Acts 16

Our purpose as followers of Jesus is To bring glory to God.

Paul, Silas and Timothy on their missionary journey got stopped by the Holy Spirit. So they responded the Macedonian call and went to Philippi and stayed at Lydia's house. Then, they met a demon-possessed girl and cast out the spirit out of her to the great anger of her masters who now lost benefits.  So the people dragged out Paul and Silas and put them in prison.
That night Paul and Silas were praying and singing in a time of great suffering, as other prisoners were listening. Then a great earthquake came, with all doors broke open and all chains loosed. The jailor called them home, as they spoke the Word of God to his whole family who got baptized.
Six Lessons:

1) All who follow Jesus will be persecuted. It is a natural progression when men and women rise and choose to be bold proclaimers of the gospel. Presence doesn't equal proclamation. When you do communicate the gospel to those around you, persecution comes.
2) Believers can rejoice and be blessed in persecution.
3) Believers can share the gospel with their persecutors.
4) Believers can be kind to their persecutors.
5) God shows his power during persecution.
6) Great reward is for us who endures persecution (Luke 6:22-23).

The Holy Spirit prepares people to receive the gospel, and we must prepare ourselves to proclaim it.

Our presence must be tied in the proclamation of the gospel.


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“No one is too far from the love of God”
(Acts 8:26-39)

​1. A greater plan
2. Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch
3. Went to Jerusalem to worship
4. Who is the man?
5. Taking Water baptism
6. A continuation of the story
Read more...

For Lifenet groups and personal reflection
1. Read Acts 8:26-39. Philip’s ministry in Samaria was just started. It seemed to go very successful. Then he was told "Go south to the road --the desert road-- that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. (v.26)". If you were him, what kind of thoughts might you have? 
2. It was believed that a eunuch, castrated male was impure, disgraceful, forever cut off from the covenant community (Lev 21:18-20, Deut 23:1).
     1) What hope might the Ethiopian eunuch have on the way to Jerusalem to worship?​
     2) Can you see the similar kind of belief or mindset in our days? If any, how does it affect church? 
3. What and how does this story of an Ethiopian eunuch indicate in terms of expansion for the Word of God, the ministry of reconciliation? How can it be applied to church today? 

NLIF is an international church in Yangon. Come and join our English Sunday worship service!

2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 11; Matthew 7:21-23
 
Please be a Berean – who reads and study the Word carefully (Acts 17:11).
Satan is our accuser, but he cannot separate you from God, and yet he can and tries to get you away from the joy and blessings that come from your relationship with God.
 
Two troublesome Scripture passages:
1) Hebrews 11 – A list of people recommended for their faith (after v.6) proved themselves as bad people, such as Noah a drunkard, Jacob a deceiver, Moses a murderer, Rahab a sex worker, Gideon a timid person, Barak a coward, Samson a proud and wayward Nazarite, David a power abuser and an adulterer, etc. (We may add from the NT such people as Peter a violent, impetuous denier and Paul a persecutor of the church and Christ.)
 
How can those be God's heroes of faith? All because of Jesus, because of the Blood of Christ.
 
2) Matthew 7:21-23 – Many who call Jesus 'Lord, Lord' will be rejected by him saying, "I never know you, go away from me."
Problem/Lack of those rejected people – They tell him about their service, not their love, for Jesus.
What would be your reply if told you couldn't enter heaven?
 
A message to YOU:
#  Because of Jesus, every failure or sin against his will is dealt with and remembered no more.
#  God will remember what you have done… for him.
#  Ever imagine what … be like to hear stories in heaven of those around you?
#  Your enemy hates you and disagrees with that grace-filled reality.
 
 
Come join us at our English service of the International Church in Yangon!

“Because God so loves the world”
​(John 3:16, Acts 19:20)

1. Began as a Local Movement
2. Shifted to Large Cosmopolitan Cities
3. Transcended Barriers
4. Shift in Self-identity
5. The Same Dynamic
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For Lifenet groups and personal reflection
1) Acts 10:9-16. What thoughts and feeling Peter might have when he said the words on v.14? Where did those thoughts and feelings come from?
2) Imagine what Peter felt when he heard the words on v.15.
3) vv.34-36. For Peter what was the new conviction? What did he come to know about who God is and what He does?
4) vv.38-42. What did he witness about? What was the message he shared about?
5) vv.43-46. What was the promise of God? How was it given? How did He prove it?
6) How do you see “the Dynamic Love of God”?

NLIF is an international church in Yangon. Come and join our English Sunday worship service.