daily
those who were being
saved.
The gospel message
went forth.
It continued
to transform lives.
God continued
to give his spirit,
his power,
so that this thing
would go global
and it would hit Jerusalem.
It would hit Asia.
It would hit Europe.
This thing went global.
And 2,000 years later,
it continues
to transform lives today.
Here's some stats
as we close
that I read
on the Bible Society's
website this week.
Here's what's going on
in our world today.
This gospel is still
transforming lives.
In China,
thousands are turning
to Christ
every single day
with 500,000
baptisms
every year.
Get your head around that.
500,000
baptisms.
That's bigger
than our population
of this city.
In Nepal,
the church in Nepal
has grown from zero
to over 2 million
in 65 years.
In Cuba,
people are now free
to attend church services
where they hear
the gospel,
they hear God's words,
and churches are flourishing
and more and more people
daily are coming
to faith.
In Cambodia,
1970s,
Christianity
almost wiped out.
Now,
the church is expanding
at an extraordinary rate.
Here is a quote
from a young woman
in Cambodia.
She's receiving her first Bible
through the Bible Society.
Here's what she says.
I've been waiting
for the Bible for a year
ever since I became
a Christian.
We have no money,
just enough for food
and sometimes
not even enough for that.
I am so happy
about getting a Bible.
I am so excited.
Do you see it?
That the gospel,
this message,
2,000 years ago,
transformed this community.
Life's God won them
through the gospel.
He saved a people
and it still transforms
lives today.
Friends,
we are here
because the gospel works.
We are here
because God chose
to save us
through this message.
The gospel
forms the church.
Now,
here's what we're going to do
just before we pray.
I want you to turn back
to that neighbor
that you talked to
two seconds,
about 30 minutes ago.
It wasn't two seconds,
was it?
Turn back to that neighbor
and in light of what we've seen
in Acts chapter 1 and 2,
why did you come to church
this morning?
And then we'll close in prayer.
Why don't you talk
to your neighbor
and then we'll close.
Okay, let's pray.
Father,
we are so thankful
for our time together
this morning
and we thank you
for the church.
We thank you
for Jesus.
We thank you
for the gospel message.
We thank you
for the wonderful news
that he is not dead,
that he is alive
and reigning in heaven.
Father,
I pray that you would help us
to know that this week.
Help us to live
as people
whose lives
are marked
by love
for people
and for him
in everything
that we do.
And this is our prayer
in his name.
Amen.