Author: Alan Holden

Stephen: Martyr for the Faith Introduction The most common complaint made by a visitor to a church is that the members are not friendly, so that the visitors feel unwelcome. But by far the complaint that is most often lodged against a church is that the church does not care either for some members of…

Dealing with Danger The Danger of Dissention, vv. 1-7 A. Convincing Speech, v. 1 B. Contentious Sinners, v. 2 C. Conspicuous Signs, v. 3 D. Continuing Storms, vv. 4-6 The Normal Preliminaries, vv. 4-5 An overly charged atmosphere An ominously changed atmosphere The Natural Precaution, vv. 6-7 New fields Old fire The Danger of Deification,…

Events in the Upper Room Jesus in the Midst, vv. 36-49 A. Peace Proclaimed, vv. 36-37 The Simple Greeting, v. 36 The Supposed Ghost, v. 37 B. Peace Provided, vv. 38-43 Bodily Proof, vv. 44-48 Personal identification, vv. 38-40 Practical Illustration, vv. 41-43 Biblical Proof, vv. 44-48 The Proof of His Sayings, v. 44 The…

Two Visions The Vision for Cornelius, vv. 1-8 A. The Man A Gentile centurion A Devout man–>his benevolence and his praying B. The Message–an angelic appearance Your prayers and good works have been noticed–>Hebrews 11:6. Send for Peter for further instructions. C. The Mission Cornelius immediately obeys. Cornelius sends quality men: Serving: “servants, soldiers, waited…

The Disagreement, vv. 1-2 A. Dissension B. Disputation C. Determination The Debate A. Disputing, v. 7 B. Determination, v. 11 C. Declaration, vv. 19-21 The Decision A. Decree, vv. 23-29 B. Dismissed, v. 30 — It was settled. C. Dispatch <Back<<

The Mission at Pisidian Antioch Paul’s Sermon, vv. 16-41 A. Israel’s Holy Mission, vv. 16-25 A Special People, vv. 16-18 God’s purposes God’s protection God’s patience A Special Place, vv. 19-20 A land bestowed in love, vv. 13-19 A land blighted by lust, v. 20a A land blessed at last, v. 20b A Special Prince,…

Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Introduction Before Jesus ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God, He told His disciples to wait and pray until they received the Holy Spirit. Look at the early church’s nominating committee report–they had 11 out of 12 disciples left. 92% of the positions were…

Deliverance by a Miracle Thesis: The Bible teaches that no thing can separate us from the love of God, except one thing: our refusal to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Martyrdom of James A. Exegesis James and Stephen James the Apostle, martyrdom in verse 1 Stephen the Deacon, martyrdom over 2 chapters…

Supernatural Power Introduction In contrast to the record in the Acts of the Apostles, nearly two thousand years later, we Christians are counting heads and calculating bank accounts to get the work of the church done. Our church committee meetings and especially our business meetings resemble the meetings of corporate boards or political groups much…

Outreach of the Church Thesis: The fire of the Holy Spirit cannot be put out or bought out or exploited for personal gain; it is God’s powerful gift to His children to accomplish His purpose. The Persecution, vv. 1-13 A. Exegesis Persecutor, v. 1 Persecuted, v. 3 Reason–Saul enjoyed it. Resolve–Strengthened the Christians. Result–Scattered Christians:…