Acts | God’s Mission to Send and Save | Highlands Community Church

Our lives are prone to move downward and inward. Away from the things of God to the things of earth (downward). Away from the needs of others to ourselves (inward).

But this is not how it should be as followers of Jesus. How do we renew our lives to be focused upward and outward?

The book of Acts is like a community guidebook of renewal. It tells the story of God’s mission to send and save so that the church may be awakened to our global missionary task. By learning the message of this book, we pray our church will be inspired to go with God on His mission to send and save from Renton to the ends of the earth.

READING GUIDE

READING GUIDE

A helpful way to prepare for Sunday’s worship gatherings is to read and meditate on the upcoming passage of Scripture during the week. Here is the series overview so that you can read ahead.

May 7
Acts 8:1–25

May 14
Acts 8:26–40

May 21
Acts 9:1–31

May 28
Acts 9:32–43

June 4
Acts 10:1–11:18

June 11
Acts 11:19–26

June 18
Acts 11:27–12:25

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

READING GUIDE

Part of growing as a follower of Jesus and learning to live out the teachings of Scripture is participating in community. Each Sunday, we’ll provide discussion questions related to the worship gathering that can be a starting point for integrating Sunday’s worship gathering into your everyday life. You can use these with your roommates, family members, friends, community group, or even coworkers.
We hope they are a useful resource for you.

RESOURCES

READING GUIDE

Scripture Journal
We have provided this resource to help you personally engage the book of Acts during this series. You can get an additional copy here.

For tips on how to use this journal, check out this resource here.

Recommended resources
If you’d like to go deeper with the book of Acts, here are a few resources we recommend
- The Mission of the Triune God by Patrick Schreiner
- The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus by Alan Thompson
- Bible Project videos
  - - Acts overview
    - Luke-Acts Series

WORSHIP

WORSHIP

Have you ever stood in a worship service unsure of what’s expected of you?

It’s 9 AM, you’re not really a singer to begin with, you’re tired, and yet the worship leader is asking you to sing; sing from the heart. Sure, you’ve hummed along to a few songs in the car. Maybe you’ve even belted out an anthem at a football game.

But you can’t be expected to actually sing. And besides, nobody wants to hear your voice anyway, right? I want to offer you a least one reason why your singing, even your mediocre singing, matters for God’s kingdom

Singing and Gospel Witness

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12

In an increasingly fractured society, getting a room of people to fully agree on anything seems impossible. If you spent the holidays with extended family, you know what I’m talking about. The list of non-controversial conversation topics has gotten smaller and smaller.

And yet, once a week, Christians participate in a bizarre, countercultural practice. We all shuffle into a room, stand facing the same direction, and all togetheragree on something:

“In Christ alone, my hope is found…”

“You turn Graves Into Gardens… you’re the only one who can!”

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”

These songs make divisive, exclusive, radical claims about our reality: Christ alone deserves our worship; Christ alone has the power to save. And, if everyone in our worship center is singing, you can witness almost 400 people at a time agreeing on one radical message: the gospel of Christ.

Gathered worship is a powerful witness of the gospel to anyone who walks through our doors. By joining your voice in the song of the church, you can participate in this beautiful picture of gospel unity. Just by singing, you can invite others into life with God.

Listen and worship at home with the songs we’re singing on Sundays

Evan Jarms
Gathered Worship Pastor