Category: The Apostles

The Apostles

God Does Not Show Favoritism: Peter Visits Cornelius

Salvation for All: Jews and Non-Jews Alike

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This bible study focuses on the interaction between Peter and Cornelius, based on Acts 10 and 11. Their meeting marked the first time of taking the gospel to non-Jews (i.e., Gentiles). God prepared Cornelius for the meeting by sending an angel in human form through a vision to advise him to send for Peter. He prepared Peter also.

First, he told Peter through a vision that he should not reject any person that God has accepted. Second, the Holy Spirit told Peter to accept Cornelius’s invitation. During the meeting, witnessed by several friends and relatives of Cornelius and a few Jewish believers that accompanied Peter, the Holy Spirit came on all that heard Peter’s message, just like on the apostles at Pentecost.

Peter later returned to Jerusalem and faced criticism for interacting with uncircumcised men. He justified his actions in detail and explained that Jewish believers could not reject non-Jews that God accepted, because God had shown through his meeting with Cornelius that salvation through Christ is for all people—Jews and non-Jews alike. His explanations were satisfactory as the believers praised God for granting salvation to non-Jews.

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The Apostles

End and Rebirth of the Early Church

Managing Non-Mission Activities to Support Core Mission

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In this bible study, we discuss the end and rebirth of the early church following the martyrdom of Stephen and persecution of the first Jerusalem church (Fellowship of Believers), based on Acts 6–9 and 11. We draw a lesson from the study about management of non-mission activities of an organization to support but not hinder performance of the core mission. An organization typically exists for its core mission but has to manage interactions among employees or members, between them and the organization, and between the organization and external entities such as government or other organizations. The interactions typically center on socio-economic issues relevant to the organization’s existence and, therefore, performance of its core mission.

Therefore, managing the internal and external socio-economic interactions is important to the organization but could impose excessive burden and divert focus from the core mission. This bible study provides an example of an GoalMissionStrategy01organization (the first Jerusalem church) that confronted excessive burden from management of non-mission socio-economic affairs. The church ended suddenly because of the burden. Although the sudden end resulted in a positive outcome, having triggered a rapid and more widespread growth of Christianity, we emphasize factors that contributed to the end in order to learn lessons important to management of present-day entities.

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The Apostles

Fellowship of Believers: The Organization

Prayer for Positive Human Interaction

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This bible study illustrates three principles applicable to present-day human interactions and relationships.

  1. God will grant your prayer if your prayer purpose is consistent with his mission.
  2. Understand and accept the core values and membership responsibilities of an organization you intend to join. Do not rely on finding a way around the values that you don’t accept.
  3. People may oppose even your good work because they either don’t like it or wish the credit was theirs.

The study focuses on the organization and activities of the Fellowship of Believers, the early church that formed around the apostles to bear witness to the life and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. They performed the spiritual mission through prayer, teaching, healing, and miracles and sustained themselves through communal living, whereby the organization assumed ownership of member’s assets and needs.

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The Apostles

Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar: Four Principles of Human Interactions

Understanding Team Work, Substitute Means, and Turning to God

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This bible study examines Peter and John interactions with the crippled beggar and other observers, Peter’s explanation of the miracle, and their trial before the full assembly of Isreali elders. The interactions illustrate four principles applicable to present-day relationships.

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The Apostles

The Beginning of Fellowship of the Believers

God Understands Every Dialect of Every Language

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Bible Study Series on The Apostles

We begin a bible study series on The Apostles, focused on searching the activities of the apostles for principles and clues to enrich our understanding of the Christian basis for human interactions and relationships. Our study will be based on Acts but will call on any part of the bible that helps explain the apostles’ activities.

Fellowship of Believers

This bible study examines the beginnings of the early church, based in Jerusalem and referred to as Fellowship of the Believers. After the eleven apostles saw Christ ascend to heaven, they returned to Jerusalem and were joined by several others, bringing their total number to 120. They met daily at the temple courts, where the apostles taught the word of God and performed miracles and the people prayed and shared food and fellowship. We learn two principles based on their experience.

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