Immerse Yourself!
Many of us are discovering the bible afresh with the Immerse Bible reading experience. Reading through the New Testament together in a new format without the familiar chapters and verses is refreshing. So many of us are spotting things we have never seen before and picking up insights as we gather in our groups to share what has impacted or intrigued us. There’s still time to join in! Get in touch with Brodie@qpbc.org
We are devouring massive chunks of scripture each day, especially those of us on the 8-week plan. However, we will stop and dive into a big theme from the week on Sundays. So, this Sunday we are in Acts- yes, the whole of Acts!
Get in on the Acts
Acts tracks the explosion of God’s Spirit into the world as it ripples out through lives and communities from Jerusalem to Rome. It tells the story of people’s lives upturned and put together again by encountering Jesus. It describes confrontations with religious and political leaders, riotous mobs, and remarkable conversions to Christ as the Spirit works to make Jesus known and establish communities of believers across the Mediterranean world.
The work of mission was thrilling, even as the believers faced threats to their lives, hardships, and misunderstanding. The Holy Spirit was the strategist calling the believers here and there and driving them into fresh territory as well as the power that was at work in them and around them.
Holy Spirit was not to be confined to the narrow straits of Jewish respectability, nor was he the perk of the church leadership, he was sovereign, and he was the leader of the whole Christian outreach as well as its energising power. The church was only effective when it broke through its old taboos and shibboleths and followed the Spirit.
Michael Green.
The wildfire of the Spirit jumps the rails of religion and race, and faith in Jesus catches light in the lives of many “non-kosher” people who would have been excluded or distanced from the faith of Israel: a Gentile soldier, an Ethiopian eunuch, and even a violent, fundamentalist Jew seeking to exterminate the believers in Jesus.
The Holy Spirit was the strategist and activist who pursued, prompted, and provoked God’s people to get in on what was going on. How is he provoking you in this new season to engage in what he is doing and to get in on the Acts of the Holy Spirit?
Question
Where is the Spirit at work in our world today, and what people and communities is he pulling you and us towards?
Iain