Saints Together Week 2 - Chains & Triumph Part 2
Read
Acts 16:26-34
26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
Summary
Last week we kicked off our new series Saints Together, with part 1 of Chains & Triumph. We are still in Chapter 16 of acts but we are now in verses 26-34.
This week’s first point was POWER. Not the POWER of praise, nor the POWER of prayer, the POWER we see is that of GOSPEL. As Paul and Silas were in prison they were indeed singing and indeed praying to the Lord. While they were singing and praying to God, they were proclaiming the GOSPEL to all those who were listening.
As the walls shook and the chains fell, Paul and Silas could have escaped, but they stayed to proclaim Jesus. When they jailer realized the doors were all open, he was preparing to kill himself when Paul said “we are all here”.
Their PURPOSE was to stay, which allowed the jailer to realize his purpose. What was his purpose, to respond to the PROCLAMATION. The jailer thought his purpose was to keep the captives imprisoned, the proclamation is to set the captives free. Their faithfulness to stay saved the faithless. Not just the jailer, he took them home to PROCLAIM the GOSPEL to his family. Verse 34 tells us that his entire household was saved.
Being in community allows other saints to remind us of our PURPOSE and to keep us on track.
So, what are our next steps:
Don’t ever doubt the power of the PROCLAMATION.
Share the GOSPEL with everyone around you.
Know that your purpose can lead others to Christ.
Choose to answer YES to the call of Jesus.
Answering YES to the call is SALVATION.
Discussion
Who PROCLAIMED the GOSPEL to you?
Who was the last person you PROCLAIMED the GOSPEL to?
How are you teaching/encouraging your family to PROCLAIM the GOSPEL? Explain
How did you realize your PURPOSE? Explain
How are you helping your family members realize their PURPOSE?
Who keeps you on your PURPOSE’s path?
Announcements
We are already beginning to plan for next year, please help us pray as we week God’s leading in His CG Ministry.
We will be starting to implement CG Coordinators this year. Each Coordinator will be providing support for their CG and four others. Please pray for our future Coordinators.
Let’s continue to pray for each other and send prayer requests through our WhatsApp thread. If you are a CG Leader and are not on our WhatsApp thread please contact Meichelle at meichelle.vasquez@bt.church
Pastor Isuaro Medina
Isauro.medina@bt.church
Cell: (956) 984-9380
