Acts 8

Bible Passage:  Acts 8

Bro BiWei’s bible study on Tuesday night’s service gave us an outline of the book of Acts, which records the historical events of the church and how Christianity began and spread.

Biblereadingcompanion, in his writeup about Acts 1 talks about the church of the apostolic times and how our church today must strive to emulate them.

EVANGELISM AS A CHURCH

For the past week, the bible blog writers wrote about the importance of evangelism and the rejections they faced while preaching.

A sister who went door-to-door preaching for the first time commented how blessed she felt when she was told off by a resident. (John 15:18)

Reading about the persecutions that the apostles faced strengthens our faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. As we read on, we can put ourselves in the apostles’ sandals, to feel their boldness when they preach the gospel and their fears when facing persecution.

We can marvel that, after being flogged, they were “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41)

By reading their faith and perseverance, we can be a little more emboldened to face our personal crises with the help of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER AS A CHURCH

We read on further about Simon the Sorcerer. Im sure we’re familiar with this story, how Simon desired the power that the apostles had and wanted to purchase it.

Notice in v24, Simon asked Peter to pray on his behalf to God for forgiveness. In the Chinese bible it is written:

^“24 西 门 说 ： 愿 你 们 为 我 求 主..”

How often do we pray for our fellow brethren?

From the bible, we find plenty examples of people who prayed for others. Just to name a few from the Old Testament,

• Abraham’s prayer for Sodom – Genesis 18:20-33
• Moses prayer, interceding for Israel – Exodus 32:11-13 and again, in 32:31-32
• Ezra’s prayer identifying with the sins of his people – Ezra 9:15-16

And in the New Testament,

• Stephen’s prayer at the point of his death – Acts 7:60
• Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians – Ephesians 3:14-20

And of course, Jesus himself who prayed for his followers in John 17:6-26

What do we often talk about when we gather together with fellow brothers and sisters?

Do we share about the sins we’ve committed, with brethren that we’re closer to, and pray together in twos or threes to beg for God’s pardon?

Do we pray that God grants strength to those who are physically exhausted, having to juggle work, church duties and family responsibilities?

The prayer of a congregation is a powerful one (Matthew 18:20).

We could pray for lost sheep who stopped coming to church. We could pray for those whom we know are spiritually or physically weak.

The important thing we must know(really know!) here is mutual encouragement and comfort for each other is very important.

If we really love God and are part of Christ’s body, we will recognize our need to fit into the body of believers.

As we partake of the holy communion this Saturday, let us keep in mind that as members of the body of Christ, we belong to each other and are responsible for one another. (Rom 12:5)

Especially in this end times when the devil is doing his utmost to sow discord and persecution is bound to happen, as members of God’s church, we must, all the more be each other’s support.