The Expanding Kingdom of God invites us to…! ! ! 9 Part Sermon Series! ! !1. April 22nd Overview! Acts, or Luke part 2, takes us into the world of the disciples as they process the effect a crucified yet risen messiah has on their hopes of becoming a reborn political power. Their hope for future becomes even more undefined when their leader and King, the risen Messiah, ascends, effectively handing over the responsibility of writing the new community's story while it continues to expand through the power of the Holy Spirit. We join the Apostles as they are thrust headlong into this expanding kingdom. ! ! 2. April 29th Invest in Human Flourishing - Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37! ! In these passages there is a unique generosity which becomes characteristic of the People of the Way as people respond to the need in front of them by providing resources. This should inspire us to invest in our own community so that we can continue the work of creating space for life to flourish. !

!3. May 6 - Focus on Team Work, Over Star Players - Acts 6:1-7! As the community grows more people are needed in key positions. The new leaders are marked by a reputation for being "full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." These key people are the teammates who fill up the roster so that the whole team wins. Their promotion to leaders read against Simon (Acts 14), the one who offered to buy the HS, or Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), who sought elevation through social maneuvering demonstrate the difference between being a star or team focused. The expanding kingdom invites faithful team players to move up and serve, rather than for star players to dominate.! ! ! !4. May 13 - Be Like Barnabas - Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-2, 13-14, 17-31; special focus 9:26-31! Sometimes the story of Barnabas gets lost in the flashy story of Saul’s conversion. The special focus of 26-31 points us towards the necessity of having people like Barnabas who bridge the gap and create a Jesus-centered community. We are invited to witness growth and introduce new partners. We are invited to model Barnabas.! ! ! ! !The Expanding Kingdom of God Invites us to… ! ! 5. May 20 - Become uncomfortable: Experience Incarnational Expansion & Inclusion Acts 10:1-22! ! God is already present with both people, Gentile and Jew, but that is not enough. The expanding kingdom is left wanting when it doesn't lead to a whole people. Like Saul, heaven could have simply informed Cornelius that Jesus is the Messiah, but instead it expanded incarnation-aly, it grew through people. The expanding kingdom invites us to be involved with what God is doing and with whom he is moving towards.

!6. June 3rd - Pray Acts 12:5-17! Throughout Acts prayer is seen as a source of strength to keep the movement going. We are invited to intercede for our communities for strength/growth/protection.! ! ! !7. June 10- Embrace the tension of Creating Gracious Space Acts 14:26 - 15:21; 28! The Jerusalem counsel offers an amazing view for flexible faithfulness. The leaders of the new movement had to come to terms with Gentile inclusion displacing their majority position. This threatened their identity as the elect, challenged their image of the Kingdom of God and made them question what part of the covenant would be carried forward. This could have been an epic moment for a divine download, a Mt. Sinai moment, but rather this conflict was handled by the community of believers. The same God works in us as we consider what it means for our understanding of proper living in light of God's expansive work. We are invited into the tension of gracious space.! ! ! 8. June 17 - Celebrate the Beauty of the Surrounding Culture - Acts 17:16-34 focus on verse 28! ! Paul enters the city greatly distressed because of the Idols, yet he celebrates where they get it right before offering a better way - the Jesus-centred way. We are invited to celebrate our culture where it already honors Jesus or might be moving towards him. ! ! 9. June 24 - Share Our Story - Acts 22:1-22; 23:11; 26:4-23! ! With all of the mentions in Acts of Paul "proving through the scriptures" it is beautiful to see his method is less proof than shared story. Paul appeals to people by pointing to his life passion being affected by the reality of Jesus, and offers for others to join him in his movement Jesus-ward. We are invited to grow our community and affect people through our shared story. !