ACTS POEMS: Eating (devo led by Ryan Adkins)

A ltar call
C ommunion
T alks from the pastors
S mall/large gatherings
P rayer
O ffering
E ating
M
S


November 16, 2006
"EATING"
devo led by RYAN ADKINS





Why would we care about getting together to eat?



Acts 2:42-47 “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”





So, what exactly is fellowship?


•The Greek word is Koinonia (koy-know-nee-a)
•Literal translation: association, communion, close relationship, the closest possible relationship between humans
•Meaning here in acts 2: “brotherly unity”



SO...


Fellowship is getting together and sharing the closest bond that a family can share
Sharing our struggles, our joy, our love, OUR LIVES, as well as food, money and other worldly belongings when the need arises…

What does fellowship look like in the Bible?


•Here in Acts at the beginning of the church
•When the Ark was brought to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), David danced and everyone celebrated
•Jesus sat down and ate with the tax collectors in Matthew





Fellowship isn't about getting together to eat...


It’s about getting together!
To share not just our food, but our lives too!



RYAN finished his talk with some stories about eating/sharing together from past youth retreats and his wedding.

ACTS POEMS: Offerings

A ltar calls
C ommunion
T alks from the pastor
S mall & large groups
P rayer
O fferings
E
M
S

ACTS POEMS: Offerings
November 19, 2006

What subject did Jesus talk the most about?
It wasn’t love?
It wasn’t grace?
It wasn’t heaven?
It wasn’t the cross?
It was money!
Though it makes me (and most of you) uncomfortable to talk about, I must. For if Jesus gave it such attention, I should. If I talk to you of love, grace and salvation, then I must be prepared to talk to you of financial stuff.

In the discussion on the elements of worship, it is very hard for most of us to talk about money. It’s even harder for us to call the giving away of money: “worship.” But, it appears in our overarching text for this sermon series from Acts 2.
“shared everything they had… sold their possessions… shared the proceeds… those in need.” ACTS 2:44-45

WHY GIVE AT ALL?
“No Poverty” ACTS 5:34
“On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don’t wait until I get there…” ICorinthians 16
“To be blessed” Malachi 3

TITHES “…tithes and offerings due to me.” MALACHI 3:8
Genesis 14 “heart”
Deuteronomy 26 “first”
Matthew 23 “Jesus”
OFFERINGS
Acts 4:34-37 “sell stuff”
Mark 12:41-44 “all”
1Corinthians 9 “special”

I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE/DO GIVE. DON'T BE AFRAID TO "Test" GOD IN THIS. LET HIM "Prove" IT TO YOU THAT HE WANTS TO BLESS YOU.
Malachi 3:10-12 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not shrivel before they are ripe. Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight."

ACTS POEMS: Prayer #5

November 12, 2005
Making Prayer a Priority PART #5

The past four weeks we've learned about...
•ELIJAH on Mt. Carmel
•THE APOSTLES met with a shaking from heaven.
•THE CHURCH creating a house of prayer.
•WAITING bringing about very powerful results.

All of these stories have served to teach us that...
"The outcome of prayer is not dependent on me, GOD ALONE determins the outcome."

Romans 8:26-31 ~ Don’t be afraid to ask for help…
In our distress.
When we’re without words.
The Holy Spirit prays.
The Father knows you.
Children can come to dad (8:14-17).


Let the Holy Spirit connect you to the Father. Develop your own child/parent language of intimacy with your heavenly Father.
Romans 8:27 "The Holy Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”
1Corinthians 14:15 “sing”
Ephesians 6:18 “pray”
Revelation 1:10 “worship”

Practical ways to create intimacy with the Father...
Prayer journals (look back and see where you've been, how He's come through)
Set aside a time with Him that cannot be broken every day
Pray with brothers/sisters who are not your family

ACTS POEMS: Prayaer PART 4

November 5, 2006
Making Prayer a Priority PART #4
WAIT... it's the hardest word to ever hear
Christmas morning when you're a kid
Graduation when you're in highschool or college
Your wedding day
The birth of your children


I shared the story of my last semester of college when I was graduating with my hardest load of classes yet, getting married in August and trying to find a ministry all at the same time. I didn't wait, but had a job lined up for August because corrie's dad wanted us to be stable and have health insurance at least... God wanted me to wait... and he came thru with a job offer (after tons of resumes sent out) in july and by the 15th we were in Cincinnati.


Remember the saying...
"The outcome of prayer is not dependent on me... God alone determines the outcome."

When we believe this, we will begin to WAIT on him to come through for us.

Let's look at 2 stories where the waiting game was super important to GOD ALONE bringing about the outcome of their prayers.


ACTS

• Chapter 1 ~ Jesus leaves them behind and tells them to wait for him. They gathered for church services, Peter taught, they waited, they prayed.
• Chapter 2 ~ God comes more powerfully than they could have imagined. the Jewish nation heard the truth, the church exploded.
• Chapter 13 ~ The church leadership scheduled a time of waiting on God, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. Paul and Barnabas were called out.

APPLICATION

• Elijah taught us to pray bigger, for the impossible to become possible.
• Acts 4 taught us that we need to pray together.
• Acts 12 taught us a need for houses of prayer.
• TONIGHT... Acts 1, 2 and 13 teach us that God's timing is better than ours. It teaches us to be patient, to wait on His response to our pleas because His answer will be better than we could have ever guessed.

BROKE OUT INTO PRAYER GROUPS