According To His Will – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 18

July 26, 2021 By admin

WEBCAST –

Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers,

When God sent Barnabas and Saul from the city of Antioch to the West in 46 AD He had a plan to eventually bring the majority of the people in Europe and the Americas to identify as followers of His Son. This plan has played out over the past 1975 years as God sovereignly directed the actions of kings and commoners, builders and bishops, armies and authors. Woven into God’s plan were the individual choices of every person who has lived on the earth.

The western world that you have known is the outcome of God’s sovereign control. The democratic republic you live in is the result of HIs His choosing. The places you know have been shaped in the past by people who were bringing His will into reality. Integral to the totality of your life today was God’s Holy Spirit directing two men, Barnabas and Saul, to depart the ancient Roman city of Antioch and head to the west to tell people about Jesus of Nazareth. If they had been sent to the East instead of the West everything you have known would be different. The Christian faith may have become seated and centered in Central Asia, the Far East, or Africa. Europe may have stayed polytheistic or sunk into further spiritual darkness when the Roman Empire fell. Who knows what that would have meant for your ancestors.

Our response to God’s sovereign control of history should be to praise Him for His favor to our ancestors and ourselves. Our ancestors lived in a Christian culture and we have been born into a free country framed with Christian ideals. Knowledge of Christ Jesus had been easily available to most of our ancestors and to ourselves for the past approximately 1,500 years. The principles of our country and its moral foundation resulted from the direction those two men headed when they left Antioch. All of this was the plan of “Him Who worketh all things”, including history, “according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).

Join us this Sunday morning as we continue in the theme To The Remotest Part of the Earth, and our Discussion Bible Study in the History of the Early Church. Please prepare by reading the entirety of Acts 13 -14. This week we will examine and discuss Acts 13 and 14 with the title “How The West Was Won…To Christ – Part 2”.

Attached is an outline (in two sizes) of the text we will be focussing upon this Sunday morning. Please print it ahead of time, as it will help you take part in the discussion. We will also have copies when we gather on Sunday morning.

Here is the Table Discussion Questions for Sunday:

If Barnabas and Saul were sent by God from Antioch to the East, South, or North instead of the West, how might your ancestors’ lives have been different? How might your life have been different?

In this series we have already discussed the following texts and topics:

The New Era Begins: Acts 1:12-2:21
Who is to Blame for Good Friday?: Acts 2:22-23
The New Community Begins: Acts 2:24-47
The First Official Pushback Is Pushed Back: Acts 3
The First Official Pushback Is Pushed Back – Part 2: Acts 4
God Elevates His Purity and His Principals: Acts 5:1-11
God Elevates His Purity and His Principals – Part 2: Acts 5:12 – 6:7
The Spark That Ignited The Flames of Persecution – Part 1: Acts 6:8 – 7:43
The Spark That Ignited The Flames of Persecution – Part 2: Acts 7:44 – 8:3
The New Community’s Pearl Harbor: Acts 8:1-25
Going Global: Taking The New Community International: Acts 8:26-40
Going Global: Taking The New Community International: Acts 9:1-25
Not “E Pluribus Unum”, But “Nos, Et Nos Nos”: Acts 9:26-31
The Border Crisis: God’s Path For Foreigners To Become Citizens: Acts 9:32-10:33
The Border Crisis: God’s Path For Foreigners To Become Citizens – Part 2: Acts 10:34-11:30
Uncivil Rest – Part 1: Acts 12:1-17
Uncivil Rest – Part 2: Acts 12:18-25
How The West Was Won…To Christ: Acts 13

We hope that you will join us in person or online this Sunday morning at Bay Lodge at 9:00 am!

We love you all!

Jim and Jenny

The Acts of the Apostles, Part 18 – Outline (PDF)

rcf_outline_acts_pt18

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Is God Grading On the Curve? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 55

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Did Your Family Have Rules? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 54

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The Gospel and Urban Renewal – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 40

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Go West, Young Men – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 39

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What If You Were Chosen To Write the Bible? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 37

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How Do You Know? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 36

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The Question of Inner Faith Without Outer Works – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 35

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Faith Without Works Is… – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 34

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The Historic Danger of Disparate Faiths – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 33

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Protecting The People Whom Christ Has Purchased – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 32

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When the Future Appears Dire – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 31

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“…in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 30

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What People Today Need To Hear, From Us – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 29

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Living in the Garden of Good and Evil – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 28

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Calling All Women! – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 27

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Getting in Trouble for Talking – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 26

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Playing To Your Strengths – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 25

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Everyday People – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 24

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Perhaps We Are Too Hard on the Judaisers – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 23

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Are We Children of God, or Servants? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 22

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Solving the Second Major Issue – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 21

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The First Internal Controversy – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 20

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Why Don’t You Keep God’s Laws? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 19

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According To His Will – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 18

WEBCAST – Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers, When God sent Barnabas and Saul from the city of Antioch to the West in 46 AD He had a plan to eventually bring the majority of the people in Europe and the Americas to identify as followers of His Son. This plan has played out over the […]

Small Decisions Change the World – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 17

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How the West Was Won – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 16

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Uncivil Rest -Acts of the Apostles Pt. 15

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Learning How Difficult It Can Be – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 14

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Tear Down That Wall! – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 13

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Not “E Pluribus Unum” – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 12

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Saul Sees the Light – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 11

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Going Global – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 10

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You Meant It for Evil – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 9

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They All Lived Happily Ever After? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 8

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It Only Takes a Spark… – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 7

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A Lot On Their Shoulders – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 6

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What Could Possibly Go Worng? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 5

WEBCAST – Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers, For the apostles, the first several weeks after Pentecost were dizzying and exciting. They had been told by Jesus to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to be sent to them, yet they never foresaw how dramatically and publicly the Spirit would arrive. They did not perceive that thousands would listen and respond favorably […]

Defending Their Turf – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 4

WEBCAST – Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers, People defend their turf. You can only encroach upon what they believe is rightfully theirs for so long. Then they will use whatever means they have at their disposal to push you off. They will begin by asking you to back away, but if you don’t oblige the […]

The First Pushback is Pushed Back – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 3

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The New Community Begins – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 2

WEBCAST – Dear Sisters and Brothers, Tomorrow God’s people around the world will gather with joy to proclaim and rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus the Nazarene from the dead. There is no greater event in history that deserves our attention and response. Fifty days following Jesus’ crucifixion and death and seven days after His […]

A New Era Begins – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 1

WEBCAST – Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers, Although we ended our series through Jesus’ life and ministry two weeks ago, the story continues on. What He did for fallen humanity did not end with the cross or in the grave. Nor did it end when He “led captivity captive”, taking Paradise and its inhabitants […]

“He Descended Into Hell” Conclusion – March 14, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Four Sundays ago we began to address the questions, “What did Jesus do between His death on the cross and His resurrection from the tomb?”, and “Did He descend into Hell as the Apostles’ Creed states?” This Sunday morning we will complete that discussion Bible study. I hope that you will be greatly encouraged by the conclusions we […]

“He Descended Into Hell” Part 4 – March 7, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters, My Dad had a saying about a person who explained things in far too much detail. He described such a person this way – “If you ask him what time it is he’d tell you how to build a watch.” I’m afraid that I might be guilty of that in seeking to understand […]

“He Descended into Hell” Part 3 – February 28, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters, When I was in my mid-20’s I was taught to study and interpret the Bible by Tom Brown. He would admonish his students NOT to use Bible commentaries or other books, but rather to use the Bible itself as THE main resource to interpret and understand itself. He told us that if we went to […]

“He Descended into Hell” Part 2 – February, 21, 2021

Dear RCF brothers and sisters, We are continuing with our discussion Bible Study tomorrow morning, February 21st, about the mystery of what Jesus did between His death and resurrection. The Apostles’ Creed states that “He descended into hell”, but did He? If so, why? If not, then what did He do during those hours? Last week we looked at the key words used in the Scriptures […]

“He Descended into Hell” Part 1 – February 14, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, A number of weeks ago the question was asked in our discussion Bible study about where Jesus went after His death on the cross and before His resurrection. Specifically, did He “descend into hell” like the Apostles’ Creed states? We will be addressing and answering that question this Sunday, February 14th, and likely for the […]

The End of the Beginning – February 7, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, In this final section of The Harmony of the Gospels Jesus gives His disciples their final instructions for a worldwide ministry before He returns to heaven. This was not merely a matter of information, but revelation. Whatever type of spiritual veil they had over their minds which prevented them from understanding His mission […]

You Say You Want a Revolution? – January 31, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Jesus’ transformation of humanity was never intended to end at the completion of His thirty-three year life. The plan which was conceived in eternity prior to the creation of the universe was always that Jesus would come to earth and provide the complete means of mankind’s redemption. He did that first by […]

You Could Cut Their Fear With a Knife – January 24, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, After Jesus was crucified and buried, it was reasonable for Jesus’ closest male disciples to fear that the Jewish leaders might arrest and prosecute them. If that happened they could be crucified as well. The Sabbath which began at the time of Jesus’ burial gave them 24 hours of potential relief […]

Fearful and Flummoxed – January 17, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, When Jesus was crucified and died, the hopes of the multitudes who thought that He was going to redeem Israel from Roman rule were dashed. Thursday evening’s Passover was celebrated with expectancy as many Jews believed that Jesus was about to set them free, just as Moses did for their ancestors […]

“Perhaps We Were Wrong About Jesus the Nazarene?” – January 10, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Compared to Jesus’ public ministry the past three years, His arrest and trials were witnessed by comparatively few people. Many of those who observed what was happening to Jesus during and after His arrest, such as the Roman officials and soldiers, had only modest personal interest in the proceedings. The huge […]

He is Brought Before Pilate – January 3, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, This coming Sunday, January 3, 2021, we will begin the new year by focussing on Our Lord’s final trial, condemnation, suffering, and death in our discussion Bible study. We will end our time together by reflecting upon these events in the manner He instructed His disciples to, by having “The Lord’s Table”. Therefore, please […]

The Battle Ahead – December 20, 2020

Dear Friends, Two Sundays ago we saw how people, without even knowing it, can try to derail God’s plans. Since before the world was created God had planned that His Son would die as the Passover Lamb Who would rescue people from their bondage to sin and its penalty. God’s timeline was in jeopardy until […]

Final Instructions – December 6, 2020

Dear Friends, If you knew that you only had only hours to live, it is likely that you would want to tell the most important people in your life the most important information they needed to know. That is true regarding Jesus’ final evening with His chosen apostles. During that final Passover evening Jesus communicated […]

The Die Is Cast – November 29, 2020

Dear Friends, Sometimes you just have to just move on. Differences and tensions that you have experienced with others for a long time have not improved despite your best efforts to explain your perspective and position. In fact, despite your best efforts and explanations over time the more entrenched others have become and the die is […]

There is No Convincing Some People! – November 22, 2020

Dear Friends, The current political division in the United States demonstrates that it is nearly impossible to convince people that their views may be wrong. Because their minds are so entrenched that they are right they could never even consider that they might be wrong. That was certainly the case with the religious leaders of […]

The Breach Becomes a Breaking Point – November 8, 2020

Dear Friends, In our discussion Bible study last Sunday we saw Jesus send three more “miracle-bombs” into Jerusalem just prior to His final entry into Jerusalem to get those in the capitol city to believe in Him as their long-promised Messiah. “Miracle-bombs” are notable public miracles which Jesus did outside of Jerusalem which had an enormous impact within the city of […]

The Lord’s Supper and “Harmony” – November 1, 2020

Dear Friends, There are three important happenings at RCF which you need to know about for this Sunday, November 1st. 1. Daylight Savings Time – Remember to move your clocks back. If you don’t stay up later than normal on Saturday you get an extra hour sleep! 2. The Lord’s Supper – We will be beginning our time together commemorating Our Lord’s sacrifice […]

Dropping “Miracle Bombs” in Jerusalem – October 25, 2020

Dear Friends, If you wanted to change a major policy in our nation today, there are two ways you could go about it. One way would be to travel widely and speak throughout the fifty states to get a majority of people to agree with your ideas. A second way would be to travel only […]

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9:30 am – 10:50 am Every Sunday

9:30 am – 10:50 am
Every Sunday