Having Favor With All

You may be the only Bible our neighbors ever read. You know and I know “there is no way to love Christ and not love his church.” But they don’t know that. We want people to love Christ. What Christ are they seeing in you and me? Christians are called to live “a life that needs God’s love to explain itself.” So be winsome to win some.

The sermon today is titled "Having Favor With All." It is the twelfth installment in our "Community" Series. The Scripture reading is from Acts 2:47 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on July 9, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under DISCOVER: A New Community.

Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.

Footnotes (Sources and References Used In Today's Podcast):

• Beauty is a $1 Billion industry. Josh Howard, "The Ultimate List of Beauty Industry Stats (2023)," March 23, 2023. For direct stats, see, for example, here.
• Stories told at the door about Christians. Rubel Shelly & John York, The Jesus Community: A Theology of Relational Faith (Siloam Springs, AR: Leafwood, 2004), p. 21.
• Rating Christians. Pew Center Research Report. "How Americans Feel About Religious Groups." July 16, 2014.
• 3% of young outsiders. David Kinnamn and Gabe Lyons, UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity...and Why It Matters (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007), pp. 24-25. Found in Philip Yancey, Vanishing Grace (2014).
• [Athenagoras], Epistle to Diognetus, in Early Christian Writings (London: Penguin, 1968), pp. 244-45.
• J. W. McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of the Apostles (repr., Gospel Light Publishing Co., 1950), p. 49.

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