Ministry Loss/Ministry Gain
Acts 15:36-41

I.  What the Text Says

A.  A Second Missionary Journey is Proposed   v. 36

B. The Team Splits Up Over a Personnel Matter   vv. 37-39

C.  Two Teams were Formed from One   vv. 39-40

D.  The Ministry Continues   v. 41

II.  What the Text Means

A.  Great Christians Sometimes Disagree

1.  Principles

2.  Relationships

3.  Gifting

B.  Actions Have Consequences  

C.  Division is Reality Among Christians

D.  Somebody Is Wrong

The Council at Jerusalem

Part II

The Demand for Christian Purity

Acts 15:20

1.  The Basis of Christian Purity is God’s Design

      Matthew 19:4-5, 8

2.  The Authority for Christian Purity is God’s Ownership

     “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the

     sheep of His pasture.”                               Psalm 100:3

3.  The Hope for Christian Purity is the Life which Jesus Gives us

The Triumph of Grace at the Council of Jerusalem
Acts 15:1-20

I. The Challenge    v. 1
 A. Is Law-Keeping Necessary to Salvation
 B. Must a Person Become a Jew to Become a Christian

II. The Resolution   vv.2-6
 A.  Paul and Barnabas Sent as Delegates from Antioch  v.2
 B.  A Great Council is Convened in Jerusalem to Resolve the Matter   v.6

The Temptation of the Son of God 

Part V

Matthew 4:1-11 

I.  Jesus was Dependent 

   A.  He was Led by the Spirit   v. 1          

   B.   He was Informed by the Scriptures   vv. 4, 7, 10       

   C.   He was Ministered to by Angels   v. 11

         There are no strong Christians.

         There are only weak Christians who know how to depend on a strong God.

         Where dependence is the objective, weakness is the advantage. 

Introducing Jesus Christ

- The Temptation of the Lord   Part IV

Matthew 4:1-11 

I.  The Categories of Temptation     vv. 1-8; 1 John 2:16

   A.  The Sins of the Body

        “After He had fasted forty days and forty nights,

         He then became hungry.”    v. 2

   B.   Sins of the Spirit      v. 6

         1.  To Misappropriate Scripture         v. 7

               a. Partial Application

Introducing Jesus Christ

- The Temptation of the Lord   Part III

Matthew 4:1-11 

I.  The Scenes of the Temptation     vv. 1, 5

II.  The Sequence of the Temptation   vv. 3-9

   A.  The Repeated Formula     vv. 3, 6

   B.  The Disguised Aim             v. 9

   C.  The Misuse of Scripture      v. 6

        1.  Every Heretic Has His Text

        2.  The Cruciality of Context/Interpretation/Application

Introducing Jesus Christ

The Temptation of the Son of God

Part II The Nature of Christ's Temptation

The Temptation of the Son of God

Matthew 4:1-11

I.  The Reality of Jesus' Temptation v.1

        "Then Jesus...was tempted by the devil..."

A .  Peccable or Impeccable?

B.   Why does God Allow the Devil to Intrude upon the Scene?

Practical Application: Even if we are always in the right place we will sometimes be tempted.

So we should:

1) Expect Temptation.

2) Be alert (I Peter 5:8)

3) Avoid overconfidence (I Cor. 10:12)

4) Resist (I Peter 5:9;James 4:7)

--with confidence

ELIJAH and THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH

Part II

I Kings 17:8-24

I.  God’s Strange Providence     vv. 8-15

   A.  The Providence is Apparently Uncharitable

      1.  He Asks a Poor Widow for Water during a Drought    v. 10

      2. He Asks a Widow to Expend her Dying Energy

            and to Spend her Final Resources on Him     v. 11

   B.  The Providence is Actually Impossible     v. 16

ELIJAH and

THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH

I Kings 17:5-16

I.  The Shape of God’s Providence     vv. 8-9

   A.  Providence as a Response to Need:

            The Brook Dried Up

   B.  Providence Required that the Prophet Rise Up    

               v. 9; Psalm 104:28

II.  The Place of Refuge

   A.  It was a Distant Place          v. 10

   B.  It was an Unlikely Place      v. 10

ELIJAH and

THE CHARACTER OF BIBLICAL MIRACLES

I Kings 17:1-9

I.  The Identity of the Living God     v. 1

   A.  He has Revealed His Name

   B.  He has Adopted His People

   C.  He has Appointed His Prophet

   D.  He is the Lord of Nature

         1.  The Subsidiary Role of Nature

         2.  The Provocation of the Baal Apostasy

         3.  The Appropriate Character of the Miracles

            a.  Nature Turned Inside Out

NOW ELIJAH

Part 2

I Kings 17:1-9

I.  Israel’s Great Sickness             16:29-34

II.  God’s Great Remedy               17:1

   A.  God’s Remedy is a Man Who Prays        

   “…surely there shall be neither rain nor dew

    these years except by my word.”

    Elijah’s renown as a Man of Prayer is so great that

    one testament is not enough to contain his fame.

            1.  Prayer is Paying Attention to God

ELIJAH

I Kings 17:1-9

I.  Israel’s Great Sickness       16:29-34

II.  God’s Great Remedy         17:1

   A.  God’s Remedy is a Man  v. 1

            1.  God’s Remedy is a Man who Acts like God is Alive

            2.  God’s Remedy is a Man who Lives in the Presence of God

            3.  God’s Remedy is a Man who is a Prophet

            4.  God’s Remedy is a Man who Prays

   B.  God’s Remedy at First Seems to Make Things Worse

The Enemy of Souls

Part 1   

Genesis 3:1-6

“So that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan…

 we are not ignorant of his schemes.”

                                                                     II Corinthians 2:11

I.  The Devil Casts Doubt upon the Word of God

“Has God said…?”     v. 1

   A.  By Asking whether our Sources are Trustworthy

   B.  By Asking whether we can be sure God Really Said That

OUR PRIORITY AT PARTING

Part 3

 “…do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…”

II Timothy 1:8

1.  Because of the Legacy of your Family                   v. 5

2.  Because of the Confidence of your Church           v. 6

3.  Because of the Character of your Gift                 v. 7

DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE TESTIMONY OF OUR LORD

1.  Because of the Fellowship of Power Suffering     v. 8

OUR PRIORITY AT PARTING

Part 2

 “…do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…”

II Timothy 1:8

I.  The Nature of the Life We’ve Been Given    1:7

   A.  Piety –  The Vertical Focus          1:13-14; 2:15

   B.  Purity – The Horizontal Focus     2:16, 21-23; 4:5

II.  The Character of the Job We’ve Been Given  

   A.  Like a Soldier       2:3-4

OUR PRIORITY AT PARTING          II Timothy 1:8

“…do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…”

I.  Do Not be Ashamed of the Lord’s Testimony        

                                                             II Timothy 1:8

   A.  Be Ashamed of Your Shame

   B.  Testify Christ’s Testimony

II.  Grow Your Identity from the Best Things              1:5-6

   A.  The Best Things Your Family Brought to You          1:5

What is the Gospel?

Acts 15:1-11

I.  Two Gospels in Collision          vv. 1-2

   A.  The Gospel of Jesus Plus       vv. 1, 5

   B.  The Gospel of Jesus Alone     v. 11

II. The Council at Jerusalem         vv. 2-6

   A.  Many Priests, One Gospel     1 Timothy 2:5

                                                 1 Peter 2:5, 9

   B.  The Possibility of Error           Matthew 16:21-23

                                                 Galatians 2:11-12

The First Journey Concluded

Part 1   

Acts 14:19-22

I.  The Determination of the Opposers       v. 19

   A.  The Hate Commission

   B.  The Eagerness to Kill

   C.  The Ignorance of Death

II. The Resilience of the Apostles         vv. 20-21

   A.  They don’t quit because somebody could get hurt;

         they go on because someone has been hurt.

   B.  He got up

   C.  He went back in

Exhilaration and Devastation in the Christian Life

Part 2    

Acts 14:8-22

I.  The Miracle Misunderstood         vv.  8-11

II.  The Two Identities Mistaken      vv. 12-13

III. The True Case Clarified                vv. 14-17

     A.  As to the Nature of the Messengers           v. 15

            1.  The Shared Identity of All Men            v. 15

            2.  The Separate Destiny of Some Men    v. 15