Acts Bible Study Chapter 11: In Acts 11, we see a significant shift in the early church's understanding of its mission, as it embraces the inclusion of Gentiles and expands beyond its Jewish origins. At Pentecost the Gospel began with the Jews, but Jesus came to save the world. We are intructed by Jesus in the Great Commission to bring salvation to all people. Jesus told the parable of the Wedding Feast: the invited guests didn't enter into the celebration, so we Gentiles have been invited. During the ministry of Jesus He healed the Centurion's servant; from this we can understand that Jesus came to save the whole world, just as He said in John 3.16, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.'
Preach the Gospel to all
Acts Bible Study Chapter 10: This passage recounts the significant event where Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, receives a vision from God that challenges his understanding of who can be included in the Christian community. In the vision, Peter sees a sheet descending from heaven containing various animals, both clean and unclean according to Jewish dietary laws. A voice commands Peter to kill and eat, but Peter refuses, citing his adherence to Jewish customs.
The transforming power of God
Acts Bible Study Chapter 9: The experience Paul had with God was so powerful, he could not refuse to obey! If only our encounters with God were as powerful and life-changing as this! Like Saul (Paul) I have met with God. I know God. I have seen the fire. More than that, the fire is in me, burning in my soul. There is a power that transforms me when I preach the Gospel so that I am not the ordinary David Hathaway. I have a power, yes a fire – from God. That is why, when I declare the Word of God, miracles happen. It’s not me, it's God. He wants you to know, to see the evidence of His fire and power!
From persecution to great joy
Acts Bible Study Chapter 8: The Acts of the Apostles, with its challenges and miracles, demonstrates to us the work of the Believing Church, to prepare for and bring about the Kingdom of God on earth by sharing the Good News – the Gospel – in Power. Deliverance from sin and miracles of healing were the tools Jesus used. These, and the power of prayer, supported by our faith in God’s infallibility, the Holy Spirit working in and through us, are the Mission of the Church and you as part of God’s Mission!
Steadfast in faith and righteousness
Acts Bible Study Chapter 5: I remember the day when the Lord challenged me to serve Him. I was 15, on holiday on the South Coast of England, walking on the sea-front with some young Christians and I couldn’t enter into the fun that they were having because God was speaking to me – and the devil was speaking to me. The devil was saying, ‘Don’t listen, it’s OK, things are fine. You’re doing well – you got saved when you were 8, and you got baptised in water when you were 12, you started preaching at 13, that’s enough,’ and God was saying, ‘I want more.’ God was not calling me to be a preacher or an evangelist at that time, God was asking me to give my whole life to Him. Simply to give everything to Him.
Salvation in the Name of Jesus
Acts Bible Study Chapter 4: ‘Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”’
The Power in the Name of Jesus
Acts Bible Study Chapter 3: This is a challenge to you and me. It is the immediate follow up to the Day of Pentecost, when Peter, under the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, preached Christ for the very first time and 3000 were converted and baptised that same day! The new converts continued daily in the Temple, breaking bread together from house to house, praising God, having favour with the people – and the Lord added daily to the Church those that should be saved. Acts 2:41-47. I wish that this would happen today, daily!
The Day of Pentecost
Acts Bible Study Chapter 2: ‘When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.’ This chapter marks a significant moment in the early church's history, as it describes the empowering of the disciples by the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church through the preaching of the Gospel.
Jesus is so important to me
I want you to understand the power of prayer, and the power which Jesus has. I spent my youth searching for God, not because I was not a Christian, since I became a Christian when I was 8 years old. But when I became a Christian, I didn’t want to be a ‘normal’ Christian – I was searching for the truth, the reality, the Power and Glory of God! I wanted to find the God of the Bible, the God of Heaven, I wanted to KNOW Him! All my life I have searched for God’s Power and His Glory! It was the dream of David the shepherd boy to see the Glory of God here, on earth! It’s my dream too!
Led by the Lord
From childhood, I wanted every day and every part of my life to be under the direction and control of the Holy Spirit. Now when I look back over 70 years of ministry I know with absolute certainty that there has been both purpose and direction in my life. God has been in control of all my days and all my experiences. Everything that has happened in my life was foreknown in His plan.