Sunday May 11th 11am Service ( Mother's Day)

In one paragraph

The pastor opened on Mother's Day by acknowledging the weight the day carries for different people, then turned to Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council. The central question the early church faced was one that still matters: are we saved by grace through faith, or does something else have to be added? The trouble started when men came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas had...

Read together

1. Acts 1 Jesus tells disciples they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts
2. Acts 10 Peter's visit to Cornelius's house and the extension of the gospel to Gentiles
3. Acts 15 the Jerusalem Council and the question of whether Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law
4. Galatians 2:1-10 Paul says he received his gospel through direct revelation from Jesus, connected to the Jerusalem Council
5. Amos 9:11 James quotes it: 'I will raise up the fallen shelter of David'
6. Amos 9:12 James quotes it: 'all the nations who are called by my name'
7. Jeremiah 12 James draws on it: 'I will bring them back, I will restore them'
8. Isaiah James quotes: 'Who is it that has declared it? Is it not I, the Lord'
9. Colossians 1:19-20 spoken as benediction: all fullness of God pleased to dwell in Christ, reconciling all things through the blood of his cross

Talk about it

1. Peter described how God made no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers, cleansing their hearts by faith. Where in your own life have you been tempted to add requirements to the gospel beyond faith in Christ?
2. The pastor pointed out that Peter had already seen God work among the Gentiles at Cornelius's house, yet he still took time to listen before speaking at the council. What does that kind of reserved listening look like in a church disagreement today, and how does it differ from what usually happens?
3. James went back to the prophets to show that Gentiles coming to faith was not a surprise to God but was foretold. How does knowing that God's plan was announced far in advance affect the way you trust Him with things that feel unexpected or unsettled right now?
4. The letter from Jerusalem asked Gentile believers to avoid certain practices, not to earn salvation but to preserve unity with Jewish brothers and sisters. Can you think of a freedom you personally have that you might set aside out of consideration for someone else in the body of Christ?
5. The pastor closed by saying that if two believers who both have the Holy Spirit disagree, at least one of them is wrong, and that humility before God is what brings unity rather than one side simply outlasting the other. What does genuine humility before the Spirit look like in a real disagreement, and what makes it hard to get there?