Acts of the Apostles - A Book Study: Chapters 15-16

The book of Acts records the first 40 years of the Early Church. This is a book study of the Acts of the apostles, or more correctly, the acts of the Holy Spirit through the early believers. As we study the book of Acts there are two compelling perspectives that we develop: (A) the Church’s DNA – what a Spirit filled church would look like and (B) how the Church would go about fulfilling the Great Commission empowered by the Holy Spirit. We glean spiritual and practical insights from each chapter and share ways we can apply these in our lives. In this sermon we cover Acts chapters 15-16. We learn how the Jerusalem Council went about arriving at their decision and key insights can we take in collaborative decision making for the purposes of God's Kingdom. We also consider the fallout between Barnabas and Paul over John Mark. We follow Paul and his team on their second missionary journey. We see how Paul got Timothy to join his team. Timothy must have been 18-20 years old at this time. We learn how the Holy Spirit directed Paul and his team away from Asia and into Europe. We also see how God used a businesswoman, Lydia, in Philippi to help establish the church there.