“Vibrant Mission”

Vibrant! Series Lesson 7

Sermon Notes

October 29, 2023

I. Making Sense of the Mission of God…

A. The book of Acts begins with the giving of a

. (Acts 1:8)

B. It is clear that Jesus expects this movement to be global, but for the first six chapters in Acts, this mission has only been local. (Acts 2:39; Ephesians 2:13,17)

C. Acts 7 & 8 is the bridge to get the mission of God out of Jerusalem and on the road to reaching the world!

D. We must start seeing the church as a

community!

1. Missions is not a slice of the pie in the church budget; rather “Mission” is the pie because we are all

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   !

2. Sometimes the “salt” gets stuck in the salt shaker and you have to apply some pressure to get it out. God does the same thing! (Acts 8:1)

E. We need to understand this fundamental truth about God: He has a

heart!

II. What Is It That Unleashes the Vibrant Mission of God?

A. We must allow our “tests” to become our

!

1. Stephen’s preaching triggered the persecution, both in the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Acts 6:8-15) and with the Sanhedrin. (Acts 7:1-60)

2. Most people love their history as long as you don’t tell the truth! That was certainly true as Stephen preaches the history of the Jews to the Sanhedrin. Stephen makes these three important points in Acts 7:

   • Point #1: God has always worked outside the
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     !
   • Point #2: We (the Jews) have never been good at keeping the law!
   • Point #3: We (the Jews) have always rejected God’s
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     !

3. As we look at the early church in Acts, we see that the mission of God was not leashed because the first Christians were willing to be

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   by their culture in a variety of ways! (I Peter 4:12,16)

4. Contemporary churches and Christians have to understand that we are not and never have been the

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   team!

5. Please understand that your testimony is the strongest when your test is the

!

6 . Life Group Discussion Question: Can you think of times when a trial or “test” in your life provided you with an opportunity to share your faith and talk about Jesus? How do our trials and “tests” impact our witness and testimony?

B . The mission of God gets unleashed when the

are more

important than the past!

1. In Acts 7 & 8, we see “past” ideas about God being challenged! Samaritans are
   coming to faith in Christ!

2. Churches almost inevitably drift from thinking about the

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   to thinking about the “insider.” And pretty soon, taking care of the “gathered”
   becomes the mission.

3. Life Group Discussion Question: To what extent do you think Alpine’s focus has drifted away from the lost and to the “insiders” or those who are here? What
   has been the impact or consequences of this? What do we need to do to get our
   focus back on the lost and making disciples?
   

C. The mission of God is unleashed when the “good news” of Jesus is shared in simplicity and power!

1. The dominant theology in Jesus’ day was that God is going to throw a big
   party, but most people aren’t invited!

2. The Ethiopian eunuch had three things that stood in the way of him connecting

to God: his race, his physical condition, and

.

(Acts 8:26-29; Deuteronomy 23:1)

3 . The Ethiopian eunuch pursued God in Jerusalem, but

pursued the eunuch
in a remote desert with a divinely appointed teacher! (Acts 8:32-38)

4 . If we are going to play our role in unleashing the mission of God, we must refuse to let anything stand in the way of a person coming to know

!

5 . Life Group Discussion Question: What are some things that get in the way of
people coming to know Jesus? What are some things that get in the way of
Christians sharing their faith and talking about Jesus with others? Describe a time when you shared your faith with another person or brought someone to Christ.