FEBRUARY 2012
celloutlines | overview
Boundless Acts! With a flick of the fingers, friction occurs and a spark leaps from match to tinder. A small flame burns the edges and grows, fuelled by wood and air. Heat builds, and soon the kindling is licked by orange-red tongues. Higher and wider it spreads, consuming the wood. The flame has become a fire. Nearly 2000 years ago, a match was struck in Palestine. At first, just a few in that corner of the world were touched; but the fire spread beyond Jerusalem and Judea out to the world and to all people. Acts provides an eyewitness account of the flame and fire – the birth and spread of the church. Beginning in Jerusalem with a small group of disciples, the message travelled across the Roman Empire. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, this courageous band preached, taught, healed, and demonstrated love in synagogues, schools, homes, marketplaces and courtrooms, and on streets, hills, ships and desert roads – wherever God sent them, lives and history were changed. As you read Acts, put yourself in the place of the disciples – feel with them as they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and thrill with them as they see thousands respond to the gospel message. Sense their commitment as they give every ounce of talent and treasure to Christ. And as you read, watch the Spiritled boldness of these first century believers, who through suffering and in the face of death take every opportunity to tell of their crucified and risen Lord. Then decide to be a 20th-centruy version of those men and women of God! (Life Application Bible, Kingsway) In this month’s cell groups we are going to be diving into the book of Acts and exploring the boundless outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church. We will discover how, under immense persecution, these spirit filled believers kick started a movement that saw the gospel spread like wild fire throughout the world. The transformation that the Holy Spirit caused in the lives of the disciples was immense. Take Simon Peter for example. Here was a man who was scared to admit he knew Jesus a few weeks earlier. But, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up in front of a massive crowd, preached the word of God and 3000 people became Christians. When he prayed for sick they were healed, and even his shadow healed people as he walked by. Peter became one of the most significant leaders in the early church.
celloutlines
It’s an exciting month as we realise that the same Holy Spirit is still here today, filling us with his boundless faith and power, and transforming us from the inside out so we can transform the world around us!
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