Sunday May 11th 9am Service (Mother's Day)

In one paragraph

The pastor worked through Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council, on Mother's Day. The question before the early church was whether Gentile believers had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved, and the answer the apostles reached together settled what the gospel actually is: grace through faith, not law-keeping. Some men had come down from Judea to Antioch teaching that unless a...

Read together

1. Acts 15 The entire sermon text for the day, the Jerusalem Council
2. Acts 10 Peter's vision of the sheet and his visit to Cornelius's house, cited to show God made no distinction between Jew and Gentile
3. Galatians 2 Cited as a parallel account of the Jerusalem Council meeting, covered in the men's study that week
4. Ephesians 2:8 Referenced briefly when Peter says hearts are cleansed by faith, noting Paul had not yet written it at the time of Acts 15
5. Amos 9:11-12 James quotes it about rebuilding the fallen shelter of David so that the rest of mankind and all the nations called by God's name may seek the Lord
6. Jeremiah 12 Woven into James's composite quotation about restoring and bringing back
7. Isaiah 45 Included in James's salad of Old Testament prophets, cited as who has long since declared it, is it not I the Lord

Talk about it

1. Peter told the Jerusalem Council that 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 Jesus?
2. The pastor described the Pharisees who were pushing for circumcision as 'well meaning people' with 'good intentions' rather than wicked troublemakers. How does that framing change the way you think about people in the church today who hold positions you disagree with?
3. Peter asked why they would place on new believers 'a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear.' What burdens, traditions or expectations do you think the church sometimes places on people who are just beginning to follow Jesus?
4. The apostles and elders debated at length before reaching a decision, and the letter they sent said 'it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.' What does that process tell you about how a church community should work through disagreements today?
5. The pastor closed by saying that if two believers are in disagreement, at least one of them is not listening to the Holy Spirit, and that unity is only possible by His Spirit. What does it actually look like, in practice, to humble yourself toward that kind of unity with another believer?