Lessons from the First Church
These are 5 stand-alone sermons from the Book of Acts – The Book of Acts has been described as a “supernatural action thriller” – the incredible story of the first church and its journey with God. It’s a volume filled with intrigue, tragedy and treachery – a manuscript packed with true stories of grand achievements, triumph and truth – a book that demonstrates what can happen when Christ’s church is on mission with God, filled with the supernatural power of His Spirit.
So, in order to capture the wonder of this exciting book and the lessons that pour forth from story in Acts, each sermon will take a narrative or “story telling” approach to the Bible.
Lesson #1 – First Things First! (Acts 1:1-11) – After introducing us to Luke, the author of Acts, and exploring the purpose behind the writing of this “supernatural action thriller”, we will then conclude by exploring Jesus two final commands to the church before He ascended into Heaven – commands that can be summed up in these two phrases: WAIT for Someone – and then MOVE!
Lesson #2 – Grow Godly Leaders (Acts 1:15-26) - When a church is empowered with the Holy Spirit, the developing of godly leadership should be front and center in the life of the church. The reason? Because with that kind of leadership in place, a church flourishes – without it, it flounders. This sermon will look at how the first church chose godly leaders on one occasion, and then, explore some of the qualifications that the Holy Spirit wishes to build within aspiring leaders.
Lesson #3 – Building a Healthy Sense of Community! (Acts 2:42-47) – This story in Acts is a transitional passage, one that brings to a close the first 10 days in the life of the First Church and introduces us to what took place over the next 3 to 5 years. In doing so we discover how to build true community in the church.
Lesson #4 – Get Real! (Acts 4:32 – 5:14) – This sermon looks at a tragic event that stands in stark contrast to everything else that Luke has already written about concerning the early church. After telling us about a wonderful man named Barnabas and his sacrificial and generous attitude, we suddenly hear about the strange death of two believers (Ananias and Sapphira) at the hands of God; all because of their willful deception. From this story we discover the importance of being real with God and others.
Lesson #5 – A Call to Wisdom! (Acts 6:1-7) – This interesting story from the book of Acts draws to a close the first three to five years in the history of the early church. In this narrative, church leaders learn how to navigate a conflict that threatens to divide this growing church.
Note: There are four other sermons available from this series on the Book of Acts. They can be found under the Series entitled: Embracing the Holy Spirit.