church growth

⁴⁷praising God greatly, and holding favor with all the people. And every day, the Lord increased those who were being saved among them.

¹¹And the same one granted that some would be Apostles, and some Prophets, yet truly others evangelists, and others pastors and teachers, ¹²for the sake of the perfection of the saints, by the work of the ministry, in the edification of the body of Christ,

¹⁸And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.

³¹Certainly, the Church had peace throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and it was being built up, while walking in the fear of the Lord, and it was being filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.

³²And when I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself.”

¹¹For no one is able to lay any other foundation, in place of that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus.

²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.

⁴²Now they were persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles, and in the communion of the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.

²⁰how I held back nothing that was of value, how well I have preached to you, and that I have taught you publicly and throughout the houses, ²¹testifying both to Jews and to Gentiles about repentance in God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²²And now, behold, being obliged in spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³except that the Holy Spirit, throughout every city, has cautioned me, saying that chains and tribulations await me at Jerusalem. ²⁴But I dread none of these things. Neither do I consider my life to be more precious because it is my own, provided that in some way I may complete my own course and that of the ministry of the Word, which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God. ²⁵And now, behold, I know that you will no longer see my face, all of you among whom I have traveled, preaching the kingdom of God.

¹³Until I arrive, attend to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.

¹⁶So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest; they are: fornication, lust, homosexuality, self-indulgence, ²⁰the serving of idols, drug use, hostility, contentiousness, jealousy, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, divisions, ²¹envy, murder, inebriation, carousing, and similar things. About these things, I continue to preach to you, as I have preached to you: that those who act in this way shall not obtain the kingdom of God.

⁴And he sent a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many will see, and they will fear; and they will hope in the Lord.

⁵For this reason, I left you behind in Crete: so that those things which are lacking, you would correct, and so that you would ordain, throughout the communities, priests, (just as I also ordained you)

^3:16All Scripture, having been divinely inspired, is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in justice, ^3:17so that the man of God may be perfect, having been trained for every good work.

^4:1I testify before God, and before Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead through his return and his kingdom: ^4:2that you should preach the word urgently, in season and out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke, with all patience and doctrine. ^4:3For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but instead, according to their own desires, they will gather to themselves teachers, with itching ears, ^4:4and certainly, they will turn their hearing away from the truth, and they will be turned toward fables.