Despite the persecution that the apostles and early Christ followers began to experience, they prayed for God to give them boldness. Because they prayed this way, the gospel went forward. In addition, because future generations responded this way, the gospel eventually went all around the world. Their heroism led to our salvation. From where does boldness and courage like that come?

Throughout the New Testament, miracles were God's way of showing His divine power and giving validation to the apostles. Ultimately, the need for physical miracles points to our need for spiritual healing through salvation in Jesus Christ.

The first message ever preached happened in Acts 2 at the Day of Pentecost. The Apostle Peter urged the people there to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. That day 3,000 people put their faith and trust in Christ. It marked a turning point in their lives. We have the same opportunity today -- to repent and trust Christ or to trust in ourselves.

Whether Jesus comes back tomorrow or in a thousand years, we have a mission to accomplish for Him. We are to be His witnesses. Jesus's mission is under His sovereign rule to expand His kingdom among all nations. Jesus wants us to be less concerned with His coming and more concerned with our going.

While different apostles do appear throughout the book of Acts, the only single character who unifies the story from beginning to end is Jesus, appearing personally or acting through the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts is about Jesus leading his people through the Spirit to go out into the world and invite all nations to put their faith in Jesus.

Guest speaker Ward Hodges presents the mystery of the blindness of the Jewish people to Jesus as the Messiah. He expounds on God's working in Israel through the ministry of "Grace for Israel."

Paul is one of the most externally righteous people we read about in the Bible, yet he also persecuted other Christians. His good works didn't lead him to Jesus. No matter what you do to look or act like a Christian, what matters is your relationship with Jesus. Paul realized that on the road to Damascus. Do you have an earnestness to know, to follow, and to worship Jesus Christ?

Christmas is the gift of hope because our hope starts at Christmas. It is the beginning of how we can make the most important and lasting change in our life. Believing in Jesus is how we can become new. If we don't change, we won't have a new year, we'll just have another year.