Acts 4:18-34

There are a lot of excuses, but they usually all boil down to fear! Phil Ware continues his series on Catch and Release as we seek to have the courage and boldness to share Jesus with others.

"As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard..."

Where can I get a good dose of boldness and power? Phil Ware continues his series on Greater Things from Acts 3-4 and this one focuses on The Boldness Prayer of Acts 4:23-31.

What would you have prayed for in this circumstance? Under persecution and difficulty, we most often need to pray for boldness instead of protection and ease!

What do you really know about prayer? Rubel Shelly helps us think about the mystery of prayer.

"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and..."

"[After Peter and John were released from prison and threatened, the disciples fervently prayed,] "And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us,....."

"[The disciples praying after Peter and John were released from jail:] "Now, Lord, ... enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out....."

"All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The..."

"Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have..."

"[The disciples continued their prayer:] "And now, O Lord, hear [the threats of the rulers and people], and give us, your servants, great boldness in....."

"The council then threatened [Peter and John] further, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a..."

"All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The..."

"As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard..."

Inspirational illustration of Acts 4:19-20 -- Peter and John replied, Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

Inspirational illustration of Acts 4:19-20 niv -- Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

When people indicate they are open to talking about Jesus, I had better take the opportunity. There might not be another one. Phil Ware and Demetrius Collins bring us this week's ToGather with a focus on being bold and not ashamed of Jesus or his gospel, the good news our world needs in these dark times.

"The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special..."

What is the place of faith in the public square? Patrick Odum shares insights on sharing our faith in the public square using the reaction to Rick Warren's prayer at President Obama's inauguration.

"[The evil men who killed Jesus] did what your power [O God,] and will had decided beforehand should happen. "

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

"After [the disciples'] prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness."

"[About the disciples in Jerusalem after Peter and John were threatened and then released from prison, Luke wrote:] While they were praying, the place where they..."

"[Disciples praying to the Lord after Peter and John were released from jail:] "You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:..."

"After [the disciples'] prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with..."

Inspirational illustration of Acts 4:28 -- They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

Inspirational illustration of Acts 4:31 -- After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Inspirational illustration of Acts 4:32 -- All the believers were one in heart and mind.

"Dear Beloved, Key transitions in the life and faith of My people need to be protected. In the early days of My church, this need for safety was..."

"Dear Faithful Follower, Yesterday, I asked you to read about the paralyzed man that I healed through Peter and John. I wanted you to see the..."

"There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in...."

Jesus knew the sting of sarcastic ridicule and unbelief from his family Phil Ware continues his Resurrection 2.0 series reminding us this week that Jesus' own family did not believe until after his resurrection.

So is it really better to be safe than sorry? Phil Ware talks about the old adage, better to be safe than sorry, and shows what Jesus says about it: the follower who takes this approach will be condemned.

Would Timothy make it, and if he did, would he be faithful? Phil Ware uses Timothy's release from prison to be an opportunity to look at how we are to live in a culture opposed to Christianity.

Are we willing to make fellowship more than coffee and donuts? Phil Ware continues to talk about the greater things the early church experienced in the opening days of the believers following Jesus and in this case, genuine fellowship, sharing and having life in common, is key.

"There were no needy people among [the disciples], because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give....."

When Jesus taught on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, he shifted from individual prayer in private to prayer shared with others Phil Ware, with the help of Grady King, reminds us that prayer is a together experience in much of experience and God calls us to share this experience together, then Grady King gives us some added insight and an exercise to help us through the next week.

We believe in God the Father, the resurrection of Jesus the Son, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We choose to let nothing move us from our faith! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us that our faith is rock solid and built on the foundation of eyewitnesses and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We must not forget to punch that little red button and make sure the current of heaven's grace and power flow to us and flow through us to the world. Phil Ware continues his series called 8GHT, focusing on eight principles out of Acts 1:1-10, today his focus is on the Holy Spirit being the power behind the early church.

He was oblivious to the truth that our attempts to live for Jesus will succeed only if we have the power of the Holy Spirit released to us through prayer. Phil Ware reminds us that the phrase 'don't just stand there do something' is absolutely wrong: we must pray first, then let the Lord lead us to know what to do!