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Schedule update: The AWANA talent show has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 14th. Stay safe and enjoy the snow!!

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Excellence in Encouragement (Acts 4 and 11) ------------------------------------------------------- God wants us all to impact our world for Him, and wants us to be encouragers. Barnabas’ character of consistently influencing people around him for Christ earned him the reputation of being a great encourager. Barnabas was a nickname that lasted for centuries. His real name was Joseph. In Acts 4, the church had begun in Jerusalem and was growing rapidly. Although not commanded to do it, Barnabas chose to sell a field that he owned to help provide for the needs of his brothers and sisters. In Acts 11, the church leaders chose Barnabas to check out the second Christian church that started in Antioch (composed mostly of Gentiles instead of Jews) to make sure that everything was alright. We can learn a lot from Barnabas (who was not an apostle). He lived with his eyes open to see God working in situations and in the lives of others. As God’s people, we can make a huge impact when we look and listen to God. Being an encourager does not mean that we “rubber-stamp” whatever someone does. Encouraging in a Godly way is about seeing the real need in people’s lives, then doing something practical about that need. We need to encourage people to God and become a catalyst for Kingdom growth! Barnabas’ secret was that he lived a surrendered life. Only when we live continually surrendered to God can we live full of God’s love and power in our lives. Application points: -- Encourage others with your presence -- Encourage others practically. -- Encourage others to become what God desires: that He loves them too; that they have a ministry to do; and be OK if they do great!

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What Difference does the Holy Spirit Make? (Acts 2-4) ------------------------------------------------------- We mess up in our Christian lives. God gives us the Holy Spirit to empower us to become the people that He wants us to become. People who don’t know God don’t understand what is happening to us as we are changing – why we are different. In fact, we only know what is happening through the Holy Spirit. Like Peter and John (Acts 4: 7-12), we should speak boldly about God. Boldness comes from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit takes us from being fearful and confused, trying to find a human solution, to looking at the resurrection, walking by faith, believing in God, and giving us the ability to follow Him. Application points: -- Be filled with the Holy Spirit: (a) Make sure you have a relationship with Jesus. (b) Confess your sins (c.) Be willing and to be completely controlled by the Holy Spirit. We cannot fill ourselves. (d.) Trust God that it is true! -- Take the opportunities you have to honor God. See them and seize them. You will find opportunities every day. Pray that you will see God working in your life every day. -- Get to the point that you know that you can’t help yourself and God will do great things!