Acts

Acts | Part 2

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.”

These were some of Jesus’ very last words on Earth. And yet, a little over a week later, something happened. Jesus released His Spirit on the disciples who went out proclaiming everything Jesus did. Their proclamation was the day The Church began.

You cannot tell the story of the early church without also telling the story of the person, work, and power of the Spirit of God. He’s everywhere on almost every page of Acts.

We hope that during this series, we experience afresh not only who the Spirit is but experience all the potential He can unleash in and through us when it comes to walking more closely with Jesus, including prayer, worship, and being on mission.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Movement of God

(Sermon) (Mission Guide)

Week 2: A Defining Moment

(Sermon) (Mission Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 3: Three Expectations from the Life of Paul

(Sermon) (Mission Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 4: Who’s In and Who’s Out

(Sermon) (Mission Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 5: The Church in Antioch

(Sermon) (Mission Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 6: The Power of Persistent Prayer

(Sermon) (Mission Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 7: Mountains, Molehills, and Which Ones to Die On

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 8: The Church in Philippi

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 9: The Church in Athens

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 10: The Church in Ephesus

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 11: Living in the Dash

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 12: The Storm and the Shipwreck

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 13: The Story Continues

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

We want to focus on particular tools to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. Since Acts concentrates so much on spreading the name of Jesus, our corporate practice is mission.

To help us grow in this practice, we've created a six-week-long guide to work within your group. Each lesson comes with discussion questions, a teaching video, and worksheets to print out for everyone in your group.

To accompany our book and further expand on the topics covered in this series, we’d recommend the following books and videos to you.

 
 

Acts

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.”

These were some of Jesus' very last words on Earth. And yet, a little over a week later, something happened. Jesus released His Spirit on the disciples who went out proclaiming everything Jesus did. This was the day The Church began.

You cannot tell the story of the early church without also telling the story of the person, work, and power of the Spirit of God. He's everywhere and on almost every page of Acts.

So as we start a new year, when many of us are slowly regathering and relearning exactly how and what it means to be and do church together, let's begin it the same way as it started with the early church. Together, let's embrace and get to know the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit that dwells with us to be with Jesus and do what Jesus did.

We hope that during this series, we experience afresh who the Spirit is and experience all the potential He can unleash in and through us when it comes to walking more closely with Jesus, including prayer, worship, and being on mission.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Mission of Acts

(Sermon) (Transcript) (Scripture Guide)

Week 2: The Spirit of Acts

(Sermon) (Scripture Guide)

Week 3: How to Start a Fire

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 4: The First Fruit of the Spirit

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 5: The Meaning of the Miracles

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 6: Spirit-Filled Witnesses

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 7: The Spirit and the Flesh

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 8: The Danger Within

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 9: Condemned on Earth, Applauded in Heaven

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 10: Following the Work of the Spirit

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

During the month of January, instead of LifeGroups meeting in homes, they will participate in a weekly Night of Prayer and Worship from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. Our hope is to spend time praying and singing to the Lord, while asking Him to let us see His Kingdom come, here in Columbia. Our prayer is that during this time together, God changes our hearts and the hearts of those in our city.

  • Tuesday LifeGroups will meet weekly on Jan 11, 18 and 25 at 6:30pm at Midtown Downtown (1800 Blanding Street, Columbia)

  • Wednesday LifeGroups will meet weekly on 12, 19 and 26 at 6:30pm at our Lexington Church (924 East Main Street, Lexington)

  • Thursday LifeGroups will meet weekly on 13, 20 and 27 at 6:30pm at Midtown Downtown (1800 Blanding Street, Columbia)

Please note that masks are required for all in attendance at Tuesday's and Thursday's Nights of Prayer and Worship taking place at our Downtown church and requested at Wednesday's Night of Prayer and Worship taking place at our Lexington church.

Childcare is available each night at 6:15pm for children in 3rd Grade and under. Please note that spaces are limited. Please RSVP beforehand for childcare. We want as many folks as possible to participate, so if you already have an easy childcare option, please consider it first to free up spots for any families who don’t.

To help us grow in our understanding of God’s goodness, we decided to write a book for this series. You can download the digital version here.

To accompany our book and further expand on the topics covered in this series we’d recommend the following books and videos to you.

 
 
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Lessons From Church Planting

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By 325 A.D. Christianity had spread like crazy. Scholars say over half of the Roman Empire had become Christian. Kenneth Scott Latourette, a history professor at Yale, said:

“Never in so short a time has any other religious faith—or for that matter any other set of ideas, religious, political or economic— ever achieved so commanding a position in such an important culture without the aid of physical force, or social or cultural prestige.”

It all started with twelve guys on a hillside with no power, no money, no celebrity endorsements —they just had an absolute conviction that Jesus had risen from the dead and a strange power poured into them called the gift of the Holy Spirit. The key was that every person, not just a handful of specialized apostles, carried the message wherever they went.

Now there are over 2 billion Christians across the world, but the work isn't done yet. Today we continue the mission of extending the Gospel to people of all ages, races, genders, backgrounds, economic statuses, and political affiliations. Join us as we spend three weeks seeing how our LifeGroups and church can grow from looking at the Lessons From Church Planting.

924 East Main Street

lexington, SC