A. Patriarchal Age – “to the fathers” (Genesis 1:27-28; 6:13-22; 15:1; 17:1-2)
B. Mosaic Age – “by the prophets” (Deuteronomy 34:10; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
II. “God…has in these last days spoken to us by His Son”
A. “These last days” (Acts 2:17, 21, 14-16, 1-4)
B. The danger of rejecting the Son (John 12:48-50)
III. Why should we listen to Jesus?
A. He is heir (Hebrews 1:2; Matthew 11:27; 28:18)
B. He is creator (Hebrews 1:2; John 1:1-3)
C. He is the brightness or radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3)
D. He is the express image of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3; John 14:8-9)
E. He is the sustainer (Hebrews 1:3)
F. He is High Priest (Hebrews 1:3; 9:11-14)
G. He is King (Hebrews 1:3)
A. The way to heaven (John 14:2-3, 5)
B. We are powerless to achieve this on our own (Romans 3:9-12, 23; Ephesians 2:8-9)
C. He is the way – the only way to heaven (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18)
II. “I am the truth”
A. He is the truth Himself, united with the Father (John 1:14-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; John 14:7-10; 1:1)
B. The truth provides freedom (John 8:31-32; 1 John 2:3-6)
III. “I am the life”
A. Abundant life here (John 10:10b)
B. Eternal life in heaven (John 3:14-16; 5:24; 1 John 5:12-13)
A. At the riverside (Acts 16:11-13)
B. Lydia (Acts 16:14-15)
1. A successful businesswoman
2. Religious
3. Obedient
II. Trouble
A. The possessed slave girl (Acts 16:16-18)
B. The loss of profits (Acts 16:19-24)
C. Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:25-26; Philippians 4:4)
III. The jailer
A. His concern for his life (Acts 16:27-28)
B. His concern for his soul (Acts 16:29-30)
C. Paul’s instruction (Acts 16:31-32)
D. The jailer’s obedience (Acts 16:33-34)
A. The desire to visit the churches to ensure they were sticking to the faith (Galatians 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 1:10-11; Philippians 4:2; Acts 2:42)
B. It is good to visit with brethren
II. The division (Acts 15:37-39a)
A. Barnabas wanted to take Mark (Acts 12:12; 1 Peter 5:13; Colossians 4:10)
B. Paul disagreed because of Mark’s past performance (Acts 13:13)
C. The sharp contention (Hebrews 10:24; 1 Corinthians 13:5)
III. The destinations (Acts 15:39b-41)
A. Paul and Silas went through Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:23)
B. Barnabas and Mark started in Cyprus
C. Mark later reconciled with Paul
1. He was a “comfort” (Colossians 4:10-11)
2. A “fellow laborer” (Philemon 24)
3. “He is useful to me for ministry” (1 Timothy 4:9, 11)
I. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Daniel 3:1-18)
A. Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image (Daniel 3:1-15)
B. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego’s refusal to bow down (3:16-18)
C. We must not compromise, but stand up for the truth (Jude 3)
II. Ezra (Ezra 7:10)
A. Seek (Matthew 6:33; 7:7-8; Colossians 3:1-2)
B. Do (Matthew 7:21; Romans 6:16-17; Hebrews 5:9)
C. Teach (James 1:25; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:2)
III. Jesus
A. At age 12 (Luke 2:46-47)
B. Nicodemus (John 3:1-3)
C. Identifying and addressing needs (Colossians 4:5-6)
A. Background (Galatians 2:11-13)
B. Face-to-face discussions (Acts 15:1-5; Galatians 2:1-2, 14-16)
II. The defense (Acts 15:6-18)
A. Peter (Acts 15:6-11; 10:34-35)
B. Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:12)
C. James (Acts 15:13-18; Amos 9:11-12)
III. The declaration (Acts 15:19-35)
A. Prohibitions against idol worship (Acts 15:19-21)
B. Inspired by the Spirit (Acts 15:22-29)
C. The purpose of the Law (Galatians 3:19, 23-29)
D. The reaction to the letter (Acts 15:30-35)
A. A need for restoration (Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20)
B. Reactions to sin (Jeremiah 2:23, 26)
C. Often prevented by pride, such as in the case of the Pharisees (Matthew 9:10-13)
D. Modern day examples
1. Fornication (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
2. Abortion (Proverbs 6:17)
3. Denominationalism (1 Corinthians 1:10)
II. The sinner must be convinced he is lost because of sin
A. Many never know the truth (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
B. Christians have a responsibility to teach (Ezekiel 3:18-19; Matthew 28:19-20)
III. The sinner must be convinced of God’s displeasure with sin
A. The need for repentance (Isaiah 59:1-2)
B. Unrepented sin leads to eternal death (Romans 6:23a; Ephesians 2:12)
IV. The sinner must know that God provides deliverance
A. Ephesians 2:13
B. False gods cannot deliver man (Jeremiah 2:28)
C. Only Jesus Christ provides salvation (Romans 6:23b; James 4:7-10)
A. The healing of a lame man by Jesus (Isaiah 53:3-6a; John 5:8-9)
B. The healing of a lame man by Peter and John (Acts 3)
C. The healing of a lame man by Paul (Acts 14:8-10)
II. A mistake (Acts 14:11-13)
A. Idolatry – Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:11-12)
B. The involvement of the priest of Zeus (Acts 14:13)
III. A message (Acts 14:14-18)
A. Turn from idols (Acts 14:14-15; 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)
B. Still today we deal with idolatry (Colossians 3:5; 1 Timothy 6:10)
C. The argument for God from nature (Acts 14:16-18; 17:30; Romans 3:25; 1:18-21)
IV. The mess (Acts 14:19-20)
A. Unbelieving Jews and fickle multitudes (Acts 14:19)
B. God was with His servants (Acts 14:20)
V. The conclusion of the first missionary journey (Acts 14:21-28)
A. Backtracking to all those congregations they planted – strengthening, exhorting, and appointing elders (Acts 14:21-25)
B. Returning and reporting to Antioch (Acts 14:26-28; 11:26)
A. Jesus loved His friends (John 11:1-7)
B. The apostles’ misunderstanding (John 11:8-16)
II. Jesus grieves with His friends
A. “If” — an expression of grief (John 11:17-21)
B. The faith of Martha (John 11:22-24)
C. “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25-27; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Luke 10:38-42)
D. The faith of Mary (John 11:28-32)
E. The compassion of Jesus (John 11:33-36; Revelation 14:13)
III. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead
A. Doubting Jews (John 11:37)
B. Martha’s faith falters (John 11:38-40)
C. “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:41-44)
A. Reception (Acts 13:42-44; 13:26; Galatians 5:4)
B. Rejection (Acts 13:45, 50)
II. Paul and Barnabas refused to back down
A. The Jews should have accepted the gospel (Acts 13:46-47; 13:17; Romans 1:16)
B. The Gentiles joyously accepted God’s grace (Acts 13:48; Ephesians 2:12)
C. Joy resulted in evangelism (Acts 13:49)
III. The missionaries driven out of Antioch
A. You can knock them down, but they will get back up (Acts 13:50-51; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; Luke 9:3-5)
B. Despite opposition and persecution, the church was planted and disciples were joyful
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)
