Atlantic Gospel Chapel Messages

Christmas is among the favorite holidays of most people.  It is a time for families to gather; a time for giving gifts and time away from work.  But Christmas is so much more.  In this week's lesson, we examine four aspects of the Incarnation; that time when God the Son, as the second Person of the Trinity, took upon Himself flesh, coming to earth as that babe in a lowly manger.  We look at: The Preincarnate Christ, examining His divine nature The foretelling of the Incarnation in Scripture The birth of Christ as recorded in the Gospels And the reason for the Incarnation, the fact that the manger led to a cross We pray you enjoy this special message from the leadership at Atlantic Gospel Chapel, and that you are blessed through dwelling upon Immanuel, God with us. Thank you for listening.

Before the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, He left His apostles with this charge, beginning with Jerusalem, carry the Gospel message from Jerusalem, then to Judea, to Samaria, and finally the ends of the world.  In the first several chapters of Acts, we witnessed the Gospel exploding in Jerusalem and expanding into Judea.  In Acts 8, using Philip, the Holy Spirit carried the message into Samaria.  And now we see that the Lord has set His sights on the whole world; demonstrating that His Gospel plan encompasses all nations. Here in Acts 10, we are introduced to Cornelius, a God-fearing centurion of whom the Jews spoke favorably.  This Gentile devoted himself to the things of the Lord, acting on the revelation he had to reject the polytheistic paganism of the Roman Empire to accept the God of Israel.  Yet, he had no knowledge of Jesus.  But we see the Lord preparing the heart of this Gentile to receive the Gospel. At the same time we see Peter.  A believer on the Lord Jesus, yet still a devout Jew who would not defile himself by associating with a Gentile.  Despite this, God's sovereign plan is to use Peter to bring the Gospel to Cornelius.  But before he can, the Lord mus prepare Peter's heart to see God's plan of salvation, not only for the Jew, but for the whole world. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May the Lord bless you through the teaching of His Holy Word.

In Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he pours out his love and thankfulness for this local body which, despite fierce opposition, grew and thrived and prospered.  In 1 Thessalonians 2, we see Paul defending his ministry against his critics, who appeared to accuse him of deceitfulness, immorality and hypocrisy.  But Paul always returns to the Gospel. But what is it about the Gospel message that allows Paul to withstand these attacks?  And how well do we understand the power of the Gospel for our own lives? In today's lesson, we learn how the Gospel is not just good news.  The original readers of Paul's letter would have understood this term to be the good news of a history changing event that impacted everybody's situation and to which people need to respond.  In the Gospel of Jesus Christ not only impacted history, but eternity, as well. Is this how we view the Gospel?  Does the Gospel impact us as the life changing, eternity altering event it truly is?  And if so, how does this change our lives? Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May God bless you through the teaching of His Word.

In the narrative of the book of Acts, we have seen explosive growth of the church.  In a very short period of time, the church expanded from Jerusalem into the the region of Judea and into Samaria.  Within three years of Saul arriving in Damascus, the church there was a growing and vibrant church. Now the narrative returns briefly to Peter.  In this short passage we see two accounts of Peter performing miraculous works resulting in many people believing in Jesus.  But in both cases, Peter acknowledges that he is not the one performing the work, but Jesus Christ.  In all cases, Peter gave all glory to His Lord and Savior, his focus being on spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and ministering to the needs of believers wherever he went, obeying the call of his Lord to, "feed my sheep." Thank you for listening to this week's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

When Saul set out from Jerusalem to Damascus, his intention was to break the church in that region; to arrest and bring back Christians to Jerusalem.  But then he encountered the risen Christ, and everything changed.  Rather than persecuting the church, he went into the synagogue proclaiming Jesus Christ is the Son of God. One amazing aspect, is rather than fearing Saul, the church in Damascus welcomed Saul into their midst, protecting him when a plot against his life by the Jews was discovered. As we explore this aspect of Saul's life, may you be blessed through the teaching of Gods' Word, and see that when God changes our heart, He changes our purpose and and our family. Thank you for listening.

The fourth Thursday in November, is set aside in the United States for giving thanks.  In his Thanksgiving proclamation, George Washington pointed the hearts and minds of the new nation to the One greater than all to whom we owe gratitude. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have much for which to be thankful.  This year, we pause to consider the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Thanksgiving. Thank your listening to this weeks lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

As we return to the book of Acts, we pick up again with Saul's conversion.  In today's lesson, we learn that the risen Christ not only reached out to Saul on the road to Damascus for the purpose of saving Saul; but He also called Saul for a purpose, "to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel," Acts 9:15b (NASB). As we again consider Saul's conversion, we learn important lessons that apply to us today Saul is proof that God can save anyone Saul is proof of the truth of our faith Jesus is ultimately the only one who can bring true change to a person As believers, we are God's chosen instrument to bring the Gospel to the world. Thank you for listening to today's teaching.  May God bless you through the teaching of His Word.

In John 9, when Jesus healed the man born blind, the response from the Jewish leaders was rejection and division.  It is in this setting that the Lord taught those gathered around Him that He is the Good Shepherd.  But instead of recognizing Him as the Good Shepherd, they again rejected His teaching, asserting He had a demon. In today's teaching, we consider this teaching regarding the Good Shepherd.  Of great importance is the statement from our Lord, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27 NKJV).  The question for us is, do we know the voice of our Shepherd?  How can we learn to distinguish His voice?  And what does it mean for us when He says, "I lay down My life for the sheep."? Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

Hebrews 1:1-2, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."  While many argue that God remains virtually silent, Scripture teaches something entirely different. First we see that God speaks to us through His creation.  Psalm 19:1 tells us, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."  In Romans 1:20, Paul wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made..." But God has also revealed Himself to us through His Word, a word which alive and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.  In this week's lesson, we examine the Scripture considering: The Divine Origins of Scripture The Sufficiency of Scripture The Clarity of Scripture The Ultimate Authority of Scripture Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed as we consider the fact that we serve a God who so desires a relationship with us that He has revealed Himself to us through His Word, and through His final word, Jesus Christ.