CTK Blog
Empowered through the Gospel
We all want to become better versions of ourselves? But how can we do that? How can we grow? How can we improve? In Ephesians 3, Paul demonstrates that only through the gospel can we become who we long to be. Through the gospel, God empowers his people to become all he created them to be.
Being a Channel of God’s Grace
In Acts 9, we see that God’s grace is powerful enough to work through people like you and me. Ananias and Barnabas become channels of God’s grace to Saul. God’s grace is so great and so powerful that it can work through people like Ananias and Barnabas—people like you and me.
How is God calling me to be a channel of his grace to those he’s placed in my life? Perhaps, like Ananias we are to speak the redeeming truth of the gospel. Or, perhaps, like Barnabas, we are to welcome the most unlikely people, knowing that God in his grace can transform anyone.
Pray for Strength to Know Christ’s Love
We all long for and need steady, unwavering love in our lives. We want it, and we need it to flourish. But, it seems that every love we find can be exhausted—it runs out. It has a limit. Where can we find a love that doesn’t waver? A love that doesn’t run out? That kind of steady love—the kind that you and I long for—is only found in Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 3, Paul describes Christ’s love as incomprehensible. Christ’s love is so deep, so high, and so wide that it cannot be exhausted.
Acts Invites Us to Join God’s Mission through His Church
Acts invites us to join God’s mission through his church. Our Triune God advances his mission through his church. God continues his work by sending the Holy Spirit to empower his people, the church. It is through the church’s Spirit-empowered witness to gospel of Christ Jesus that God uses to advance his mission. By God’s grace, each local church has a central role to play in the mission of God.
Pray for Inner Renewal
Where do you turn when you’re discouraged, depressed, or disheartened? Where do you turn when you could really use a pick-me-up? We like to run: sex, success, screens, or shopping. But, we don’t ultimately need romance, a new career path, some Netflix, or free two-day shipping. We need an inner renewal that only a clear view of Jesus can provide.
Resources for Studying Acts
Here are four recommended resources for our study of Acts this fall.
Pray Confidently
In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prays that God, by his Spirit, would give the Ephesians strength to know Christ’s mighty heart for them, so that they might become all that God intends. In verses 14-15, Paul gives the Ephesians three reasons he prays with confidence to the Father on their behalf. We, too, we can pray confidently for our church because our Father loves us, is near to us, and is the mightiest.