Acts of the Apostles and The Mission of God

In Constantinople, 100,000 Christians maintained 50,000 poor, all the clergy, and 3,000 widows and orphans, all through the tithe.

Prayer is the condition of divine operation.

All believers are to defend as well as proclaim the gospel. Apologetics is not an elite task for scholars and pastors.

God prepares us in advance for a purpose and calling, by our education, trials, family, and experiences.

True preaching is not just communication; it's the word of life transforming us and creating new conditions of life. The law of God requires care for orphans and widows, and so the early church undertook ministry to practical needs. Both ministry of the Word and the ministry of compassion are high and holy work.

We either speak and work by the integrating power of God, or by the disintegrating power from below. We need to stand by the name of Jesus in both the small things and the big things.

Whenever the name of Jesus is preached, and whenever people turn to Jesus, God blots out our sins and times of healing and refreshing come.

In the new covenant we are all prophets and priests through the Holy Spirit (cf. Num. 11:29), empowered to minister and serve.

Jesus ascends in glory, and sits down in total authority over all things. In the work of the kingdom, faithfulness, prayer, and dependence on the Holy Spirit are primary to any considerations of marketing or technique.