This weeks Sermon from First B Jackson January 12th

In one paragraph

This message picked up where the previous week left off in Acts 8, tracing how the persecution that began with Stephen's death pushed the believers out of Jerusalem and into Samaria, exactly as Jesus had said it would. The pastor walked through Philip's ministry in Samaria, the strange case of Simon the sorcerer, and what Peter's sharp rebuke of Simon reveals about what genuine faith actually...

Read together

1. Acts 1:8 quoted to show the progression of witness from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth
2. Acts 8:2 devout men buried Stephen with great mourning despite the law's prohibition on mourning the stoned
3. Matthew 24:9 Jesus on the Mount of Olives foretelling arrest, persecution, and death for his followers
4. John 16 upper room discourse warning that believers would be banned from synagogues and killed by those thinking they served God
5. Deuteronomy 18 Moses foretelling a prophet like himself that the Samaritans were also looking for
6. John 4 Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, her dropping her water pot and running to tell her town about the Messiah
7. Luke 10 the good Samaritan story, noting the prejudice in the background makes the story what it is
8. Isaiah 55 come and receive bread and wine without cost, used to illustrate that God's gift cannot be bought

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about how the believers scattered by persecution preached the good news wherever they went and said they couldn't help it, that it was part of who they were. What do you think it looks like when sharing the gospel comes naturally out of who someone is, rather than feeling like an obligation?
2. The pastor described the long history of prejudice between Jews and Samaritans and then pointed out that Jesus deliberately spent three days in Samaria and that Acts 1:8 lumps Judea and Samaria together. Where have you seen that kind of prejudice get in the way of the gospel, and what does it take to push past it?
3. Philip was described as someone chosen for humble service, while Simon Magus had spent years telling people he was someone great. The pastor said Philip's message was about how great Jesus is, while Simon's was about how great Simon was. How do you think that difference shows up in the way people talk about their faith today?
4. Peter told Simon to pray directly to God and repent, but Simon asked Peter to pray for him instead. The pastor said he gets that response fairly regularly himself. Why do you think people find it easier to ask someone else to pray for them than to go directly to God themselves?
5. At the end of the sermon the pastor asked whether our focus is Jesus or self, and whether we are trusting God for the right reasons. How would you honestly answer those questions for yourself right now?