Salt & Light Christian Church

Paul is wrongly accused and wrongly punished for bringing the message of Jesus to the Jews and Romans. God vindicates Paul by enlisting the Roman Empire to escort Paul with 470 armed forces away from the Sadducees and Pharisees who had conspired to kill him. Paul shows great restraint in not seeking retribution and revenge against his fellow Jews.

Paul shares his testimony as a defense to his fellow Jews in the Temple after being arrested by the Romans. The Lord meets him in the night and reaffirms that he's on the right track and is called to continue to testify about Him.

Paul shows how to live the now in light of eternity.

The demand for Demetrius' silver shrine business drops because Paul's preaching ministry so positively impacts Ephesus. Eutychus is brought back to life after falling asleep and falling from a third-story window during one of Paul's sermons. Paul also addresses the elders in Ephesus, calling them to the highest standard possible.

The Holy Spirit is *with* us pre-conversion, the Holy Spirit is *in* us at conversion, and the Holy Spirit is *upon* us after conversion. Western Christians are known to stop after being filled at conversion. We must lift the lid off our lives to allow the Holy Spirit to come upon us and flow forth from us, for this is where true spiritual power flows.

Paul experiences setbacks that create discouragement. God encourages Paul in a vision and then he experiences breakthrough. Paul's dependency on God and his devotion to God is Paul's simple but effective approach to the Christian life.

Do we try to manufacture a reality, a preferred life, that we would like to have or at least present to the world that's not actually in alignment with reality? In Acts 17, Paul appeals to the Athenians to acknowledge the one, true, living God - a new reality that was in stark contrast to the reality in which they were living.

Paul sets his sails in the direction of the Spirit's wind and is re-directed from Asia to Macedonia. There, Paul and his missionary team reach Lydia and her household with the Gospel, deliver a slave girl from demon possession, and reach the jailer and his household with the message of Jesus.

Acts 15 teaches us what characteristics false teachers exhibit and four signs to look out for to identify them. Peter and the other apostles draft a letter to the gentiles ratifying that salvation comes through grace by faith alone.

Paul & Barnabas continue to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and clearly show that a Christian's authority grows at the same rate as their humility.

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas go out on ministry together. As they travel, we see hands and feet being used to spread the good word of God. We are called to use our hands to help others and our feet to follow God.

An angel appears to Cornelius, and Peter sees a vision. Acts 10 teaches us that Peter needed to drop his prejudice against the gentiles and have the courage to bring the message of Christ to them through Cornelius. Ultimately, we learn religious activity is insufficient for salvation and that God wants something FOR us more than He wants something FROM us.

Brian Clark shares how any one of us can be an encouraging Barnabas in today's culture of discouragement.

The newly formed Church endures the first wave of persecution, which only furthers God's mission. Philip exposes and confronts a knockoff Jesus, and an Ethiopian eunuch trusts in Jesus and is baptized after reading the book of Isaiah.

Gamaliel, a wise rabbi during the time of Acts, represents someone who knows the Word and knows better than to take a neutral position on Jesus, but did so anyway. Don't be like Gamaliel. Stand up for Jesus, stand on His Word and yield to the power of His Spirit. When we do, the Church's new spiritual organization - opposite of the Sanhedrin's corruption - walks in fresh authority.

Ananias & Sapphira represent a modern cultural phenomenon called "Christian Virtue Signaling" that implicates them as living a life of duplicity. Christians are called to live a life of singularity and adopt the mind of God founded on the Word.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter and John heal a cripple in the name of Jesus, are confronted by the religious elite, and defy their orders to keep silent. These events lead to more converts and the believers' prayer for boldness. God answers their prayer by shaking their room and filling them anew with the Holy Spirit.

Hosting the presence of God around the table leads to transformation and growth.

The Spirit rested on and filled the disciples at the day of Pentecost, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. This empowered the newly formed Church to walk in the authority of Christ and gave the strength needed to carry the message of the Gospel forward.

Jesus ascends into Heaven just before the Holy Spirit falls onto the disciples. There are now two baptisms: John the Baptist's baptism in water, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; both are needed to experience the fullness of God.

Jesus launches a covert campaign to undermine the Pharisee's attempt to undermine Him. Jesus reclines with sinners, corrupts corruption, and dismantles legalism in effort to set all of us free.

Jesus heals a woman with a fever, a man with leprosy, and a paralytic who needed forgiveness for sin more than a healed frame. Jesus offers him both. Jesus offers both to you, too.

Jesus has all the authority, but has never abused His power. Jesus’ style isn’t coercive, it is humility. What degree of authority does Jesus have in your life? Mark 1:1-28