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EKKLESIA (Gr.) over 300 years KIRCHE (Ger.)

An assemblyA gathering

A congregationAn organism

A MOVEMENT

A placeA religious facility

A system of heirarchy

An organization

A MONUMENT

The natural gravitational pull of a church is always…

From an…

OUTWARD FOCUS (others)

To an…

INWARD one (us)!

A measuring tool:

“How a church prays indicates whether it has strayed.”

Andy Stanley

A question:

“If God had answered all of your prayers last year…

…would the only people ‘better off’ be

YOU and YOURS?”

Attempting to silence the messengers:

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of

the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. They arrested

them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.

Acts 4:1-3 (NLT)

Too late!But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of

believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children.

Acts 4:4 (NLT)

A great question:They brought in the two disciples and

demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

Acts 4:7 (NLT)

A bold answer:Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,

“Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he

was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the

man YOU crucified but whom God raised from the dead…”

A bold answer:“For Jesus is the one referred to in the

Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that YOU builders rejected has now become the

cornerstone.’”

Acts 4:8-11 (NLT)

A bold answer:“For Jesus is the one referred to in the

Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that YOU builders rejected has now become the

cornerstone.’”

Acts 4:8-11 (NLT)

An offensive truth:“There is salvation in no one else! God has

given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12 (NLT)

They wanted to “slam” them:

But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the

council could say. Acts 4:14

A “gag order” is issued, but Peter and John say…

“Hey. You gotta do what you gotta do. And, we gotta do what we gotta do. But, our boss is tougher than you and your boss combined! And, we’re just not gonna shut up about what

we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears!”

Acts 4:19-20 (PJV - Pastor James Version)

Point:You can tell a lot about the health, strength, heart of a believer…of a

church…by what they pray.

What do American Christians pray for the

most?

Protection/safety

They pray for even greater boldness!

“And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great

boldness in preaching your word.”

Acts 4:29 (NLT)

What would happen if we started praying more prayers

like this?a) God would answer them.

What would happen if we started praying more prayers

like this?a) God would answer them.b) We would start seeing more

opportunities.

What would happen if we started praying more prayers

like this?a) God would answer them.b) We would start seeing more

opportunities.c) We would start seeing more people

come to Christ!

Answered prayer:

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the

Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

Acts 4:31 (NLT)

A bold prayer to pray:

“Enable me to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to

heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Jesus.”