“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” - Acts 8: 4

Acts 9

Join us tomorrow night as Michelle leads us in our discussion of Acts 9 where we get talk about Saul's conversion and dig into a bit of Peter's ministry.

Also, next week we are planning on taking a little break and just having a time of fellowship with one another. The tentative plans on the table are either a potluck dinner or dinner out (preferably somewhere where a good 15-20 can walk in and not make some hostess cry in trying to seat us all). So be thinking about what sounds good to you guys and we'll talk about it tomorrow night. Also, if we go with a pot-luck, would anyone be willing and able to (space-wise) host it at their place? We thought it would be nice to also give Adam and his roomies a Tuesday night off of hosting duties.

See y'all tomorrow night... and stay warm?!
-J.R.

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” - Acts 8: 4

Acts 8

After the death of Stephen, persecution breaks out. Philip, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, went to Sarmaria and preached Christ. Many were baptized in the name of Christ, however, they Holy Spirit was not yet in them. Peter and John came to Samaria and prayed over these people—that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Here, we learn about the importance of the condition of our hearts as believers.

When Philip was having success in teaching many, God called him to leave…to witness to one man. Philip was a dedicated and very effective servant of Jesus. This chapter reveals many lessons on attitudes and techniques we can use to reach others. Some of these include: obedience, willingness to teach many/to teach one, enthusiasm/urgency to reach others. Some techniques: ask questions, use scripture, look for opportunities.

I'm excited to discuss Acts 8 with you guys. Be thinking about how we can be 'Philips' in today's society.
-Margaret

“He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” - Isaiah 53:3-6

First Tuesday Prayer

Hey Everyone,

Tomorrow night is First Tuesday Prayer. Instead of our usual meeting at Adam's we will meet together with the rest of the church at Grace Covenant @ 7pm. This will be a time of worship, prayer, and communion.

For more information, location, map and directions see the link below or click on the First Tuesday link on the Austin Stone homepage.

Also for those who can make it, we will be meeting before First Tuesday Prayer around 6ish for dinner at 'Whole Foods' across from Grace Covenant off 183 (map). Please let me know if you plan on coming so we can be on the look out for you.

Lastly, any prayer requests you have this week, please send those to Margaret on or before Wednesday night so she can email them to the group.

FIRST TUESDAY PRAYER
http://www.austinstone.org/first/

Hope to see you all tomorrow night!

-J.R

“'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'” - Luke 4:5-7

First Day of Spring

I don't want to diminish that joy with my next statements, but hope to enhance it. So often we think about the resurrection on Easter Sunday, but gloss over the days that preceded the resurrection. I think it can do us good to think about the garden of Gethsemane, His arrest, Peter denying Him, the disciples deserting Him, Him being beaten, the crown of thorns, the Cross, and the death. For most of us, it is utterly impossible to imagine the pain and torture He experienced willingly. In some of ways, we can imagine the fear and shame Peter felt when he denied Christ those 3 times. We might even be able to imagine the fear and despair they all felt the two nights following the crucifixion. Their world was turned upside down. The good news is that we all know the joy of knowing He is alive. He who knew no sin, became sin, our sin and paid the ultimate price for it, once and for all. If that joy hasn't been present in your life in a while, cry out to God as David did in Psalm 51, for God to "restore unto me the joy of my salvation". In your crying out, keep in mind that David asked for God to create in him a clean heart, before he asked for his joy to be restored.

To truly relish in the joy and the power of what our Lord and Savior did on the Cross and through His resurrection, we must face the ugliness of our fallen ness and fully embrace our utter need of a Savior.

Below are some questions to ask ourselves over the next few days.

• How has our devotion looked lately? Not devotion to going to church or REAP or good deeds, but to Jesus?
• How have we denied Jesus in our own lives?
• When we think of Jesus being beaten and of the Cross, are we able to identify with our sin?
• Take time to lay all of your sin and your whole heart at His feet.
• Rejoice that TODAY is the day of salvation and that He is truly risen in your life.
• Get outside over the next few days, look around and notice the new life in the trees, in the flowers, in the air, and in you. Humbly experience it.

“These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” - Acts 6:9-10

Acts Chapter 6

Stephen, "a man full of God's grace and power", was among the men chosen to fulfill this duty. He was persecuted by members of the Freedman, yet he did not waiver in his faith. Though the men were resistant to the Truth, they could not deny the wisdom and Spirit within Stephen.

Here are some questions to consider:
• As one in the body of Christ, what would you consider your role within the church?
• What are your gifts and how are you living out those gifts?
• What are specific ways in which we as Christians are resistant to the Truth?
• How have you had to equip yourself to face persecution?
• What is you plan of attack for the persecution that is to come?

“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” - Acts 5:19-20

Acts Chapter 5

Reminder: We will be meeting at Adam's house, our new community group home. For those who've never been or if you have been, but all you remember is turning and turning and finding yourself in an obscure wooded area with houses not really sure where you're at but you made it, then fear not, you can Google his address from the left nav.
-J.R.

“The noise in my head was deafening, and drinking was in my thoughts all the time. It shocked me to realize that here I was in a treatment center, a supposedly safe environment, and I was in serious danger. I was absolutely terrified, in complete despair. At that moment, almost of their own accord, my legs gave way and I fell to my knees. In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether, I had nothing left to fight with. Then I remembered what I had heard about surrender, something I thought I could never do, my pride just wouldn’t allow it, but I knew that on my own I wasn’t going to make it, so I asked for help, and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that something had happened for me. An atheist would probably say it was just a change of attitude, and to a certain extent that’s true, but there was much more to it than that. I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do. If you are asking why I do all this, I will tell you…because it works, as simple as that. In all this time that I’ve been sober, I have never once seriously thought of taking a drink or a drug. I have no problem with religion, and I grew up with a strong curiosity about spiritual matters, but my searching took me away from church and community worship to the internal journey. Before my recovery began, I found my God in music and the arts, with writers like Hermann Hesse, and musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter. In some way, in some form, my God was always there, but now I have learned to talk to him.” - Eric Clapton on his 20 year sobriety in Clapton: The Autobiography (Quote provided by Steve Beard of Thunderstruck)

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