A. As a humble servant of the Lord (Acts 20:18-19, 33-34)
B. His manner of teaching (Acts 20:20-21)
1. He kept back nothing that was helpful (Ephesians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:2)
2. He adapted his teaching methods (public and private)
3. He did not shut anyone out (Ephesians 2:2:12; Romans 1:16)
4. He taught repentance and belief
C. The foundation laid for the church (Acts 20:22-24) – the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:25-27; Ezekiel 3:16-19)
II. His charge to the elders
A. The value of the church (Acts 20:28)
B. The warning of apostasy (Acts 20:29-31; Revelation 2:2-5)
C. Their love for each other and for the church (Acts 20:32-38)
A. “All who labor and are heavy laden” – physical or mental burdens (2 Corinthians 11:23-28; Matthew 13:4-8)
B. Jesus’ promise of rest (1 Peter 5:5-7; Matthew 6:25-34)
II. An invitation to learn from Christ (Matthew 11:29a)
A. Learn how to defeat temptation (Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:15)
B. Learn the secret to true happiness (Matthew 5:3-10)
C. Learn the importance of submission (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 5:8-9; Matthew 28:18-20)
III. “I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29b)
A. Gentle/meek – an attribute of Christ which must also be a characteristic of our lives (Galatians 5:22-23; James 1:21; 2 Timothy 2:24-25; Galatians 6:1)
B. Lowly in heart/humble (Philippians 2:8)
IV. His easy yoke and light burden (Matthew 11:30)
A. Compared to Old Law (Matthew 23:4; Galatians 5:1)
B. There remains a rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9-11)
A. Everyone participates (even if not leading)
B. Reasons (and excuses) for sleepiness
II. Lessons for preachers (and teachers)
A. Are long sermons appropriate? (Acts 20:7)
B. The important task of preachers and teachers (2 Timothy 4:2)
III. Lessons about the worship environment (Acts 20:8)
IV. Eutychus was pronounced dead, but came back to life (Acts 20:9-12)
A. The joy of the people when he was revived
B. There should be even more joy when one who was spiritually dead is made alive once again in the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:30; Romans 13:11-14; Ephesians 5:8-14)
A. Context matters (Acts 20:7, 11; 2:42, 46)
B. The purpose: to remember the Lord’s death, not to satisfy physical hunger (1 Corinthians 11:20-29)
II. The day and frequency
A. Why Sunday? (Mark 16:9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-20; John 20:19)
B. Why not the Sabbath? (Exodus 16:23-30; 20:8; 31:17; Colossians 2:17)
C. Why every Sunday? (Acts 20:7)
A. Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:15-16; 3:16-19, 22-24; 3:15)
B. Abraham (2 Chronicles 20:7: James 2:23; Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-2)
C. Moses (Exodus 3:7-10; 4:14)
II. God was longsuffering in the New Testament
A. Thomas (John 11:8, 16; 14:1-6; 20:24-29)
B. Paul (1 Timothy 1:13; Acts 8:1, 3)
C. John Mark (Acts 13:5, 13; 15:38; 2 Timothy 4:11b)
III. God is longsuffering with us today
A. The fact that Jesus has not yet returned is evidence of God’s longsuffering with us (2 Peter 3:1-9)
B. We have work to do (Matthew 28:19-20)
A. A friend of our Lord (Psalm 41:9; Matthew 26:50)
B. Still today, men sell Christ for far less than Judas did (Galatians 5:19-21; Matthew 19:24-26; 1 Timothy 6:9-11)
C. When Christians give up the faith, they give up far more than anyone could give them in return (2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 2:10; John 10:10; Matthew 11:28-30)
II. Peter: “I will deny Him”
A. His loyalty weakened (Matthew 26:33, 51, 58, 69-75)
B. Men still deny Christ today
1. Refusing to confess Him with their lives (Matthew 5:16)
2. Refusing to confess Him with their mouths (Romans 10:10)
3. Denying His deity (Colossians 1:15-18)
III. Pilate: “I will wash my hands of Him”
A. He feared losing popularity, his job, perhaps even his life (Matthew 27:23-24)
B. Today men wash their hands of Jesus in many ways
1. Refusing to bring others to Christ (Matthew 25:14-30)
2. Do nothing to stop attacks against the church and other Christians (2 Timothy 4:16)
3. Allow false teaching to go unopposed (Romans 16:17; 2 John 9-11)
C. Non-Christians wash their hands of Jesus by refusing to obey (Luke 8:12; Acts 24:25; 26:27-28)
IV. The Jews: “Crucify Him!”
A. Get Him out of the way (Matthew 17:22-23)
B. Does this still happen today?
A. “Unusual” [NKJV], “special” [KJV], “extraordinary” [NASB] (Acts 19:11-12)
B. Other examples (Acts 5:14-15; Mark 6:53-56)
II. Pretenders
A. A misuse of the Lord’s name (Acts 19:13-14; Exodus 20:7; Matthew 5:33-37; James 5:12)
B. The demon’s mocking response (Acts 19:15)
C. The demon cast out those who tried to cast him out (Acts 19:16) and the name of Jesus magnified (Acts 19:17)
III. Repentance in Ephesus
A. The burning of books (Acts 19:18-19)
B. “The word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:20)
A. Jesus is the “true vine” (John 15:1a; Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21)
B. The Father is the vinedresser (John 15:1b-2)
II. The branches are individual Christians
A. The responsibility to bear fruit (John 15:2)
B. The apostles’ current state (John 15:3)
C. The command to abide in Jesus and to allow Him to abide in you (John 15:4a; Ephesians 1:3, 7; 2 Timothy 2:10)
D. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:4b-5; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 4:13)
III. A warning and a promise
A. Warning against apostasy (John 15:6; Matthew 13:41, 49-50)
B. The promise of prayer (John 15:7)
IV. Bearing fruit
A. Soul-winning (John 15:8; Matthew 13:22-23; 1 Corinthians 3:5-8; Matthew 28:19-20)
B. Brings glory to the Father (John 15:8)
C. “So you will be My disciples” (John 15:8)
A. Apollos, educated and eloquent, “knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:24-26a; Mark 1:4; Matthew 3:7-8)
B. Aquila and Priscilla corrected him privately (Acts 18:26b)
C. Apollos was corrected and continued his work for the Lord (Acts 18:27-28)
II. Paul and the Ephesians
A. “Into John’s baptism” (Acts 19:1-4; Matthew 3:1-2; Acts 2:38; Matthew 28:19)
B. Their reaction to Paul’s teaching: humble obedience (Acts 19:5)
C. The gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6-7; Mark 16:20; 1 Corinthians 13:8-10)
III. “Do I need to be rebaptized?”
A. Infant baptism
B. Sprinkling or pouring (Romans 6:3-5)
C. Going along with the crowd/trying to please others
D. Viewed as unnecessary/unessential (1 Peter 3:21)
E. Baptized into a church/fellowship that operates contrary to New Testament authority (2 Timothy 2:10; Galatians 3:27)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
