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Starting Point Class
Rescheduled for Sunday, February 19th @ 11:45a
If you are new to The Bridge Church this is a great place to learn all about our mission and vision and why we believe God has placed us here in this neighborhood.  You will learn all about how we are reaching our community and world, you will also have the opportunity to become a member. Please use the connection card on the website or app to sign up and let us know you will be joining us.
 
Student Ministries Lock-In
Friday February 24th @ 7:00p
If you are a student between 6th and 12th grades come be a part of a fun and exciting night.  We will have an all-nighter full of fun, games, and food.  Please sign up at https://thebridgereno.com/lockin2023
 
Moving to one service
Starting Sunday March 5th
We have made the decision to move to one Sunday worship service.  Starting Sunday March 5th we will be moving to one worship service at 10am.

Message Notes

Unstoppable: Who Are You Going to Listen to

Pastor Phil Burdoin
February 19, 2023

Last week we talked about the number one threat to Christianity, the internal threat of hypocrisy. This week we're going to look at the continued outside threat of persecution. This group of new followers of Jesus Christ was growing but as it grew so did opposition and persecution coming from the religious leaders of that day.

And the apostles are teaching that Jesus was in fact the promised Messiah and they are using Old Testament scripture to confirm this. And as we learned last week they are a charitable group, a unified group. They are taking and using whatever they have and sharing it with the group and taking care of each other. This thing is taking off and it's looking wonderful.

However, the religious leaders of that day had already warned them to stop speaking about Jesus. They had leveled several threats against the apostles, and now we're going to see how those threats are going to escalate and turn into action. The apostles will need to make a decision will they succumb to these threats or will they continue their mission.

This weeks scripture:  Acts 5:12-32 

Acts 5:12-16 
The apostles are gaining notoriety and our meeting daily in the temple courts. They are a well-respected group at this point. They are sharing the gospel and their numbers are growing.
This is exactly what Jesus told the group would happen;
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 
John 14:12 
The religious leaders become jealous of the apostles; 
Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducee's, were filled with jealousy. 
Acts 5:17 

Acts 5:18-24 
You can see how this thing is progressing. A couple weeks ago the religious leaders warned the apostles to stop doing this or they would take action. And now it was time for them to do something. They put them in jail. But God has other plans and sends an Angel to free them. The angel instructs them to return to the temple courts and continue to preach. The religious leaders can’t explain how this happened.

Acts 5:25-26 
When the officers approach the apostles, they ask them to come a face the authorities.  They didn’t use force.  They did not need to use force, the apostles obeyed them.  Remember the Bible tells us that we need to be good citizens and obey the authorities.  The only time we are to disobey the authorities is when they tell us to disobey God.  And this is NOT one of those situations. 

When the apostles are questioned by the religious leaders about why they will not stop speaking about Jesus they reply “We must obey God rather than human beings! This becomes a different situation.  The authorities are ordering them not to talk/teach/preach/tell people about Jesus.  THIS is in direct violation of what Jesus commanded them.  Jesus gave the mission to the disciples just before his ascension in Matthew 28. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” That is the mission that Jesus gave them .

Now the authorities are telling the disciples not to do this.  Peter AND the others, they are all in agreement. Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! They understand the mission. The apostles had a mission and a message. And they respond with, we must stick to the mission.

Acts 5:30-32
The apostles share that message with the religious leaders.

The apostles had a mission and had a message.  The mission was to go and make disciples of all nations. The message was that Jesus certainly IS the promised messiah that the Old Testament talks about.  And his death on the cross was not just some act of affection he did in order to show how much He loves us.  His death on the cross was the atoning sacrifice that pays for our mistakes.

Bottom Line:
The apostles had a mission and a message.
We have a mission and a message.
Previous Messages Can Be Found Here

Small Groups Talk About It

Watch the latest Message Summary:

Discussion Questions
  1.  What is the most significant or surprising thing that has stuck out to you as we have gone through the book of Acts so far?

  2. List some similarities and differences that you see in how the church looked like back then and how it looks like today.

  3. Read Acts 5:12-16. It says that “no one else dared join them”  but also that “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”  Discuss what look might have been trying to communicate here.

  4. Why do you supposed they were “highly regarded” by the people.

  5. Read Acts 5:17-26. The apostles were arrested for teaching the people about Jesus.  An angel delivers them out of jail and tells them to go back and continue to preach.  How would you have responded to this situation?  How did the apostles respond?  Where are they getting this bravery?

  6. Has a supervisor/manager/teacher ever told you are not allowed to talk about Jesus? Share that story. How do you normally react when you run into opposition trying to share your faith?

  7. When the officers came to bring in the apostles it says the “did not use force.”  What was their reasoning?  What does this tell us about the apostles?

  8. Read Acts 5:27-32. How did the high priest question the apostles?  Were his accusations true?

  9. What mission and message did the apostles have?  How did they fulfill that mission?  And who did they share that message with?

  10. As followers of Christ we have the same mission and message. Who has God placed in your life that you need share this message with?


Dig Deeper:  preparation for next week’s discussion, please do the following:

Read the conclusion: Acts 5:33-42 
  • How did Gamaliel persuade the members of the Sanhedrin?  
  • What did the leaders do to punish the apostles?
  • What was their response?  How would you have responded to the punishment?
  • What does verse 42 tell us about the apostle’s mission and message?

To prepare for next weeks discussion 
  • Read Acts 6:1-7
  • Read Acts 6: 8-15

Previous Messages Can Be Found Here