11/29 Prepare Your Heart for Sunday Worship

church stage graphic (1) A Word from Brian: This week, we are beginning the Advent season!  Advent is a season of expectancy... looking forward to Christmas.  As God's people, the ancients, looked forward to the coming of their Messiah, we look forward to remembering His coming during this season.  We'll light a candle each Sunday to symbolize this expectant attitude, all culminating with the lighting of the "Christ Candle" during our Christmas Eve service, whose light will spread to all of our other individual candles that evening.  We hope you also enjoy some of the advent worship songs and Christmas Carols we'll be singing.  One of them we'll introduce this week, "Advent Song," is not available on Spotify... so you'll have to wait until Sunday to learn it together!

Song list:
  • All the People Said Amen
  • New Doxology
  • O Come, O Come Emmanuel
  • Advent Song
  • Because He Lives (Amen)
  • Once Again

Today’s  Chronological Bible Reading: (today)

TITLE: “chURch – blessed..."

TEXT:  Acts 2:47; 4:4,32-33; 5:12-14; 6:7; 8:1,4; 10:44; 11:19-21; 16:5, 14-15; 18:8; 19:18-19; 28:30-31

IN A NUTSHELL:  The Acts of the Apostles is Dr. Luke's historical account of the birth of the church. It provides a model of how the eyewitnesses to the Apostles teachings became "the chURch." We get to see the early chURch's mistakes, God's grace and blessing.  This Thanksgiving Sunday we will do a fly over of God's blessings toward the chURch.

This Week’s Readings:

A few questions to consider:

  1. Does Acts 5:13-14 contradict itself in logic? Why or why not?
  2. Does there seem to be a progression among these verses concerning these words:  heard, believed, repented (turned), obedience, were baptized, were added to the church?
  3. List the words in these Scriptures that reflect positive blessing.
  4. List the words in these Scriptures that reflect negative persecution.
  5. How did those scattered by persecution react?  Acts 8:1,4; 11:19-21
  6. Would you say God blessed the church because it was good,  or because He had a purpose for it, and it pursued that purpose?

Online Resources:

Next Week’s Readings:

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