Christ Church - West Campus
Acts 8:1-8 ESV
Acts 8:25-29 ESV
“Expansion”
People counted Jesus as precious to themselves and were willing to sacrifice for others to know Him
”Their hymns, spirituals, and freedom songs once again became the principal issue of contention with the jail authorities, who, to regain control of the prison atmosphere, threatened to remove all the mattresses from the cells if the Freedom Riders did not fall silent.
Hank Thomas soon exploded with zeal, rattling the bars as he shouted, ‘Come get my mattress!’ he cried. ‘I’ll keep my soul!’ The outburst inspired the entire cell block to sing “We Shall Overcome,” and one prisoner after another flung his mattress against the cell door for the guards to collect.”
The whole church saw itself as called and sent (not just the Apostles)
The church had a deep commitment to share Jesus Christ with others
“Every person I know would be better off if Christ was at the center of their life.”
-Bill Hybels
The Gospel brought power to transform
The Gospel brought meaning to an empty life
The Gospel infiltrated new cultures
“People sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, and so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies.
After that dance the stars weren’t little anymore. Christianity helped Africans to become renewed Africans, not remade Europeans.”
-Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity
Challenge: Start your day with this prayer, “God I’m open to be used by you today to share the good news of Jesus.”