Mother's Day 2016 - Jon & Michelle's Story

05/09/16 • 31 min

While Mother’s Day should be a time of celebration and appreciation, it can remind others of hurt, frustration, and loss. Each of us faces hardship in certain areas and seasons of our lives, and it is important to know how to frame those experiences in light of the Gospel. Jesus knows us and truly empathizes with our suffering in a way no one else can. While He does not promise us an easy, comfortable life (John 16:33), He does promise us that He has overcome and will be with us always (Matthew 28:20). We may be tempted to believe that God is not good when we face difficult times, but the character of God is steadfast and unchanging--He is good and defines what is good for us. By surrendering our own desires (no matter how good) for His, we can learn to trust Him as we face the uncertainties of life.

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Acts 15: A Joy In Our Identity (Acts 5:17-42)

This is week 15 of our 37 week journey through the book of Acts. On the side of these notes you will see an overview of each of the weeks we have covered so far. Today will put much of Acts 5 together as we discuss a joy that comes from understanding our identity in Jesus.
How would you describe Christianity? This week we look at having a joyful identify in Christ. In Acts 5 we see that people are being loved by God, people are being saved (non-Christians are becoming Christians), people are healed, and people are being delivered. The Apostles, in Acts 5:17-42, get into trouble because their faith has gone public and they are doing miracles while inviting others to learn and hear about Jesus.

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Acts 16: A Lifestyle of Mission (Acts 5:29-42)

We see in this passage from Acts a Pharisee named Gamaliel. Gamaliel was the grandson of one of the greatest Rabbi’s in Jewish culture; Hillel. He does not really know what to do with the Apostle’s message of preaching in Jesus’ name because he says “for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail, if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” Gamaliel did not take a stand, he simply said the words he did in order to not rock the boat and to see how events would play out.