Call to worship:
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.Isaiah 40:10-11
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
Which of the multiple scenes from this account stick out to you?
How have you seen and experienced spiritual warfare?
Where are you looking to Jesus for clarity in the midst of uncertainty?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, and we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen.
Notes//Quotes//Slides:
Acts 16:11-40 - Jack
Slide 1
Scene 1: The Conversion of Lydia (16:11-15)
Slide 2
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Slide 3
Takeaways from Scene 1
1. God is sovereign in salvation
2. Obedience is our response to His work
Slide 4
Scene 2: The Exorcism of the Slave Girl (16:16-24)
Slide 5
Takeaway from Scene 2: We are wise to see the spiritual battle going on behind the scenes.
Slide 6
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
Slide 7
Scene 3: The Conversion of the Jailer (16:25-34)
Slide 8
“From one perspective, Paul and Silas’s day was a picture of perfect mayhem. Their spiritual power was slandered; their gospel trampled by a mob; their innocence silenced by injustice. They appeared like two victims caught in the chaos of a merciless, purposeless world.
But such was not their perspective. For Paul and Silas, all the day’s sorrows rested in the hand of a sovereign God. God had called them to Philippi through a midnight vision. Was he now any less sovereign in a midnight prison? God had used them in Philippi to save Lydia and her household. Had he discarded them now? No, prison could neither thwart the plans of God nor remove them from his sight; of this they were sure.”
Scott Hubbard
Slide 9
Takeaway from Scene 3: We do well to ask ourselves “What does God owe me?”
Slide 10
“He lets things happen that I don’t understand. He doesn’t do things according to my plan, or in ways that make sense to me…
If you have a God great enough and powerful enough to be mad at because he doesn’t stop your suffering, you also have a God who is great enough and powerful enough to have reasons that you can’t understand…
And so often, if God seems to be unconscionably delaying his grace and committing malpractice in your life, it’s because there is some crucial information that we don’t yet have, some essential variable that’s unavailable to us.”
Tim Keller
Slide 11
Scene 4: The Vindication of Paul and Silas (16:35-40)
Slide 12
Takeaway from Scene 4: In the end, God wins. And so do His people.
Slide 13
The Takeaways from Phiiippi
1. God is sovereign in salvation
2. Obedience is our response to His work
3. We are wise to see the spiritual battle
4. We do well to ask ourselves “What does God owe me?”
5. In the end, God wins. And so do His people.