Faith Lutheran Church - Oakville
Acts: God's Way of Witnessing, Pastor John Brunette
When was the last time you had a conversation about spiritual things? About God? Jesus? If we are honest with ourselves, many would admit it has been a long time. Ever wonder what holds us back? What holds you back? As we continue our summer series through the book of Acts this day, we have come to a section that reveals just how the Holy Spirit uses ordinary people to lead others to Jesus.
Locations & Times
Faith Lutheran Church - Oakville
St. Louis, MO 63129, USA
Sunday 7:45 AM
Sunday 9:15 AM
Sunday 10:45 AM
Acts 8:26-40 ESV
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
What holds us (you) back?
Ignorance
Fear
Indifference
Bad Experiences
When the Spirit Leads
______________________ (v. 26)
_______________ (vv. 27-29)
___________________ (vv. 30-31)
_________________ (v. 30b)
_________________ (v. 35)
Today’s Message Online
Today's message will be available online within a week. If you are interested in hearing the message again, check out this link to see if it is up.
http://faithstl.org/oakville/messages/Prayer Request
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http://faithstl.org/oakville/care/Ways To Give
We believe God wants to position Faith to be a generous body of believers able to invest in missional ministry where we live, work, play and beyond; wherever God leads us to bless those who need the Gospel. Faith members and regular attenders are on a journey to discover what it means to move from being blessed to blessing others. We give with gratitude in response to God’s grace and sacrificial love in Jesus, who already has met our deepest needs. He works through the sacrifice and generosity of His people to meet the needs of others and to fuel the mission of His church to make disciples.
http://faithstl.org/oakville/give/