1. ME - Connecting with We
1.1. Appreciation for the opportunity to preach
1.2. A little about myself
1.2.1. My Wife
1.2.2. Our Cat
1.2.3. My love language
1.2.4. Our Dream of planting in France
2. WE - Reveal Felt Need
2.1. Who here wants to do great things with God?
2.1.1. hopefully everyone
3. GOD
3.1. Read Acts 8:1-8
3.1.1. Attempts to Contain the movement of God
3.1.2. Ravaging Anger of Saul - Attempted Containment
3.1.2.1. The extent of the persecution
3.1.3. Philip must be stupid
3.1.3.1. Jews in WWII
3.2. No matter how Ravenous you become, you can never contain God!
3.2.1. Conversion of the General (Maximus Decemus -> Saul)
3.2.1.1. From the head of the SS to the frontline of the resistance
3.3. God knows our perilous-ness and tells us to go anyway.
3.3.1. Stephan preaching
3.3.2. Philips preaching
3.3.2.1. His Predicament
3.3.3. Jesus into Jerusalm
3.3.4. The salvation of Paul
3.4. Who preached in acts 8
3.4.1. Those who were scattered - Macro Level
3.4.2. Philip rocked it - Micro level
3.4.3. Philip only one example
3.5. To who did they preach
3.5.1. Samarians, a place thought to be beyond redemption
3.5.2. people who were traditionally beyond the reach of God
3.6. Gods plan is bigger than our circumstances and of our outcome
4. You - Application
4.1. From sharing possessions to sharing Christ
4.2. We need heros, like Philip, today
4.2.1. Heros that we know personally
4.3. Will you be one of those heros, that lives beyond yourself
5. We - Vision
5.1. We won't get there overnight, but in time our city can be full of Joy just like in Acts 8:8 because of our Actions and Love.
5.1.1. But the outcome is always up to Christ.
5.2. Church plant in France, Unsure of the results, but we are trusting God and moving that direction. We are praying and trusting God to bring his Joy back to that country.
6. Details
6.1. Homiletical Idea
6.1.1. In the face of death unknown Christians actively shared their faith and meet together for fellowship
6.2. Big Idea/One Point
6.2.1. Our Salvation will lead us to share Christ irregardless of the outcome
6.3. Guidance from Woodridge Church
6.3.1. The idea behind the sermon we hope you will prepare is centered on how the Christians preached the word and developed community wherever they went, even (especially?) when they were persecuted and scattered.