People of the Bible: Philip

Who was Philip?

The Philip in Acts 8 is not Philip the apostle. Because they have the same name, they often get confused. However, this passage is telling the story of Philip the evangelist. Here we see Philip being led by the Spirit to go and help an influential Ethiopian man understand the Old Testament.

The Ethiopian was traveling back from worshipping in Jerusalem when God told Philip to go walk by this man’s cart. As he was walking, Philip could hear the man reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked the man if he knew what he was reading and the man said that he didn’t. He then invited Philip to interpret the passage for him.

Philip explained the passage in the light of Jesus. He showed that man that everything in the Old Testament pointed to a Savior and that Savior was Jesus. The Ethiopian was convinced and he put his faith in Jesus. Philip had talked to him about baptism, and after the Ethiopian put his faith in Jesus he wanted to be baptized as well.

While they were riding along the road, the Ethiopian saw a body of water and asked if he could be baptized. So, Philip baptized the man and he went on his way rejoicing because of his salvation.

In this passage, we learn how vitally important it is to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead. The Holy Spirit knows everyone’s needs before we ever could. The Holy Spirit knew the Ethiopian man was curious and needed the Scriptures interpreted. Philip listened to the Spirit and it resulted in a man being saved. The same Holy Spirit is speaking to us today. The Spirit wants to do these same types of things through us, and he will if we follow his direction.

Another thing we learn is that Jesus is the figure being pointed to in all of Scripture. The Ethiopian was having a hard time finding out what the passage in Isaiah was talking about but Philip told him about Jesus. By knowing that Jesus is the Messiah, we can read all of Scripture and see him appear time and time again.

Finally, we learn that salvation brings rejoicing. The man was filled with joy that he had been shown the way to Jesus. When we accept Jesus as God’s son who died on the cross for our sins we can experience this same joy. We also have the opportunity to share the good news about Jesus with others so they can rejoice too.

Key Takeaways:

• The Holy Spirit Leads Us

• Jesus is the Good News

• Salvation Brings Rejoicing

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Philip this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Peter

Who was Peter?

As we learned in the disciples’ overview a few weeks ago, Peter was one of Jesus’s closest disciples. But that doesn’t mean that Peter was better than the other disciples or that he didn’t mess up as much. In fact, when we look in the Bible at the life of Peter we see that at times, he messed up pretty bad.

One of these examples comes from a well-known story of Jesus. Late one night, the disciples were in a boat and it was storming. They were afraid of the storm but when they looked out they saw something walking on the water. At first, they thought it was a ghost, but when it got closer they realized that it was Jesus and he was walking on top of the water.

Peter asked Jesus if it was really him to call him out on the water too. So Jesus calls Peter out onto the water and he begins to walk on it too. However, before long, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and started to fear the storm again. When he took his eyes off Jesus he began to sink, but Jesus caught him and put him back in the boat.

We learn from this story how important it is to put our faith in Jesus and to keep our eyes on him. But we also learn that if and when we mess up, Jesus will always be there to pick us up.

Another account from Peter’s life is his denial of Jesus. Before Jesus was taken away to be crucified Peter told him that he would never leave him. But Jesus knew this wasn’t the truth. Jesus told him that he would leave him and even deny him 3 times before the night was over. Peter did not believe it at first, but before the night ended he had done exactly what Jesus said he would do. As anybody would be, Peter was extremely disappointed in himself.

Thankfully, however, that is not where Peter’s story ends. After Jesus’s resurrection, Peter gets to reunite with Jesus. And after Jesus ascended into heaven Peter became one of the biggest figures in the early church. He preached to thousands of people and talked about Jesus everywhere he went. In Acts, we see that Peter was bold in the way he proclaimed the good news about Jesus. Fear and doubt controlled him early on, but faith replaced those feelings and that gave him a boldness that led many people to Jesus.

Peter is one of the most well-known disciples, but he still messed up a lot. That is encouraging for us because we mess up a lot too. However, Jesus is always there for us. He is always there to pick us up, even if we have turned our backs on him. The key is putting our faith in him and allowing him to put a boldness inside of us that will urge us to testify about everything he has done for us.

Key Takeaways:

• Keep your eyes on Jesus

• Jesus helps us even when we fail

• Jesus gives us boldness

• Everyone Needs JESUS

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Peter this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: The Samaritan Woman

Who was the Samaritan Woman?

Book of the Bible: John 4

What is a Samaritan?

• People who lived in Samaria

• During Jesus’s time on earth, the Jews despised them because they were seen as a mixed breed / half-pagan religion

• Jewish people would go out of their way to not have to associate with them

In this story, we see Jesus interacting with a Samaritan Woman. While Jesus was traveling, he stopped at a well near a Samaritan village to rest. His disciples went into town to buy some food, but Jesus stayed behind. While he was at the well, a woman approached the well to draw water out of it. Jesus asked her to draw him out some water to drink which shocked her.

It shocked her because in all her experience Jewish people did everything they could to avoid her, especially men. Jesus then flips the script and gets the woman thinking. He tells her that if she really knew who he was it would be her asking for a drink, not the other way around. After some conversation Jesus reveals to her that he can provide “living water”, which never runs dry.

Jesus was opening her up to spiritual truth. This was not something the woman was used to because the Jewish community had so little to do with them. However, Jesus told her that the location of worship does not matter. What matters is the heart of worship. Jesus told her that the Father seeks people who will worship him in spirit and in truth. This means to be fully in tune with God, not concerned with the rituals or traditions.

After their interaction, the woman goes back to the village to testify about Jesus. Many people from the town came out to see Jesus. After meeting him, many of the Samaritans came to believe in him as the Savior of the world. In the moment, Jesus was opening the eyes of those around him. He was showing them that God’s Kingdom was not just for the Jews, but for anybody that would put their trust in Jesus.

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus is the Savior of the World

• Worship God In Spirit and In Truth

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about The Samaritan Woman, this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.