LOOK: I am asking you to ponder this: Paul was an itinerant missionary who only had the Lord to count on for his provisions. He didn’t always know what to expect from location to location. Some populaces embraced him and the gospel message, while others were hostile to him and tried to kill him. He endured beatings, prison, three shipwrecks, YET he was never short on provisions. All of his physical needs were met, his relationship needs were met, and his spiritual needs were met. The Lord was always with Paul through dreams, visions, visits from angels, and the Holy Spirit who resided in him.

Contrast his life as an itinerant missionary to ours. We are born-again believers who live in a country where we have freedom to worship wherever we want. Of all the believers around the world, I bet we have the most flexibility to share the good news with those around us. Yet, many of us haven’t even shared the good news with anyone. In a culture of abundance, we live a very isolated existence. We’re functioning through social media and computers while our neighbor across the street, who we don’t know by name, is spiritually perishing.

The Great Commission is a command to all of us: “GO and make disciples…” As a reminder, “go” can be interpreted “as we are going.” We need to have a mindset of being an itinerant missionary just like Paul and trust God to provide whatever we need to share the gospel.

What I just shared is what I perceive as our failure point, but it is a personal pain point for me. I am very comfortable with articulating the gospel message, but my failure is not taking the time to cultivate relationships with those outside of the Christian circle. If I am going to win people for Christ, I need to invite people more often for lunch or coffee. I have to be intentional to be faithful to the Great Commission. I am confident that God will provide the words and whatever else I need to share the gospel. Will I trust Him?

Q: Give me your reactions. What are your thoughts?

Q: How are we to live in light of this text?

The post ACTS 28 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK: Some of you may be going through a storm in life that doesn’t seem to have an end, and you’re feeling hopeless and powerless. But today the Lord has brought us an important message that we need to live by daily: “DO NOT BE AFRAID.”

Our lives will be forever changed when we choose to live FEARLESS because God is always with us and taking care of us. If every believer lived fearlessly, we would not only feel different, but we would live more empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The rationale for the above proposition is found in the content of Acts 27:
1. God cares for us by remaining sovereign in our lives. He is always in control.
2. God cares for us by placing a hedge of protection around us in the toughest storms of life.
3. God cares for us by not allowing anyone or any circumstance thwart His purpose for us.
4. God cares for us by providing for our physical needs. He is always our faithful Provider.
5. God cares for us by speaking to us in our darkest hours with words of encouragement.
6. God cares for us by giving us the endurance to get through our darkest hours.

There’s a saying in Christian circles, but I don’t know who gets credit for it: When we ask the Lord to help us in the storms of life, He will either calm the storm, or He will calm us in the midst of the storm. When our trust is in God, we will have the “peace that surpasses all human understanding that will guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”

Q: What are behaviors we can exercise to move toward internalizing “Do Not Be Afraid” as the default setting of our heart and mind? [Pray DAILY; Find devotionals that focus this topic.]

Q: If you catch yourself feeling fear or anxiety, what can you do differently to live in light of this text? [Invite the Holy Spirit to help you overcome fear as soon as you become aware of it.]

The post ACTS 27 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

Lead the class through the rationale of why the resurrection message is vitally important:

1. The resurrection of Jesus is the crux of the Christian message. [Philosophical Reasoning]
   1. Without the resurrection, we have no story to tell!
      1. The consequences of denying the resurrection. (X-ref I Cor 15:12-19)
      2. The Christian hope. (X-ref I Cor 15:20-34)
   2. Jesus, who was God in the flesh, conquered death. You and I don’t have the hope of eternal life unless Jesus was raised from the dead.
2. The Physical Reality of Jesus’s resurrection validated by Himself and other witnesses.
   1. There were over 500 witnesses
   2. As Paul said, “it didn’t happen in a corner!” (Acts 26:26)
   3. Jesus revealed Himself – See Luke 24:19-35
3. The resurrection was NOT a surprise!! [Prophetic Fulfillment]
   1. Jesus admonishes Cleopas and a friend – Luke 19:25-27
   2. Paul said in Acts 26:22-23 “the prophets and Moses said this would happen.”
   3. Jesus in Luke 24:46 said, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations…”

Q: Are you willing to be more intentional about integrating the resurrection of Jesus more consistently when you share the good news with others? Do you understand that Jesus’s resurrection is the most powerful reason behind why we have the hope of eternal life?

The post ACTS 26 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

Think about a situation you’re in where you are waiting on a decision to be made on your behalf. Are you in an uncomfortable wait period as the Lord works out your circumstances?

Paul had his complete faith in trust in the Lord to utilize the legal system and the authority figures to provide protection. Think about Rom 8:28, “For all things work together for good of those who love the Lord and who are called according to His purposes.” Our patience gets rewarded when we trust the Lord to work out our circumstances to His end goal.

We also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the enemy wants to derail us if he can. But let’s stay encouraged. “Christ who is in us is greater than he who’s in the world.” (I John 4:4) So the enemy can turn up the heat, but we can’t be beat.

The post ACTS 25 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

Telling the truth is always the right response to false accusations

1. God is a “just” God.
   1. God is a holy and “just” God and must punish sin.
   2. Deut 32:4, “He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”
   3. 2 Chron 12:6, “The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”
   4. Luke 18:7-8, “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”
2. God is truth; therefore, He honors truth.
   1. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)
   2. Since we’re made in His image, we are to reflect God’s attribute of truth. “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment. The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful.” (Prov 12:19, 22)
3. God is sovereign
   1. His purposes cannot be thwarted. (Isa 14:27)
   2. He controls the king’s heart like a watercourse such that we find favor in the eyes of the authority. (Prov 21:1)

The post ACTS 24 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

We can endure whatever He allows our way with confidence by trusting the four TRUTHS we learned about God in today’s passage that will bring us comfort during our trials:

1. The Lord meets us where we are in our struggles to cheer us on.
2. The Lord is willing to show us our next step.
3. The Lord never leaves us or forsakes us, so we’re never alone.
4. The Lord will bring out of darkness and into the light what needs to be exposed to squash the evil plots against us – especially when we’re doing His work.

The post ACTS 23 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

Q: Will you consider the possibility that God is choosing to give you a platform to share the good news, even when your circumstances are challenging? Sometimes He brings people into our life who aren’t friendly, who have an axe to grind, who want to make things difficult for you. These are the very people who need to experience the love of God, and now is our opportunity.

Q: Are the elements of your testimony intact? If the Lord gave you a platform today, could you

• Tell someone about your personal encounter with the Lord?
• Describe the circumstances that led up to your decision to Christ?
• Share how your heart has changed because of Christ?

If you’re not sure what you’d say, consider thinking of your favorite attributes of God. When you hear “God,” do you think “Father?” “Provider?” “Faithful?” “Compassionate?” “Merciful?” Talk people through why a certain attribute has been so important to you.

The post ACTS 21:27 – ACTS 22 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

As I was processing this chapter for today’s lesson, I found myself impressed with Paul’s unwillingness to be dissuaded from doing God’s will, yet not being insensitive to those who loved him and cared for him. His spiritual maturity was evident. He was willing to lay down his life for the name of Christ just as Jesus was willing to lay down his life for us. But some of us might have an internal dialogue going on that sounds something like this: “This is Paul you’re talking about, and I’m no Paul! He’s a different category of Christian than me! I can’t honestly say that I would lay down my life for the name of Christ.”

May I respond to your internal script? Remember the slogan, “If God leads you to it, He’ll see you through it?” Has it occurred to you that God had been preparing Paul’s heart over the years to stay the course and go to Jerusalem? What if you’re trying to applaud Paul’s decision to stay the course, rather than applauding the Holy Spirit who was empowering him to face the challenge? Why is it that we lapse into thinking we have to do God’s will in our own strength?

It would be a fantastic outcome for this lesson if all of us walked out this door with a resolute commitment to follow Jesus full throttle and fearlessly just like Paul, but with the clear understanding that it is the Holy Spirit in us who gives us the strength to go full throttle and go without fear.

I Thess 5:24 says, “The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” Whatever God has willed for each of us, He will lead us to it, and He will see us through it. Count on it. Let’s pray.

The post ACTS 21:1-26 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

There were eleven core values that we identified, and you may already have some of them incorporated in your own life. To have all eleven is quite a tall order, but I believe if we would adopt one or two of them to get started, I am confident that all of us would be running the race set before us much more effectively. So here’s the question to ponder:

Q: As we were processing today’s lesson, were there any core values that especially resonated with you such that you want to pray that the Lord instill them in you today? [Let people respond]

If you are resonating with a couple of core values, consider the possibility that the Holy Spirit is drawing you to them.

The post ACTS 20 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.

LOOK:

I don’t want anyone leaving class this morning wondering about whether you are baptized by the Holy Spirit. So if you are not sure whether you’ve been baptized by the Holy Spirit, then let me share with you how to be sure. Jesus said to us that we should come to Him with a child-like faith. So if you’re here this morning and can agree with God that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness, and that Jesus was His Son who came to earth to die on a cross to pay the penalty of your sins, and that you are professing your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then as you pray this to God, He will baptize you with His Holy Spirit. You are committing to a love relationship that requires you to follow Him.

The post ACTS 19 appeared first on LAPenick's Blog.