• The Local Church Impacting the World

  • Sunday, September 12, 2021

    Speaker: Dr. Tim Gibson

    Series: Acts: Empowered for the Mission, Part 42

    Text: Acts 20:1-16

    Main Idea: The local Church is designed by God to impact the world with the Gospel as they worship weekly, raise up competent leaders, & cultivate love & unity in the body.

  • 1.         Worship: Impact is made by the establishment of local Churches who are strengthened as they meet on Sundays to worship & study the Word of God. (v. 1-2, 7-12)

    • Sunday: The local church met to      on Sunday, the first day of the week.
    • Gathering: The local church “gathered together” in an upper room in a      .
    • Communion: The local church met to celebrate the crucified &      Lord as they “broke bread.” (v. 7b)
    • Study the Word: The local church met to be      , encouraged & exhorted from the Word of God. (v. 1-2, 7c-12)

     
    2.         Development: Impact is made when the local Church strategically raises up new leaders to carry on the work of the Gospel. (v. 3-6, 2 Tim 2:2)

    • We should be looking for men-to-men or women-to-women opportunities for      : Faithful, Available, & Teachable (FAT). 
    •  The church of the next generation depends upon the      of this generation.

     
    3.         for One Another: Impact is made when the local Church is committed to practical love and unity for one another in the midst of cultural diversity. (v. 1-7, 13-16, Cor 16:1-4, 2 Cor 8 & 9, Rom 15:25-28)

    • As the church we should have a love for the saints & be willing to      them in their trouble. (1 Jn 3:17-18)
    • As the church we should have a deep desire for unity among our cultural      . (Eph 2:13-22)

  • 10 Reasons Christians are NOT required to observe the Sabbath
    (Saturday worship):

    1. Although a day of rest and worship is demonstrated by God in the creation, the Saturday Sabbath was given to Israel as the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Ex 31:16-17, Ez 20:12, Neh 9:14).  Since Christians are under the New Covenant (2 Cor 3:6, Heb 8), they are not required to observe the sign associated with the Mosaic Covenant.

    2. There is no command in the NT for Christians to observe the Sabbath. 

    3. Even during the Mosaic economy, the OT neither commanded the Gentile nations to observe the Sabbath nor condemned them for failing to do so.  That offers further proof that the Sabbath was given to Israel only.

    4. There is no record in the Bible of anyone’s observing the Sabbath before the time of Moses.  The first command to keep the Sabbath appears in the law given to Moses at Sinai (Ex 20:8).

    5. The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) did not impose Sabbath keeping on the Gentile believers.

    6. The Apostle Paul warned the Gentiles about many different sins in his epistles but never about breaking the Sabbath.

    7. Colossians 2:16-17 describes the Sabbath as a shadow of Christ; the shadow is no longer binding on us since the substance (Christ) has come.

    8. In Galatians 4:10-11, Paul rebukes the Galatians for thinking that God expected them to observe special days, such as the Sabbath. 

    9. Romans 14:5 declares observing the Sabbath to be a personal preference among converted Jews.  It was to be tolerated until they become more mature in the understanding of their Christian liberty.  Therefore, it could not be something God requires believers to do.

    10. The book of Acts and the subsequent writings of the early church Fathers make clear that the church from earliest times met for worship on Sunday. 

     

    John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Acts 13-28, pg. 202

  •  

  • Thank you for worshipping with us today!

     

    Ebenezer Bible Fellowship Church
    3100 Hecktown Road
    Bethlehem, PA  18020
    610-868-5501
    APlaceForYou.org

     

     

  • Should be Empty: