Church Of The Lost Sheep

'Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added  to them.  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with

Three Thousand Believe ' When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.” With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.” Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day."' Written by Luke, 1st century Acts 2:37-41 [This is the 17th message of this series] Today we are going to look at the origins of the churches. Peter In another series of messages, we spoke about that day (Pentecost Sunday) when "the church" was born. [ New Believers Series - Pentecost Sunday ] From that message

"I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.  God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord."  -Apostle Paul writing to the early church in Ephesus Ephesians 3:9-11 [3rd message of the New Believer Series] Paul in writing to the early believers in the City of Ephesus (an important Greek city near the village of Selƈuk in modern day western Turkey) mentioned one of the purposes of the church. Ruins in the City of Ephesus. The church in Ephesus is mentioned as one of the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation. This city was the closest of the 7 to the Island of Patmos where the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation.  Image Credit: Btitannica.com What is a Church This church that Paul was referr

Acts 2 Church The Fellowship of Believers "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. A sense of awe came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need. With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  Acts 2:42-47 As we have read above, the Book of Acts written by an eye-witness, the Evangelist Luke is a record of what the first church was all about. He wrote this record and the Book of Luke for a person named Theophilus and these books have been preserved, translated to different languages and passed d

Peter Addresses the Crowd "Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. These men are not drunk as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! ... Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches. David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell in hope, because You will not aban