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WORKING TOGETHER THROUGH GROWING PAINS

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  Acts 6:1-7 Growing pains are something the church will continue  to feel as we wait for Christ to return.    There never will be a time when growing pains are not felt in the church, even when things seem to be going well.  A few years into the new church age , Jerusalem was still its only location.  And the early years of the church were mainly spent growing and forming in the same city in which Christ died, and was buried, and rose, and ascended.  As the number of believers increased, so did the difficulty of ministry, this ultimately produces growing pains.  "Growing pains" typically refer to the predictable friction and challenges a congregation faces when expanding. These usually include overburdened leaders, changes to decision-making structures, and a shift from a close-knit "family" dynamic to a larger, more structured organization that requires intentional assimilation.   People were becoming distracted and this caused gru...
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THE CHURCH IS PUT ON NOTICE

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  Acts 5:12-42 What is the primary goal of the church?  The answer is found in the charge that Jesus gave to the disciples. “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20  When the early church moved out with the gospel message into the forces of darkness it was inevitable that the church was going to be faced with opposition and bitterness.  The church from this point on would be faced with hostility from outside, and not only hostility from the outside, but division and conflict from within.  The church from this point on would face great suffering and persecution, all for the sake of Christ and His gospel.   But this was the point that dre...
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