LifePointe Christian Church
Speaker: Chris Delfs, Senior Pastor
NOT’omatic - A Force to Be Reckoned With - Week 1
Against all odds, by the third century, Christianity had become a force to be reckoned with. We still do not really understand how this came about. - Karen Armstrong (Fields of Blood)
Tertullian: “Feed the Christians to the lions.”
Jesus rises from the dead BUT nobody saw it coming
Religious leaders found prophecies that pointed to Jesus
Imagine being a First-century Gentile
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 NIV
Gentiles began to flock to the Gospel
Acts 15: First church business meeting
Acts 15:1 NIV
Acts 15:2 NIV
Paul and Barnabas set apart to preach the Gospel (Acts 13:2) Shared the Gospel, planted church and many came to faith in Jesus
Acts 15:2
The question: Do Gentiles have to become Jewish in order to be a Jesus follower?
Acts 15:4 NIV
Acts 15:5 NIV
Gentiles must embrace Jewish Jesus and follow Jewish laws
Acts 15:6-7 NIV
Acts 10: Peter went to a Gentile home
Acts 15:10 NIV
Acts 15:11 NIV
Acts 15:19 NIV
Acts 15:20 NIV
Acts 15:24 NIV
Acts 15:28 NIV
Acts 15:29 NIV
Acts 15:30 NIV
Acts 15:31 NIV
If Jerusalem council decided Gentiles must become Jewish, Christianity might have died in 70 AD
The Christian faith was unhitched from Judaism
Jesus’ commands require extraordinary trust in God
When you are absolutely convinced Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything
“Not Commands” of Jesus combines with “love one another” commands of Jesus is what changed the world
Listen how First-century believer would have listened and respond how they responded