God Bless You for visiting our website.  I hope it will bless you, help you, and inform you.

If you come into Alma from either Waycross or Douglas, you may have noticed our new billboards advertising our church and GRAB the World Ministries.  The billboards have these words:  “Do not come to fill a pew but come to fulfill your purpose.”  Rick Warren has sold millions of books on the “Purpose Driven Life.”  I believe that God is speaking to His bride about finding her purpose.  This is one of the reasons we recently went through the Book of Acts in our Sunday morning and Wednesday night services.

The Book of Acts tells us not just how to do church but how to be the church.  Each believer must find his or her roll and become the person that God has predestined them to be.
My outline for Acts is simply:

• Jesus ascended,
• The Holy Spirit descended,
• The church extended.

One chapter is given to the Ascension of Jesus.  The rest of the chapters deal with the church fulfilling the will of God and extending throughout all the earth.  Because our job is not yet complete, Acts has no conclusion.  It is the only book in the Bible that does not have a conclusion.  The acts of the Holy Spirit are still going on today through the church.  Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  The church in Acts was birthed in power and I believe that our King is not coming back for anything less than what He left.

Acts is an extraordinary book that records many great miracles, signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit as He worked through the early church.  These were ordinary people that were used mightily by God to get Christianity started.  Again, Acts has not a conclusion because the job is not yet complete.  As the Holy Spirit worked through average people in the early church, I believe that He wants to use you and me to complete the job or at least extend the Kingdom to the next generation.

In Acts 3, we read of the Sanhedrin court who marvels at the boldness of Peter and John because they were considered ignorant and unlearned men.  Because of their boldness they perceived that they had been with Jesus. This is a key to being effective for Kingdom business: spending time with Jesus.  The more time we spend with anybody, the more we become like them.  We start picking up their mannerisms.  We start talking like them and being like them.  Have you ever known someone that moved up north—let’s say to New Jersey?  Within a short period of time that person who may have had a serious southern accent will have what we call a Yankee accent.  Why? Because he has spent time around other people with the same accent.  You spend time with Jesus and you will become like Him.  Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  That is the purpose of the Acts in a nutshell—to become like Jesus and win other people to Him.  Paul said that as we behold Him, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory.

It’s time for the church to be changed to a higher realm of glory by not just coming to church but by being the church.  God wants to use you.  You are exactly what God is looking for.  Be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Use the name of Jesus boldly.  Speak the Word of God with faith and assurance. Pray daily and be a witness to the resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Who knows, Acts may be drawing close to an end and some angel in heaven maybe writing about you. 

Is there anything to say?  Let’s get busy fulfilling our purpose and take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the end of the world.  I love you and pray that God continues to bless you with His amazing grace.

Pastor Dale