Nursery Care is available during the worship services.
At the end of each service prayer ministry is available at the altar.
Our Worship Center is handicapped accessible

The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first, third and fifth Sunday of each month..

May 4, 2008

FIRST READING: Acts 4: 1-14
As a result of the healing of the paralyzed man in Acts 3, the Jewish religious leaders bring Peter and John before them, trying to stop them preaching about Jesus. Peter and John respond with great boldness.

While Peter and John were addressing the people, the priests, the chief of the Temple police, and some Sadducees came up, indignant that these upstart apostles were instructing the people and proclaiming that the resurrection from the dead had taken place in Jesus. They arrested them and threw them in jail until morning, for by now it was late in the evening. But many of those who listened had already believed the Message-in round numbers about five thousand!
The next day a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander-everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: "Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?" With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: "Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I'll be completely frank with you-we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of His name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone. Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one."
They couldn't take their eyes off them-Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright-so healed!-what could they say against that? (The Message)

GOSPEL READING: John 17:1-11

In what has been called Jesus' high priestly prayer shortly before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus prays for Himself and then for the protection and unity of His disciples.

After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began. I have revealed You to those whom You gave me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your Word. Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You. For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours. All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine. And glory has come to Me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name-the Name You gave Me--so that they may be one as We are one." (NIV)

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April 13, 2008

 

Connecting Our World to Jesus: The Book of Acts

Our Call to Connect People to Jesus
Pastor Phil Esala

Acts 1:14a:

• The Acts of the Spirit is for us.

Acts 1:1a:

• The Acts of the Spirit is for today.

Acts 1:6b
Acts 1:7-8:

• We want to know when God will accomplish the mission. God tells us with what power. He will accomplish the mission through us.
• Our call is to be his Witness.

Acts 1:11b:

• The promise: Jesus will come back to rule over us at the end.
• The promise: Jesus will come back to live in us in the now.

Acts 1:14:

• While waiting for His coming we reconcile with one another.
• Jesus' plan: He calls us to connect the world to Him.