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

By

WEBCAST –


Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers,

What are you good at?  What activities are you naturally gifted to do?  For what tasks or jobs have you been trained and experienced to do?  In what roles do you feel both comfortable and confident?

For example, if you have a degree in education and have taught school for years you are likely confident that you would be effective teaching children.  If you were educated as an engineer and worked for years in a particular engineering field, you would be self-assured of your proficiency.  If you have a nursing degree and worked with patients for years you would feel capable to work in the medical field in the future.  We all gravitate to roles where we are experienced and confident of our abilities.  Conversely, if we lack knowledge and experience in an activity, we are hesitant to engage in it because we know that we will likely be ineffective.

That was true of the Apostle Paul, as well.  As we read about the magnificent ways God used him to spread and articulate the Gospel of Jesus, we can easily forget that he was naturally gifted, marvelously trained, and uniquely experienced for this task.  He was confident of his capabilities because he was playing to his strengths.  No one else could have done what God prepared and called Paul to do in expanding the message of Jesus both theologically and geographically.

From where he was born and his civil station at birth, his intellectual horsepower and erudite education, to his comfort and effectiveness navigating complex philosophies and the upper echelon of societies, Paul was God’s man for the job of bringing the story of Jesus from Jerusalem to the world.  God had equipped Paul to be both willing and able for this historic task.

Now, I am not the Apostle Paul, and neither are you.  However, each of us is capable and confident of serving God and contributing to the expansion of His Gospel in some manner.  We can all look at Paul and be discouraged by the fact that we are not him in either capability or accomplishment.  Or we can reflect upon how God has naturally gifted and practically trained us and serve Him and His purposes according to our strengths.  Let me encourage you, within Christ’s Kingdom, to play to your strengths!

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 Acts 16:13 – 17:15. This week we will examine and discuss that text with the title “The Western Expansion Continues – Part 2”.

Attached is an outline (in two sizes) of the text we will be focusing 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 Question for Sunday:

In new cities Paul went to the synagogue not only because he was Jewish, but also because he knew he could get into a spiritual/religious discussion with non-Christians there.  Where would you go today if you wanted to get into a spiritual conversation with non-Christians?

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
How The West Was Won…To Christ – Part 2:  Acts 13
How The Gospel Was Almost Lost…From Grace – Part 1: Galatians
How The Gospel Was Almost Lost…From Grace – Part 2: Galatians
The Gentile Question” Must Be Answered:  Acts 15 & Galatians
A Church “Council” Answers “The Gentile Question”:  Acts 15:1-35
The Western Expansion Continues:  Acts 15:36-16:12

We hope that you will join us in person or online this Sunday morning at Bay Lodge at 9:30 am!

We love you all!

Jim and Jenny

The Acts of the Apostles, Part 25 – Outline (PDF)

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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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No matter your age or background, you have a place at RCF! We are passionate about reaching people with the life-giving and life-changing message of Jesus and we’d love to meet you!

 

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Bay Lodge
492 Bradley Rd.
Bay Village, OH 44140