Last week, we saw Saul’s dramatic, extraordinary conversion to “The Way.” The scripture dealt with the importance of purpose, the inate human desire to have purpose, and what purpose means from a Biblical perspective. Today continues that message, showing us that walking in Christ’s purpose is hard. And today, we will see what it means to walk in our purpose, what we can expect, and what God does for us along the way.

There’s a popular saying that nobody is as blind as those who don’t want to see. Paul was like this, he had all the intellect, education and opportunity to know and follow Jesus, but he couldn’t. Instead, he persecuted Jesus and His followers. Jesus had to intervene and bring together everything He’d been preparing for Paul to save him. Paul didn’t even know that he was spiritually blind until Jesus made him physically blind for a time. We can also be blinded spiritually. We can depend on our physical abilities and material things, and ignore what really matters - or learn from Paul and plead with the Lord Jesus to open our eyes to what really matters.

Have you ever wondered why you’re here, or what value your life has? God has purpose for all of us and values us because He created us. We can never realise that value or discover that purpose until we start to respond to His guidance and obey His voice. When we do start doing that wonderful things happen. Philip and and Ethiopian official show us how simple obedience leads to a great understanding of our value and purpose in Jesus Christ.

The Church faces many attacks from outside and within. We’ve seen these attacks through the infancy of the Church and how Jesus Christ turned them around to grow the Church. Today we see how false messiah’s can infiltrate the Church and how they need to be dealt with. Simon the magician was always after power and attention, yet he joined the Church and instead of repenting of his pride and selfish ambition, he saw Jesus Christ as a way to get what he wanted. We need to be aware of Simons in our Church, but also examine our our faith and make sure that we are not like him.

What do we see when we look at the early Church in Acts? We may see the persecution and the pain, but then there’s the growth and healing. Where there’s scattering there’s a great harvest, mourning comes with joy, death brings new life, It’s all a matter of perspective and when we look carefully, we can’t but see a magnificent plan falling into place. Perhaps we need this lens to relook at our own lives and the world we are living in, is it falling apart or is God’s plan falling into place?

Last week, we met Stephen for the first time. Along with other noble Christians, he was selected to serve the church. Clearly, he was a good man, well respected, trustworthy, and faithful. In today’s scripture, we see even more of his character on display, when he is falsely accused by the Jews, just for standing up for the truth of the Gospel (does that sound familiar to you?). And just like Jesus, Stephen tells the truth under tremendous fire, and he does not falter. Let’s take a deep dive into this man's life as we know it, and see what lessons we can learn and apply in our lives today.

Christians, like everyone else, have to face conflict. It happens outside and inside of the Church. Conflict often accompanies growth, but what if it is an opportunity for growth, especially for those most affected by it? Understanding why conflict arises in the Church helps us to prioritise our response accordingly and allows the Lord to turn that conflict into growth. Acts teaches us how service can addresses conflict and how to apply it in our own congregation.

Acts 5 has revealed much about the fear of God, how valuable, and what a blessing it is. The second arrest of the Apostles contrasts the fear of God and it’s transformative power with the fear of human beings and is debilitating consequences. The weak are raised up by fear in God and the strong and wise (by wordly standards) are crushed by their fear of human beings. The current powerlessness of the Church proves that we need to repent of our lack of fear of God and plead with Him to restore it.

The early Church went through an extraordinary growth which, according to Acts 5, was accompanied by an atmosphere of great fear of God. We often think of fear in a purely negative sense, but can fear be a good thing? Does God actually require us to fear Him in order that we may have the very best relationship with Him and realise His most powerful works in and through us? What if God is not working through His Church because we’ve lost our fear of Him?

This week, we pick up where we left off in Acts in 2024. Last year, we saw how the early church had everything in common. They sold their possessions and laid them at the apostle’s feet. They were sold out for Christ. Now we read the tragedy that is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They saw what was happening in the church and they wanted in. To get in, they have to choose from two gates. One leads to life, and the other to death. Here we see what happens when we take the wide gate.

Baptism shows us what God has already done for us. When we are Baptised we declare to the world what He’s already done. It is rich in symbolism and the perfect demonstration of the righteousness and mercy of God almighty. The Apostle Peter draws a comparison to the flood of Noah to bring out all of this rich meaning.

God almighty, the creator of all things and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is a God of new beginnings. When we’re given a new start by Him, we’re called to hold tightly to Him through the changes that come, surrender to Him in every area of our lives and commit ourselves fully to Him. Hanna and her son Samuel are a great example of this kind of commitment to God, and reveals to us the great blessing of starting a new with Him every day through faith in Jesus Christ and by the power of His Holy Spirit.

As the new year opens before us, we’re invited into new beginnings. Fresh starts need us to let go of the old and hold tightly to the new. God calls all of us into the ultimate fresh start by letting go of our perceived control and trusting rather in His. This letting go is hard, it’s a struggle and a wrestling with God. Jacob’s life can teach us how to do this, and how everything changes when we cling to God rather than ourselves and the things of this world.

The year is about to end, with that comes new beginnings and changes. Some of us fear change, but God shows in His creation and in His Word how He uses change to change us for the better. It may be scary and uncomfortable, but in God’s all powerful hands, change will be used to make us more like Jesus Christ and therefore closer to our Loving Heavenly Father and Creator. Change can be good and bad, it’s not change that needs to be embraced, it’s the One who is in control of change Who we should embrace, now and in the year to come.

Jesus says in John 17 that knowing God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent is eternal life. Knowing God for Who He is is the most important thing any human being can do. To know Him is to allow Him to teach us Who He is through the Scripture, His Son Jesus and His Holy Spirit. This Christmas may we know the Word, commandments and precious promises, the loving grace and mercy and the awesome, majestic power and authority of God’s Prophet, Great High Priest and King of Kings.

Jesus is not just the prefect Prophet but also the perfect Priest. The Priest is sent to minister God’s grace to His people, he is sent to save. Jesus is the perfect Priest who saves us completely, but only if we trust and believe in Him completely. Christmas should be a time to celebrate and appreciate His saving grace and love. God didn’t have to become a human being to save us, He chose to, and did so joyfully.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but all too often in all the busyness, celebration and traditions we forget what is most important: Who is Jesus and do we know Him? Knowing Jesus is the single most important pursuit of this lifetime, it is the way in which we glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The Scripture shows Jesus to be uniquely Prophet, Priest and King. We start this new series by looking at Jesus as the Prophet.

This week we take a break from Acts to take part in a youth-led Lord’s Table service. At the last supper, Jesus said to the disciples “Do this in remembrance of me” when He ate the bread and drank the cup. Remembering God is a powerful theme in the Bible. But how exactly do we remember God, and what does that mean for us? What are the implications? In this morning’s sermon, we will attempt to answer these questions, as we strive to live a life of Remembering Jesus.

Last week, we saw how the disciples came together to overcome adversity and to proclaim God’s glory. This is a blueprint not only for overcoming adversity, but also for Christian living. We need to come together to the point where we are of one heart and one soul. And this is what we see in the scripture for this week. The disciples were of one heart and soul and when they are in this state of unity, they have everything in common, including their assets. No one among them had need. As the universal church, it’s safe to say that we fall short of this standard. But why, what are we missing? Let’s take a closer look!