Click here to listen to Pastor Joe's Sermon, entitled "Encouraged in Life and Death". This week it's about 12 MB (53 minutes).
Recap of Acts 20:1-12
1. Paul's ministry of encouraging the believers with many words entailed:
-reinforcing the importance of sound doctrine
-enabling them to answer false, heretical doctrine
-exhorting them to remain true to the true faith
-encouraging them in the face of persecution, difficult circumstances, etc.
2. The early church: met on Sunday; ate together and partook of the Lord's Supper; met at night; met in homes; and "the length of the meeting was not regulated by the clock" (Richards).
3. Church meetings brought comfort and encouragement because they were a reminder that:
-in the midst of death there is life
-in the midst of darkness there is light
-in the midst of confusion there is clarity
