Articles for tag: Acts 2

September 23, 2013

Christian Standard

Lesson for September 29, 2013: God Scatters the Nations (Genesis 11:1-9)

By Sam E. Stone After Noah and his family came out of the ark, they sought to follow God”s directions (Genesis 8, 9). Chapter 10 is sometimes called “The Table of Nations,” listing where the families of Noah”s sons settled after the flood. The chapter concludes, “These are the clans of Noah”s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations” (10:32).   The Setting Genesis 11:1, 2 Noah”s descendants were evidently nomadic people. They moved south and east to the land of Shinar. At some point, they determined to build a city in the region around the area

June 6, 2013

Christian Standard

Missional Plant

By Chris Travis “I think this is what church is supposed to be like,” a young actor said to me. Between us were two empty bowls of chili. I smiled. We cracked jokes about the diversity of our group of 20 people. It looked like we had hired models to make our group look as perfectly diverse as possible. There was a white couple with three daughters; a Dominican single mother with two young children; a couple in their 60s who had been married for decades; an African-American woman; a Korean woman and her New York-native husband who was a

April 22, 2013

Christian Standard

Restoring God”s Justice

By Jason Rodenbeck Friday night I watched celebration on the news. The second Boston Marathon bomber had been captured. A city was finally resting after a horrific nightmare. And an angry (and increasingly frightened) nation breathed a sigh of relief. Why “frightened?” Whether because there are more of them or we are just hearing about more of them, tragedies like this one seem more prevalent and closer to home than ever. Even in a country where we generally feel safe and secure, we feel a growing uneasiness as the world seems to spin out of control. There is evil everywhere

April 8, 2013

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 14, 2013: The Lord Sends the Spirit (Acts 2:1-41)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone Jesus had told his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to them (John 14:15-17). Today”s lesson tells when that occurred. It happened on the Day of Pentecost, immediately following his resurrection. Pente means 50th. Pentecost was observed on the 50th day after the Sabbath of Passover week. At Passover, Jesus had been crucified; at Pentecost, the inauguration of his earthly kingdom took place. Passover provided a time to remember when the Lord “passed over”

April 5, 2013

Christian Standard

2|42 Brightens Region by Offering Arts, Sports, and Children”s Programming

By Jennifer Johnson On February 17, 2|42 Community Church (Brighton, MI) opened its new community building, a renovated athletic club which includes space for children”s programming, new soccer fields and basketball courts, a café, and more. On February 18, the church launched its School for the Arts. “We added one large studio and three smaller spaces for music, drama, and art classes,” says Rachel Dummitt, director of the school. “We started with private guitar, piano, drum, flute, cello, violin, and voice lessons, drama classes for kids, and visual art classes in portrait drawing and pastels.” Dummitt says about half of the

November 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Lesson for November 11, 2012: Paul Survives a Shipwreck (Acts 27)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone In last week”s lesson, Paul stood before King Agrippa and the Roman governor, Festus. They both found him innocent of any crime but, since he had appealed to Caesar, they sent him on for a hearing before the emperor in Rome. Today we study a part of his sea voyage en route there. Paul was accompanied by Luke and Aristarchus. Whether Aristarchus was a voluntary companion or whether he was himself a prisoner is not clear.

October 29, 2012

Christian Standard

Lesson for November 4, 2012: Paul Testifies Before King Agrippa (Acts 25, 26)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone The remaining four lessons in this unit help answer the question, “Where does faith take us?” We will look at examples of the apostle Paul”s faith and ministry recorded in the book of Acts. Paul was preaching fearlessly in Jerusalem when a riotous crowd threatened his life (Acts 22:22-24). The Roman soldiers took him into custody in an attempt to restore order. When the commander ordered that he be flogged, Paul asked, “Is it legal for

May 6, 2012

Christian Standard

The Priority of Preaching

By Eddy Sanders I heard a familiar theme at lunch this past Sunday. I was sitting with a couple new to our church, and one of them said, “We”re here because of the preaching.” The couple are new enough to our church and Christian discipleship that they don”t know all of the “right” answers. They only know their honest and heartfelt answers. They”re attempting to figure out what it means to follow Jesus. Preaching has proven instrumental in their journey so far. Our conversation got me thinking about preaching, and I came to the following conclusion: Preaching should remain the

March 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Is Seminary Worth It?

By Josh Tandy I am a statistical anomaly. I am a young minister who went to seminary almost immediately after receiving my undergraduate degree. More and more, people like me are opting to bypass seminary and go directly into full-time ministry. Some of these individuals have been spectacularly successful. The incredible stories of new churches being planted and existing ones becoming vibrant again make me think about the time, effort, and resources spent on a seminary degree, and I wonder: Was it worth it? Has a world of blogs, conferences, and books made a seminary degree obsolete? It doesn”t take

October 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Commonsense Suggestions About Elders

By Chuck Sackett “A Parable of Two Churches“ (a sidebar) is my attempt to capture the past 37 years of observations and experiences. I”ve been privileged to be the preacher in three very different congregations. And while serving as a Bible college and seminary professor, I worked in various capacities with dozens of congregations. What follows are practical suggestions for how congregations can have healthy, effective elderships. These are simply reminders of the obvious. I”ve seen them work in a variety of settings, expressed in various ways, ending with varied results. Every church I”ve seen believes it is doing church

July 19, 2011

Christian Standard

The Holy Spirit and the First-Century Church

By Jack Cottrell The Holy Spirit, as one of the three persons of the Trinity, has been working alongside the Father and the Son since the world began (Genesis 1:2). He was involved in the life of God”s people, Israel, from the days of Moses onward (Numbers 11:17, 25; Isaiah 63:10-12). When the church took the place of Israel as the people of God, the Spirit continued his work and indeed added a new blessing, as indicated in Acts 2. He will continue to work among God”s people throughout this age and in the age everlasting. This essay focuses upon

July 18, 2011

Christian Standard

The Holy Spirit Today

By Chris Seidman Let me begin with some good news. Our imperfect understanding of the work of the Spirit does not serve to limit his actions in our churches. For thousands of years, humans enjoyed the benefits of oxygen without the slightest idea of its chemical properties or how it works in our bodies. When scientists began to better understand oxygen, however, their ability to work in partnership with it also grew. That increased knowledge has improved everything from fighting fires, to saving lives, to optimizing the performance of athletes. Jesus likened the Spirit to wind in John 3, and

February 21, 2011

Christian Standard

Lesson for Feb. 27, 2011: Jesus Is Coming Again (Mark 13:14-27)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for February 27) is written by M. Y. Perkins, assistant professor of theology and society at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee. ____________ Jesus Is Coming Again (Mark 13:14-27) By M. Y. Perkins Your job is soon to be phased out. You have a terminal disease such as cancer. Your spouse is ending your marriage. If you have ever received or been a close friend to someone who has faced difficult news about the future, you will understand the significance of Jesus” words to his disciples in Mark 13.

January 24, 2011

Christian Standard

Why Churches Should Euthanize Small Groups

By Brian Jones A few years ago I brought in a nationally recognized pastor to do some consulting for our church. One of the things I remember most about my time with him was a side conversation we had about small groups. “I haven’t really figured out the small group thing,” I confessed to him. “Well, Brian, that’s because they don’t work. Small groups are things that trick us into believing we’re serious about making disciples. The problem is 90 percent of small groups never produce one single disciple. Ever. They help Christians make shallow friendships, for sure. They’re great

October 16, 2010

Christian Standard

The Best Pizza I Ever Had

By George Ross I grew up playing the trumpet, loving baseball, and eating too much. My heroes as a kid were Herb Alpert, Willie Mays, and Chef Boyardee (not necessarily in that order). Unfortunately the Chef and his “pizza in a box” was an all-to-frequent experience for me on lazy Saturday afternoons. In fact, I became quite a connoisseur of pizza at an early age, which prepared me for college life. After sensing God”s calling on my life during high school, I went to Bible college in Lincoln, Illinois, in the early 1970s. That big city of 17,000 (compared to

November 22, 2009

Christian Standard

Revolution

  by Glen Elliott Jesus was leading a revolution. He was far from conventional or status quo. In every way, Jesus was a radical. He gave his life to ignite a spiritual revolution that would invade and influence every nation and power on earth.  The “Jesus revolution,” also called the kingdom of God, is about radical change. The kingdom is anywhere God”s influence is supreme. I believe following Jesus is all about engaging in a revolution.   THE WORDS OF REVOLUTION Where do we find this idea of revolution in Jesus and the Gospels? His words were the words of

October 25, 2009

Christian Standard

We Lead by Serving: Called to Be Shepherds, Not Cowboys

  by Ronald G. Cook In this article, Ronald G. Cook, an elder with First Christian Church, Greeneville, Illinois, discusses his ministry. Read the companion article written by Darryl Bolen, senior minister with the church.     Remember watching those old westerns when you were a kid? Now think, how did those cowboys move cattle from point A to point B? They had a cattle drive! Cowboys rode behind and to the side of the herd, hollering and shooting their guns in the air, anything to get the cattle headed in the right direction. Granted, at night when the drive had reached

February 8, 2009

Christian Standard

How Our Church Uses Elder Governance

By Gary L. Johnson The psalmist got it right when he wrote, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). God created our bodies in remarkable ways. For example, the average heart has a cardiac output (i.e., volume per minute) of 1.1 gallons of blood. That means the heart moves more than 1,500 gallons of blood each day””that”s roughly 30 million gallons in a lifetime. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.       When I play with my grandchildren, I am also reminded that God created us to grow. My grandchildren run faster and jump higher with every week that

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