Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 4:8-12; Acts 1:11; Matt. 25:1-13; Heb. 9:11-12; Exod. 20:8-11; 1 Cor. 15:51-54. Memory Text: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NKJV). In 1888 Seventh-day Adventists experienced a period of intense debate over the interpretations of some key … Continue reading –>
By Lloyd Perrin The church that I pastor in the U.S. state of Oregon has an official membership of 491 people. But only 38 percent of those members are active, a number that inches up to 44 percent if you include elderly members who are house-bound because of physical or mental disabilities. That means 56 … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “A Seeker for Truth”, pages 131-142; “Jew and Gentile”, pages 188-200, in The Acts of the Apostles. “The council which decided this case was composed of apostles and teachers who had been prominent in raising up the Jewish and Gentile Christian churches, with chosen delegates from various places. Elders from Jerusalem and deputies from … Continue reading –>
It took some level of trust from the church at Antioch to send representatives to Jerusalem in order to seek the best solution to their conflict. However, after hours of discussion between the apostles and elders, James, the brother of Jesus, who appears to be the leader of the assembly, made a judgment about what … Continue reading –>
Read Acts 15:1-2 and Galatians 2:11-14. What are the two issues that caused serious conflict in the early church? The threat to church unity faced by early Christians was real and difficult. Some Jewish Christians thought that salvation was possible only for those who belonged to the covenant people of God, and this implied that circumcision was a … Continue reading –>
Reports of what happened in Caesarea with Cornelius soon reached the leaders of the Christian community in Jerusalem, and they asked Peter to give an account of what happened. They were offended by what Peter had done because, according to their Jewish understanding of the Law of Moses, faithful Jews were not allowed to eat … Continue reading –>
The conversion of Gentiles to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an event in the book of Acts that sets the stage for the greatest conflict in the life of the early church, one that would threaten its existence and mission. Read Acts 10:1-23. What elements in this passage indicate that the Holy Spirit was at … Continue reading –>
Read Acts 6:1. What issue in the early church caused people to complain about the fair and equitable distribution of food to widows? Some early Christians appeared to be prejudiced against the widows of Greek heritage in their midst and provided them with less food than the widows of Hebrew heritage. This perceived favoritism caused a rift in … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 6:1-6; Acts 10:1-23; Matt. 5:17-20; Acts 11:3-24; Acts 15:1-22; Amos 9:11-12. Memory Text: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28, NKJV). One … Continue reading –>
Further Study: Ellen G. White, “The Divine Shepherd”, pages 476-484, in The Desire of Ages; “The Church on Earth”, pages 240-243, in Counsels for the Church. “In the context of the Temple in Jerusalem as well as the ubiquitous Greco-Roman structures, New Testament authors employ the temple metaphor to enable believers to visualize the sanctity of the church, God’s role … Continue reading –>
