Last Sunday in worship we concluded the first chapter of our study called Acts: Chronicles of the Church. The Book of Acts in our New Testament is a history of the early church. In fact, Acts is pretty much our only history of the earliest years of the church, though we can glean much from the other New Testament writings. I approached the study last Sunday by answering the conventional questions of who, where, when, why, and what.

I received a nice email this week. One of our members (Al Coffey) wrote to say that she is enjoying the journey through Acts with us. She does elder care for a family member and is often unable to be in our sanctuary on Sunday mornings. So today I am celebrating the world of technology that allows her to listen to the Sunday messages, read our blogs, and hear our studio podcasts. Because she is using our online resources, she is as up-to-date with our study of Acts as those who attend our services each week.

On Sunday, March 30, 2008, we began a new teaching series in worship. Our series is entitled Acts: Chronicles of the Church. We will study the Book of Acts in the New Testament, moving sequentially verse by verse through each chapter.

This morning in worship we looked at the 9th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew. I talked about The Sensitivity of Jesus. Jesus was sensitive to the needs of those around him.

In Matthew, chapter 9, Jesus heals a paralyzed man, a woman with a hemorrhage, two blind men, and a man who is mute. Jesus shows compassion towards a grieving father and he brings the father’s daughter back to life. Also in this chapter, Jesus calls a tax collector to follow him, Jesus hang out with “undesirables,” and Jesus is moved with compassion as he sees the needs of people around him.