North Park Baptist Church of Bridgeport CT

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The Power of Generosity

November 26, 2017

Generosity: The Joy of Giving More

John 3:16

Mark Smith

The Power of Generosity

Date Preached: November 26, 2017

Series: Generosity: The Joy of Giving More

Speaker: Mark Smith

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This final message on generosity looks at the power that generosity has, power to transform situations, futures, people, relationships, and even eternal destinies. We'll start by seeing the transforming power found in God's generous gift of his Son, given so we might be saved and have eternal life. We'll move on to see examples of lives and situations that were transformed by generosity, and conclude by deciding whether we would like to get in on the transforming power of generosity.

The Power of Generosity

The Promise of Generosity

November 5, 2017

Generosity: The Joy of Giving More

Luke 6:38

Mark Smith

The Promise of Generosity

Date Preached: November 5, 2017

Series: Generosity: The Joy of Giving More

Speaker: Mark Smith

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The principle of generosity tells us that being generous benefits us more than it costs us. It is more blessed to give than to receive. But how is this true? Is there enough benefit to being generous to make it something we should promote? In this message, we'll start with a promise to the generous in the New Testament, and then look at other passages that speak about many benefits of being generous. Before we close we'll look at the results of a study published in 2014 that listed nine benefits of being generous and the conclusion that study made about promoting generosity. We'll then draw our own conclusions and suggest an application for this week.

The Promise of Generosity

The Principle of Generosity

October 30, 2017

Generosity: The Joy of Giving More

Acts 20:35

Mark Smith

The Principle of Generosity

Date Preached: October 30, 2017

Series: Generosity: The Joy of Giving More

Speaker: Mark Smith

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We begin a four-part series on Generosity, the Joy of Giving More this week. We'll look at the concept of generosity in the Bible and the motivating principle behind the practice of generosity. We'll learn that generosity is not just giving, it is giving more than is needed, expected, or required. It is also giving with the right spirit. It is motivated by the simple truth Jesus revealed to us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. We'll get a chance to decide to be generous givers before the message is finished.

The Principle of Generosity

Your Part In Someone Else’s Conversion Story

October 22, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 1:8

Mark Smith

Your Part In Someone Else’s Conversion Story

Date Preached: October 22, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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In each of the conversion stories we've studied we found that someone played an important role in another person's salvation. This is God's plan: that each of us get involved in helping other people to be converted. But how? Last week we saw God might use our personal story of conversion to do this. This week we'll learn another way God can use us to help bring another person to conversion. It is a factor in a couple of the stories we've already studied and shows up in other places in the New Testament. We'll learn of a simple and practical way to put this method into practice.

Your Part In Someone Else’s Conversion Story

Great Conversion Stories – Your Conversion Story

October 15, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 26:1-23

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – Your Conversion Story

Date Preached: October 15, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Let's face it, our favorite conversion story will never feature an Ethiopian treasurer, a Roman proconsul, a successful business woman in Greece, or a respected intellectual in Athens. Our favorite story will be about us. It will be our conversion story.

Our story can also be a tool God can use to help someone else have their own conversion story. We will see that today as the apostle Paul relates his conversion story for just that reason. And you'll learn how you can tell your story in a way that will engage people and help explain the good news to them. It's your favorite conversion story. Hopefully it become the way others come to have their own favorite conversion story.

Great Conversion Stories – Your Conversion Story

Great Conversion Stories – A Respected Intellectual

October 8, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 17:1-34

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – A Respected Intellectual

Date Preached: October 8, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Paul's missionary plans took an unexpected detour to Athens, but that led directly to the conversion of a respected intellectual there, a man named Dionysius. The intellectual spirit of Athens created a great challenge to the proclamation of the gospel, but Paul had been too stirred up by seeing the city drowning in idols to remain silent. His approach there was unique and suited to the situation, and was rewarded by the conversion of Dionysius, who tradition tells us served as the first bishop of Athens.

Great Conversion Stories – A Respected Intellectual

Great Conversion Stories – A Jailer and His Family

October 1, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 16:16-40

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – A Jailer and His Family

Date Preached: October 1, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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To be thrown in jail so someone can be converted doesn't sound like an experience too many of us would volunteer for. Paul and Silas didn't volunteer, either, but when they were beaten and thrown in prison their reaction to their treatment, and then God's miraculous intervention, brought the jailer and his family to Christ. The jailer's conversion is a great conversion story because of what led up to it, how it actually happened, and how quickly his heart was changed.

Great Conversion Stories – A Jailer and His Family

Great Conversion Stories – A Successful Businesswoman

September 24, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 16:11-15

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – A Successful Businesswoman

Date Preached: September 24, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Through an unusual set of circumstances, a successful businesswoman was converted. She quickly became an important link in the chain for other people to hear about Jesus, the Savior, and have the chance to be converted, too.

Great Conversion Stories – A Successful Businesswoman

Great Conversion Stories – a Young Man

September 17, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

2 Timothy 1:5

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – a Young Man

Date Preached: September 17, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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This conversion story is special. First, it tells of the conversion of a very young man, not someone older like the Roman proconsul or the Roman centurion whose conversions we've already encountered. Second, it seems the primary people behind this young man's conversion are not relative strangers, as Peter, Philip, and Paul were to those whose conversions we've already studied, but people in his own home. Third, we discover in this story the important role of the Scriptures in preparing people to come to conversion. Follow along as we learn about the conversion of young Timothy.

Great Conversion Stories – a Young Man

Great Conversion Stories – a Government Official

September 3, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 13:1-12

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – a Government Official

Date Preached: September 3, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Out on the far end of the island of Cyprus was a Roman proconsul with an intelligent and open mind and whose status and accomplishments could not touch the spiritual void in his life. He is the next great conversion story in the Book of Acts and how he got converted and what happened along the way is part of one the great turning points in Christian history.

Great Conversion Stories – a Government Official

Great Conversion Stories – a Career Military Man

August 27, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 10:1-18

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – a Career Military Man

Date Preached: August 27, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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The conversion of a Roman soldier is surprising in a number of ways. First, he is a god-fearing, devout, and good man, just the kind many people feel should not need conversion. Second, he is a soldier whose allegiance belonged to Rome and Caesar, not to someone named Jesus who claimed to be a king. Third, he was a Gentile, someone considered to be outside the range of God's saving grace, at least by some. How he was converted, and what God did to bring about his conversion is a surprising story in itself.

Great Conversion Stories – a Career Military Man

Great Conversion Stories: A Nation’s Treasurer

August 20, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 8:25-40

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories: A Nation’s Treasurer

Date Preached: August 20, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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While Philip was still involved in the great conversion story of the Samaritans, God called him on what must have seemed like a strange mission. Philip never questioned God, but obeyed, and soon was instrumental in bringing a seeker from Ethiopia to conversion. God's seemingly strange command is just one of several divinely orchestrated events that let to this spiritually hungry man's conversion.

Great Conversion Stories: A Nation’s Treasurer

Great Conversion Stories: Not Them!

August 13, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 8:1-24

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories: Not Them!

Date Preached: August 13, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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So unexpected was the conversion of the Samaritans that the apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria to check out the report. We'll discover how this great conversion story happened, an unexpected development along the way, and the troubling possibility that accompanied it.

Great Conversion Stories: Not Them!

Great Conversion Stories – 3,000 in One Day

August 6, 2017

Stories of Great Conversions

Acts 1:1-47

Mark Smith

Great Conversion Stories – 3,000 in One Day

Date Preached: August 6, 2017

Series: Stories of Great Conversions

Speaker: Mark Smith

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In this series we will learn that people become Christians by conversion, not by virtue of birth, or gradual process, but in a moment orchestrated by the Holy Spirit where they pass from spiritual death to spiritual life. This message focuses on one of the greatest conversion stories in the New Testament, the conversion of 3,000 Jewish people in one day. We'll see what led up to this amazing experience, how it occurred, and the evidence here for the necessity of conversion.

Great Conversion Stories – 3,000 in One Day

Are You Really a Christian?

June 25, 2017

Getting Ministry Right - The Message of 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 13

Mark Smith

Are You Really a Christian?

Date Preached: June 25, 2017

Series: Getting Ministry Right - The Message of 2 Corinthians

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Paul concludes his letter to the Corinthians reminding them that he hopes not to have to use his apostolic authority to correct the remaining problems in the church when he comes. He then asks the Corinthians to test themselves and examine themselves to see if they really are true believers. We'll see why he felt he had to challenge them on this, and learn how a person can know if he or she is a true born-again believer in Christ today.

Are You Really a Christian?

When Weakness Is a Strength

June 11, 2017

Getting Ministry Right - The Message of 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 11:30-13

Mark Smith

When Weakness Is a Strength

Date Preached: June 11, 2017

Series: Getting Ministry Right - The Message of 2 Corinthians

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Paul turns the tables on the false teachers in Corinth by boasting in weakness rather than strength. In doing so he shows that God is strong in us only when we are weak, so that being weak is better than being strong since it lets God's power be seen in us and our ministry. We can therefore be glad for weakness and troubles since when we are weak in ourselves, then we are truly strong.

When Weakness Is a Strength

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