Colossians 3:11, Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Indeed, God responds to anyone who commits to Him. God rejects no one who comes to Him but requires those who call on Him to have faith in Jesus.

In this sermon, we find the movement crossing barriers.

“Conversion is our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation.” - Dr. Wayne Grudem

Today, we will study one of the most crucial chapters in the Book of Acts—the conversion of Saul, the Movement’s worst enemy. The conversion of Paul is pivotal, not only on which his life turned, but on which the history of the church turned. Let's learn from Acts Chapter 9

The previous chapter ended with the killing of Stephen by an angry and enraged Sanhedrin who could not tolerate the truth which he spoke and so they stoned him to death outside the city walls. Stephen was not the last. What happened that day started a wildfire of persecution that led to the scattering of believers all over the place. And what seemed to be the end of the movement is actually the beginning of God’s Expansion.

Persecution did not stop the church– it scattered it and expanded it.

Today as we study Acts 8, let us find three important Truths about the Expansion of God’s Movement.

The two greatest words in the Christian life: trust and obey. And Stephen did them both. He believed God; he did what the Spirit told him to do. His life was full of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? It means to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. It means that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is evident in his life. He has that reputation. People see that in him.

Let's learn more from Stephen's example in this sermon.

It had to get organized to carry out effective ministry, and that ministry needed to be in the hands of the people who cared the most. It had to get organized so that the people who needed to be proclaiming the Word of God all the time were continuing to do that and weren’t distracted by something else.

More than 2000 years have passed, and the church of Jesus Christ is still here, and very much alive. We are still preaching the same message, we are still worshiping Jesus Christ, and we are still pursuing people for the glory of God. Let's listen to this sermon to see all the ways the Movement is relentless.

The fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit bring peace and growth to the church. Treating the Lord with contempt by religious fakery should remain a fearful prospect in the church. God is not mocked. And the Holy Spirit is a great comfort here, because it is precisely by his indwelling power that we become real and authentic.

Sin among the saints is more serious than sin among the lost. Sin against the Holy Spirit is very serious. 
Be on guard against hypocrisy in your life.

Do you know our church’s vision?

“A dynamic growing church of transformed believers passionate for God.”

Has there ever been a church like that?

Yes. The first church in Jerusalem was just like that. They enjoyed the miraculous display of the presence and power of God through the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. They saw souls saved in abundance. They were living in a day when the extraordinary was the order of the day. Imagine how dynamic and growing they were that on their inauguration day 3,000 got saved and baptized at one service.

Their secret? They were a movement that PRAYED.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about the extraordinary Power that the Holy Spirit gives to the believers

This extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit is for witnessing or world evangelization purpose only.

The task of world evangelization is not yet complete.

Therefore the promise of this extraordinary power available for all believers for the purpose of world evangelization is still valid today.

This is the hour to recapture the movement of the Holy Spirit. This is the moment when the main thing needs to become the main thing once again. It’s time to deal with our personal issues and it’s time to deal with our sins so that the power of God might rest on us and that God might be pleased to save souls in this place. It’s time to Act now. Let the movement begin.

John 10:9

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

Here, Jesus makes a glorious offer: “If anyone enters by Me.” Jesus is the exclusive Door to heaven, but His offer is inclusive of anyone who believes in Him!

Yes, anyone. Anyone who is willing to repent, anyone who is willing live for God, anyone who is willing to deny self and suffer for God, anyone who seeks first His kingdom and righteousness, anyone who is willing to exchange worldly pleasures for the pleasure of owning Christ.

Would you accept His invitation today?

#BUCCILent

Without God’s presence in our life, we are left in the dark. Why do we see great wickedness committed around the world? Why do we see people in our community increasingly sucked into drugs, alcohol, abuse, immorality, and mortal sin? Why do we hurt people, and make poor choices in our life? Because we lack God’s presence in us, God’s light is fully within us. Our community has not allowed the light of God into it.

Brethren, have you been trying to fill the hunger in your life with the things of this world, even the good things like food, clothing, possessions, or even relationships? Perhaps you are spiritually hungry or thirsty, feeling unsatisfied with your life. Let this be an opportunity to feed your soul with the bread from heaven. Jesus is the Bread of Life. #BUCCILent

Jesus’ entire life and ministry was motivated by a commitment to finish the work that the Father has given Him to accomplish. We can learn to be faithful in our own journeys from the life of Jesus. In this sermon, let’s take to heart the 5 Principles to Finish Well.

In this sermon, we trace the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, who kept a joyful heart and immovable optimism through all the shipwrecks, exiles, and prisons he went through. There is a biblical kind of optimism - when we know who we believe in and why we trust in Him. This relentless positivity and unbridled gratefulness is the key to moving forward in all of God's plans for our lives.

“Because God cares more about the development of the dreamer than He cares about the fulfillment of the dream.” —Phil Tuttle

In pursuing our dreams, God wants us to mature. He wants us to develop our character.

In God’s overarching plan for our life, God is not only trying to get us to places, people, and positions but also molding us to become the different kind of Person that He wants us to be. A person like His Son Jesus in character, attitude, and mentality.

This is the reason why we may have certain detours and disappointments in our life so that we can be developed to be able to handle the realization of our dreams.

#BUCCIForward

What risk is God leading you to take as you go forward this year? His will for you is not earthly comfort but divine courage.

God will never choose safety for us if it will cost our faith. This is your time to move forward, out of the safe zone and into the faith zone. Be persistent for God.

Did you know that the word priority came into the English language in the 1400s? It was always in the singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about Priorities.

Our lesson today comes from the New Testament this time. In our passage today, we will meet two sisters from Bethany who both love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. One got so distracted while the other one chose the best.

Let’s step into their story.

Brethren, there’s nothing like the joy and praise of watching God form and fulfill His plan for your life. And it only happens as we step toward our dreams in His presence through prayer.

Let us learn 6 principles from Nehemiah’s prayer life on how we can turn our dreams into realities.

#BUCCIForward