252 – Acts
18: Your
Voice Matters
We must speak
One
night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak
out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you,
for many people in this city belong to me.” So Paul stayed there for the next
year and a half, teaching the word of God. ACTS 18:9-11 NLT
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how
can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they
hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them
without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet
of messengers who bring good news!” ROMANS
10:14-15 NLT
We speak with a unique
voice
Meanwhile,
a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had
arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the
Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with
accuracy… He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using
the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah. ACTS 18:24-25, 28 NLT
God
has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use
them well to serve one another. 1
PETER 4:10 NLT
We speak from where we
are
Paul
lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. Each
Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks
alike. ACTS 18:3-4 NLT
Then
he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and
lived next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and
everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also
heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized. ACTS 18:7-8 NLT
We speak despite
opposition
And
after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time
preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But
when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and
said, “Your blood is upon your own heads–I am innocent. From now on I
will go preach to the Gentiles.” ACTS 18:5-6 NLT
We
are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed,
but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We
get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. …we continue to preach because we
have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in
God, so I spoke.” 2
CORINTHIANS 4:8-9, 13 NLT
We speak into the lives
of othersAfter
spending some time in Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia,
visiting and strengthening all the believers. ACTS 18:23 NLT
When
Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him
aside and explained the way of God even more accurately. Apollos had been
thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus
encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to
welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those
who, by God’s grace, had believed. ACTS
18:26-27 NLT
So
encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 1
THESSALONIANS 5:11 NLT
Your voice matters because people
matter
But
God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were
still sinners. ROMANS 5:8 NLT
Community
Group Discussion Guide