20060531

Acts 17 - as his manner was

Observation

There were certain things that Paul preached. I noticed 4.
  1. Paul reasoned "...out of the Scriptures," (See v2.)

    v11 says, "...they received the Word...", and it says they "...searched the Scriptures...".

    v13 says, "the Word of God was preached."

  2. "...he preached unto them Jesus," (See v18.)

    v3 says, "...this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."

    v31 says, "...[that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men]..."

  3. Paul preached about Jesus' suffering.

    In v3, he said, "...Christ must needs have suffered...".

  4. "...and the resurrection." (See v18.)

    In v3, he said, "...Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead..."

    v18 says, "...he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."

    v31 says, "...He hath raised him from the dead."

    v32 says, "they heard of the resurrection of the dead..."

Meaning

It was Paul's habit to preach.

v2 says, "as his manner was."

Also see, v10, v16 and 17, (and v22 and 23.)

Application

Acts 17:2,3
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Make it your habit to preach the Word, Jesus, His Suffering, and His Resurrection.

20060526

Acts 16 Summary - Pray and Sing Praises

Observation

v10 Says that they immediately, "endeavored to go."

v13 "where prayer was wont to be made" Prayer was involved so much.

v28 "Do thyself no harm."

This is after being beaten openly, receiving many stripes, thrown into prison, with their feet tightly in the stocks.

They said "Do thyself no harm." to somebody else.

Their concern was for others.

Interpretation

v9,10 When somebody calls for me to come help them, what am I supposed to think that the Lord wants me to do, besides preaching the gospel to them?

v25 Midnight makes me think of being in the middle of the hardest time. It seems like midnight, because we're so busy, and have so little time, and so many people are sick, and dying, and there are so many things to pray about, and so much work to do.

v26 Marvelous Promises

all the doors were opened

Many times I pray for the Lord to "open doors," meaning for Him to give us opportunities for Himself, especially for preaching the gospel.

The Lord is promising that, in the middle of the hardest time, in response to prayer and singing praise, suddenly all the doors will be open. He's going to give us all kinds of the opportunities.

everyone's bands were loosed.

People need saved, and people have bands of sin, being enslaved to wickedness, and we have lots of troubles that are like bands that need loosed. Part of the promise of the Lord is that everyone's bands will be loosed.

This verse has marvelous promises.

v28 Remember that their concern was for others (Do thyself no harm.) Even after going through great pain and an incredibly hard time and what could have been miserable, our concern must not be to get other people to pity us, because the Lord will pity us, but to comfort the brethren when we see them, even in a time like that.

Application

v40 When they had seen the brethren, they comforted them. The brethren needed comfort after these had gone through this hard time. When 1 member suffers, all members suffer with it. We should remember those who are bound, as bound with them, and weep with those who weep.

v28 "Paul cried with a loud voice" We should be this brave, but it must be the appropriate situation.

v29,30 "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down... And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" This, is what I call, an open door! It led to his spiritual bands of wickedness being loosed. But we must be brave enough, first, to cry to the person, with a loud voice.

v25 Pray and Sing Praises

It says they, "prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them."
Before, sometimes I thought of singing praises as something to do when I'm happy (and it is.) But when I'm in the middle of the hardest time, I need to sing praises to God.
the prisoners heard them.
There are people who are lost, needing saved, and not walking with the Lord, who are "prisoners," in captivity to sin and the enemy. This is also a promise that people hear us praying and singing praises. It's a testimony, and actually 1 way to do outreach.

20060525

The 5 Minute Gospel

  1. Use The Word

    Good News! The Bible says, That if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart, that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

  2. Preach Jesus Christ

    He is "the Lord Jesus." Jesus is the boss, the one-of-a-kind Son born to God.

  3. Preach The Cross

    Jesus suffered terribly and died on the cross to pay the punishment for the bad things you and I have done.

  4. Remember The Resurrection

    "God has raised Him from the dead." After Jesus was dead, God made Him alive again on the 3rd day.

  5. Invite People to Believe and Pray

    God promised that every one that believes will live forever, instead of going to the Lake of Fire.

    If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, "you will be saved."

    If you would please receive this gift, we'll be quiet for moment now, and you can say something with your mouth, to God, like,

    Dear God,
    Please save me,
    In the Lord Jesus' name,
    Amen.

20060524

the word of faith, which we preach

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:9

What The Old Words Mean

thou
you
thy
your
thine
your
hath
has
shalt

If you know of any word in the modern American English language, that means exactly the same thing as "shalt", please tell me.

Some Bible translations leave this word out, (like "if you confess... and believe in your heart...",) or change it to "will," (like "you will be saved.")

I think it has a little stronger meaning than "will," since "If you will" could mean you want to, but "If thou shalt" has more of a sense of it certainly being done by you.

What This Verse Makes Me Think

...That if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart, that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

What God Says, in the Bible, About How to be Saved

if you confess... and believe...
This verse uses the word, "if." That gives us a choice. We may either do the things it says, or not. If we do these things, then we will be saved.
confess with your mouth
The way I confessed the Lord Jesus with my mouth, to be saved, was in prayer. You could pray something like, "Dear God, please save me, in the Lord Jesus' name, Amen."
the Lord Jesus
It's all about Him. You can't just believe whatever you want to believe about Jesus, and be saved. You have to believe that He is who He says He is.
the Lord
A "lord" is a master, and a boss, like the "lords and ladies" in Europe, and like "landlords." He's not "just another lord," but He's The Lord, and you have to admit it.
confess... and believe
This says, "and". You cannot be saved just by saying, "Lord, Lord," to Jesus.
believe
It's like being completely convinced. It's simple. Either you think it's true (you believe it,) or you don't.
in your heart
It can't be a lie. You have to actually mean it. Your true and strong thoughts and intentions are deep in the middle of you. That's where you really have to think that Jesus is true.
God raised Him from the dead
Believe that He did what He says He did. God raised Jesus back up, so He's not dead any more, but He's alive again.
from the dead
This verse uses the word "dead." How did Jesus get to be dead? Jesus suffered and died on the cross, to pay the punishment for the bad things you and I have done.
you will be saved.
This is a promise from God. Every one who believes in the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be saved. If you have ever asked God to save you, in the Lord Jesus' name, and meant it, you have become a Christian. That means you won't have to be cast into the lake of fire to be burning in torture for ever and ever. Instead, you will receive everlasting life.

20060513

Out of Zion

Psalm 50:2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

20060506

Don't Go Back

The Lord fights for me and gives me the promise.
He drives my enemies out of my sight.
Keep the law, and don't turn left or right.
Cleave to the Lord.
Love the Lord.
Don't go back.

mp3 file

20060501

Acts 14 Summary

Observation

v1 The way very many people believed, was just by a couple of people speaking.

v3 When the Lord did signs and wonders, it was with the people who were preaching the Word.

v7 has a clear message.

"Interpretation"

v6 Sometimes it's OK to run away.

v23 "...prayed with fasting..." Fasting wasn't just good before Jesus came. It's still good for us to pray with fasting sometimes.

Application

v26b "...the work which they fulfilled."

v21 "...when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again..."

v25 "...when they had preached the word in Perga, they went..."

Don't be discouraged thinking that there's just more and more work, and it's too hard to get anything done. Work can be fulfilled.

Acts 13 Summary - Ready 2 Answer

Observation

v5 They preached the Word of God.
We should be bold, and not just wait to preach.

"Interpretation"

  • v23 It was about Jesus; They named Him.
  • v29 They told of His death on the cross.
  • v30 They included that Jesus was raised from the dead.
  • v32 The thing they preached was glad tidings.
  • v33 They used the written Word.
  • v39 They told the way to have sins forgiven and be justified. The way was to believe. By Him, all that believe are justified.

Application

v7 A man called and desired to hear the Word of God.
If you have a reputation for preaching the Word, people will call you and want to hear it.
v15 The rulers sent, saying, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
We need to have some Word of exhortation to say to people.
v42 The Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them.
There are actually some people that really want us to preach the gospel to them.
v44 Almost the whole city came together to hear the Word of God.
People will even come to us for us to preach to them.
Get ready, so that even if somebody just asks us, "How are you doing?" we can answer by preaching the gospel.
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