Devoted Evangelism:
On Sunday, January 5 and Sunday, January 12, I preached from Acts 2:42-47 outlining some foundational principles we can learn from the early church. I want us to be thinking in 2025 this way: “What were the early followers of Jesus doing that we should be replicating in the church today?”
As Jesus ascended into heaven following His crucifixion and resurrection, He gave His followers, including you and me, these words, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
And indeed, the power of the Holy Spirit was evident. He guided them in the selection of an apostle to replace Judas. The Holy Spirit gathered a crowd through the sound of a mighty rushing wind and gave the apostles the ability to speak and be understood in multiple languages. The Spirit empowered Peter’s preaching on that day so that about three thousand people were saved that day.
Then it says that these continued in devotion to the apostle’s teaching, to the community of fellow believers, to gathering in worship for the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer. As they centered their lives on their faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.
It is clear that these early followers took Jesus’ words to heart, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.” As they bore testimony to Jesus Christ and the gospel the Lord was opening hearts to saving faith.
On those opening Sundays of January, by looking at this text in Acts 2, I outlined seven areas of devotion for the church in 2025: Evangelism, Discipleship, Fellowship, Ministry, Worship, Prayer, and Stewardship. These are church fundamentals. The blocking and tackling of ministry.
The first fundamental is evangelism. Are you a believer? Have you repented of your sins, and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation? Can you explain when that happened for you? Can you explain what Jesus did for your salvation to be possible? If you are answering ‘yes’ to those questions, then the Holy Spirit indwells you, and you are a witness for Jesus Christ.
You and I are to be daily, faithfully, sharing Christ with others and praying for God to open their hearts and minds to believe in Him so they too might by saved. I suggest you begin with these simple steps.
1st Write down the name of anyone you know who is lost.
2nd Commit to daily pray for them to come to saving faith in Christ, and for you to have opportunity to share with them.
3rd Practice sharing your testimony with your spouse or a close friend so that you are ready and comfortable to share who Christ is, what He did to save us, and how you came to believe in Him.
4th Pray to see lost people each day. There are people all around us who need to hear the gospel. We just need eyes to see them and a willingness to share with them.
5th Commit to invite people you meet to visit church with you. Most people attend church because someone invited them.
You and I can be devoted to evangelism. The same God who moved in powerful ways in Acts 2 is still empowering His people with the same Holy Spirit.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
Then it says that these continued in devotion to the apostle’s teaching, to the community of fellow believers, to gathering in worship for the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer. As they centered their lives on their faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.
It is clear that these early followers took Jesus’ words to heart, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.” As they bore testimony to Jesus Christ and the gospel the Lord was opening hearts to saving faith.
On those opening Sundays of January, by looking at this text in Acts 2, I outlined seven areas of devotion for the church in 2025: Evangelism, Discipleship, Fellowship, Ministry, Worship, Prayer, and Stewardship. These are church fundamentals. The blocking and tackling of ministry.
The first fundamental is evangelism. Are you a believer? Have you repented of your sins, and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation? Can you explain when that happened for you? Can you explain what Jesus did for your salvation to be possible? If you are answering ‘yes’ to those questions, then the Holy Spirit indwells you, and you are a witness for Jesus Christ.
You and I are to be daily, faithfully, sharing Christ with others and praying for God to open their hearts and minds to believe in Him so they too might by saved. I suggest you begin with these simple steps.
1st Write down the name of anyone you know who is lost.
2nd Commit to daily pray for them to come to saving faith in Christ, and for you to have opportunity to share with them.
3rd Practice sharing your testimony with your spouse or a close friend so that you are ready and comfortable to share who Christ is, what He did to save us, and how you came to believe in Him.
4th Pray to see lost people each day. There are people all around us who need to hear the gospel. We just need eyes to see them and a willingness to share with them.
5th Commit to invite people you meet to visit church with you. Most people attend church because someone invited them.
You and I can be devoted to evangelism. The same God who moved in powerful ways in Acts 2 is still empowering His people with the same Holy Spirit.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
