RUF Fall 2005- The Acts of the Apostles
Of all the historical anomalies that face any historian, religious
or secular, the amazing advance of Christianity throughout the Roman
Empire in the first couple centuries after Christ remains at the top of
the list. How was it that this small, rag tag band of rebellious Jews
could advance a message so simple that a child could understand it and
yet so profound that it continues to enamour the most thoughtful of
people all over the world?
The Bible's answer to that question is that the advance of Christianity was a work of the Sovereign Holy Spirit of God. And that God was advancing his agenda throughout the world for his glory through these seemingly innocent events. The Book of Acts is a story of the Holy Spirit and His work to advance the Kingdom of God throughout Palestine, the Roman Empire, and eventually to the worldwide movement that is Christianity today.
These messages were delivered in the Fall of 2005.
Acts 01- Christianity's Dangerous Plot To Overthrow The World
Acts 02- When The Spirit Crashes In
Acts 03- The Wake of the Spirit, Part 1
Acts 04- The Wake of the Spirit, Part 2
Acts 05- Opposed by Unbelief- Well, again, due to the campus minister's inability to remember to PUT THE BATTERY IN THE MIC, we do not have a recording of this weeks RUF. Sorry, but the notes from Les' sermon are below.
Acts 06- Reformation of Resources (Note: for some unbeknownst reason, the last 7 minutes of this message did not record. I have no idea why. For those who are interested, the notes to the last point are below.)
Acts 07- The Seed of the Church
Acts 08- The Conversion of Saul
Acts 09- The Conversion of Cornelius
Well, once again, inexplicably, the last
seven minutes of this message did not get recorded. And all of three
application points did not get make it on this message. To briefly sum
it up, we suggested that we could make application about this story in
three areas of our lives:
- Our State- It is painfully obvious that the state of MS needs to hear the messasge that it is CENTRAL to Christianity to break down walls. Racism must be eroded from the heart outward. This has great implications for our view of inter-racial marriages, economic forward thinking, and other aspects of this state's racial struggles.
- Our School- Ole Miss itself must also hear this message. The point of Christianity is to OVERCOME barriers that exists between people. Therefore, we have to self-consciously work against making any earthly distinguishment (whether it be being Greek or Independent) central to our lives. The Gospel trumps all campus loyalties.
- Our Hearts- If the heart of Christianity is Jesus, and the heart of Jesus' work is the Cross, then the heart of Jesus work on the Cross occurred at his cry, "My God, My God, why have you FORSAKEN me?" Christianity alone offers an answer to how we can keep from being on the wrong side of the "wall" between us and God. Jesus was crucified in a garbage dump, he was taken "outside the wall" literally, cosmically...so that we could never be cast out. This fear of being cast out is the cause of more internal dysfunction than we know.
Acts 10- The Message of the Gospel (A Study in Evangelism)
Acts 11- Studies in Controversy
Acts 12- Three Surprising Conversions
Acts 13- The Gospel and the Intellectuals